Suggested Travel Budgets for Your Income
- Curry Forest
- May 21, 2024
- 9 min read
Updated: Oct 9
This article is primarily designed to help individuals and couples plan their travel budgets. While the principles apply broadly, families with children will find valuable insights, but should make specific adjustments to the suggested budget numbers to accommodate their unique needs.
This article is part of the Travel Budget Series that starts with "Steps to Take to Plan Your Travel".
Here, I talk about creating a travel budget that aligns with different income levels keeping in mind various factors, such as the duration of the trip and the type of travel.
Here’s a suggested guideline for the number of vacations per year for different income levels ($30K, $60K, $100K, and $250K+), taking into account weekend getaways, domestic travel, international travel, and workations.
These estimates offer a practical framework for planning vacations, helping travelers enjoy experiences without compromising financial stability. They’re not strict rules. Think of them as a way to visualize what’s realistic within different budget ranges. Depending on your priorities, lifestyle, and personal circumstances, you might choose to spend less, travel more, or mix and match trip types to fit your own style.
Income Level / Budget Capacity | Net Annual Travel Budget (5–10%) | Weekend Getaways (Per Year) | Domestic Travel (3–5 Days) | Int'l Travel (7–10 Days) | Longer Int’l Travel (2 Weeks) | Workations (1 Month) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
$1500 – $3000 | 2–3 × ($200–$500) | 1–2 × ($600–$1500) | 0–1 × ($1500–$3000) | 0–1 × ($3000–$5000) | Very Challenging 0-1 x ($3600–$5100) | |
$3000 – $6000 | 3–4 × ($600–$1200) | 1–3 × ($900–$1800) | 1–2 × ($3000–$6000) | 0–1 × ($5000–$7500) | 0–1 × ($6500–$9000) | |
$5000 – $10000 | 4–5 × ($1600–$3000) | 2–3 × ($1600–$4000) | 1–2 × ($5000–$8000) | 1–2 × ($7500–$12000) | 0–1 × ($10000–$13000) | |
$250K+ | $12500 – $25000+ | 5–6 × ($3500–$7000) | 3–4 × ($2500–$6000) | 2–3 × ($8000–$15000) | 1–2 × ($14000–$21000) | 1–2 × ($16000–$25000) |
Note: You'll notice we've done our best to make these numbers round and readable. For the truly detail-oriented among you, yes, we've rounded a bit to keep things simple – consider it a vacation from precise calculations!
How to Read These Numbers: Personas, Not Paychecks: Think of these categories less like tax brackets and more like travel personas. The $30K tier, for instance, might represent the Budget Explorer, someone who values experiences over luxury and travels resourcefully. The $60K tier could be the Resourceful Traveler, who maximizes travel opportunities by finding creative deals, alternative accommodations, and flexible itineraries, making every dollar go further without sacrificing unique experiences.
The $100K tier fits the Balanced Traveler, who mixes comfort with practicality, while the $250K+ tier reflects the Frequent Voyager, who values convenience and can splurge for time and comfort. Your own habits might place you between tiers. For example, a $60K earner who travels like a minimalist may fit comfortably within the $30K numbers, while someone frugal at $100K might still use the $60K guide. Many travelers mix and match trip types, take alternate-year vacations, or combine personal and work travel to stay within their financial comfort zone. The goal isn’t to match your income exactly, but to find the budget pattern that feels natural for your lifestyle.
Now that we’ve introduced the personas, let’s explore what a year of trips might realistically look like for each, from weekend getaways to domestic or international adventures.
$30K Net Annual Income or Budget Explorer
Annual travel budget: 5-10% of income ($1500 - $3000)
Weekend Getaways: 2-3 per year ($200 - $500 each)
Breakdown: $40 - $60 per day for accommodation, $40 - $60 for transportation, $20 - $40 per day for meals and activities.
Domestic Travel (3-5 days): 1-2 per year ($600 - $1500 each) Breakdown: $80 - $150 per day for accommodation, $150 - $300 for transportation (total trip cost), $60 - $90 per day for meals and activities.
International Travel (7-10 days): 0-1 per year ($1500 - $3000 each)
Breakdown: $70 - $100 per day for accommodation, $500 - $1000 for transportation, $70 - $100 per day for meals and activities.
Longer International Travel (2 weeks): 0-1 per year ($3000 - $5000 each)
Breakdown: $75 - $150 per day for accommodation, $750 - $1500 for transportation, $75 - $100 per day for meals and activities.
