It’s Summer and that means that many of us look forward to special memory-filled vacations with our families. Our family is planning a short vacation this Summer and we’ve been saving a little bit each month for the past six months in order to fund it. By the time August is here, we should have plenty saved up to be able to enjoy a simple and fun few days at a lake in Arkansas. We’re so excited about it!
Do you take a trip or two in the Summer? If so, what are your best money-saving vacation tips or great ideas for an inexpensive family vacation?
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We like to use Hotwire for good deals on hotels along the way when driving. We can usually get a nicer room for what you’d pay for a “budget” room just walking in and asking.
We just got back from a trip to the beach, here is a rundown of things we did to save money
1) Work the phone/coupons. I immediately hit the lobby of our hotel and rest stops on the way down. I scanned the racks for coupons. When we got settled in our room I made calls and found the restraunts that had the best “kid” friendly prices and the all you can eat seafood we wanted. Most places were charging 28 for adults and 24 for kids! We found an all you can eat place where kids were free for 3 and under, and 4.95 for all other kids and I had a coupon for buy one adult meal at 16.95 and get the other free! Taking time to scan for the coupons and make the phone calls led me to the best deals!
2) We did the usual, big breakfasts and most lunches in our hotel room (our room had an efficiency kitchen) We picked one night to eat at the hotel for dinner too.
3) We also picked a hotel that had extra amenities–ours came with a lazy river, 3 different types of pools/inside and out hottubs, spas, and an arcade room. That kept my kids happy and not bored just staying put at the hotel and enjoying the beach.
4) We put the kids on a strict budget. They were each given just $50.00 and told that was all they would get, spend it wisely! The money was at first burning a hole in their pocket, but they soon understood we meant buisness–there was no nickle and dime mom and dad on this trip! We also put ourselves on one–My husband and I each had a certain amount of cash on hand and we stuck to that amount on out and about excursions. Using cash really saved us from going over board! Use CASH you will save!
5)We kept a “coin” jar for the past few months in our house. All the coins we saved we used for our “cash” down and back. The coins paid the toll booths, stops at the gas station, and food stops.
6) On the way home we packed up our goodies from the week of eating lunch in our rooms, put it in a cooler and we stopped at a nice rest stop and had a picnic, as opposed to swinging in McD’s. It gave the kids a moment to stretch and run around outdoors and cost virtually nothing…
Sorry so long:) Hope this puts some ideas in your head!
I would have to say a plug in cooler, allows you to take a case of water/soda and continuously replenish it without finding ice, and of course in the summer everyone wants not only a drink but a cold one.
I avoid having to check a bag when I go on trips, which now is not only a hassle, but could add an extra charge! I save all the trial sized toiletries I receive as samples or can get free after coupons. They are usually less than 3 ounces so they can go in my carry on bag. I also don’t feel bad leaving them behind if I need a little extra room for souvenirs on the way home.
When my kids were smaller, I would pick up a grab bag of kid’s meal toys at a garage sale or thrift store. I would put one of the toys in their home-packed lunches. It was a great way to avoid the kid’s meal trap and still make travel lunches fun. It also gives little ones something to do with their hands during a long trip.
I can’t say enough good things about my in-law’s house! They have a pool, are close to the beach and she is an artist and has oodles of patience doing crafts with kids. I take my kids and spend a few days relaxing there. I help with dinner and so forth, and she helps entertain the kids. What a fun break!
Family Camp is an excellent inexpensive vacation. Check with the Christian Camps in your area and see what they offer.
We always pack a cooler full of snacks, drinks, and lunch stuff if we’re going to be road-tripping it. That way we don’t have to stop at a gas station (prices always more!) or fast food when we get hungry. It’s healthier too!
For flying, I always check several different websites to compare prices. Southwest, cheaptickets.com, Airtran, and expedia.com have been some of the least expensive for us.
Also, if we are having to stay in a hotel, when I am comparing prices, I always check to see if they offer a free breakfast. If they have a fridge, I can also pick up some groceries for lunches. This saves TONS in eating out!!! Sometimes you can also find hotels that offer snacks in the evening hours. The last hotel where we stayed had snacks like chicken wings, meatballs, etc…it could easily have been dinner for the bird-like eaters in our family!
