Visiting Lake Tahoe On A budget

When Tyler and I decided to go to Lake Tahoe, it was not planned at all. It was Wednesday afternoon when he came to me and said, “Do you want to go to Lake Tahoe tomorrow?” I was like, “Uh duh,” so we quickly started planning.

What to book first?

So the first thing I did was look up Airbnbs, searching for deals and not looking in getting anything fancy since I knew this was going to be a short trip and mostly spent outdoors. What you need to look for is a place near the main areas. This will save you tons of money on gas. We knew we wanted to visit Emerald Bay State Park, so that was the focal point when searching for Airbnbs. We luckily found one super cute, cozy, in a nice neighborhood and priced pretty decent at $197.00 a night. Just a disclaimer, there were cheaper options. We just liked the area and how it was a cabin with a front yard to sip our coffees in the morning (highly important to us).

Should You Rent A Car?

This is up to you. We don’t like to put that much mileage on our car and all the wear and tear it can get. We decided to rent one for this trip. It didn’t cost much. I believe it was $140.00 in total. Again, this is optional, so you can save more money by not renting if you don’t mind driving your car. 

Expenses on the Road

We love to snack while we’re road tripping. I mean, who doesn’t? So what we did that saved us money was going to Target to buy our snacks in advance. That way, we don’t stop at gas stations and buy a bunch of crap we don’t need or want. Even if it’s a few dollars, you can use that towards activities. Every dollar counts in my book, and if I can save it, I will try. I’m definitely getting better at this the older I get, lol. 

Eating In 

We knew this trip was last minute, and although we had money to eat out every day for every meal, we didn’t think it was wise just to waste the money. We had some activities in mind and knew that was going to cost us, so we chose to eat in for dinner on our first night. We drove to the local Safeway and found some quick meals that cost us no more than $15.00. I mean, that would be basically the tip if we went out to eat somewhere nice. We cuddled up by the couch and watched some Netflix before bed. It was so lovely, and did I mention a cheap date?