Budgeting for Travel

Transportation

Flights

Budgeting for flights that may be 6-12 months away is largely about making a good guess as to what the airfare will be. A rule of thumb to estimate is to look at flights to your destination in 1 week, in 6-8 weeks, and at the time of your trip. Always match the day of the week of arrival and departure to to your actual trip, since airlines frequently base price or schedules on the day of the week. Hipmunk is a really great site to compare the flight schedules and costs of various airlines quickly. Note that although Hipmunk includes prices from third party companies, like Expedia, we must book direct from the airlines via GT's travel agency, Travel Inc.

Your budgeted amount should be a rough average of the three ticket costs above, weighting based upon trends you notice, such as seasonal ticket increases.

Rental Cars

TODO: Ryan Martin

Lodging

Hotels

View the cost of hotels in the area at the time of your trip. The price will gradually increase as the trip gets closer.