I think one of the things I’m going to do once I graduate is start a travel fund. I really want to be able to go on a holiday once a year. We get four weeks paid leave a year by law, which is TONS! Having a separate account devoted entirely to travel should be a good motivation, and stops the whole “do I really want to raid my savings” issue.
Notes from the Frugal Trenches also has some really good tips here.
I like the idea of mixing it up and alternating big vacations with smaller ones.
I’m keen to do a Pacific Island, go to Australia, road trip around the South Island, and of course Europe, some of the States/Canada and the Mediterranean. And maybe around Malaysia/Singapore/Hong Kong. Gosh, that’s a lot! Something like Europe we would probably do as an OE, I think, and work our way around. We also want to go on a cruise, which might make a good honeymoon or something.
I haven’t heard of free stopovers before, but I’m keen to find out more! I guess another thing is to travel when no one else wants. Then again, you risk being stuck somewhere where there’s an unstable political situation, a health risk or a terrorist attack. Like all the people who got stuck in Thailand (was it last year or early this year?). And right now the MFA is advising against travel to Fiji. Call me crazy, but I probably would still go anyway! Not to the main island, but there are tons of other ones, the touristy ones. And when me and my mum went to Singapore and Malaysia about 5 years ago, the Sars thing was still winding down and people were paranoid about travelling to Asia. A few people on the plane were wearing the face masks. I found out recently that trip only cost $500 return EACH, including our two nights at the five star Sheraton. And we lived to tell the tale…