I know it seems obvious, but something as simple as packing some oatmeal and fresh fruit for breakfasts saves us tons of money (and time) when we go on trips! With instant oatmeal and some bowls and spoons from home, we can even make our own breakfasts in hotel rooms by running water through their coffee maker to heat it up.
I just took a vacation not too long ago and wrote a post about several of the things that I did to save money here:
http://thesavingsswap.blogspot.com/2008/06/vacation-my-bloggy-break.html
I think the best money saving idea for vacations is to rent a condo or house and eat most of your meals there. You can get a nicer place usually for the same $ as a hotel and you can save a lot by bringing your own food.
We’ve been doing State parks. There is actually a wonderful resort on a lake in South Georgia that has a better restaurant than any I’ve been in, in Atlanta. Because it is own and operated by the dept. of natural resources…SUPER CHEAP
We pretty much use all our vacation time to visit family, so we save on food and lodging. We also found a great children’s museum we can visit for free using our membership at our local one that’s very close to my parents. The kids love it!
Now that we’re watching our pennies more, I’ll be sure to take the advice above about packing a cooler for lunch. We did that once – we had a picnic under a tree outside a Target. No one bothered us at all, though we did have to keep a close eye on the kids because we were pretty close to traffic.
We are going to Disneyland soon. We will buy groceries before we leave. We will make indiv. snacks to carry with us, we will tailgate outside of the park for lunch and dinner. We plan to take our Klean Kanteen Water bottles and fill them up throughout the day. We have purchased autograph notebooks, light sticks, and various disney character souvenirs at the dollar tree, 99 cent store and target dollar spot. We are staying at a hotel that provides a full breakfast buffet.
We’re headed to the beach this weekend. What great timing on your post!!
To save a little, we’re going to have some pic-nic lunches on the beach, bring bottles of water and snacks from home, and we’ll have carry-out pizza on the beach one night instead of eating in a restaurant.
Most of our activities will be at State Parks and on the beach, instead of pricey “indoor” activities. We should be out enjoying the sun anyway!
Since we won’t be gone for long, we likely won’t spend TOO much anyway, but it’s still nice to know we will be coming home without a dry bank account
)
Christina
I make sure the hotel has a free big breakfast and we bring our own snacks.
I like to have some type of break when we go on vacation too, we usally go to a place where we can cook, but who wants to cook all three meals every day. So what we do is eat out for a late breakfast. This with a few snacks available is all we need till dinner then we grill out. Dh loves to grill and I prepare the side dishes. We keep it simple since we don’t have everything on hand there. If we want to eat out at dinner, say a nice sea food dinner we eat in for breakfast and luch.
We try to use memberships we have. Like the local zoo and Sea World.
We also go to places that are free and do as much as we can in a area we are at.
If you live in the Midwest- check out Megabus! We did this last year and saved a ton of money- and would save even more this year with gas prices even higher. The trip was delightful and super-cheap.
I know it has been said but we save a fortune by cooking in our rental. We bring breakfast and lunch fixings and then we cook easy dinners at night. We usually have one restaraunt night.
1. CAMPING! Super cheap once you buy the initial supplies.
2. Staying with out of town family saves tons of cash.
3. Packing a cooler to eat at least one meal on the drive to your location! I personally love to eat out because it feels like such a treat, but I can convince myself to eat at least one packed meal on the drive. Every little bit helps.
This summer we’re visiting my dad who’s spending the summer as a Park Ranger at the Grand Titons National Park. He was so excited that we were coming way out there to visit that he paid for part of the airfare. We’re staying in his camper at a camp ground (except for one night when he put me and my hubs up in a nice villa for the night), and he and my mom will probably pay for most of the food. Two of my siblings will be there, so we’ll get a bunch of free babysitting too!
We’re also making sure we’re within the free luggage allowances…assuming that first bag stays free until mid-July.
