My tip for keeping souvenir spending down: I like to buy one nice thing from wherever I’m going (a handmade teapot from Japan on the last trip), instead of numerous knick-knacs.

I have a vacation document on Word; it is divided into sections: stuff to do before vacation (e.g. give family your itinerary; return library books); clothes to pack; toiletries to pack; other things to pack; stuff to do when you get back (e.g. pick up mail). While trips vary, you always need certain items: toothbrush, etc.

Definitely carry 1 pair undies, a pair sox and toothbrush (and medications if you use them) in your carry-on bag. I’ve had my bag misplaced several times by the airlines. While most places in the world sell toothbrushes and undies, I like to prewash undies before wearing them, and what if you arrive late when the stores are closed? A toothbrush can be expensive in a hotel gift shop; not all hotels give you free ones.

A fun & expensive souvenir for the folks back home is Xmas ornaments. They are small and there are fun ones. Don’t buy breakable ones, of course. I’ve bought a covered bridge in Vermont, a Pinocchio in Italy, a Beefeater in Britain, etc. Of course you won’t find them in some foreign countries.

There has been a lot of debate here about budget travel vs. luxury travel. Whatever floats your boat. There are all kinds of travel for all kinds of folks.

Study the travel guides for your destination. Note that the different guides are good for different types of travellers. I like LONELY PLANET but that’s my preference.

But I was not talking about just the French. I have traveled all over the world, and local non tourist eateries are always the best. Really and truly. And for the record, Europeans are much more frugal (including the french) than those inthe us, and count their pennies much more. Which is why most true french people eat at the kind of places I am describing, at reasonable, not tourist inflated prices. Look at it this way-if you traveled to washington dc, you’re probably the kind of gal that would go to Odonnel or the Phillips place across from the hotel. whereas I would go to the place where the crabs and seafood came right out of the water, get better food, better wine, better music, and pay a third of the price.

And as for local French eateries, I agree they are a delight. But then again, the French as a whole value the finer things in life over counting the pennies.

Also, I’m unsure why you equate local with Grimy-of course there are many local (read non tourist) restaurants that also whave white tablecloths and silver and cook real food. Although I cannot speak for south America, Europe is filled with small, off the beaten track, class a restaurants with class A food. The same for hotels. The best french food I have ever eaten was not in a five star restaurant in Paris (although I have been there too) but a small local restaurant in Bayeyx with crystal, silver, great food and not a soul who spoke english.

On a sidenote, I wanted to recommend a couple of places for JD’s trip to Europe. I fell in love with the cathedral in Bourges, France. I would highly recommend it if you’re interested. It’s remarkably low-key compared to Notre Dame in Paris. It has relatively few visitors, beautiful and serene.
When I went a few years ago they had a couple of days during the summer where some Loire Valley castles were very cheap or free. I don’t know if it was a one time thing, but I would suggest going to the visitors center of the towns you will be in awhile to get info about attractions. Also, on Bastille Day (July 14) in Paris, at least when I went, many museums had free admission. They also have a big fireworks show at the Eiffel Tower. It’s beautiful, but transportation at that time can be a real pain in the butt.
Hopefully, this helps JD or anyone else planning a trip to France in the near future. You’re gonna have a blast!

And many people don’t even think about clipping coupons here in the US let alone for in a country with a foreign language. Thank you so much for bringing this possibility to light.

My fiancée and I are getting married in 3 weeks in Hawaii (destination wedding – we’re from Canada). We’re then flying on to Australia for a couple of weeks as she is from Sydney.

I have no idea how I’m going to pack my rented tux, summer clothes (for Hawaii), and then semi-winter wear (for Australia) in 1 suitcase, let alone my fiancée trying to pack her wedding dress! We thought about shipping the dress to the hotel before hand, but she doesn’t have the dress yet, and the cost might not be worth it.

As for costs, we usually save a set amount per month for vacation expenses, use travel miles from our credit cards for flights (except taxes), and use a packing list.

The quality maybe varies a bit from city to city, but I found the restaurant recommendations really helped me have some great meals in Prague and Wrocław. Now I always check them them out before I go to a different city.

I’d love some recommendations so I don’t have to try 20 apps before I get a good one!

Instead of charging the foreign currency fee, they use a less favorable exchange rate, so you end up paying the same.

Does anyone know of a card that *truly* doesn’t charge extra for international transactions? I’d love to find one.

Trust me on this one.

However, in Russia, a French man at our hostel stepped on a rusty nail that went through his foot! I had to go with him to the hospital to translate as he spoke no Russian, only French. I spoke very little Russian but I speak Czech and Polish, which are close enough to make myself understood. I just wanted to say that emergencies DO happen.

When we lived in France as children, both my sisters broke their arms! Family visits to Spain involved trips to the ER for third degree sunburns. So especially if you have children, DO NOT skimp on the insurance.

PS- I always travel with one bag- a carry on only- and I’m super stylish. I usually hand wash clothes in the hostel.

My wife and I will be the only crew on the boat. It’s more fun that way. Although we haven’t actually booked it yet, the yacht we rent will probably be something similar to this: http://www.beneteau.com/en/sailboats/produit.aspx?GAM_CODE=1&PRO_CODE=267 which can be handled easily by two people.

If you have no sailing experience and want to take a similar trip you can rent a crewed boat, buy you’ll need a bigger boat (to house the crew), which is more expensive, and you’ll have to pay the crew’s salary (which is again more expensive). You also miss out on the feeling of being captain of a sailing vessel on the open sea, which for me is a big part of the appeal.

People think budgeting is a bad word, which is why I use the spending plan term, when I create our plan for our travel/vacation we don’t skimp on anything but because we plan out our spending we don’t run into the problem of spending more than we planned.

Your trip to Greece sounds delightful, do you have experience sailing? Do you have to hire staff for the boat?

By the way, having visited Athens myself, I recommend only a week or two there. We spent 2.5 days there and that felt like plenty. Almost more than enough. Of course your mileage may vary.

Personally I travel like I live – keeping fixed costs to a “reasonable” minimum to leave money for experiences. I don’t budget because my (and my wife’s) natural frugality is generally more than enough. In fact I do sometimes play tricks on myself (e.g. with my mental model of the currency exchange rate) to get us to spend slightly more freely.

your point about traveling with frugal companions is a great one. going anywhere with people who spend out of your means can really set you up for an expensive vacation.

Are you holding out on any other golden tips??? Spill ‘em!!

Like other people here, my traveling habits have changed over the years, but I still find using a moneybelt handy. Most of my cash, identification, emergency traveler’s checks, (which I was once *really* glad I had) and ATM & credit card go here, with some cash in a more easily-accessed location during the day.

I don’t stick to a strict budget, but write down what I’ve spent at the end of each day and evaluate every so often to see if I need to pare down or if I can afford to splurge a bit.

@Annelise, with all due respect, I disagree that lasting friendships with people met while traveling can’t be had. For me, it’s one of the best parts of traveling. Most are not “superficial, happy-clappy ‘friendships’”…instead, I’ve been hosted (years later) in the home countries of people I’ve met while traveling , and have done the same for them. It’s fantastic to reconnect with old friends and to have an “in” on a place. And in the spirit of this site, it makes economic sense to get to know people when you travel…you never know when having struck up a friendship with someone from Norway or New Zealand or India might come in handy.