How to Plan a Fun-Filled Vacation in 5 Steps

Do you find planning vacations as stressful as it is exciting? The thought of booking flights, hotels, and excursions during peak season can leave anyone dazed.  And, let’s face it - vacationing is extremely expensive these days, and the costs will only continue to rise. But that doesn’t mean you can’t take time off work and explore new places. You just have to be smart about how you do it. A little bit of preparation can go a long way when trying to save money for a vacation and ensure your vacation is stress-free. 

To make things easier, here's a 5-step plan to help you organize your next vacation from start to finish:

Step 1: Decide on a destination.

When deciding on a destination, there are various factors to consider. First of all, you should consider the climate as well as your interests. For example, if you’re going on a family vacation, you may want to consider a destination that offers activities suitable for kids and adults.   Additionally, you should view the event calendar of the goal as well. For example, suppose you’re visiting during a season where significant festivals or events occur. In that case, you may want to consider vacationing during cheaper months as it could raise the cost of your vacation.

Step 2: Estimate how much you can spend

Before booking hotels and flights, you need to estimate how much you are willing to spend. This way, you can avoid booking the most expensive flight or room simply because it’s convenient or available. Also, if you’re traveling with a group, you should all sit down and decide on a budget together. This will help avoid conflicts and disagreements when booking.

Step 3: Find the best travel deals

Now that you’ve decided on a destination and have a general budget, you can start looking for travel deals. There are a variety of websites that offer travel deals and discounts for flights, hotels, and excursions. These websites have tie-ups with travel agents that provide exclusive deals to their customers. You can also visit the websites of airlines and hotels to see if they offer any discounts. It’s also a good idea to subscribe to travel newsletters to be among the first to know about special offers and deals.

Step 4: Book your flights and accommodation

Once you’ve found the perfect flight and hotel deals, you can book them. It’s a good idea to book your flight tickets as soon as you find a good deal as seats get reserved quickly. The same applies to booking hotels and excursions. The earlier you book, the more likely you will get the best rates.

Step 5: Plan your excursions and activities

Plenty of online resources help you plan your itinerary and discover local attractions. You can find information on the best times to visit places, as well as information on festivals and events taking place. You should ensure everyone on your trip is satisfied with the activity plans and make compromises if not.  For example, if you’re traveling with your children and you want a relaxing holiday, but they want something interactive and stimulating, you could consider planning for a day at this interactive aquarium in Virginia.  In a setting like this, you can relax and watch while your children enjoy the more interactive side of things.  Or, you could plan a day doing activities that you are interested in and another day for people in your group with different interests.

Conclusion

These five steps will help you organize your next vacation from start to finish so you can enjoy every moment. If you follow these tips, you’ll be able to save money, avoid last-minute stress and have a vacation you will remember for years to come.

5 Reasons To Travel Alone

Traveling with a group of people, especially a group of friends or family, can be exactly what you want out of a trip - it's great to be able to share adventures with the people you love. However, if you ask any seasoned traveler if they think it's worth it to venture out on their own every once in a while, they'll almost unanimously say yes.

Photo credit

There are numerous reasons why going it alone on a trip is the ideal option if you want to see the world and all it has to offer. There are many benefits to taking a solo trip at least once, and you can read a few of them below.

You Don’t Have To Be Right

Sometimes when you're traveling with others, you don't want to attempt something new for fear of disappointing them or making them feel uncomfortable. So you could end up missing out on some truly remarkable opportunities. When you're by alone, it doesn't matter if you pick the wrong activity for the day; no one has to know that the museum you thought looked wonderful was only half open or that the speedboat excursion you went on only lasted 10 minutes. If you fail at something, rather than beating yourself up about it, you can take what you learned and try again another time.

Change Your Plans 

When traveling with a large group, it's helpful to have a detailed plan outlining each day's activities and any necessary gatherings, such as times and locations. The process of making adjustments to such plans can be uncomfortable and time-consuming, especially if not everyone involved is on board with the new direction. There's a chance it may even spark an argument.