So basically, my vacation cost savings tip is to pack light and mooch off your family as much as possible. Does that make me a terrible person?
My best tip-if you’re staying at a hotel, find one with a free breakfast-with a family of four, that saves you $20 a day easily.
If you are staying at a place that doesn’t offer breakfast, make that your “meal out” for the day. Generally you spend less at breakfast than you would at dinner. Pack heavy snacks for lunch and eat a small dinner.
Also, never order drinks other than free ice water.
It’s like I read somewhere once…..eat like a king for breakfast, a prince for lunch, and a peasant for dinner.
Our best tip is to make trips out of a visit to family. We stay with our family and eat meals with them too. All in all, it ends up being much cheaper than a different type of vacation. Plus, the cousins get to spend time together.
Vacation. What we do to save money is we don’t give in to the idea you have to go somewhere BIG.
Friends and family are willing to go into debt to take a vacation.
We aren’t.
We pay cash. Someday we’ll have enough to take that big Disney vacation. But until then, we’ll be happy with going 30 mins away from home to camp out.
We always bring our own water…I will never pay 3-4.00 for water. We also picnic alot, by yearly passes, and camp!
We are taking a trip to CA from WA this summer. To cut costs, we are staying with family on our stops on the way down, and purchased city passes from Costco for all the major theme parks! We scored on the cost! Because it is still just me and my husband, we are carpooling and splitting the gas costs! I can’t wait for our trip!!
When at Disney, the free water tasted bitter at times, so I packed the individual drink powder mixes to take to the park so whenever we filled our bottles with the free water, we would add a pack to make it taste yummy. So much cheaper than buying drinks at the park. I also bought all of our Disney “gear” – ears, t-shirts, dolls, etc. off clearance racks before we left and kept them hidden until we got there. I don’t even think the kids realized that we didn’t buy the stuff there.
Packing a cooler with a picnic lunch at rest areas are a must. The kids get to stretch their legs and view the maps/info inside the lobby area. We also purchase Disney junk (sorry, that’s what it becomes once you are outside the Disney bubble)at local thrift stores/Goodwill and bring them out at the appropriate shopping time. We also make a “Bye Bye” tote bag with fun things just for the trip such as sticker books, wicky-sticks, pipe cleaners(knot the ends)to twist and shape, sketch pads, A special envelope to collect destination brochures. They can decorate the envelope as well.
We always pack a meal for the car. Saves $ and it is something to do! Helps to pass at least a little bit of the time.
I LOVE to travel but I HATE to spend money, so my solution is to NEVER eat out when we are on vacation. With 5 kids the cost adds up way too fast. I have a griddle that I bring with me, as well as a crock pot when needed. We have made steaks in our room on our trusty little griddle, as well as burgers, frozen pizzas, you name it.
The places that we visit usually have a lot of free entertainment, even if it’s just window shopping with a piece of chocolate at the end.
Once we even went to Florida to visit family and planned a trip to Disney. When we figured out how much it would cost we couldn’t do it, and instead splurged a little more for some museums near where were were staying (for free with relatives). I searched out coupons for those things too! We all had such a great time hitting the local stuff and the beach that we decided that it was more fun than Disney.
We’re going to live in my inlaws basement for a week! Can’t beat free.
We like to go camping up north near Payson. It’s only a 2 to 3 hour drive and the weather is way cooler. My boys love being in the outdoors and love going fishing. We just went last weekend and had a blast on our mini vacation! It is very inexpensive you only need a couple of meals and snacks.
I think it’s important to not spend money on things that aren’t actually important to you. Food isn’t terribly important to us, so I pack a lot of stuff and whatever meals out we have are at less expensive places. Sometimes the hotel amenities are important to us; sometimes we just want a clean place to sleep. My best tip is to look at each thing and decide if it’s important to you or if you can go without it. Of course, that’s the key to the whole frugal life, I think.
This may not be quite what you’re looking for, but to be honest . . . my best money-saving summer vacation tip is: don’t take your vacation in the summer!
We take our bigger vacations in fall or winter, and save a bundle! It’s off-season, so we can get better rates on lodging, and we live in a very moderate climate (SoCal), so we can still do lots of stuff outside.
