Traveling as a Couple

Doya Think they Heard Us?

I was recently asked to answer a few interview questions from Cornelius at MonkeyBrewster.com.

However, I missed the bus.

I feel bad and for that I apologize. I thought it would only be appropriate to create my own blow post and and answer his interview questions here.

In case you missed it. You can read about 11 other Traveling Couples here.

1) AS A DUO WHAT WERE SOME OF THE COST SAVING BENEFITS/EXPERIENCES THAT YOU CAME ACROSS WHILE TRAVELING COMPARED TO A SOLO TRAVELER?

Food, accommodation and car/transportation.

My wife and I have been traveling together for over 11 years. We are Budget Traveler Ninjas. We save on money on buying food at the local grocery stores and seldom dine out or splurge. This saves us a ton of money both while traveling and not.

Naturally accommodation is cheaper for two as you don’t have to get two rooms. This also saves us a lot of money for traveling. The same goes for transportation. Whether it’s a rental car or taking a taxi. It’s always cheaper for two. Not having kids is also saves us a lot of money (obviously).

2) WHAT ARE SOME FINANCIAL SAVING TIPS THAT YOU WOULD SUGGEST FOR A TRAVELING DUO?

One part of this answer closely relates to question 1. We save a lot, and I do mean a lot of money by not eating out very often. Both when traveling and when not traveling.

I was recently in Chicago to catch up with some very close friends of mine. It totally blew my mind how much they were eating out. I don’t mind (and often do) splurge the first couple days at a new destination. It’s a sort of celebration. After that though, we’re back on a shoestring budget.

• No eating out every night.
• No buying beers at the bar every night.

If you want to drink go to the cheapest location such as a grocery store and stock up. Drink from your room or your hostel or wherever it is that you are staying and then hit the bars. That tip alone will save you a fortune!
Shop around for your food. Only buy (if you can) what’s on sale. This is also a great money saving tip for when you are not traveling as well.

3) AS A DUO WHAT WERE SOME EXPERIENCES THAT YOU CAME ACROSS WHILE TRAVELING THAT WERE MORE OF A HINDRANCE OR COSTLY THAN A SOLO TRAVELER MAY EXPERIENCE?

One hindrance that constantly comes up in our travels is hunger. I can go forever without eating. Wifey on the other hand needs to stop and eat all the time.

This drives me insane!

When I wake up I get my coffee on, eat on and then go. I’m done for the day. I want to be out seeing and doing as much as I can. I don’t want to stop. I hate stopping.

Wifey tends to get hungry and needs to be fed.

A lot of times this means we have to stop what we are doing. Actually the whole world has to stop so Wifey can get watered and fed. Which unfortunately for me, that means I have to stop too.

4) WHAT ARE SOME FINANCIAL PITFALLS THAT COULD SERVE AS A WARNING/LESSON TO A TRAVELING DUO?

If you and your spouse/partner enjoy a night out and like drinking, then watch out. This is our biggest pitfall. We have easily blown our budget because we both had a few too many and partied our food money away.

It always makes for a good story though.

5) COMPARED TO A SOLO TRAVELER’S DAILY EXPENSES WOULD YOU SAY THAT YOU DOUBLED THAT TO ACCOUNT FOR BOTH OF YOU, OR DID YOU AVERAGE LESS/ MORE THAN THE DOUBLED RATE FOR A SOLO TRAVELER. IF THE LATTER IS TRUE, WHY?

It’s a hard question to answer and depends on the trip. At times I’m sure we have easily doubled our expenses and maybe even gone over. I can also think of times where it was only around one and a half times (give or take a few dollars) more then just a solo traveler.

Again, for us, it just depends on the trip, the country and the activities at hand.

Special Thanks to Cornelius for the Opportunity to answer a few Questions.

Cheers!

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Cornelius Aesop @(^_^)@
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