If you're going on a trip by yourself, you can easily adjust your itinerary to suit your needs and interests. If you decide to abandon your original plans for the day, no one will object or get into an argument with you about it. Your vacation experience will be much enhanced by the freedom of choice you have.

Focus More 

One of the advantages of solo travel is that there are fewer people around to distract you. Since you won't be in constant conversation with anyone, you'll be able to pay much closer attention to and fully absorb your environment. This is one of the best reasons to go on a solo trip since it enriches the experience and makes it more memorable.

If you want to share your trip with people, make sure you take some photos and videos (although not so many that it distracts you from what you’re doing). Store everyone on a laptop after you’ve spent time cleaning up space, and make a night of it when you get back. In the meantime, take it all in. 

Meet New People 

Having a constant companion on the road can make it difficult to strike up conversations with strangers, but this is never an issue when traveling on your own. Being alone forces you to seek out other people for company, which can lead to the development of lasting friendships. It could begin on a boring train ride when you and your fellow passengers have nothing better to do than chat, or it could start when you try to order food but can't think of the right word and ask the person in the line behind you if they know it. If you asked your family and friends instead of a total stranger, you wouldn't have the same fortuitous interactions that could lead to something much bigger.

In addition, being alone makes you much more approachable, which can result in individuals approaching you rather than the other way around.

Your Money, Your Choice

You'll not only be in charge of what you do, but you'll also be in charge of what you spend because you won't have to worry about anyone else's money. You can only go to free attractions if you'd rather save your money for good food. Or, you can buy food as cheaply as possible, or even make your own lunches to take with you, so that you have more money to spend on amazing experiences. You won't even have to talk to anyone else even if you want to borrow more money for your trip.

Why is this good? It means you have complete control over what you spend and how you spend it, so you can have the budget you’re comfortable with and not have to think about anyone else. 

Flying On Play Airlines

I am writing this post while aboard a flight to Paris. This wouldn't be interesting at all, except for the fact that I'm doing it on a brand new airline. Play Airlines just started flying this year and we took a chance on some really cheap flights when they went on sale last December.

At the time, we hadn't really flown anywhere for two years and we were excited to get back out into the world and explore. We've had a Disney World trip planned and canceled several times since 2020, and we had decided to put that off indefinitely for personal reasons. (If you have read this blog over the course of the pandemic, first of all, thank you, but second, you can probably guess what those reasons are.) The idea of going to Paris again, and splitting time between the city and Disneyland Paris was pretty appealing though.

When I saw an article about Play, I was intrigued and quickly looked through their destinations, and they said they were booking flights to Europe for around $250 per person roundtrip. The catch? There were several:

• They were selling flights that didn't, technically, exist yet.
• They only flew out of Boston and Baltimore.
• They were super budget, so you would pay for everything "extra".

After going through booking and picking flights, seats, and adding carry-on bags - yep, you pay for anything that doesn't fit under the seat - our total came out to approximately $750 for 2 of us. We paid nearly double that to fly to Scotland in 2019, including an EasyJet flight from/to London.

Sure, we still had to get to Baltimore, but we would figure that out later. Later came and the war in Ukraine is ongoing and airfare/fuel were at all all-time high. I had friends that flew from coast-to-coast and were paying $1200 or more. The cheapest RT flights I could find were somewhere in the ballpark of $1100 per person, because we had to work around another flight. What did we do? Well, I did contemplate crying, but instead we looked at our resources.

We'd never been to Baltimore before, so spending a whole day there wasn't a hardship. We found a flight there leaving the night before on Alaska, and used our companion fare for our second ticket. We found a flight coming home on Delta the morning after we flew back, where we were able to use air miles. So, now we had a whole day to explore Baltimore on the first part of our trip and then booked a hotel room there for the last part, where we'll have time to eat dinner and relax a bit before going to sleep. We still paid less than what we spent to fly to Scotland. Not by much, but it wasn't 3 times as much, like it was looking like for a bit there.