San Diego in late December is gorgeous.
You know the rubber wristbands? Like the Livestrong yellow ones? Use a sharpie and write your info on the inside of one (turn it inside out to write and flip it back when dry) and have children wear it – in case they get lost at amusement parks or the beach etc.
These are all terrific tips. My challenge is DH, who likes to eat out every meal and stop for “road food”. He says that’s the fun of road trips, and part of the vacation is taking a break from budgeting. I disagree, so plan to take my own snacks and eat the breakfast food offered at the motels we stay at.
Any suggestions on how to lovingly change DH’s mind?
The same strategies my parents used when we were growing up and that we used when traveling as a Girl Scout troop are still some of the best ones – pack coolers with drinks and meals so you’re not eating out all the time. Alternate nights camping with nights in a hotel. Even when you’re not camping, pack a propane stove so you can cook your own dinner in a park. Take advantage of free activities all along the route.
Researching the place you are going is a good tip. You can find lots of free things to do just by searching around on the internet and asking. Also, pack a few snacks and waters for the trip. I like to freeze a few of the waters ahead of time and then they keep everything else nice and cold. Not only does this save you money but the time since you don’t have to make extra stops.
Unfortunately, we’re not exactly going on vacation this year, but we’re taking a staycation in our own town. We have an Entertainment book to get discounted attraction tickets and I always check AAA and my husband’s employee discounts. When we do stay in a hotel, I try to find someplace with a mini-kitchen (condo) or at least a fridge so we can save some money by not eating out every meal.
For older kids (readers): check to see if there’s a used paperback bookstore in town. we have one that sells kids’ paperbacks for 50 cents, so I stock up and save them for the car or plane trip and keep handing them out as they finish.
My other saver is to have a vaation at home: Mom and Dad get to do projects they “never have time for” and kids get to do the same!! Have picnics in front of your favorite family movie/game and a campfire with s’mores in the backyard at least one night! We even sleep in the tent outside if the night is cool!
Going to visit family for part of the trip always makes it a lot cheaper! If there isn’t family in the area then pick up an entertainment book and you can get meals and many attractions 50% off. The book is usually only around $20. We used it in Hawaii and it saved us over $1000!
We take a yearly vacation to Colorado to visit my in-laws. We drive, so we do have to save money for gas. However, since we stay with them, and eat many meals there, vacation time is pretty inexpensive. Because its in the mountains, and it gets so hot where we live near Tulsa, I am beyond grateful to enjoy being outdoors again.
Two tips- If you give 60-90 minutes of your time to hear a timeshare presentation at a resort, you get TONS of free stuff! We have received free Disney Magic Kingdom tickets, free Disney waterpark tickets, free Universal Studio tickets, free hotel stays, free week in a top resort -just don’t buy the timshare!!!!!!!!! I’m always up front that I’m not buying, just doing it for the reward.
also-we always visit libraries in other cities for a afternoon of free fun!
I know this would not work for all ages/families, but I like to eat a late breakfast and then a mid-day meal (maybe 3 p.m.) rather than three meals per day. It is, of course, easier to be flexible with meal times when children are older.
We always make sure that our hotel either has a free breakfast or has a frige/micro or small kitchen. This saves alot on eating out. We also bring drinks and snacks with us. We always drive instead of flying because with 4 of us going it has always been cheaper to drive. This year because of gas prices we are doing a combo vacation. We are going to stop on our way to somewhere else. We will either stop in North Carolina on our way to Virginia (to visit our families) for a few days in a cabin. Or when we take my oldest back to college we will head out a little early and stop at Myrtle Beach on the way. This should save us several hundred in gas either way!
We use Priceline.com to find cheap hotels and can usually stay in 3 star hotels for under 50 bucks a night. We are going to Chicago next week and plan to bring cereal and other breakfast foods and pack a cooler with lunchmeat and cheese and drinks. We usually ask for a fridge for our room and most hotels are happy to give you one if they have one available. We also look for free or almost free activities.
