Poll: Average Daily Cost of Vacation

[LauAnn]

Using a typical (for you) vacation/trip (domestic or international) you took in 2016, what was your average cost per day.

Include all expenses -- transportation, lodging, food, alcohol, entertainment, tips, tolls, and travel insurance (if applicable). Do not include souvenirs.

If travelling with a significant other, calculate the daily cost as if you were travelling as a single -- i.e. do not divide hotel, rental car, gasoline, etc. charges by two.

If travelling as a family of more than 2, sit this poll out. But feel free to chime in on the thread.

One of the trips I took in 2016 was a group hiking trip in Bryce and Zion national parks. The trip included guided hiking for 5 days, plus 2 days of travel to/from home. My total cost was $1803 -- or $257 per day.

 

[CyclingInvestor]

3 cruises in 2017 - all Holland America - 14 days to Alaska, 15 days to Alaska, and 17 days to Hawaii with a friend (who is brilliant at finding cheap cruises). Total cost to me $85 a day including everything, for outside cabins. If I traveled as a single, the 100% surcharge would have raised to cost to $160 a day.

 

[NW-Bound]

For me, a lot would depend on the nature of the trip. When driving my RV for a domestic trek, the cost is lower than a trip to Europe, which entails air travel, meals, entrance fees to museums and sites, hotel rooms, train fares, rental car cost, etc...

 

[Nemo2]

Latest trip, two people, 18 days in Malaga (plus side trips), followed by 13 day transatlantic repositioning cruise, (flights, medical insurance, etc, etc, all included), @ $187 Canadian or $138 US per day.

 

[W2R]

I don't think I traveled farther than 10 miles from my house. And that's pushing it - - maybe not farther than 5 miles from my house.

So, I didn't vote but if I did, it would be in the <$50 category.

 

[aja8888]

Oh my, another pole!

 

[NW-Bound]

Latest trip, two people, 18 days in Malaga (plus side trips), followed by 13 day transatlantic repositioning cruise, (flights, medical insurance, etc, etc, all included), @ $187 Canadian or $138 US per day.

I need to shop better!

All the info here made me curious, so I looked up the cost of the cruise we took late last year. With airfare to Florida and cruisefare, the total came to a bit more than $2800, which works out to $400/day for 2 people. Shorter flights, and no land stay.

What did I do wrong? I thought I got pretty good deals. By the way, they gave me free drinks, but I did not drink that much to make it worthwhile.

PS. Oh, the land stay would be lower cost than the cruise, and that brings the average down. Oui?

PPS. And I remember that we had a balcony.

 

[sengsational]

Two people, 26 days (14 trans-Atlantic cruise, 8 hotel, 3 at family, 1 on the plane), $203 per day. That's all-in except for half the plane ticket was allocated to an earlier trip.

That earlier trip with the other half of the plane ticket was similar: 25 days and $248 per day. But we also had driving trips to family locations for $65 per day and splurged last year...had one for almost $600 per day, so it really can vary a lot.

Concerning the "pole": I wonder if being retired (i.e. not having time constraints and not gravitating to days near national holidays) has a bearing on the prices paid.

 

[Meadbh]

I took two solo trips in 2016. One was 35 days long and involved a transatlantic cruise, multiple flights and some expensive outings in Europe. I spent $8000 Canadian, which works out to $228 CDN per day, or $175 US per day. The second trip, a sun holiday, worked out at $257 CDN or $197 US per day. For the most part, I stayed in luxurious accommodation.

 

[stepford]

Latest trip, two people, 18 days in Malaga (plus side trips), followed by 13 day transatlantic repositioning cruise, (flights, medical insurance, etc, etc, all included), @ $187 Canadian or $138 US per day.

Sorry to threadjack, but i'm curious about your Malaga sidetrips. We just spent a week there at similar cost per day (about $150/day for 2 people) including renting a car for visits to Ronda, Gibraltar, Granada and the Caminito del Rey. Where did your sidetrips take you on your more extended stay?

 

[Nemo2]

I thought I got pretty good deals.

The first leg, (Puerto Limón, Costa Rica, to Lisbon, Portugal,inside cabin), of our next scheduled trip, is base price $261 US p.p. + government taxes $285 p.p. for a total of $1,092 US for two people, (16 nights) = $68.25 per night (plus mandatory gratuities).

The deals are there, they may not be what you want, but we're easily pleased and enjoy the experience.

(Overall though, this next trip is shaping up to be somewhat more expensive than the last one.)

 

[COcheesehead]

Hiking in Ireland for 14 days. All in $7500 including boarding the dogs.

 

[Nemo2]

We just spent a week there at similar cost per day (about $150/day for 2 people) including renting a car for visits to Ronda, Gibraltar, Grenada and the Caminito del Rey. Where did your sidetrips take you on your more extended stay?

We went to Ronda, Antequera, and Alora by train, Fuengirola by bus.....oh, and out to El Palo on a local bus.

(I've been to Gibraltar four times, and DW's been there twice, so we didn't go that far afield.)

Added: As Canadians we have to spring for out of country medical insurance, we have to get to Toronto and back to fly (this time by bus), and when we arrive in Florida off the cruise we have to fly home...all of which adds to the base line.

 

[LOL!]

I had a few trips where I had to talk for about an hour and answer a few questions. Those trips were to San Francisco, Seattle, and NYC. I stayed extra days for vacation time. So all airfare, lodging, and meals were paid for by somebody else. One of the trips, I volunteered to get bumped off a flight for a nice travel voucher which I will use to fly to Canada next year.

All other trips used frequent flyer miles. I spent a week in the Outer Banks at my relatives, so cost for the week was that I paid for a cheap restaurant meal for everybody or about $200. That was less than I pay for a week of meals at home.

