Tag: Budget Travel

3 Days in Halifax Budget Breakdown

This was one of those ‘OMG THIS FLIGHT DEAL‘ situations.

That is how I ended up booking a solo trip to Halifax, Nova Scotia.

I said a long time ago that if Canadian flights got cheaper, I would see more of Canada. This is my second destination for the year, I went to Vancouver back in May. Success.

Below is a photo of the budget breakdown I keep on my Excel spreadsheet:

Let me start with the crazy good flight deal I got — that I hope I don’t end up regretting.

I booked this trip with Flair Airlines.

I have never flown with them before. They are cheap, but, I’ve heard mixed reviews about their timeliness and cancellations.

Literally have to put a screenshot here to show you how little I paid for this roundtrip, DIRECT flight.

So cost of flight = $97.85 – roundtrip, direct, with a personal item only.

YES. I AM SO SERIOUS.

From Toronto, Ontario to Halifax, Nova Scotia. One of the best flight prices I’ve ever gotten.

This will not only be my first time flying with Flair Airlines, it will also be my first time flying with just a personal item. I figured since it is still warm-ish outside and I’m only there for two nights, my very small backpack will be just fine.

Because I am going alone and wanted to keep this as cheap as possible, I opted for the ‘private room in AirBnB‘ option.

I have done a private room in an AirBnB before in Chicago, Prague and Paris – they were all good experiences, so why not again?

The reviews for the place were perfect, it looks clean and also it is in a good location. I’ve had some message exchanges with the host, she seems lovely as well.

The link for this AirBnB is here, if you’re interested. I will do a full review when I return.

For two nights the cost was $178.48.

I didn’t book any excursions for this as I plan on just gallivanting on my own and eating lots of good food. I budgeted $250.00 for spending money.

Checking out the restaurant costs in Halifax, it doesn’t seem to be as pricy to go out and eat there as it is in Toronto (or was in Vancouver). I don’t intend on really going to party or drink either, so I think the budget will suffice. Will see.

The total budget for this trip is $526.33 Canadian.

Some years ago, you wouldn’t have been able to even get a flight to Halifax for this price. This is one heck of a good budget for a trip to another side of Canada.

See you when I get back……

  • Mirna

4 Days in Bermuda Budget Breakdown

Clearly, after visiting The Bahamas I thought to myself, ‘hmmmm let me find somewhere even more expensive!‘

I am heading to the island of Bermuda this time.

Below is a photo of the budget breakdown I keep on my Excel spreadsheet:

My mom and I booked this flight back in March because we didn’t have a trip together this year and felt it was necessary to escape to a beach.

I thought the price was pretty good? I still can’t believe that this flight is HALF the time it took me to get to Vancouver, in my own country. That makes no sense, but whatever, I’m happy it is a quick trip to a beautiful place.

So cost of flight = $520.00 – roundtrip, direct, with carry-on luggage included.

I’m not even going to get into the cost of places to stay on Bermuda because it can get pretty wild. My mom and I wanted to keep this as cheap as possible, so we can spend money on food and beach instead.

Spoke to a couple of my Bermudian friends to make sure we would choose a decent location that was accessible on the island though.

The area we ended up choosing is called Paget.

My place to stay in New Orleans was pretty basic, and this one looks like it will be too.

It is small, has good reviews, but looks clean and has a nice view of the sunset.

The link for this AirBnB is here, if you’re interested. I will do a full review when I return.

For three nights it was $648.00, so $324.00 per person.

We didn’t book any excursions for this trip. We plan on just spending the entire time checking out the beaches, and maybe eating, if the budget fits things like sustenance. (Can you tell I’m traumatized from the cost of things in Nassau?)

For the spending money I chose $500.00. That is $350.00 USD and I doubt it will be enough for here, but I figured it was a good place to start.

Will report back on if this was even close to being enough when I return. Pray for me.

The total budget for this trip is $1344.00 Canadian for me.

Again, I doubt the spending money will be the actual amount. I expect it to be more. I know I will see some random seafood restaurant and wander in there with no regard for my wallet.

See you when I get back……

  • Mirna

3 Days in New Orleans Budget Breakdown

The level of excited for this trip is out of this world.

I have been waiting forever and ever to go to New Orleans. As much as I love Chicago and it is one of my favourite places on the planet, my American friends tell me that New Orleans may be good competition for that. I finally get to find out. I finally get to eat all the good stuff!

Below is a photo of the budget breakdown I keep on my Excel spreadsheet:

I happened to see this flight deal back in February, and I though it was pretty darn good so I told my boyfriend LETS GOOOOOO. Another bonus was that there was no layover in Atlanta required to get there, because I rather go through four root canals with no painkillers than do that ever again.

What I didn’t know at the time of booking was that this was also Essence weekend in New Orleans? Therefore, I believe I got an exceptional deal for that happening + it being a long weekend in both countries.

Cost of flight with Air Canada = $503.00 roundtrip, per person

With is being Essence Fest weekend, and a long weekend, the cost of stays was pretty high. I still wanted to stay somewhere that would be accessible to the shenanigans though.

We had found one AirBnB but they booked it within two days, I should have acted faster.

There was another one I was able to score. It is very simple, but it had great reviews and checking the address vs. what we wanted to do? Seemed like a good location. I also don’t intend on being inside this place very often, as my time will be spent eating and drinking, possibly getting into some debauchery…..

For two nights it was $341.01, so $170.50 per per person. That works for me.

Here is the link to it, when I return I will give it a full review.

Before I even booked a place to stay, I booked a food tour though!

You can see where my priorities are.

We booked the ‘New Orleans Cocktail and Food History Tour‘ and the cost was $387.56, therefore coming to $192.78 per person.