Travel with friends that have kids the same age and can all fit into one van to save on gas.
We are going to Branson, MO. We rented a condo through a friend with Timeshare points so it was a lot cheaper than hotel space. We are going to pick up some groceries to keep on-hand and we plan on eating at the very least breakfast there to save. Also I’ve followed this blog and gotten all of our toilettries including laudry soap for free!!! Thanks a bunch!!!
We have a museum membership so we look for reciprocal agreements with other museums for free or discounted entry. We are also planning a trip focused on my 3 year old and found that Sesame Place has two day ticketss for the same price as a one day!! Great deal huh?
We are getting ready to head to Florida to visit my sister’s family. Our whole family is getting together at her house this year, but we weren’t going to be able to afford the gas prices or plane tickets. In order to get us to go on this trip, my dad is renting a van to take us and our baby down, which will save us TONS of gas! Plus, my sister has free membership at the aquarium, and she has some friends at Disney World and Sea World who are trying to get free tickets for us. Otherwise, we’ll just hang out at the beach for the week! My best way of saving money is to take a trip with my parents or my husband’s parents because they will pay for a lot of stuff, knowing that we can’t afford a vacation!
We just took a week “vacation” which was really “tag along on Daddy’s conference” trip. I didn’t want to spend more than the money given him, so I searched online and found a website for the area we were going, with all of the kids-eat-free restaurants for the specific nights we were there. We ate at nice restaurants, and tried places we wouldn’t have otherwise. It was fun, and when we got home, we were two dollars UNDER budget.
One thing we found to be great on our way down to Florida was whatever state you want to stop and spend the night, go to a rest area and get their travel booklet for their state. There is several great coupons for hotels, restaurants and other attractions that you would otherwise pay full price for. We saved a lot of money on a hotel and we ate for almost FREE the next day for breakfast with B1G1 breakfast deals at various places.
1. If you’re going to a touristy area go to the local Wal Mart for souveneirs – we did this in Orlando last year and got autograph books for 1.47 (6.95 at the parks) and fan water bottles for 1.99 (11.95 at the park) my kids are young so they were happy.
2. check the local insiders what to do guides on line for your destination. Just as you would at home to look for great bargain places to eat, favorite kids activities etc. Better deals and more local flavor.
Every year we hit the beach and rent an inexpensive condo that is on the middle of the island, rather than directly on the beach, which typically costs a lot more. We always cook and eat our meals in the condo, but allot for one nice dinner out (with a coupon for B1G1 free). Most of our time is spent on the beach anyways so we always pack a cooler with drinks, snacks and sandwiches so the kids can make the most out of thier time on the sand.
With the cost of everything going up, our family has decided to do a “visiting tour” this summer. We’ll visit family up and down the east coast that we’ve missed out on seeing the past few years. We’ll be visiting/staying with several family members so I’ve made each of them a wonderful breakfast basket (pancake mix, jelly, flavored syrup, kitchen towels, hand written thank you note) from items that I found on clearance at Target. We’ll have room and board for our entire vacation for $25 in thank you gifts & a promise to reciprocate when any of them are ready to visit us!
Pack or buy at the supermarket foods for your own meals and snacks. Yogurts, granola bars, dry cereal, fruit, nuts, trail mix are all easy and healthy things and far cheaper than buying snacks for a family every day.
On the road, we pack food for lunches and snacks in the car– saves us both time and money, and it is much healthier than eating fast food constantly! In the hotel rooms, we will also keep snacks, drinks, and other quick and easy foods which keep us from having to run to the vending machine or grab all of our meals in a restaurant.
We buy a $100 membership to a museum that has reciprocal memberships for free admissions to nearly every science center, children’s museum, and zoo in the country. Then we don’t have to go to a “big” destination–we can find free things to do in smaller cities that are closer to home, or we can break up the trip with a museum stop on our way to or from a destination.
Be frugal wherever you can so that you have the freedom to splurge on the fun stuff! We pack as much of our food as possible- with careful planning, and by shopping smart at home at my familiar grocery stores, I only raid the grocery on vacation for fresh produce, meat, and dairy.
