Master the art of travel planning

Caroline Abok satisfies her wanderlust several times a year. So far, she has taken seven international trips, five of which she funded herself from her home in Sweden. With each trip, she has learned how to balance spending money wisely with achieving her travel goals.

Caroline believes that contributing to a designated travel savings account every month makes funding a trip easier. Even without a specific trip in mind, it’s essential to save consistently.

Travel has made her more responsible and respectful towards money. She recommends that women save money from additional income sources and avoid unnecessary expenses.

“Instead of eating out all the time, I saw it as an opportunity to save more money. I want to taste Pakistani pilau in Pakistan and Italian food in Italy,” she says.

Caroline has to travel in her birthday month and takes two or three trips every year.

“I always know that I need to save for three months to travel in my birthday month. Sometimes friends invite me on trips, but I only join them if it doesn’t affect my birthday trip,” she says.

One way to fulfil your travel dreams is to start with domestic travel before venturing abroad.

“If travelling far doesn’t meet my budget at that time, there is always something to do, like hiking and fishing,” she says.

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She advises looking for opportunities to travel, such as participating in international contests, creating travel content and choosing budget-friendly international cities to explore.

Once you have a yearly travel schedule in place, you can decide on a destination and determine your budget. She encourages women to choose destinations that are meaningful to them, and to plan an itinerary detailing the activities they want to do and the places they want to visit.

Many things can ignite a passion for travel, such as culinary adventures, cultural experiences, self-discovery or visiting loved ones, and these will inform your budget.

“Be sure you want this trip. Ask yourself how important this trip is to you and what you want from it,” she says.

Do thorough research on the destination before travelling, such as the cost of hotels, taxi prices, food and transport. If you don’t want to do this yourself, contact a travel agency to help you.

One strategy for enjoying a trip within your budget is to spend money on what matters most to you and cut costs on what doesn’t.

Caro, for example, doesn’t compromise on comfort or safety during flights. Then she eats in ordinary restaurants when she arrives at her destination.

“Some people want to sit and enjoy the views, so spending more money on hotels makes sense. I travel for adventure,” she says.

She advises reducing the number of days if the budget doesn’t allow, and against overspending before a trip.

It is important to travel with a group of friends who share the same leisure and financial values. Having travelled to Turkey and South Africa with friends, she recommends discussing the itinerary and costs at the start of the planning process. She uses Splitwise, an app where they put all their trip funds, to prepare.

“Travelling with friends is much more economical than solo travel. Still, friendships are tested when travelling together, so it’s important to agree on things months in advance. If they want to do activities that we didn’t plan for and that I’m not interested in, they can do them by themselves,  which is fine,” she says.