Record real costs
I separate per-person and group totals, identify historical prices and explain exclusions instead of presenting an artificially low headline.
SM
Founder and author
Supraja Madhavan
Budget traveller based in Edinburgh
I created Smart Budget Traveler to publish trips as they were actually travelled: where we went, what we paid, what we carried and which choices genuinely saved money.
Travel baseEdinburgh, Scotland
Travel stylePractical, value-conscious and public-transport friendly
Special focusFamily and vegetarian travel
Why I started Smart Budget Traveler
Travel budgets often leave out the details that decide whether a trip is genuinely affordable: how many people shared a room, whether food was brought from home, which costs were covered by work, or whether a headline total excludes accommodation. I wanted to document those details clearly.
The itineraries here come from trips completed across the UK, Europe, India, Asia and the United States. They include local Scottish day trips, family travel from Hyderabad, short European breaks from Edinburgh and work-linked travel where company-paid costs are separated from personal spending.
My approach to budget travel
Walk and use public transport
Most itineraries combine walking with buses, trains, ferries or metro systems so the route can be repeated without hiring a car.
Plan food deliberately
As a vegetarian traveller, I document when we carried dry food, cooked in accommodation or bought groceries locally, along with any recorded café or restaurant spending.
Choose paid experiences carefully
I prioritise a small number of attractions that mattered to us and balance them with free viewpoints, neighbourhoods, museums, beaches, trails and public spaces.
Destinations documented first-hand
Published journeys include Edinburgh, St Andrews, Pitlochry, the Isle of Arran, the Lake District, London, Birmingham and Warwick, the Isle of Man, Paris, Coorg, Matheran, Shanghai and Beijing, Seoul and Jeju, New York City, Pittsburgh, Denver and Scotland's NC500.
How the information is checked
I build each article from remembered or recorded trip details supplied during the writing process, then separate confirmed spending from estimates and current prices. Important fares, visa rules, admission information and booking conditions are directed to official providers because they can change after publication.
Where a detail needs correction, the article and associated trip-cost data are updated together. personal photographs may be edited to protect bystander privacy.
Affiliate transparency
Some destination and booking links are affiliate links. If a reader books through an eligible link, Smart Budget Traveler may earn a commission at no extra cost to the reader. Commercial eligibility does not change the historical costs, experiences or recommendations reported in an article.
What I actually use
See the travel products, connectivity options and gear from these tripsThe list is based on items used or recorded during the journeys published on this site.