I am probably MOST excited for this. I can’t wait to try a bunch of food and cocktails.

If you are interested in this tour, click here. I will give a thorough review when we return.

For spending money I went with $500.00 CAD which came to $350.00 USD. I have no idea if this will be too little or too much? With me you just never know if a random trip to a strip club will happen or if I want a bottle at a night club. It’s like Goosebumps, I choose my own adventure.

The total budget for this trip is $1367.28 Canadian for me.

I know that sounds wild for just a weekend away, but, I have a great feeling it will be totally worth it. I hope I don’t get addicted to New Orleans.

See you when I get back!

  • Mirna

3 Days in Vancouver Budget Breakdown

I am finally going to visit BC!

This is very exciting for me and I am here to tell you how much this trip cost me, because sharing is caring.

Below is a photo of the budget breakdown I keep on my Excel spreadsheet:

My best friend and I booked this flight on January 18th and got it for an AMAZING price. I was thrilled because it was with a known airline (WestJet)……. I will be foraying into some of these new budget airlines a little later in the year. Stay tuned.

I think for $253.00 roundtrip, direct, with carry-on included? Great price. I remember when it would be $600+ to fly to Vancouver. This is a steal. So cost of flight = $253.00

The cost of hotels in Vancouver is kind of like Toronto, it is expensive. Fine.

We found a great AirBnB in a super accessible location.

Given how much places to stay (hotel or AirBnB) are in the central Vancouver area, I think we got a decent deal.

For two nights it was $350.00, so $175.00 per person.

I like it because it is two-bedrooms, so we have lots of space and the place has wonderful reviews. Location. Yeah, I am looking forward to this stay.

Here is the link to it, when I return I will give it a full review.

We didn’t book any excursions for this trip because 1) what if we end up hungover? and 2) I had some back issues leading up to the trip, so we didn’t know if I’d be even able to do such physical activities.

For the spending money I chose $300.00. I have no idea if this will be enough or not.

Toronto can be expensive to go out and be a foodie in, so I assume Vancouver will be exactly the same. We both love eating and both love some drinks. Hopefully $300.00 will be enough. Who knows?

The total budget for this trip is $728.00 Canadian for me.

Being that just the flight to Vancouver would almost be this much??? I think I did pretty damn well.

I know I am soooooooooooooooooo excited to see more of Canada for a great price.

See you when I get back.

  • Mirna

5 Days in Jamaica Budget Breakdown

Time to head back to Jamaica yaaaaaaaa.

This will be my fourth time visiting the island and I am amped to get the heck out of Canada. Spent the entire March in Canada, imagine? Booooring.

So here I am to overshare the cost of things I do again!

Below is a photo of the budget breakdown I keep on my Excel spreadsheet:

This trip will likely be all food and all party. The weekend we are in Kingston just so happens to be Carnival weekend in Jamaica.

On my previous trip during Carnival in Jamaica (in 2018), I think I spent much more money. But this time it is literally just about party and food, no other shenanigans. Maybe.

When I went to Jamaica at the end of 2021, we weren’t really able to party much because there was a 10pm curfew on the island. NO CURFEW THIS TIME WE WILL BE OUTSIDE.

First, we booked out flights. We decided to take our chances with Swoop. I hope we don’t regret this decision. The cost of the flight to Montego Bay was $244.00 per person, and the flight home from Kingston was also $244.00 per person. This includes a checked in bag for each person and both flights are direct. We decided to fly into Montego Bay because my boyfriends’ family lives in Port Maria so we will go stop by there before heading to Kingston for the partying. Total for flight = $488.00

I really wanted to stay in the AirBnB I had previously been in Kingston, but it is no longer listed on the site. Bummer. We found another place that was close to some friends that live in Kingston instead.

We needed a two bedroom + two bathroom because one of my boyfriends’ cousins was coming along as well. This place had great reviews and a great location as well.

The cost of 4-nights at this AirBnB is $724.36, so split two ways it was $362.23 per person.

Click here for information about the AirBnB, will give a review when I return!

Aside from just the flight price, this time my boyfriend and I wanted to pay for some extra services. On the last trip when we landed in Montego Bay airport, we had a LONNNNNNNG lineup. We didn’t want to go through that again and I had heard about Club Mobay on TikTok.

Basically for $50USD per person, we get an expedited service when we land in Sangster airport. Someone will be waiting with our name on a sign and we get to bypass the entire line-system and head straight to customs. If this saves us even one hour of waiting, this will be a great investment. I believe you can pay $83USD to do this roundtrip, since clearly most people land and take off from the same airport. Included in this price, you also would have access to their lounge in the airport where they have drinks and food. Score. Love that.

The $50USD was $69.59 per person in Canadian.

Because this is Carnival-time in Jamaica, naturally, we paid for some party tickets ahead.

We chose to go with Duck Work on the Friday and then there is a Yardmas beach party on the Monday.

These parties were on the cheaper end as they are cooler fetes (you bring your own liquor) so it was $40USD per event totaling $112.00 Canadian per person. Not bad, given what I tend to pay for parties abroad.

I totally ball-parked how much money I will need for this trip.

I don’t find Jamaican food to be expensive and the liquor isn’t either. It really comes down to what we do on the Saturday and Sunday nights for partying because I am extra as hell. Whether a strip club or a random VIP section somewhere, anything is possible with me.

I exchanged $500.00 Canadian for $350.00 USD. Have no idea if this will or won’t be enough, only time will tell and so will I, when I return.

The total budget for this trip is $1531.82 Canadian for me.

I feel like that is actually quite a bit of money for just five days? But whatever, I’ll pay it every damn time for taking a trip to Jamaica.

See you when I get back.

  • Mirna