So, what's it like flying on Play Airlines?  Pretty good, actually. The crew is lovely, the planes aren't full (though I suspect that will change soon enough), and we had the most legroom we've ever had not being seated in an exit row (I'm told that will probably change in the next year, but for now, I was able to reach under my seat and get my bag out without having to contort myself into a pretzel). We had a whole row to ourselves on our first flight - a thing we'll never complain about. Our connecting flight was the same.

My one complaint was the check-in process. Play doesn't have an app and you don't fill out much info when you book. You check-in online and enter all your info at that time...if the website works. It errored out for me all day, but I was able to go to the desk at the airport to check in and the desk agent was very nice and helpful. We high-fived that our airline existed and then went and sat in the very empty gate area.

You get nothing on Play, but if you're like me and sleep most of the way, it doesn't actually matter. There are no screens, except the ones that tell you how far you've flown and local times, and no seatback chargers. Anything you get from the snack or beverage cart costs money, and you must use  a card that has the tap to pay function. This is the height of no frills, but the seats were comfortable, I brought a charging bank for our phones (2 actually), and packed a bag full of snacks and two reusable water bottles. We had everything we needed.

Bonus fact: the flight attendants have a mix-and-match wardrobe that is unisex. They all wear pants, though I did see one lady wearing a dress, and look much more comfortable than almost every other flight crew I've seen.

If you've flown on other budget airlines like EasyJet, you're probably used to the awkward airport experience. You won't know your gate until an hour before your flight leaves and then boarding starts rather quickly. Instead of 30 minutes before takeoff, you're looking at more like 40-50 minutes. We were able to get off the plane in Reykjavik, use the restroom (Keflavik airport has amazing water closets), go through (very fast) customs, get a drink and snack and get directly in line to board our next plane. While not entirely convenient for those of us that like to explore an airport, or those that don't like to sit on the plane longer than necessary, both flights took off early and landed early, so no complaints there. You also don't have to take the service stairs to the tarmac to get on your plane. There are actual jetways. We'll see if that changes coming home, though.

All-in-all, my flight experience was great and we would definitely fly Play again, especially now that they have expanded their US departure cities, and next time we would take advantage of their layover in Iceland, just to get a feel for the country if it's not our final destination.

Have you ever flown a brand new airline? How did it go?

My 5 Must-Have Travel Items for Long Flights

I love going far away from home, but this also comes with the price of being on the plane for long periods of time. This means, the more comfortable you can get, the better you flight will be. I'm not talking about taking off your shoes and socks and stretching out an annoying your seatmates. 

Comfort is relative when you fly, and here are my 5 must-have travel items that help me fly better when going long distances.

A Good Travel Pillow

I can sleep anywhere, but the difference between sleep and good quality sleep is huge. There are a ton of travel pillows out there, 90% of which are all exactly the same. I have tried so many and and finally settled on my favorite one, but yours might be different. Three of the best, in my opinion are: 

• FaceCradle (my personal fave)
• Trtl Pillow
• Travelon Somniwrap

If sleeping on the plane is hard for you, then maybe you just have the wrong pillow. You want to support your neck and make sure you aren't slouching, which can kill your back. You'll be surprised how much better you feel after hours of uninterrupted snoozing. I've been known to sleep for 5-6 hours straight on an overnight flight, and Eric only got up once to go to the restroom, which was a miracle for him, because he's such a light sleeper. 

Airplane Pocket

So, three things: 1 - the seatback pocket is very small. 2 - you can't see through it, so it's easy to forget things in there when you get off the plane. 3 - it's disgusting. Like, it almost never gets cleaned, so it may have just had a dirty diaper in it. 