We also ‘plan’ for spontanaity. Once the vacation budget is set, we subtract lodging, gas, and groceries…the remainder is Fun Money- to be used when the urge hits. After all, it IS vacation!
we have a trip coming up to visit relatives, so while we are there we will stay with family. on the road, we will stop at our favorite hotel and get a AAA discount and free breakfast. we will pack drinks and snacks, but will also buy a few on the road when we stop for bathroom breaks. i will bring along some restaurant coupons in case we find those places for meals on the road. and we almost always order water to save costs.
If possible we get a house or condo (something with a kitchen)–that way I can cook some of the meals! Eating out the entire trip can be expensive as well as unhealthy! We also plan, plan, plan! You can find disount coupons online as well as find out if an attraction may have a time where admission is reduced. Planning is key for me–I can allow for rest time as well as fun time!
Pack food and get a place with a kitchen. The little bit of extra money you have to pay is worth it. Especially for us with a family of 6. Eating out is pricey. Also take advantage of any free entertainment in the area. The beach, hiking, local parks and farms, etc.
We rent a place with three of my sisters and their families. The housing cost is less, we take turns cooking/cleaning up dinner, share cereal and lunches and only eat out twice all week. We laugh, sing karaoke, play cards, and make memories. Our parents are gone so this time is precious. We live in four different states and look forward to it every year
I truly think the key to saving is to pack snacks, drinks, and lunches in order to keep from going through fast food places. I also check the hotels for coupons for the local businesses…lots of times there are buy-one-get-ones for places like putt-putt golf, ect.
We didn’t travel last year, but we made a trip to the beach earlier this month and stayed with my aunt’s family in their beach home.
The best frugal tip I have for vacations is to bring and make as much of your own food as you can. You’ll save so much over eating out or buying in little convenience stores. You can still splurge on treats and nice foods and not spend nearly as much as in restaurants.
Go on vacation with other family members or another family and split the cost of a rental house. OR if your own family members have a rental house, utilize it! It may not be at Disney World or Hawaii, but you can still have fun wherever there’s free or close-to-free lodging! We just did this last week at our in-laws rental house near the beach and had a blast! Saving money on hotel rooms means that we can “splurge” in other areas–a nicer meal or two or a fun waterpark.
We went to Disney World a few weeks ago. We booked our airfare, hotel & rental car as a package on Priceline. We did Disney only, because after a few days, it’s only about $3 to add another day to your ticket. Also, our hotel provided a free shuttle to Disney parks. We always ate breakfast at the hotel and grabbed some extra fruit for the backpack; Disney allows you to bring in outside food. We ate one meal out (or at the parks) each day and cooked in the room the rest of the time.
This year we tent camped as a family at a nearby national recreation area. The campsite was less than $30 for the entire weekend. I planned meals that could be done while camping into our normal grocery buy so we had no extra food costs. We only ventured 40 miles from home so the gas cost was reasonable. It was a great time and our children said it was “an awesome vacation”!
My tip is a little harder to do but when my kids were little we had a tent trailer. You traveled all over and save tons of money. We went to Disneyland and paid 35 dollars a night in a campground with a pool and everything. That trip was way cheaper than it would have been. And we didn’t have to eat in restaurants we cooked every night. That tent trailer was the best thing we ever did with the kids. We live in Colorado so we had alot of places we could go.
Robyn
Recritique.com
Restaurant Coupons, Freebies and more.
We spend a week at the beach with family. We all buy something to contribute to the house (laundry detergent, toilet paper) so we all don’t bring it along. Then we divvy up the dinners, each family group cooking one night. Saves a fortune as opposed to eating on the boardwalk every night.
We don’t fall into the souvenir trap. I give each boy a little spending money before we leave, and when that is gone, it’s gone. They’ve learned to choose wisely.
We collect those pressed pennies (http://www.pennycollector.com/) which cost $.51 each, and I consider them a good, cheap souvenir.
