Is $12,000 per year in travel enough

[CaliKid]

We are at the "no comment" level of spending on travel. It's fun but it's getting scary when I add it all up in Quicken.

[Blue Collar Guy]

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Originally Posted by accountingsucks Planning to FIRE at 45 with plan to slow travel 1-2 months per year staying in one spot for most of it. I am budgeting $12K per year to do this. I'm Canadian and from what i can tell $3000USD will get me a decent place for one month pretty much anywhere in the world (found some even in NYC on AirBnB). It's amazing the value you can get on long term accommodations versus what one night in a hotel costs. It's just my wife and I so would have plane tickets on top of that and there are always ways to get deals on that - wait for sales, points, etc. I don't consider food expenses in my budget since i have to pay for food anyways. We don't anticipate going to places where a car is needed so we would save on that. If cars were needed for trips they would be rentals. Our hobbies are somewhat inexpensive - hiking, mountain biking, golf, kayaking, exploring new foods. Some of those obviously more expensive than others and depending on the trip we may or may not even be doing those things. ie a Palm Springs vacation would have golf while a New York one would not So is this budget reasonable? I've also thought about renting out our primary house for the time we are gone - which would offset any travel costs as well rather than pay someone to look after it

Thats about 12000 more than I currently spend

[cathy63]

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Originally Posted by Nemo2 But, but......that is how we do it.

You guys are amazing! We've got 3 weeks in Scandinavia next month, and though we beat you on airfares, we don't have anything anywhere near those room rates. And I bet food will be a lot cheaper where you're going too. We are totally splurging by going to the most expensive part of Europe to celebrate our 30th anniversary though. Next year we're definitely going to the cheap countries!

I hope you have an awesome time.

[Moemg]

I think most of us can add a few thousand to Nemo's trip to account for dining out, tours ,cabs ,a little shopping and just sipping a glass of wine at an outside cafe .

[explanade]

I know food in Scandinavia is expensive but what is Scandinavian cuisine?

Heavy on the seafood?

But I think Asian fusion is popular up there as well.

[Nemo2]

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Originally Posted by Moemg I think most of us can add a few thousand to Nemo's trip to account for dining out, tours ,cabs ,a little shopping and just sipping a glass of wine at an outside cafe .

Indeed. I recall posting, some time in the past, that "We don't dine, we grab something to eat". Ingestion is not a priority for us; we don't, on ships, run up bar bills, go to the 'specialty restaurants', (or visit the spa, or, or or..), nor, on land, do we frequent restaurants.

On our recent Pullmantur cruises, after a hot day, we had a Tecate or two, but they were included in the price...if they weren't, we wouldn't have had them.

It's all a matter of choices, and we'd rather wander around places we've never seen before, perhaps munching on an apple and/or a piece of cheese, than sit in bistros or cafés.

"Chacun à son goût" as the Maasai say......oh, wait....

[Souschef]

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Originally Posted by Nemo2 Indeed. I recall posting, some time in the past, that "We don't dine, we grab something to eat". Ingestion is not a priority for us; we don't, on ships, run up bar bills, go to the 'specialty restaurants', (or visit the spa, or, or or..), nor, on land, do we frequent restaurants. On our recent Pullmantur cruises, after a hot day, we had a Tecate or two, but they were included in the price...if they weren't, we wouldn't have had them. Why NOT? It's all a matter of choices, and we'd rather wander around places we've never seen before, perhaps munching on an apple and/or a piece of cheese, than sit in bistros or cafés.

You are right, about whatever floats your boat, but we enjoy dining, going to bistros, etc. as part of the experience.
I am reminded of an acquaintance of mine, who knew the price of everything, but the value of nothing.
I do not regret the 400 Euros for a private tour of Monet's Giverney, or the flight over the Nazca lines in Peru.
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

[Nemo2]

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Originally Posted by Souschef You are right, about whatever floats your boat, but we enjoy dining, going to bistros, etc. as part of the experience. I am reminded of an acquaintance of mine, who knew the price of everything, but the value of nothing. I do not regret the 400 Euros for a private tour of Monet's Giverney, or the flight over the Nazca lines in Peru. Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

Oscar Wilde was an acquaintance of yours?

As to the 'Why not?': because it didn't mean that much to us.

On one ship, at the behest of friends who enjoyed it, we accompanied them to one of the (included) restaurants a few times; other than enjoying their company, we both regarded the 'restaurant experience' as more of a PITA than a 'treat' and wouldn't have done it without them as, by itself, it was of no importance to us.

