One of the most frequently asked questions (FAQ’s) when I travel is “what was the budget for this trip ?” And honestly I always have difficulty giving a budget because my budget or expenses might be totally different from yours .
Why so ?
Because travel is about seasons, it’s about individual budget, it’s about either spending time scouting for deals or just paying for the first price listed that pops up your screen.
Take for instance my trip to Zanzibar which I detailed extensively here , I’ve been asked to give a budget for it and I struggle to not because I didn’t spend money but because my budget might not be a true reflection of the situation on the ground.
Let’s talk about the airfare; we used Ethiopian airlines , bought it 2 months prior to our trip and also went incognito mood in order to get the most affordable ticket. We got our ticket for $780 . When I looked it up using normal search the next day , the same ticket was going for $1200! A whole difference of $420!
If you decide to use Kenyan or Qatar airways for personal reasons which are way expensive , definitely my budget wouldn’t be the same as your budget .
For the hotels, again i scouted for deals using TripAdvisor. Our room at Kendwa Rocks Hotel was very close to the seafront , the second most expensive rooms at the hotel. Olivia and I had a budget for our hotel : I don’t do cheap for places I’m staying when I travel because where I sleep is so important to my overall experience and I don’t want to be waking up angry . So our budget was $1400 to $1700 for accommodation only for the duration we intended to stay . I really got a good deal at Kendwa rocks hotel using hotel.com but I didn’t know how good the deal was till I was chatting with Jiji a fellow traveler I met at kendwa and she was telling me how much they paid for their room which’s like the apartment and not anywhere close to the sea like ours . So basically for her room, she paid more than we paid for ours .
We had a whole bungalow to ourselves, the Coral Stone Bungalows stand-alone or in pairs, which offers an intimate escape among lush tropical gardens.
And Jiji and her sister had the economy room which’s their most affordable option but they paid more for it than we paid for ours because 1. We booked way earlier and 2. I looked for deals .
For hotel deals , check agoda.com and hotels.com
So it’s always a dilemma when I’m asked what should be my budget going to this place or that place? A dilemma because a lot of factors come into play as I’ve already stated above with examples.
However, I know having said all this someone is still going to ask me so Abena how much should I have going into Zanzibar?😂
I gave Olivia an estimated budget of $2500 for the entire Zanzibar trip and that was for her alone inclusive of ticket and hotel but also remember we got the ticket and accommodation at a steal and we split expenses so it might not be representative of how much you would need .
Whatever your budget might be : expansive or limited, there’s always a travel plan for you, always ! And ultimately what matters is you went and had fun .
Research research research and curate your experience according to your taste.
Ok so are we ready to go to Zanzibar now ? Do you have a fair idea of what your budget might be ?