Another thing I do when we travel is I send each boy a postcard every day, detailing what we did that day. When we get home, they love having all that mail waiting for them, and it’s a fun way to look back and remember our trip. If we travel somewhere that doesn’t have postcards (if we go camping, for example) I buy those postcards that you can stick your own photos on. I still write one to each boy every day, and send them, and when we get home I go through my photos from the trip and match up the photos to what I talked about on the postcard.
Find out when the museum/ zoo has a free day and revolve your scheduling around that. By getting into a place for free you can justify paying to eat there and have a great time. (but be prepared that those will be busier days because everyone is getting in free) Another practical tip: Go to those kinds of places early in the day or later in the day. If you hit the museum right in the middle of the day everyone is there and the place is a madhouse. Who wants to wait in a line to get on the elevator?
Unfortunately, I learned this the hard way. 
We try to choose destinations based on how much free stuff there is available. Even museums and attractions that charge will usually have a free or discounted night. For larger cities, it’s also a good idea to have a museum membership. When we went to Chicago, we were able to go to almost every attraction in town on the $60 annual membership I had purchased in my home state. With 6 of us, the admission prices on all those places would have added up to hundreds of dollars. It also pays to have a relative who travels a lot for work. This summer, we’re all flying to NYC for free and staying at a Hyatt for a week for free, using my Brother-in-law’s frequent flier miles and hotel points since he has way more than he could ever use.
We try to choose destinations based on how much free stuff there is available. Even museums and attractions that charge will usually have a free or discounted night. For larger cities, it’s also a good idea to have a museum membership. When we went to Chicago, we were able to go to almost every attraction in town on the $60 annual membership I had purchased in my home state. With 6 of us, the admission prices on all those places would have added up to hundreds of dollars. It also pays to have a relative who travels a lot for work. This summer, we’re all flying to NYC for free and staying at a Hyatt for a week for free, using my Brother-in-law’s frequent flier miles and hotel points since he has way more than he could ever use.
When ever we go on a trip I always plan ahead and try to buy everything that we will need in advanced. We don’t eat at resturants when we travel so I pack out food. We save tons of cash by doing this.
I pack things like:
Crackers
Fruit Snacks
Fresh Fruit
Carrot Sticks
Bottled Water
Pre-made sandwiches
Juice boxes
gronoala bars
ect…
Also we don’t buy many souvioneers because they always tend to be way expensive, and the kids will be more likely to enjoy a picture in their scrapbook, than whatever they got on the trip, and it’s much easier to save the pictures als well in a scrapbook. I get all mt picturs printed at http://www.winkflash.com where 4×6 prints are just 6 cents each.
We bought a pass to the state park. For $30 we can have many fun trips!
Economical and Stress Free Vacationing is always our goal as a family.
First, we thoroughly research our affordability options. We plan out our vacation budget carefully. We consider ticket prices and look for the best specials.
Second, we look for affordable accomodations. Bringing blow up mattresses has often helped us to avoid the price of an extra room. We have used timeshare promotions but we really didn’t like these promotions.
Next, we consider food options and kids eat free has proven to be quite cost effective. We always pack a cooler with drinks, fruit, snacks and sandwich items. This cooler stays the back of our vehicle.
We try to focus on time together and relaxing together. Less is usually more for us when we vacation.
For more than 15 years now we have vacationed in the Outer Banks of NC. We’ve always gone with a group of friends or at least one other family. We rent a house down there for a week, and going in on it with other people really cuts down on the cost of the rental. We eat just about every meal at the house which also cuts our costs. What’s nice is that each family takes a turn fixing dinner and cleaning up on their designated night. So even though we’re eating in, we’re not always faced with the task of cooking and cleaning.
Before all the kids started school, we always went down on Labor Day weekend and spent the following week there. This is considered off-season, so the homes are a bit cheaper and there are a lot fewer people there.
We’ll be heading down on July 19 and can hardly wait!
Instead of buying new travel toys, I take some of each child’s favorite books and toys out of circulation about a month before our trip and keep them out of sight. Then I pack their trip backpacks with those items and give them to the kids as we hit the road. The toys and books may not be new, but they have been missed enough to keep the kids busy for hours.
