When you think about a travel fund, a dedicated pool of money set aside specifically for trips. Also known as a trip savings account, it’s not just about having cash—it’s about planning how that money moves through your adventure. For India, where a street food meal can cost ₹50 and a luxury jungle camp runs ₹15,000 a night, your travel fund needs to be sharp, not just full.
A good travel fund doesn’t just cover flights and hotels. It pays for permits on the Great Himalayan Trail, guides for Roopkund, temple donations, local transport like Uber in Goa, and even emergency medicine if you get sick. It’s the difference between panicking at a train station and calmly buying a ticket to Nagpur because you planned ahead. Your fund also needs room for the unexpected—like a last-minute visa fee for US citizens, or a vaccine you didn’t know you needed. India’s costs vary wildly: one day you’re camping under stars for ₹800, the next you’re paying ₹3,000 for a guided heritage tour. Your fund has to handle both.
People who travel smart don’t just save—they track. They know how much a 12-day luxury train ride like the Pride of Africa costs ($12,500) so they can decide if it’s worth skipping a few months of eating out. They compare visa fees for US citizens in 2025 and choose the e-Visa over the embassy route. They check if they really need all those vaccines or if just one or two will do. Your travel fund isn’t magic. It’s a tool shaped by choices. And the posts below show you exactly how others built theirs—whether they were hiking the longest trail in India, eating safely in Delhi, or visiting the Taj Mahal on a budget. You’ll find real numbers, real trade-offs, and real stories from people who didn’t run out of money halfway through their trip.