There's a solution! And it's called Airplane Pockets. These antimicrobial pockets slip over the seatback tray, making it germ-free, and has a big pocket and three small pockets in front of it to keep everything you want right where you need it. No more stretching to be able to get to your bag under your seat. And when your flight is over, just slip it off, fold it over and shove it right in your carry-on. 

Travel Blanket or Wrap

You never know what the plane atmosphere will be. Sometimes it's hot, sometimes it's cold, but I always plan for it to be colder than expected, and a wrap or travel blanket can be a savior in a lot of situations. I prefer a shawl/wrap, because a large one can work the same as a blanket, but you can also use it for a multitude of other things at your destination: a wrap, a scarf, a sarong, a towel, a picnic blanket. My top 3 recommendations:

• The Wayfarer Wrap from Happyluxe
• Travelon Packable Travel Blanket
• Pangwangle Essential Wrap

Honorable mention: I usually get comfortable on the plane by bringing either some soft, fuzzy socks (the kind with grippy bottoms that you wear around the house) or house shoes like moccasins. This allows my feet to not be confined in shoes and helps me relax a little more. **Please don't just take off your shoes and go barefoot in the plane.**

Reusable Water Bottle

The drink cart comes around a lot less in the middle of the night, but it's not always on your schedule anyway. We carry two reusable bottles when we travel and fill them with cold water before we get on the plane. This means your water is cold throughout the flight (longer if you put ice in there) and you can stay hydrated no matter the day or night. It's also a great thing to have on your trip. We bring along a water bottle tote, so we we aren't constantly buying drinks while we're out and about. It's a great money-saver. I like Laken (my personal favorite in 17oz) and S'well, but I know others prefer Hydroflask or other popular brands.

Honorable mention: If getting to sleep is an issue for you, then I highly recommend Dream Water. You can buy the little bottles at most Hudson News shops in the airport, or you can do what I do and get the packets that you add to your water. It's a tasty, natural sleep aid that helps you drift off normally. And I just saw that they have gummies now! I'm gonna try them and report back.

Here you can see my charging cord that I was just using

Portable Charger

Nothing's worse than trying to play a game or listen to music or watch a show or take notes and your phone dies. Not all airplanes have power sources and I've been on some that did, but the one at my seat was broken. I like to listen to podcasts to fall asleep or relax and being able to do so requires battery power. Keep your phone charged, even on a long flight, so you can chill out with your Calm App or whatever with a a good portable charger. I just bought this one and it's hefty, but will also charge your phone, like, 3-4 times over.

Add a bag of snacks to your carry-on and you're as ready as you're going to be for a comfortable long-haul flight. What are your must-have travel items for long plane rides?

Ghost Hunting On Vacation

I've been known to go on ghost tours and visit supposed haunted sites when on vacation, and even when I'm at home. It doesn't have to be Halloween. I love hearing stories from the past and how those that have passed on have stuck around as echoes of themselves to spend their afterlife in the company of the living. If you are looking for some of the most haunted places to visit on your travels, here's a whole list for you.

Photo credit

I've been to 4 of the 15 listed (Catacombs, Mary King's Close, Tower of London, Queen Mary) and have been open to seeing/feeling ghosts, but didn't have the fortune of an encounter.  It may be a matter of there always being too many people around, or maybe they were shy on the day I visited, or maybe I just didn't notice them there. Whatever it was, I won't stop visiting haunted places, if nothing else, but for the history and tragic stories.

Do you like to visit spooky and/or haunted places? Have you ever had a ghost encounter?

Affordable Dining On Vacation

We're all trying to get back into the world, but with fuel and airfare costs soaring, it's really important for us budget travelers to figure out how to save on other parts of our vacations. I love trying new food, but all those meals out can really add up. 

