Unplugging: The Best Travel Budget Hack

Summer is for sunshine, warm weather, and getting the heck outta here. Temporarily, of course. The months of June-August represent peak travel season, with many families taking advantage of school breaks to head to more scenic pastures.

Summer vacation sounds wonderful on paper, but it also comes with a not-so-wonderful price tag. With the demand for flights and accommodations increasing substantially starting in June, the supply diminishes and prices go up. Way up. For example, a flight that costs $400 in April might be $800 in July. Hotels in popular tourist destinations increase by 25%-75% during peak travel months. Add on higher fuel costs, and it's a lot. You’ll also find “tourist prices” in other places too: restaurants, souvenir shops, and other businesses in popular travel spots.

The moral of the story? You need a budget.

The cost of a summer vacation

Determining the average cost of a summer vacation in all the places in the world would take more time and ChatGPT prompts than we currently have available. What we can tell you, though, is that the average cost of a one-week vacation in the U.S. can set you back more than $2,000 per person. That's for accommodations, food, entertainment, and local transportation (but not airfare or gas to get to your destination). Traveling internationally? Airfares are up due to rising fuel prices, and you'll need to see how far your dollar will go in the local currency.

You may know the best budget hacks for traveling, from staying in short-term rentals so you can cook some meals in to packing light to avoid costly checked luggage. But what about cutting costs with your phone service?  

How to save money on a mobile connection  

If you’re traveling domestically, this article isn’t for you. Make yourself another coffee, look up just one more YouTube video reviewing all the best food spots in your destination, and maybe find a new deal or discount to redeem to get the money saving rush you were hoping for.  

If you have an international vacation planned this summer, then welcome! This article is for you.  

In your planning, you may have already started looking into international eSIMs, data pass packages from your carrier, or whether your plan already supports international data roaming. The thought of being technologically “stranded” in a new, unfamiliar city where you may not even speak or read the language is daunting, we recognize that. But the bill of a data pass ($12/day for AT&T and Verizon), or data roaming (sometimes a whopping $2.05 per MB charge) is — at least to us — even more terrifying. When you’re traveling, every dollar counts. A dollar spent on keeping your phone service alive could’ve been a dollar spent on a gelato, or a street stand taco that smells like a 5-star Michelin course.  

Now, don’t get us wrong: having a phone while traveling is absolutely essential. Just not in the way you think it is.  

Use your phone on vacation for free

The most important part of any travel is the text back home that reads “landed.” Family and friends want to know you’re safe!

Now comes the matter of how that phone number even connects to send the message in the first place. The best way to stay connected without paying anything for it is through public Wi-Fi. Airports will have free guest Wi-Fi you can use to send a reassuring text, and hotels or Airbnbs will offer the same. You’ll be surprised as to how many cities — especially if they’re popular tourist destinations — even have public Wi-Fi available in core/downtown areas.  

Of course, we wouldn’t just leave you with that. There are other hacks to ease your mind about traveling without a working data connection:  

• Download maps ahead of time. You can download an entire city (or larger area if needed) on Google Maps over Wi-Fi and access it in “offline” mode to navigate without a working internet connection.  
• Download entertainment ahead of time. Same goes for Spotify, YouTube, Netflix, any streaming app – download the songs and videos over Wi-Fi ahead of time to enjoy when you’re offline.  
• Download public transit maps/schedules ahead of time.  
• Write down or screenshot numbers of local taxi services.  
• Write down or screenshot common names, places, and words (how to say “bathroom” in another language may come in handy).

Honestly, the “downloading ahead of time” list can go on. Because your phone isn’t just built for in-real-time information — it’s built to support you wherever you are, with endless options for accessing information where internet is sparse or non-existent so you can get by and still enjoy your vacation IRL.

Remember, travel should be for the IRL experience: the sights, the smells, the experiences, and the memories. You can still scroll through your IG feed – at the hotel, at the end of the day, using their guest Wi-Fi. The precious, limited time that you do have is better spent on building a sandcastle with your kids, climbing 300 steps for a breathtaking city view, or just sitting in an outdoor cafe to have a conversation with your partner or family member.  

So, take a picture, record a video, look up directions, and then promptly put that phone away. Your vacation is waiting.