When you think about traveling for 36 days with a toddler, you'd probably be worried about the budget. But for Christian and I who’s used to long-term budget traveling for years before we had our son, it's easier.
Akira, our three-year-old son, grew up during the pandemic and when the health restrictions eased up last year, we went on a 22-day vacation in Boracay on a budget. Somehow, we managed to stick with our budget while splurging a bit when we felt the need to. For our annual vacation this year, we decided to go to Malaysia, Singapore, and some island-provinces in the Philippines for 36 days; aptly calling it, Backpacking With A Kid 2023.
Here are a few tips on how to travel abroad on a budget with a kid.
1. KNOW YOUR PRIORITIES
The bulk of our travel budget when we travel are the airfare costs, lodging, and food. We have subscriptions to major airline promos and usually get our airfare tickets during promo or seat sales. In terms of lodging, we usually get apartment-style accommodation where we could cook our own food and do the laundry. When we decide to eat out, we usually go where locals eat to get legit local food for a good price.
2. GET AN ONLINE TRAVEL INSURANCE
We didn't even think about having travel insurance before having a kid with us. But when we heard horror stories about travel accidents and emergencies concerning families, we didn't think twice about getting one. For this specific trip, we purchased basic travel insurance for COVID-19 coverage and other travel emergencies for less than USD$77 for the three of us. And that's for 36 days of traveling around Southeast Asia. We didn't wish to use it and file for claims but we're confident that we have a safety blanket just in case something happens. We asked around and found that Pacific Cross is the one of the leading companies in travel insurance, so we purchased from them. If you have travel emergencies and you do not have an insurance, you may opt to get a short-term loan and borrow regardless of your credit rating on online sources like Credit Loan. This is a better option than just relying on your credit card for unexpected expenses.
3. PURCHASE CHECK-IN BAGGAGE IN ADVANCE
We travel via low-cost carriers, and by purchasing check-in baggage early, we are ensuring that we don't have to pay exorbitant per-kilogram fees when we exceed the hand-carry baggage limit.
4. BRING US DOLLAR WHEN YOU TRAVEL
Some people argue that withdrawing on ATM is much more economical as compared to bringing your home currency to be exchanged. But for us, since we both have US Dollar deposits in our banks, we usually just withdraw dollars and bring it with us. Besides being more cost effective, it reduces the risk of my card being captured by ATMs or it being stolen. We also bring small currencies and exchange it at the airport, and then go to the city and exchange some more because the rates at the airport are almost always lower than in the city.
5. BUY A LOCAL SIM
One of the first things we do when we arrive in a different country is purchase a local sim. We try to get the best deal on data promos as we use it to locate maps and book e-hailing apps.
6. TREAT EACH DAY AS A NORMAL SPENDING DAY
I dunno how some travelers do it but we always think about how we usually spend money at home and compare it to how we spend when we're traveling. Some would spend as they would on a payday, since it is a holiday, but for us, even if we do not have a strict budget, we always try and spend only as much as we just spend on a regular day back home, especially with food.
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