The Travel Bill: vol. 1
A Colorado-based Phish head breaks down the cost of a safari and ski season
The first instalment of The Travel Bill features a 30-something Colorado native working in tech, with an annual pre-tax total compensation of approximately $175K. All amounts below are in USD.
How do you approach traveling and budgeting? Do you set a travel budget before a trip?
I typically spend about 10% of my salary on travel yearly. I feel good about where I currently am financially. I’m single, child-free, contribute to a 401(k) with an employer match, have an emergency fund and no debts. So for me, travel is where I like to spend my disposable income. I value experiences over things.
I usually don’t set a specific budget for each individual trip, but rather I have an annual amount I’m comfortable spending, and keep track of that. It’s not a hard-and-fast rule, but more of a sanity check on my yearly travel-related spending. I also tend to plan out what my travel for the year looks like early on, so that helps with maintaining an overall guiding total.
I’m definitely an enthusiastic travel credit card user. I have the Capital One Venture X card and while the annual fee does pain me ($395/year), I think the card is worth it. There are no foreign transaction fees, a $300 annual travel credit, 10x miles on hotels and 5x miles on flights when booked through their portal. I’ve been impressed with the rewards program and have booked trips completely using miles.
Where do you save vs splurge on a trip? Flight, hotel, food, activities, shopping?
I like nice food but lean more towards cheap and cheerful than fine dining. I’m not a shopper. I collect postcards from places I’ve visited, but I don’t tend to buy all that much while traveling. I love film photography, so I will purchase film for a trip and spend to have it developed. I like to frame those pictures and value them more than souvenirs.
I also can’t bear to spend a lot of money on flights. I will seek out the cheapest flight I can, that doesn’t have 3 stops and takes 34 hours when it could take 10. I cannot sleep on planes, period, so I can’t justify the extra cost of a upgraded seat. For me, a flight is a flight, and I’d rather put that money towards the actual trip. Maybe one day I’ll feel differently, but right now, catch me in coach!
My primary travel splurge is hotels. I love a nice hotel and making the hotel part of the trip, not just a place to crash. When traveling (obviously this varies a lot based on location), I think $200-250 per night on a hotel is reasonable. I’ll also split a $500-per-night hotel with a friend to experience a more upscale place without having to foot the whole bill myself.
I love to ski, and that can get expensive. Being in Colorado, I’m close to a bunch of ski resorts - some are only an hour away. I typically buy a season pass from Epic or Ikon, which runs between $1185-$1500 for the whole season. Accommodation can be very pricey in these ski towns, so if I do stay overnight, I try to find something as affordable as possible. I often pack a lunch and snacks. My goal is to maximize the amount of skiing I can do during the season, rather than spend on a fancy place to stay (despite my aforementioned love of fancy hotels) or on overpriced meals on the slopes.
What is the most expensive trip you’ve ever taken?
I went to South Africa for about 2 weeks last year, which included a safari at Tanda Tula. In total, the trip cost me ~$10,000. I saved up for several years for this bucket list vacation. I like naming an account for something I’m saving for, so I created a “Safari” HYSA to feel more motivated to deposit money there.
When selecting a safari, I chose Tanda Tula because they had a reputation as an ethical, low-impact operator. It was important to me to select an operator whose values aligned with mine, even if that meant paying more.
In terms of the trip cost: the flight from Colorado to Cape Town was about $1,500. I spent five days in Cape Town, where food, hotel, transportation, and other incidentals came to about $1,200. I then took a ~$250 flight to and from Hoedspruit Airport, near the safari location, and paid $60 for an airport transfer. At the resort, I shared a room with a friend for four nights at about $1,600 per night. That rate included meals and 2 daily safaris. It was an incredible, unforgettable experience!
Do you have any money-related travel regrets?
I went to Las Vegas for the first time in 2024 to see Phish, my favorite band, at the Sphere. I’m such a crunchy, Colorado cliché! The concert was amazing (I spent about $200 on my ticket), but I confirmed I’m not Vegas person! Stayed at the The Venetian, which is basically attached to the Sphere and I believe was about $200 per night. The food was crazy expensive everywhere, and I just didn’t love the Vegas vibe. I regret spending on a place I wasn’t crazy about. I prefer a outdoor vacation over clubs, fancy restaurants, and a party-party atmosphere so I shouldn’t be shocked that I’d love Vegas, but lesson-learned.
If money were no object, what is your dream trip or destination?
I’d take the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express train on one of their routes, like Paris to Portofino or Amsterdam to Verona. The train looks truly incredible but the price tags are shocking!
After spending time in South Africa last year, I would love to visit and stay at Babylonstoren. The property is located in a wine region, operates a working farm and has a spa and multiple restaurants. Babylonstoren looks heavenly.
MK — I love this concept, and this first installment sets the tone beautifully.
What really works here is how grounded and self-aware your approach is. The 10% annual travel “sanity check” feels both disciplined and generous — aspirational without tipping into performative budgeting. Naming the “Safari” HYSA made me smile; there’s something psychologically powerful about giving a dream its own container and letting it slowly fill.
Your save vs. splurge logic is refreshingly consistent. Coach flights paired with hotels that are part of the experience makes total sense, and I appreciated the honesty about not sleeping on planes and not needing to justify premium seats. The way you describe film photography as a souvenir — images you frame and live with — feels very aligned with valuing experiences over accumulation.
The safari breakdown is especially compelling. Choosing Tanda Tula for ethical reasons, even at a higher cost, says a lot about what you value, and the way you broke down Cape Town + safari costs makes something that feels wildly out of reach suddenly… legible. Still aspirational, but understandable.
And the Vegas regret? Perfect inclusion. It reinforces that “expensive” doesn’t equal “worth it,” and that knowing yourself matters more than chasing marquee experiences. (Also: Phish at the Sphere feels like a rite of passage, even if Vegas itself wasn’t your scene.)
The dream trips at the end are a great contrast — the Belmond train as the fantasy splurge, Babylonstoren as the soulful return. Together, they say a lot about where you’re headed.
If this is what The Travel Bill looks like going forward, I’m absolutely in. It’s rare to see money, values, and travel intersect this cleanly!
– Kelly
Love this new part of Table Fries! 👏🏻