I've commented before that I/we are not looking for converts.....(in the immortal words of Popeye "I Yam What I Yam")....and don't expect others to become acolytes........if we had waaay more money than we have we might possibly, (since both of us detest flying), upgrade to Business Class on transocean flights, but DW was a SAHM for a number of years after graduating from university (and before returning to school and becoming a software developer), while the only 'real' job I ever had, (other than working so that I could continue traveling), lasted for a mere 13 years before I quit forever age 46, so we are not in that category.

Even if we did have considerably more money, eating in restaurants would still have zero attraction for us........more money would translate into more time spent wandering the alleys of old towns and cities, and I'm not sure why 'sitting in a bistro' is more pleasurable than 'sitting on a park bench'.

[athena53]

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Originally Posted by Nemo2 Even if we did have considerably more money, eating in restaurants would still have zero attraction for us........more money would translate into more time spent wandering the alleys of old towns and cities, and I'm not sure why 'sitting in a bistro' is more pleasurable than 'sitting on a park bench'.

I agree- DH and I tended to think of food as fuel to keep us going. We almost always had dinner in the room, typically stuff from the local grocery and liquor stores. I'm off to Iceland next month and, with DH gone from this world, I'm even less likely to hang out in restaurants. I did, however, book a day tour to Greenland because that's my priority!

To each his own, though- I've always said that one person's Vacation from Hell is another's Dream Trip. You couldn't pay me to take a cruise on a mega-ship and many people on CruiseCritic take multiple cruises a year on them.

And, to answer the original question: $12K/year is about what I anticipate spending all on my own. Much of it will go to Business-Class airfares but that's a priority of mine on long hauls.

[Nemo2]

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Originally Posted by athena53 To each his own, though- I've always said that one person's Vacation from Hell is another's Dream Trip. You couldn't pay me to take a cruise on a mega-ship and many people on CruiseCritic take multiple cruises a year on them.

We're with you on this one too......the smaller the ship the better. We do take transatlantics on ships larger than we'd 'prefer', but it's a permanent 'Naaah" for the leviathans.

[athena53]

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Originally Posted by Nemo2 We're with you on this one too......the smaller the ship the better. We do take transatlantics on ships larger than we'd 'prefer', but it's a permanent 'Naaah" for the leviathans.

Yeah, I just booked my 4th cruise with UnCruise Adventures- it's an 88-passenger ship. Staterooms nothing to write home about (although all have windows), ONE dining room with far more limited choices than the big ships (but locally-sourced where possible, prepared mostly from fresh ingredients), excursions very focused on nature rather than shopping for tanzanite. I could get a room with a balcony (oh, yeah, they call them "verandahs") and a butler on a mega-ship for the same price but that's not me. I'm glad there's something for everybody.

[Nemo2]

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Originally Posted by athena53 Yeah, I just booked my 4th cruise with UnCruise Adventures- it's an 88-passenger ship. Staterooms nothing to write home about (although all have windows), ONE dining room with far more limited choices than the big ships (but locally-sourced where possible, prepared mostly from fresh ingredients), excursions very focused on nature rather than shopping for tanzanite. I could get a room with a balcony (oh, yeah, they call them "verandahs") and a butler on a mega-ship for the same price but that's not me. I'm glad there's something for everybody.

The ship sounds great!

One we had our eyes on, (somewhat larger than yours), but passed up this year, is VTG's #16334 on the Wind Surf, @14,745 GT.....Tenerife-St. Maarten @$973 US p.p.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_Surf_(ship) (For some reason the link takes you to a Wiki site where you have to click on 'ship'.)

[Sojourner]

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Originally Posted by Nemo2 It's all a matter of choices, and we'd rather wander around places we've never seen before, perhaps munching on an apple and/or a piece of cheese, than sit in bistros or cafés.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nemo2 Even if we did have considerably more money, eating in restaurants would still have zero attraction for us........more money would translate into more time spent wandering the alleys of old towns and cities, and I'm not sure why 'sitting in a bistro' is more pleasurable than 'sitting on a park bench'.