Workations (1 month): Very challenging, given the budget constraints
Budget: $3600 - $5100
Breakdown: $60 - $80 per day for accommodation, $600 - $1200 for transportation, $40 - $50 per day for meals and activities.
$60K Net Annual Income or Resourceful Traveler
Annual travel budget: 5-10% of income ($3000 - $6000)
Weekend Getaways: 3-4 per year ($600 - $1200 each)
Breakdown: $70 - $110 per day for accommodation, $70 - $110 for transportation, $60 - $80 per day for meals and activities.
Domestic Travel (3-5 days): 1-3 per year ($900 - $1800 each)
Breakdown: $150 - $180 per day for accommodation, $200 - $300 for transportation, $80 - $100 per day for meals and activities.
International Travel (7-10 days): 1-2 per year ($3000 - $6000 each)
Breakdown: $180 - $250 per day for accommodation, $1000 - $1500 for transportation, $120 - $180 per day for meals and activities.
Longer International Travel (2 weeks): 0-1 per year ($5000 - $7500 each)
Breakdown: $150 - $250 per day for accommodation, $1,500 - $2,000 for transportation, $100 - $150 per day for meals and activities.
Workations (1 month): 0-1 per year ($6500 - $9000 each)
Breakdown: $120 - $160 per day for accommodation, $1200 - $2000 for transportation, $60 - $80 per day for meals and activities.
$100K Net Annual Income or Balanced Traveler
Annual travel budget: 5-10% of income ($5000 - $10000)
Weekend Getaways: 4-5 per year ($1600 - $3000 each)
Breakdown: $150 - $200 per day for accommodation, $150 - $200 for transportation, $100 - $150 for meals and activities.
Domestic Travel (3-5 days): 2-3 per year ($1600 - $4000 each)
Breakdown: $250 - $400 per day for accommodation, $300 - $500 for transportation, $200 - $300 per day for meals and activities.
International Travel (7-10 days): 1-2 per year ($5000 - $8000 each)
Breakdown: $300 - $350 per day for accommodation, $1500 - $2000 for transportation, $200 - $220 per day for meals and activities.
Longer International Travel (2 weeks): 1-2 per year ($7500 - $12000 each)
Breakdown: $250 - $350 per day for accommodation, $2000 - $2500 for transportation, $150 - $200 per day for meals and activities.
Workations (1 month): 0-1 per year ($10000 - $13000 each) Breakdown: $180 - $230 per day for accommodation, $1800 - $2500 for transportation, $90 - $110 per day for meals and activities.
$250K+ Net Annual Income or Frequent Voyager.
Annual travel budget: 5-10% of income ($12500 - $25000+)
Weekend Getaways: 5-6 per year ($3500 - $7000 each)
$250 - $400 per day for accommodation, $250 - $400 for transportation, $200 - $300 for meals and activities.
Domestic Travel (3-5 days): 3-4 per year ($2500 - $6000 each)
Breakdown: $400 - $600 per day for accommodation, $500 - $1000 for transportation, $250 - $400 per day for meals and activities.
International Travel (7-10 days): 2-3 per year ($8000 - $15000 each)
Breakdown: $500 - $700 per day for accommodation, $2000 - $3000 for transportation, $350 - $500 per day for meals and activities.
Longer International Travel (2 weeks): 1-2 per year ($14000 - $21000 each)
Breakdown: $500 - $700 per day for accommodation, $2500 - $4000 for transportation, $300 - $500 per day for meals and activities.
Workations (1 month): 1-2 per year ($15000 - $25000 each)
Breakdown: $300 - $500 per day for accommodation, $2000 - $2500 for transportation, $150 - $250 per day for meals and activities.
Factors That Influence Your Travel Budget
Several important factors can affect how much you might realistically spend on travel, even if your income is similar to others’. For example, regional cost of living plays a big role – someone living in a rural area with lower expenses often has more disposable income for travel than someone earning the same salary in a major city with higher living costs. Personal priorities also matter: some travelers place a higher value on experiences and might choose to dedicate a larger portion of their budget to trips, making sacrifices elsewhere. Lastly, your travel style has a huge impact: budget travelers can stretch their funds much further by opting for affordable accommodations and activities, while those who prefer luxury will naturally see higher costs. For families with children, it's particularly important to factor in additional expenses for things like larger accommodations, extra meals, child-specific activities, and potentially more direct or convenient transportation options. Understanding these nuances helps you tailor your travel plans in a way that fits your unique situation.
