As a frequent traveler, I am well familiar with the pre-departure expenses that one often incurs before they even make it on the flight. I have been traveling solo for over 6+ years and in those years, I have managed to incur thousands on thousands of pounds on just pre-departure expenses alone. Often when we are planning vacations, we focus on the big ticket items like the flight, the accommodation, local transportation, food, and the like. More often than not, we forget about the pre-departure expenses that we incur weeks and months in advance of the trips themselves.
Travel is a privilege, this is something I hear all the time and I agree with the sentiment because not everyone can afford to travel. But, with that being said, I am writing this post from the point of view that you are able to travel and will need to know this information when planning your next adventure whether it’s your first solo trip, family trip, or a group trip. Whether you are an avid traveler or you are just starting out and need tips on how to navigate travel expenses that you might not have considered in your planning process.
The Pre-Departure Expenses
Recently, I was looking over my travel budget for the Maldives trip that I went in back in 2021 and I found myself smiling because that trip is one of my most memorable trips ever. But what caught my attention and the reason for this post is, ‘the pre-departure expenses’ list that I had written down in my travel plans book. For those who don’t know, I keep meticulous records of everything financial in my life and that includes writing down how much I spent and where I spent it.
The aim of this post is to act as a reminder to all travelers not to forget about the pre-departure expenses that we often forget about when planning trips. Some of the tips in this post might be ‘common sense’ to most of you but I am hoping, one or two things in this post will be helpful to you on your next adventure. I personally know that there are times when I forget certain things even though I am considered an experienced traveler, there is always something new to learn.
Parking or Public Transportation?
Unless you are being driven to and from the airport, you often have to budget for this expense in one way or another. Heathrow is the closest airport to me and I have great links to it through the trains or buses, more often than not, I choose to drive to the airport. Depending on how early I book the airport parking and what type of parking, I often spend between £60-£200 on parking alone. This is not a small cost, when traveling with someone then it’s affordable as you can split the cost, when traveling for work it’s fine because it’s not my pocket. But when traveling alone, which is 90% of the time, it’s a lot. But before I choose to drive, I do my own calculations, trains vs buses then square root it all with ‘convenience’ because if there is one thing I dislike after a 5+ hour flight is ‘waiting’ on local buses and trains.
Self-care and Pre-Travel Shopping
For as long as I have been solo traveling, I have spent money on some sort of ‘self-care’ before going on any trip. For my most recent girls’ trip abroad, I got my nails and toes done and I even got my hair done, this all cost me a pretty penny. To get the nails done, I paid around £75 (which is the usual), and my hair was about £50. Now everyone knows that before you go on a trip, you need to buy an outfit or two for the trip, I recently picked up swimwear because what I own is at least 8+ years old (and still kicking).
Visas and Vaccinations
Depending on your passport, you may or may not need to think about the cost of visas to travel abroad. For most Western countries, visas are either not required or paid on arrival which is always nice because I remember days when we had to apply for the Schengen visa and it was ~ £50 per country. Obviously, with Brexit, we might be seeing some visa fees for British citizens but I don’t think it will be as expensive as Schengen visas.
If the last couple of years have taught us anything, it’s that, we should always be prepared and pay attention to the requirements of each country that we wish to visit. During the Rona days, many countries required that you are vaccinated before you can be allowed entry. There were many similar stipulations before the days of Rona like ensuring you have your yellow fever vaccinations and the like. The difference is that pre-Rona, the costs were not as extortionate as post-Rona days.
Duty-Free – the biggest scam
For almost 5 years, I had a rule of only purchasing mine and my mother’s favorite perfumes at the airport and never in the local drug or perfume shops because ‘duty-free’ is meant to be cheaper. That’s the biggest scam ever, often, buying anything at the airport is costly regardless of whether it’s tax-free or not. In the last few years, I have made every effort to only buy ‘essential’ things that I absolutely need at the airport and spend the majority of my time seating in the airport lounge so that I am not tempted to buy things that I don’t even need.
Whenever I am planning a trip, whether abroad or a staycation, I always think about the pre-departure expenses that I know I will incur. For staycations, these might be fuel for the car instead of just airport parking, public transport, and also ‘personal care’ because we all want to look fabulous for our trips, and why not? But remember, all these costs need to be factored in when you are planning your next adventure.
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