Clients should pay your travel costs on assignment. But we all have stories and places that give us a charge. Sometimes it makes good sense to invest in travel on your own, hoping to profit later. Think of how many trips you'll do in a year, how far you'll go and how fancy you need to stay. If you plan one big trip every second or third year, estimate the costs and annualize them (average across several years). The bottom line is that if you plan travel that won't be reimbursed, you need to budget for it. And remember, any time you're making pictures, gathering story information and meeting clients, it's business and deductible as an expense.