Dining can be a big chunk of your budget, so here are 8 ways to save on food:

1. Bring Snacks 
   Trick your stomach by bringing snacks with you in your bag each day. This way, if you’re tempted to nibble on something, you know you have them on you and are less likely to spend money on food you don’t really need.
2. Eat Where the Locals Eat
   

   Just by avoiding touristy areas, you can save a lot on your meals. When you’re out, ask a few people where they recommend. They aren’t going to tell you they prefer a chain restaurant over their favorite local pub. The food is likely more authentic than those that you can find right near tourist attractions, making it cheaper, because it’s local and not shipped in from a different country. 
3. Make Lunch Your Main Meal
If you really want to try one of the “hip” restaurants by a celebrity chef, make reservations for lunch. The food will be just as good, but it’s usually much cheaper at lunch than at dinner.


4. Hit Up the Food Carts
Food carts can have a huge variety of different local and international foods, but can be half the price of (or less) than dining at a sit-down restaurant. With this kind of savings, you can try fare from several carts with no regrets.


5. Rent a Vacation Home Or Stay In a Hotel With a Kitchen(ette)
This is a great way to stretch a food budget, because there are so many options. Renting can be a great value over hotel stays if you’ll be visiting for a week or more, plus it gives you the chance to check out the local grocery store. If you aren’t a big breakfast person, instead of eating out for that meal, shop for new cereals and pastries that you can’t get at home. There’s never a better time to try new foods!


6. Sign Up for Groupon
Groupon is an amazing little site that offers daily deals on a wide assortment of things, not least of which is dining. Each day a new offer goes up at a big discount off the regular price. Dining certificates can be purchased quite often and many times you can grab a half-off gift certificate to a new local restaurant or one just trying to bring in new customers. It works! Sign up at Groupon for the destination of your next vacation (they cover many international locations as well as the United States) and eat for less!


7. Don't Order Off the Kids' Menu
If you travel with children, you’ll notice that all kids' menus seem to have the same small rotation of foods. Obviously, little ones don’t just live on hot dogs, pizza, chicken nuggets and PB&J sandwiches. Not only do they charge an outrageous amount for these “staples” that cost hardly anything to make, but they offer hardly any nutritional value and your kids are likely to eat only half of it before declaring they’re full. Instead, order a meal that you both will eat and share. This saves you money and might get them to eat a vegetable or two.


8. Stay At a Hotel That Offers Free Breakfast
You don’t realize how much dining out can cost until you go on vacation. A reasonable breakfast can cost between $8-15 per person. If you multiply that by the number of people you’re traveling with and the number of days you’ll be staying, that number can be huge. If you find a hotel in your price range that offers free breakfast, you’ve hit a jackpot of savings.

Hopefully, this helps you scale back on your food budget on your next trip and then you can find other ways to save as well. Give us some of your favorite food tips in the comments.

How To Have A Stress-Free Vacation

It may feel as though enjoying a stress-free holiday is unrealistic. There is always something to think about, always plenty to do before you can go, and always something to contend with when you finally get to your planned vacation spot. Sometimes it can genuinely feel as though you’re going from one set of stresses to another or even doubling up on your stress in some cases. This can mean that for some, vacations just don’t seem worth it. 

 

Photo credit

However, the truth is that vacations are always worth it. When done right, they can reduce your normal stress levels, and if you are careful, they won’t add any more to your life either. Continue reading to find out how this can be done.

Pre-Book Where Possible

One of the things that may make a trip more stressful than it ever should be is not being able to accomplish all you want to do. This is especially true if it is something you have always wanted to do, perhaps the basis for the trip in the first place. 

If there is something you want to do, don’t run the risk of getting stressed (or even having your vacation ruined) when it is highly likely you can pre-book the activity ahead of time. When you can do this, you will find your stress levels decrease because everything will be in place, and you will know precisely what to do and where to go. You can arrange your airport parking, your airline can book your seats, your transfer when you arrive can be scheduled through your travel company, and numerous activities can be booked. A good example of this is a package tour by a reputable company you can book from home because everything is included for you and you don’t have to worry about anything.

