When I graduated from college 10 years ago, I took off to travel the world for a year on my own. I was young, the best of life was still to come, and I really wanted to do it… on a shoestring budget. So when I saw other people traveling around as a couple, I often wondered if it would be cheaper to have a travel companion. That is NOT the reason why I have a boyfriend now, but since we met, we have traveled extensively.
We took a motorcycle trip from Guatemala to the US for 9 months, traveled around Europe for 5 months and then 2 months, and have enjoyed a lot of smaller trips around Guatemala.
Now that I can compare the two, let’s look at expenses from solo travel and compare with traveling as a pair.
Yes
Save on accommodation. We normally rent rooms on Airbnb or find basic hotels. A single room is rarely half the price of a double room. More like 20% off, sometimes there are no discounts at all, like in France’s budget hotel chain F1, the room rate is the same for 1 to 3 people. Based on that, we saved about half price on accommodation on our last trip, compared to traveling alone.
When I traveled along, I camped some nights but rarely had the courage to pitch my tent in the middle of nowhere. I would ask families if they mind me camping on their land, and would camp once in a while. With BF by my side, we would camp anywhere.
One item, two users. If there are two of you, you only need one camera. We only used one motorcycle and rode two up. And so on. We could even go on one toothbrush. Many items can be shared, so you pack lighter (and pay less baggage fees) and save on the item itself too.
Save on food. If you go to a restaurant, you can share a main and each have a desert, or if you are on a picnic, chances are you won’t waste as much food as if you are on your own. Solo me would often throw food because there is only so much I can eat, especially if you are on the go and don’t have a fridge in your hostel.
NO
Do it all together. If I want to see this and he wants to see that, we have two options, go our separate ways for the day, or see both things together. Meaning an extra expense for each of us, as on our own we would only had gone to one place.
Do more “touristy” stuff. Getting your portrait from a sketch artist in Paris, riding a gondola in Venice… it feels lonely to do it on your own, but as a couple, you want to get what people sell you as the whole “(insert place’s name) experience”. While you would be happy reading in bed alone, as a pair, you want to go out, have a nice diner, buy a souvenir, and make it memorable.
Less stranger kindness. When you travel on your own, you are rarely alone. And people will give you rides, food, a bed… they will point you to the best value hotel, recommend their favorite restaurant. When you travel as a pair you are a bit closed to the world. Getting a person to host you on Couchsurfing is really difficult, people won’t come and randomly talk to you if you are already you own social unit.
Spend more on food. While the above is true, and you can save on food, you will also want to make your meals a special moment of the day, a time to sit together and share your impressions. When we started talking for hours, it was tempting to order another beer or more food, and generally speaking, we would sit more often in a restaurant instead of just buying food on the street because when there are two of you, it is nicer than sitting alone in a restaurant.
BF is a princess. I often joke about it, BF is used to the good life. When we were in the US, we would camp for two nights, then spend one night in a motel. It was ok for him as the motel always had private bath and was pretty comfortable. In Europe, he couldn’t get used to the small rooms, and the shared bathrooms. So I often had to upgrade to a more luxurious room.
He can’t go more than a day without a steak meal, even a picnic of ham and sausages is not considered “eating meat” in his book. I could last for days on bread and cheese.
We rode my bike instead of traveling by public transportation like I did during my student years. When there was no bike in Europe, I bought one. It is now gathering dust in my mum’s parking, although I rented it out this summer and made a little profit.
Have you traveled with someone else? Was that cheaper on more expensive than on your own?
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Excellent points, not only it’ll save you money but it also save you time and planning,
you could split tasks, responsibilities and preparations.
haha try planning a surprise trip for your girlfriend on your own and you’ll see the difference.)
it’s a definite yes!
I planned a few surprise trips but it was mostly just renting a car and booking a hotel, then on the day we’d do whatever activity we’d fancy. If you plan the whole thing, sure, being two and splitting tasks is much better.
I travel with Greg a lot and he’s a pretty cheap date =) He’s just happy to be going somewhere (anywhere!) What gets expensive is taking the kids along =/
I saw many hotels with family rooms where the kids sleep and eat breakfast for free. Novotel is one such chain with kids under 12. And they accept miles 🙂
I don’t think I would travel alone (like going to the movies!) – I would be bored to death! Traveling together can have its advantageous!
I traveled alone for a year and it is incredible how easy you meet people and share a meal or a few days on the road. Every hostel is packed with solo travelers, people in the streets will start talking to you and helping you if you’re lost, etc. Whereas as a couple no one approaches you if you don’t approach them. Sure, sometimes you get to a beautiful site and you want to turn around and share your emotions with someone but most of the time you find people to go with you.
My hubby and I are pretty good travel companions- we can usually agree on something to do together when we travel, so we don’t often split up. I definitely think it’s cheaper traveling as a couple in comparison to solo- the overall cost might be more (more food, etc), but per person it is cheaper.
You’re probably right, just saving half on your hotel room is a huge bargain.
I actually have never traveled completely alone so I can’t speak to that, but travelling with my wife seemed to save money because we could split the cost of hotels which were one of the bigger expenses. You raise a good point, though, that when you travel with one other person (or a few others) you end up having to agree on what you are going to do for the day versus doing whatever you want.
Two people can agree pretty easily but when you’re a group it’s hard to please everyone and you often end up going to places you wouldn’t on your own.
