Budget Travel Friday: Boulder, Colorado
Posted on February 10, 2012 9 Comments
I’m excited to debut a new feature on The Budgeting Babe: Budget Travel Friday — Photo Inspiration.
Today’s photo inspiration comes from Boulder, Colo., where after a short free hike, you can eat lunch here:
Top of the Chautauqua hike, a great place to have lunch
Just dreamy, right? Here are a two more photos from that hike:
And there you have it. Photo inspiration to get off the beaten path in a budget-friendly way.
About Budget Travel Friday – Photo Inspiration
The idea is this: I am a champion budget traveler. I have traveled to beautiful places, both remote and urban, across the United States, every year since I’ve had my own job, and have never needed to dip into my savings to do so. I have this crazy wanderlust that drives me out of the city every so often and pushes me to learn about new places, explore them, and meet new people along the way.
I also happen to love photography and while I’m less great at it than budgeting, I have a collection of photos from the east coast to the west coast and everywhere in between to share with you.
You know the tactics behind budget travel: research and plan ahead, go off-season, use Hotwire or Priceline for hotels – or try camping, purchase air fare when prices are cheap (or just fly Southwest 
, shop at grocery stores and local markets instead of eating at fancy places, visit museums on free days, etc.
OK, so you already have the tools, but where should you go? I hope you’ll check in with me every Friday for a photo example. If I’ve been there, you know it’s on the cheap, and you’re only a few clicks away from being there yourself.
Category: Life
Tags: Travel
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9 Responses to “Budget Travel Friday: Boulder, Colorado”
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February 10th, 2012 @ 9:52 am
So glad you are doing this!
I love to travel also.
Did you love Boulder? We could see ourselves living there one day. Such a beautiful place.
February 10th, 2012 @ 10:28 am
OMG I want to live in Boulder. We think it would be awesome to raise a family there.
February 10th, 2012 @ 10:44 am
Oh, I also have a Budget Travel Friday board up on Pinterest, and since I’m sure to run out of pictures at some point, I’ll be asking for reader photos too. Yipee!
February 10th, 2012 @ 11:05 am
Itand there is so much recreational opportunities there. I love the natural beauty of the area. It really is idealic.
February 10th, 2012 @ 12:04 pm
LOVE THIS. I hope to add more travel in my future. Maybe even a traveling job for a while. Once I get out of school and some experience in the working world.
Your pics are beautiful.
February 10th, 2012 @ 12:22 pm
Buterflymom – YOU CAN DO IT. A traveling job is an awesome idea. I used to travel frequently for work and always put a weekend extender on my business trips. There is so much to see and do when you open up the possibilities within your budget
February 10th, 2012 @ 1:23 pm
So when were you in Boulder? I live 45 minutes away.
Boulder is NOT a budget friendly place to live. I have a friend who grew up in Boulder but moved out because they just couldn’t afford to live there any more. They are also pretty brazen about pot smoking over there anymore.
Longmont is a smaller city just outside of Boulder, that is a little more affordable. Fort Collins is starting to go the way of Boulder; I see myself moving to nearby Loveland in the future.
February 10th, 2012 @ 2:00 pm
I was in Boulder in 2011 and 2010. Both times were very budget-friendly stays. We got great prices at hotels on Hotwire, used my AmEx points for rental car deals, flew Southwest to Denver and found all the food and beverages at local breweries to be very reasonable.
As for living there, we haven’t looked into prices just yet, but I did speak with a Boulder resident about their rent and it is more affordable than Chicago. We have a few friends looking into moving to Denver, as well as Fort Collins.
I really love it there, EA. Maybe one day…
February 10th, 2012 @ 5:37 pm
Awesome photos Nicole! Indeed that would be a great place to hike to for a nice lunch. I need to get back into hiking. People who are looking to travel for cheap should first spend time exploring their own area. There are bound to be plenty of trails and other places to check out on the cheap.