Don’t Be Too Reachable 

When you're on vacation, you should stay on vacation. What you should not be doing is responding to business emails or participating in conference calls. In fact, work should be entirely ignored for the duration of your trip away. If you are a company owner with no additional employees to cover for you, this may be challenging, but planning for your vacation in advance is, as we’ve already said, a great way to de-stress, and it can also help your business keep going even when you’re not personally available. 

However, it’s not only work that can create stress when on vacation. It could be that your friends and relatives become a problem as well, and they will constantly want to ensure you’re all right and that you’re having a good time. This is incredibly well-meaning, but it can be stressful. If you can drop them a message once a week and make sure they’re aware that this is your plan, you should be able to relax a lot more. Staying away from social media is also a great idea. 

Pack Light 

Strange as it may seem, packing can often be a stressful element of your vacation. It shouldn’t be, of course; it’s just putting the clothes and items you need into a bag to take with you when you go away. However, it can still cause people to become anxious because they don’t know exactly what to take or what they are going to need while they’re on vacation. 

To combat this issue, research your destination. Look at the weather, at the dress code, at the activities. Then narrow down your packing to just the things you know you’re going to need. If there is a laundry room at your hotel or a cleaners in the city you’re staying at, then you can take even less with you. Take as little as possible to make your trip easier and less stressful.

Give Yourself Enough Time

No matter how you plan to get where you're going, give yourself more time than you think you'll need during peak season. This is very important on days with a lot of traffic (such as spring break in the US). On these days, almost everything will take longer than usual, like check-in lines, getting a taxi, and parking at the airport. Business travelers who are used to a certain routine may also find that traveling with their families isn't as easy or quick as when they travel alone. Knowing you have enough time to deal with anything unexpected can help keep you from getting anxious and stressed. If you get to the airport early, remember that working or reading in an airport lounge is much more relaxing than being stuck in traffic for 20 minutes in a taxi before your flight.

Don’t Assume Something Will Go Wrong

Sometimes stress can definitely come from within. Whether you’re a seasoned traveler or you’ve never left your hometown before, the more you think about things that can go wrong, the more stressed you will become. You might not even be able to truly enjoy yourself when you’re away because you just can’t shake the feeling that there is a problem or disaster is just around the corner. 

Although it’s good to have a contingency plan just in case you lose your passport, run out of money, or have an accident, for example, don’t dwell on these potential issues. Have plans in place to deal with them, and then focus on the positives of enjoying your vacation. In that way, you’ll be in a much better frame of mind, and you’ll have a lot more fun, as will anyone you’re traveling with. 

Have Something To Look Forward To When You Get Home

When you get back from a long trip, it can be exhausting and emotional, and it can be hard to get back into your old routine. A 2010 study found that this is very different from how people feel before a trip. People were always happier when they were getting ready for a trip than when they got back.

Make sure that when you get home, you have something fun to look forward to. That could be a neat and clean place to live or some fun things to do in the near future. If you can organize this before you leave, going home won’t be so bad, and you won’t feel stressed out during your vacation, which will curtail your fun. 

Share some of your favorite stress-free destinations below.

Packable Halloween Costumes

I like to travel during the holidays, and one of those holidays is Halloween. I'm an adult who will dress up for any reason. Costumes are fun. Even if you're just looking to pack a costume for the kids, they can end up taking up a big part of your carry-on, which is all priority space.  

We have visited Disney parks multiple times with costumes and still packed light and accomplished carry-on-only travel, so I think we've done it right. Here are some fun costumes that you can easily pack:

Sports Fan

This was a back-up plan of mine, because one October we visited Disneyland and it was suuuuuuuuuuuper hot. I knew the outfit I'd brought wasn't going to do me any favors, so I pivoted and ran to a sports store and purchased an LA Angels t-shirt, hat, lanyard, and matching sweat bands. Because it was the local baseball team, people got really excited seeing me coming. I was able to rewear that t-shirt on the rest of my trip, too. You probably already have some sporty gear for your chosen team. Add multiple pieces to really push it over the top.

