Travel Planning Mistakes that Make a Trip Feel More Expensive

Let’s be real. While traveling with kids is 100% worth it, it’s also costs quite a bit more than it does without kids. More people means more expenses. And if you, like me, are traveling with kids on a budget, small mistakes in planning can end up costing more than you’d like.

The problem is rarely one giant, unexpected expense. Instead, it is usually a death by a thousand paper cuts. It’s the cost of transportation to and from your “budget” hotel that’ farther from the fun than you thought. It’s the extra cost of eating at the overly pricy hotel restaurant because you were pressed for time and it was convenient. It is the added price of booking things at the last minute because you didn’t want to miss out.

Travel overspending can be a problem even for experienced travelers, because when we prioritize the lowest price over everything else, we often end up paying for it with our time, our sanity, or by blowing our budget. These are some of the most common mistakes that cause a trip to feel more expensive than it needs to be.

Mistake #1: Choosing Cheap Lodgings outside the City Center

When you are traveling with your family across the globe, the temptation to squeeze every dollar is real. And it usually starts with your biggest expense: Lodgings.

When you see a decent looking hotel with a rate that’s $40 or $50 per night cheaper than anything else on the map, it’s can sometimes be hard to consider why it’s that much cheaper and just hit book. I’ve experienced that firsthand more than a few times. But here is the reality: if you book the cheapest accommodation to save on the nightly rate, more often than not you end up paying a “logistics tax” in the form of rideshare fees and time spent in traffic.

That cheap hotel 45 minutes outside the city center isn’t actually that cheap once you factor in the four daily rides you have to take to get to your activities. And when you finally get back to your room at the end of the day, you’re already exhausted from the commute. And so you end up eating delivery food instead of cooking that budget meal you planned on making to save money.

Often it’s actually cheaper to buy the more expensive room closer in to city center. A nice hotel (like the one you can see here), located in an area where you actually want to spend your time, ends up saving you both time and money. Not only are you not paying $20 in taxi fares every time you want to experience the location you’ve traveled to see, but more central locations often have tastier, more cost effective food options nearby. (Thanks, economies of scale!)

Mistake #2: Traveling too quickly between destinations

There is a massive difference in the value you get out of a new location when you’re fast traveling compared to when you’re slow traveling.

Many travelers want to see as many places as they can with the time that they have, and really who can blame them? But when they try to visit a new city every few days on their trip, constantly jumping from location to location, it quickly loses its appeal.

A day or two is hardly enough time to get settled in a new location, much less enough time to really experience what it has to offer! And, when you’re constantly jumping about, things tend to cost more than they should, as well. Even if you manage to stay under budget for your trip, it can often feel like you got a lot less than what you paid for.

The longer you can spend in a location, the more value you can get from staying there. Longer term stays means better per night prices on stays. It means spacing out your adventures so you have more energy and focus during the actual activities, and it means getting the chance to critically think about which activities match your families goals and which are high ticket items that might be over-rated.

Mistake #3: Doing too much in a short time

This goes hand in hand with traveling too quickly, and it’s a common mistake for travelers to make. Often people want to fill their days to bursting, so they can experience as much as possible! After all, if you have limited time, shouldn’t you fill it?

The problem is that overstuffed days lead to overstimulation, and, ultimately, make your trip less enjoyable and more expensive. A guided tour is great for getting a lot of information about a new place, but it’s also exhausting. If you’re also balancing your kids’ needs in a new location on top of that… your trip isn’t going to feel very fun.

Leaving more space in your days, on the other hand, means spending less money on paid activities, and spending more time exploring your location. Local coffee shops and markets. Relaxing on the beach. Maybe even throwing in an activity like a boardgame cafe or movie. Sure, you can do the same thing at home, but trust me, it will feel different enough to be an experience.

Mistake #4: Eating at Tourist Restaurants instead of Local ones

Surprisingly, food is one of the easiest places to accidentally blow your travel budget.

When you’re exploring a new destination, especially with hungry kids in tow, it’s tempting to sit down at the first restaurant you see near a major attraction. After all, it’s convenient. You’re already there. Everyone’s tired. The menu has pictures.

But in many cases, they can cost more than similar restaurants located a few blocks away off the main street. The problem is, restaurants located directly next to major attractions are more often selling that convenience more than they’re selling the food.

And, let’s be honest, sometimes the tradeoff is worth it. Getting decent food quickly can be worth the extra cost when you don’t know an area already. Especially when the kids are tired, the sun is hot, and you’ve got tickets to a show that starts in an hour. But if these places are the only places you eat, you’ve made a mistake.

If you have the space in your schedule (because you haven’t overbooked), you can save money and improve your overall travel experience by walking a little farther out before choosing where to eat. A restaurant filled with local families is usually a better sign than one with someone standing outside trying to convince tourists to come in.

And the savings can add up surprisingly fast. If a family of four spends even $10 to $15 less per meal by avoiding tourist traps, that’s hundreds of dollars over the course of a longer trip.

Better yet, local restaurants often end up being part of the experience itself. Trying regional specialties, chatting with local business owners, and seeing where and what the locals choose to eat all help to make your trip educational!

Not every meal needs to be an adventure, of course, but choosing local options more often than not can definitely save money and create memories at the same time.

Mistake #5: Visiting an area during a Peak Tourism Season

If you have some flexibility in your travel schedule, avoiding peak travel periods can make a dramatic difference in both cost and overall enjoyment.

The difference between visiting a destination during its busiest season and visiting a few weeks before or after can be staggering. Hotel prices climb. Flights become more expensive. Attractions become crowded. Popular restaurants require reservations. Everything feels just a little more rushed and a little more expensive.

What many travelers don’t realize is that the shoulder seasons often offer the best balance of great weather and manageable costs.

There are places where this doesn’t apply, of course. If you’re heading to a location for a specific event, arriving 2 weeks after it ends doesn’t make a lot of sense. Some places are absolutely worth visiting during their most famous months. But it is definitely a tradeoff.

If you’re choosing between a summer trip that stretches your budget and a spring or autumn trip that gives you a similar experience, but with smaller crowds, the shoulder season delivers more value for every dollar spent.

Conclusion

The chance to travel to new places is incredible, but when you get that chance you definitely want to get the most bang for your buck that you can. Some of these tips help you get more bang. Some help you hold on to your buck. But together, they work to help travel feel worth it.

Avoiding these travel mistakes doesn’t require extensive experience as an expert travel hacker or spending hours hunting for deals. In most cases, it simply means slowing down, planning thoughtfully, and focusing on value rather than trying to grab the lowest possible price.

Because at the end of the day, the goal isn’t to spend the least amount of money possible. It’s to get the most enjoyment, memories, and experiences from the money you do spend.