I think in the end it’s probably more expensive to travel as a couple, at least for us. I think your point about wanting to make things special is a good one and is the real reason why. I’d probably sacrifice on more things if it was just me, but when it’s me and my wife we’ll probably spend a little bit more for the “experience”. Not saying it’s logical, just the way it is.
It makes perfect sense, when I go for diner as a couple and see people eating alone I find it quite sad, I’d rather have a sandwich at my hotel if I am alone.
Traveling 2-up takes a special person for a long period of time. My old lady and I can do it for a weekend, but if we were to go longer it would be a problem. Some of that is probably because my bike is not really for touring and some of it is boredom for her having to always be on the back because I am terrible at riding back there.
I can save a ton of money traveling on my own because I am not afraid to sleep in my car in a Wal Mart parking lot (which is 100% cool with them as long as you are a customer and gun is pretty cheap). My wife is not cool with that, but she isn’t opposed to economical accommodations.
I don’t get bored at the back of the bike as I just enjoy the scenery much more than when I drive and I would be very stressed to take someone in the back (never have, I only ride alone or in the back).
Haven’t done the Walmart parking yet haha, I’d be cool with it although I prefer to pitch my tent in the middle of nowhere than having customers passing by the car and checking inside all the time. I thought you were carrying a gun… guess you meant gum!
Freudian typo! Must be all that talk about Walmart getting me all excited to buy a gun! That or the n and the m are next to each other, but I think the Walmart excuse is sillier.
Our joint travels don’t usually save too much as we tend to have different splurges. I like a decent bed to sleep in at night but would be happy going everywhere on foot, and he likes to rent a car and increase the radius of where he is able to go.
I am more about the experience than the sleeping quarters. I looked into campers for this trip, there were offers from $30 a night but if you go far the gas may be a lot. Still a great deal to have a bed and a car!
My wife and I are pretty much always together when we travel, but right now she is in Peru/Bolivia on her own. I’ve found that she does a bit better on her own, from a financial perspective, than if I were with her, with the one exception being lodging.
I traveled alone around Peru and remember single rooms being around 60% of the price of a double. Guatemala is pretty similar, sometimes they even charge by person so you can get a great double at half price. In the U.S. I find the single rates to generally be around 80-90% that of a double, or even the same for many chain hotels.
In absolute dollars solo is a little cheaper, but per person going double has always worked out cheaper for us. In our experience lodging and gas are always the biggest expenses, and those obviously work in your advantage if you do it as a couple. Best is two couples, when gas gets even cheaper and the variety and company make the trip even better.
I don’t do very well with too many people, two is the perfect number for me. Having to wait for a group instead of going at my pace, I’d rather just share diner or one activity a day and then split. You are right about gas, I used to rely on public transportation a lot but if you go by car the more the cheaper.
I’ve found that just about everything is cheaper when done as a couple. Even with the added expense of wanting to have a few nicer meals, the major expenses (with the exception of airfare) can all be split.
True. But that is assuming you would go to the same kind of hotels and rent the same kind of car alone or with another person. I’d camp more or go to cheaper hotels and take the bus more often so I’m not sure.
I have generally traveled on my own and as a hobo when I did! Aka, I had a pretty small budget. I stayed in the biggest dorm rooms I could find, so traveling with someone else is a lot more expensive, as now we pay for private rooms. We haven’t yet been anywhere that hostels would be an option, but it is going to take some effort to get my spouse to consider them at all! I love them for the social aspect.
I also agree with what you said about doing the activities and the food.
I haven’t really done much solo traveling beyond work trips, which really aren’t
“fun” and you’re also really not alone! But I can definitely see where you save money on both sides. Now days, with the girls, it’s more expensive but they are now big enough where we can also do more exploring without worry about nap time. 🙂
2 can live cheaper than 1 so I am guessing that 2 can travel cheaper than 1.
You mentioned spending more on food but you might be more inclined to eat sandwiches in your hotel room with a mate instead of going out so you don’t feel stuck all by yourself. I know of couples that split an appetizer, entree and dessert at a restaurant to experience the cuisine without the hit to the pocket book.
I don’t think I’ve ever traveled alone really now that you mention it. Hubby and I very often share food when we are out at restaurants.. not that we order less food, we just like to try more than one dish 🙂
“BF is a princess.” Awesome. I’m sure he’ll love reading that. 🙂 I love traveling alone AND with others, because they’re such completely different experiences. I especially like being alone when I’m at a place like Disney because I want to do “what I want to do” and don’t have to split. But when we were in Paris (or this upcoming year in Italy), I was very happy to have someone with me sharing the new experiences. For us, it’s nearly always less expensive per person with two.
Interesting. I’ve always thought traveling as a couple is cheaper, but you’re right, there are additional expenses too. For example, we’re more likely to book a private room rather than a dorm. And I definitely wonder if I’m missing out on meeting kind strangers sometimes, but having the support system to avoid ending up needing a stranger’s kindness is a good thing too, I guess.
2 up is the only way to ride 🙂
haha yes it’s pretty neat, I don’t like to take passengers if I am riding though. But I’ll be a passenger any time!
Traveling is passion for my wife so many time i have to be along with her that is really interesting but we never try a bike trip , always used air fair to save time . I know that i had spent lot of bucks for it but i use some tips to save money while traveling like pre-booking, online comparing , flexibility and so on .
That’s for sure, if you plan ahead there are great airfare bargains. The cost of a car rental is more expensive if there are just two of you but with a bike, it is about the same as two bus tickets.
It’s always better to do things in pairs