Ice Cream Man or Barista

Eric doesn't like to wear involved outfits, because the added layers make him too hot. Ice cream man or barista really only requires an apron, hat and name tag. You can wear your regular clothes underneath, since most everything works. Purchase pieces separately, or buy the complete costume:

• Barista complete
• Green Apron
• Name tag
• Ice cream man/woman
• White apron
• Name tag
• hat

Free Guy

I really loved this movie and you don't have to be Ryan Reynolds to pull it off. You can purchase the above costume from Amazon, or you probably already have a shirt and tie that will work, and you can just order a name tag to go with it. You can add a set of blue light glasses or carry around a cup of coffee to complete the look.

Postal Carrier

Three easy pieces - a vest, hat, and bag - make this great outfit, plus you can use the accessory as your day bag and it'll look stuffed with mail. You may need to add some better stitching and a good closure before you head out, but that's not too hard to do. You don't want all your snacks and whatever leaving a trail behind you. 

Another idea for you is to use a blue bag you already have and add a logo to it with double-sided tape or sticky-backed velcro. I really love this Travelon bag for travel. The blue is a lovely dark color and it has anti-theft features.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Shereen Travels Cheap (@srayle)

Basic Witch

Most of us travel with a little black dress. If this is true of you, then you don't have to do much more. Pack a fun witch hat (these are great, don't require much maintenance, and you can add a variety things to them) and maybe some chunky jewelry that really says "witch". You can wear whatever black shoes you've brought to go with your dress. I, generally, just bring black flats that go with everything. A wand really caps things off, if it's not going to be inconvenient to tote around with you. It will make for fun, magical photos though.

Squid Game

This was such a phenomenon that almost everyone is going to get this costume. It's also laid back and comfy, and great for cooler climates, because you can easily layer warmer pieces underneath it if you need. You can get the official costume or add your own numbers to a generic track suit that you can wear again not on Halloween.

Clark Kent

Want to be a (somewhat) secret superhero? You probably have a white button-down shirt and a tie. Get yourself a Superman t-shirt to wear underneath and arrange your shirt partway open and your tie askew to look like you're Clark ready to quick-change. If you don't have a pair of glasses already, head to your local dollar store and buy a pair of black glasses that you can pop the lenses out of. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Shereen Travels Cheap (@srayle)

Artist, Beatnik, Mime or French Person

I really loved this outfit that I wore for work one year. It's easy to do and still allowed me to move around like normal. I have several striped shirts, but if you don't, you can buy the whole costume. This makes a fun couple's costume, too. Here's the whole outfit for women and for men.

Robber

Replace the beret above with a black knit cap and carry a money bag (if you're lazy and cheap like me) or get the whole look with gloves and a mask to be an old-school robber. All you need is a pair of black pants and shoes and you're good to go. Get this in short sleeve or long sleeve if it's cooler out. If you're in need of a real purse to hold your credit cards and keys and stuff, there's always this bag. 

Sorry for this terrible picture. Good thing I've learned to take more and better ones since this.

On Safari

I feel like everyone has one of these outdoor shirts in khaki, brown or white. Get yourself a matching hat and add some cheapo binoculars and now you look like you're on safari. Easy peasy.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Melinda Benitez (@melinda_benitez8)

Tourist

You are one, so this should be easy. All you need is a Hawaiian shirt, a camera, and a map. Ask people for directions for more effect. I like these phone cases that look like cameras that you can wear around your neck, so you aren't carrying around something unnecessary.

You may see more costume suggestions before Halloween, because I love being creative with just a few things. I hope your Fall travels are looking good. Have you ever tried to travel with a costume?

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, and I may be monetarily compensated if you make a purchase through any of them. Thanks in advance for helping me keep this blog going with your purchases.