Very intriguing take on the world. My snap reaction upon reading this was "Well, sitting in a quaint little café and sipping a glass of wine al fresco on an old cobblestone street somewhere in Europe is like a little slice of heaven to me, and how could anyone think otherwise?" But upon further reflection, I think it's just part of what I see as the grand and varied tapestry of the overall travel experience. For me, sitting in a small, out-of-the-way café with locals all around makes me feel like an actual part of that little corner of the world—their real world—and there is so much fulfillment and satisfaction in that. And sitting on a park bench nibbling on an apple and some cheese for a quick lunch or snack would give me a similar sense of being present and truly immersing myself in the local environment and culture. One isn't better than the other, as they both add to the diversity and richness of the experience. I do tend to avoid the obvious tourist traps whenever possible, for those tend to yank me out of the moment and disrupt the magic of the experience.

Wow... writing this is making me suddenly crave a trip to Italy or France! I'm going to a wine tasting party later today, so maybe while I'm sipping and sampling I can close my eyes and envision myself in that little Italian enoteca in Rome I enjoyed so much on my last visit.

[Senator]

I have gone on several trips this year in the USA. About 10 weeks total, many nights in a Motel. LOTS of excursions. LOTS of food. We NEVER make our own food on a trip.

I spend less than $1,500 per week on my outings, for two people and a dog. We have driven to most places.

Use Groupon when you get there, over 55 discounts, gas coupons, veterans discounts, etc.

I bet I save $50+ at each location per week due to coupons.

[W2R]

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Originally Posted by Nemo2 I'm not sure why 'sitting in a bistro' is more pleasurable than 'sitting on a park bench'.

I'll just quietly suggest that for some (not all) it might possibly have something to do with alcohol/wine.
Pardon me while I hide over here....

[Nemo2]

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Originally Posted by Sojourner And sitting on a park bench nibbling on an apple and some cheese for a quick lunch or snack would give me a similar sense of being present and truly immersing myself in the local environment and culture.

Yes, we don't see it as an inflexible either/or situation, it's simply what we prefer to do.

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Originally Posted by Sojourner One isn't better than the other, as they both add to the diversity and richness of the experience.

Agreed....as implied above....we're not saying "Our way is better than 'yours'" or "'You' should do what we do"....'we', (DW reads these posts and is in full agreement with the positions I present), responding to the original question in this thread, are just saying that "It (travel on $12K p.a.) can be done, (and enjoyed immensely), and here's how we do it".

[Nemo2]

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Originally Posted by W2R I'll just quietly suggest that for some (not all) it might possibly have something to do with alcohol/wine. Pardon me while I hide over here....

What, they don't make brown paper bags anymore?

[jerryo]

My DW and I have done a LOT of both long and slow travel for both business and pleasure, both before and after (semi) retirement, and the cost can be quite variable depending on your wants and needs. We're relatively frugal, often rent houses or apartments for longer stays , often get mileage airfares (or upgrades), etc., but like occasional upscale luxuries. Two months in a beautiful two bedroom VRBO rental (@ $3,000/month) in the heart of downtown Charleston cost us about $12,000 all in (including $1,000 in Spoleto festival tickets), but we drove our own car. Six weeks in Argentina, Chile & Uruguay (including a 15 day cruise around Patagonia) also cost us about $12,000, including airfare; and 4 weeks hiking in Switzerland (hotel to hotel), with a week resting on Lake Como and a long weekend in London cost us about $10,000 all in;. Three weeks in Seattle (one week) and Park City skiing (two weeks) cost $5-6,000. But, 10 days skiing in Lech, Austria ran one of us about $6,000 (staying in a wonderful 4 star hotel).

So....in my experience $12,000 is more than enough for a month of quite comfortable travel; and doable for two months, but perhaps a bit tight.

[Moemg]

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Originally Posted by W2R I'll just quietly suggest that for some (not all) it might possibly have something to do with alcohol/wine. Pardon me while I hide over here....

No for most it is about the experience .It doesn't have to be wine it could be a cup of coffee .I really enjoy being in a small cafe with all the locals.

[cathy63]

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Originally Posted by explanade I know food in Scandinavia is expensive but what is Scandinavian cuisine? Heavy on the seafood? But I think Asian fusion is popular up there as well.

Well, I haven't been there yet, so my current knowledge of Scandinavian food comes from the IKEA cafe and the Norway pavilion at Epcot. So rye bread, lingonberry jam, meatballs, open face sandwiches? I'm prepared to learn more.

I do know that there are world famous chefs and restaurants serving modern local cuisine, especially in Copenhagen, but we are definitely not at that level of foodie-ness.