4 Travel Expenses Retirees Should Avoid in 2025

For many retirees, travel is important. You’ve spent a good portion of your adult lives working, and now, you want to relax and see other parts of the country and world.

Read More: 5 Cities You Need To Consider If You’re Retiring in 2025

Find Out: 10 Airline Rewards Programs That Provide the Most Value for Your Points

However, when you’re retired, staying on budget is crucial so you don’t run out of money. That means if you’re going to be traveling, you must budget for each trip and avoid spending money on things that might not be worth it to you.

Keep reading to find out four travel expenses that retirees should avoid in 2025.

Eating Out

Food is a big part of traveling for many people. It allows you to experience the local culture. Trying different dishes you might not find at home can add a lot of value to a trip. This is especially true if you’re traveling outside the United States. Unfortunately, the cost of eating out at restaurants on vacation can add up quickly.

Before you leave on your trip, budget how much you can reasonably afford to spend throughout the week on food. If you’re staying at an Airbnb, buying groceries is more manageable than staying in a hotel. This way, you could cook breakfast and lunch and then enjoy dinner at a restaurant.

If you’re staying at a hotel, you might need to be a little more creative. If your room has a refrigerator, you can still make yourself breakfast and lunch, but you’ll have limitations. You’ll be able to have milk for cereal and keep meat and cheese for sandwiches, but you won’t be able to prepare bigger meals.

Discover More: 3 Things Retirees Should Sell To Build Their Retirement Savings

Extravagant Excursions

When visiting a new place, you want to experience as much as possible. Sometimes, the only way to see certain things is to book specific excursions.

For example, if you’re in Hawaii and want to go whale-watching, it will be a little challenging to do it from shore. Instead, you’ll need to book a whale-watching tour, during which they will take you to the spots where whales are frequently spotted.

Like your food budget, you’ll want to budget your activities. Instead of freely spending to see or do everything, understand how much you can spend and pick the things that mean the most to you.

Depending on where you’re vacationing, check to see if there is a sightseeing pass like the CityPass. This pass allows you to bundle multiple tourist attractions together for a discounted rate compared to booking them individually, which can help you save a significant amount of money.

Gift Shop Purchases

Most people enjoy bringing souvenirs back for their friends or family. We do this for neighbors when they check on our cats or water the flowers. However, it’s important to plan ahead when purchasing gifts to take home. The last thing you want to do is wait until the last minute and find yourself buying things from the hotel gift shop. Most of these items are significantly more expensive than they should be and usually aren’t locally made.

Instead, think about the gifts you want to bring back ahead of time. If you’re out sightseeing or shopping and come across one of those items, go ahead and buy it. Being proactive about your gifts can help you avoid spending more than you should.

Baggage Fees

If you’re flying somewhere for vacation, you will likely have baggage fees. Depending on the airline, this could be anywhere from $30 to $45 each way per person. If your bag weighs over 50 pounds, the fee can be over $100 each way.

Luckily, these baggage fees can be avoided, helping you save a significant amount of money. One perk of having a co-branded credit card from an airline is free checked bags for yourself and your travel companions.

For example, the Citi/AAdvantage Platinum Select World Elite Mastercard will give you and four travel companions free checked bags. If you’re flying United Airlines, the United Explorer card will give you and one companion a free checked bag.

More From GOBankingRates

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 4 Travel Expenses Retirees Should Avoid in 2025