I was away on vacation about 8 weeks total on 8 trips. Out of my own pocket I think I spent about $1200 mostly for the Yellowstone/Grand Teton trip (but you are making me pay full cost even though my wife was along).

So daily cost about $22.

 

[Midpack]

Aren't $50/day and vacation an oxymoron?

It would seem mixing vacations that require airfare with driving vacations would be apples and oranges too.

And someone else paying all of part...

 

[NW-Bound]

Well, when the driving is with an RV, the gasoline alone is more than $100/day. One time, I have to fill up once in the morning, and again before stopping for the night.

The salvation is one does not do this kind of driving every day throughout a long trip, as it would not leave any time for sightseeing.

 

[Koogie]

I voted 200-250. When planning, I generally figure on 2k per usual 9 day trip.
Domestic trips are cheaper, overseas more. So, that is just a rule of thumb.
Do I stick to the budget when actually travelling ?
Hell, no. LBYM is for the other 45 weeks a year.

Oh my, another pole!

Who, this guy ?

 

[NYEXPAT]

Did a family (4 people) trip Lima-Florida-Colorado-Florida-Lima for two weeks in October and ran about $700 per day. Traveled with a 2 year old so airfare/food/hotels/Universal were free and DOD (99) picked up most meals while in Florida. Probably 1k was for electronics and clothes.

 

[kcowan]

Relocation cruise are the cheapest way to travel. Once you are retired, crossing the Atlantic in style takes time. But we leverage our time.

First class flight to Europe and 30 day stay tends to be a bit more. I voted 200-250. Always take the train when feasible. The lower cost Euro helps. This year we are leveraging airdna for longer stays in Berlin, Paris and Nice.

 

[Danmar]

Actually this is one statistic that we track over time. Most expensive tend to be those in Europe with their insanely expensive hotels. We adjust to reflect cost per day per couple as we often include friends or family in our vacations. Most of our international trips are done on CC points. Cruises tend to be cheaper than land based vacations. Quite an even dispersion. Probably should have picked a higher top level?

 

[RunningBum]

I remember going to a neighbor's party a few years ago and this came up between a retired megacorp VP, a Washington lobbyist, and perhaps someone else well-to-do. They all took high end cruises and guided tours, probably not flying in coach, staying in nice hotels, and going in prime season. They concluded that $1000/day for the two of them, or $500/person/day, was about their average.


I know I'm well under that, but it depends on where I go. A ski trip is going to add nearly $100/day just with the lift ticket, plus ski lodging isn't all that cheap. For other outdoor trips I may have no extra costs over food and lodging that maybe park admission. It's so varied I'm not even going to try to answer, and it's pretty useless information unless you take the same kind of trips I do, or my neighbors do.


These are the kind of polls I shake my head at. What possible useful information are you going to get when you don't know if my vacation is driving in the woods to tent camp, or flying to NY and staying in a nice Manhattan hotel with fine dining and see shows? For my neighbors, they knew they took similar vacations and probably just wanted to see if they were missing something and spending too much. They didn't even bother asking me because they knew I didn't travel like them.

 

[Bamaman]

Relocation cruise are the cheapest way to travel. Once you are retired, crossing the Atlantic in style takes time. But we leverage our time.

First class flight to Europe and 30 day stay tends to be a bit more. I voted 200-250. Always take the train when feasible. The lower cost Euro helps. This year we are leveraging airdna for longer stays in Berlin, Paris and Nice.

I'm pleasantly surprised to see so many on this forum taking repositioning cruises in April and October. Yes, it's a great bargain in travel. Mix such a trip with a budget airline on the one way trip home (like Norwegian Air Shuttle) and you've really, really got your money's worth.

Travel first class? Never. My seat in the rear of the plane gets there at the same time as those in the front. For the difference, I've taken another full trip to Europe.

I keep an eye on cruises on VacationsToGo.com, as virtually every cruise in the world is listed. I'm still bowled over by the European river cruises costing 3-4 times that of an ocean cruise to places like The Baltics and the Greek Isles. A river cruise would bore me to death, as I've been to most all the cities they visit already. Ann Kent at Avoya Travel has come up with deals and freebies we've never dreamed of on cruises.

European travel internally has changed over the years. While we do travel from city to city by train, any trips over 3 hours by train we prefer to fly to on budget European airlines. Another thing we like is to travel in a straight line to cities relatively close to each other. Then fly to a completely different place on the way home--like visiting Budapest/Vienna/Prague and then fly on Vueling to Barcelona or Lisbon. Or visit Rome/Florence/Venice and fly to Copenhagen before flying home. At $100 or less per leg, it's do-able.

 

[Totoro]

Currently in Egypt, even with flights its silly cheap.

300 usd return flight to cairo, current lodging 9 usd per day. Private room with balcony. Decent sitdown meal 5 usd at most. Two domestic flights business class at 80 usd each (economy was sold out).

Running below 70 usd as a consequence. Traveling solo.

 

[Danmar]

These are the kind of polls I shake my head at. What possible useful information are you going to get when you don't know if my vacation is driving in the woods to tent camp, or flying to NY and staying in a nice Manhattan hotel with fine dining and see shows? For my neighbors, they knew they took similar vacations and probably just wanted to see if they were missing something and spending too much. They didn't even bother asking me

Agree. One wonders. Maybe a more sophisticated form of trolling? Or for some voyeurism? A very well developed sense of mine is smaller (bigger?) than yours? Not sure.

 

[bclover]

depends on where I'm going. European trips are expensive for me, mainly because I have to have luxury hotels. that's my big expenditure.

family vacations usually mean disneyworld where we have a timeshare so those are relatively cheaper.