While this guide primarily discusses travel budgets as a percentage of your net annual income, a more comprehensive approach involves considering your overall net worth and complete annual budget. Looking at your net worth, which accounts for all your assets (like investments and savings) minus your liabilities (like mortgages and other debts), gives you a clearer picture of your financial health. Similarly, a detailed annual budget that encompasses all income streams and expenses, not just travel, allows for more precise allocation of funds. This holistic view ensures that your travel spending aligns with your broader financial goals, investment strategies, and debt management plans, providing a more robust foundation for sustainable travel.
While considering your net worth and overall financial picture offers the most comprehensive view, this guide primarily focuses on net annual income for practical reasons. For most individuals, net income is the most accessible and direct figure to use when calculating and allocating funds for discretionary spending like travel, simplifying the budgeting process.
Balancing Your Travel Choices
It’s important to remember that the suggested number of trips is a flexible guideline, not a strict checklist. You don’t have to do every type of vacation each year, instead, consider prioritizing the trips that matter most to you. For example, you might choose to take fewer weekend getaways in order to save for a longer international vacation, or mix and match trip types based on your personal preferences, time availability, and financial goals. This approach allows you to tailor your travel plans in a way that feels both enjoyable and sustainable.
Variation in International Travel Costs
It’s also important to recognize that travel costs can vary widely depending on your destination and travel style. A budget-friendly trip to nearby countries like Mexico or Canada will look very different from a luxury vacation to Europe or Asia, where accommodation, transportation, and daily expenses can be significantly higher. When planning your travel budget, consider not just the number of trips but also where and how you want to travel, as these choices have a major impact on your overall costs.
Understanding Workations
A “workation” combines work and vacation, allowing you to work remotely while staying in a new location for an extended period, typically a month or more. Unlike traditional leisure travel, workations blend productivity with relaxation, often requiring reliable internet, a comfortable workspace, and the flexibility to balance work hours with exploration and downtime. Because workations usually involve longer stays and potentially higher costs for accommodation and workspace needs, they may be less feasible for those with lower incomes or more rigid work arrangements. However, for those who can manage it, workations offer a unique way to experience new places without taking extended time off.
For those interested in combining work and travel but concerned about costs, check out our article on seasonal jobs that include accommodation, an excellent way to reduce expenses and explore new places on a budget
Adapting Your Travel Budget for Families with Children
The suggested travel budgets and trip frequencies in this article are designed primarily for individuals or couples. If you are a family with children, the overall costs for each vacation type will likely be significantly higher due to increased needs for space, food, and activities.
When reviewing the suggested annual travel budgets and the cost ranges for Weekend Getaways, Domestic Travel, and International Travel, families should consider that their actual expenditures within these categories will exceed the estimates provided.
Higher Overall Costs: For any given trip type, a family will generally spend more on accommodation (needing larger rooms or multiple rooms), transportation (more plane tickets, larger vehicles), and daily expenses (more meals, snacks, and child-specific activities/admissions). This means that a family in the $60K income bracket, for example, might find their actual travel costs for a "Domestic Travel (3-5 days)" trip resembling the higher end of the $100K income bracket's suggested budget ($1500 - $2500, rather than $1000 - $1500).
Impact on Frequency: Due to these increased per-trip costs, a family might need to take fewer trips per year than the suggested frequencies for their income level, or dedicate a larger percentage of their annual income to travel to meet their desired travel frequency.
Re-evaluating Income Tiers: A family might find it helpful to look at the budget suggestions for the next income tier up from their actual income level as a more realistic starting point for their travel planning. For example, a family with a $60K net annual income might find the "Suggested Travel Budgets" for the $100K income level to be more reflective of their actual family travel expenses for similar types of trips.
By understanding that family travel inherently increases the overall budget requirements for each vacation type, you can use these guidelines to make more realistic and effective financial plans for your family's adventures.
Disclaimers
The budget suggestions (and expense categories) in this article have many limitations and may or may not apply to your specific financial situation, individual circumstances, and travel budget. Moreover, actual costs can vary significantly based on destination, travel style, and personal preferences and comfort levels. Additionally, the income tiers presented are somewhat broad – there is a significant gap, for example, between $60K and $100K, and individual circumstances within these ranges can vary greatly.
It is important to keep track of economic factors such as inflation, currency fluctuations, etc.
If you plan to combine personal and business travel, ensure you are aware of tax implications and company policies regarding expense reimbursements.
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Disclaimer: This article provides general travel budgeting guidelines for educational purposes and is not personalized financial or professional advice. Actual costs, income, and travel needs vary widely by individual circumstances, destination, and style. Use this information as a starting point and adjust based on your situation. For tailored guidance, consult a qualified financial advisor.
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