I save all the little plastic toys that show up in cereal boxes; the mail; birthday party goodie bags; and sunday school and pull them out at various times on a trip so the kids feel like they are getting lots of new stuff.
When we do trip we try to either travel with family, so we can split costs or we travel to visit family. We are very fortunate that our relatives allow us to stay with them and have a ton of kid friendly things to do around them.
Most hotels will not let our family stay in one room since there are 7 of us, so we usually camp. Camping is great, we usually stay in state or national parks, most are close enough to civilization to do other fun stuff. We’re planning on a trip from S. Texas to Nebraska this summer with a stop in Kansas to see one of the Laura Ingalls Wilder homes, a stop for Six Flags in Arlington (my children got free tickets with their Read to Succeed program) and a couple of other stops.
Packing food and fun snacks is the key. We’ve been collecting fun snack food and drinks that I’ve been “buying” with coupons for months.
Our children, ages 6-14, are responsible for their own spending money. They’ve been saving their pennies and have been stripping and recycling copper to earn extra money.
I really think attitude about the trip is the most important thing. I grew up taking trips each year to Hawaii and Europe and didn’t appreciate them at all. Our vacations now are very simple, yet we are grateful to be able to even take a trip. A grateful heart makes all the difference in the world.
My ideas may have already been suggested, but here goes . . . pack a cooler with some water from home (you can freeze water bottles ahead, and they can thaw on the trip, too), along with some sandwiches and snacks–much cheaper and healthier than fast food while driving to your destination. IF you stay at a motel/hotel with a small refrigerator in the room, go to a local store to buy some cereal and milk (or bagels, etc.) for making your own breakfast right there. You can also take some day trips to local attractions instead of long trips that require motel stays, etc.
We try to make sandwiches to take with us on our trips and buy drinks at walmart or somewhere like that, so we aren’t buying them from a gas station.
Also, when we go to the beach, we go together with several family members and rent a house, and then each individual family takes a night and cooks the meal for everyone so we don’t have to eat out.
We have a pop up camper and do “one tank” trips. We have to be able to get there and back on a tank of gas. We pull out the map and pick a place. Then we research it for campsites and other activities. Then we hit the road.
This sounds crazy, but the cheapest way to have a NICE vacation, is to cruise. It’s just my husband and I, but you can’t beat entertainment, great accommodations, awesome food, and the voyage from island to island for less than $100 a day pp. Plus, it’s a real vacation because you don’t have to do anything yourself. We always cruise the cheapest by looking on websites for the best deals. I’m a teacher so I have to take my vacation during the summer, but if you can cruise on non-peak times, you can get a heck of a deal.
I know this won’t work for everyone, but this year, it worked well for us. My kids go to a Christian school which holds a benefit auction every spring. I made sure to save some money ahead of time so that I could bid on some of the gift certificates to area attractions in order to do some inexpensive day trips in our immediate area. I was able to get the gift certificates for less than the cost of purchasing the tickets outright, so I was happy! And we have some interesting day trips to look forward to this summer!
Boy, there are some great tips here! I’m not sure I have much to contribute.
One thing that comes to mind is this: We lived in TX and had an annual membership to our zoo. With that membership card, we were also given FREE admission to all the zoos and museums in the same group! So we would make sure to visit those zoos/museums when we happened to be near them.
Planning ahead is huge. Are there any good deals at restaurants.com? Are there any reduced rates for family places (after 3pm, weekdays, etc.). What are the grocery stores there – can I get some idea of what to expect there (CVS!) from MSM, etc.?
And snacks in the car bought from the grocery store is HUGE.
Camping! Plus I’m stockpiling all those “free” with coupon deals for drinks and snacks so we won’t have to spend so much for food.
We’re leaving Sunday for a couple days in Houston, visiting our older son and the Houston Space Center while we’re there.
I’m planning to take lots of my free samples and trial sizes to use at the hotel. We’re also packing a cooler full of snacks and drinks to save a little money on impulse buys at gas stations.
We used points from a credit card we pay off each month for 2 free nights at the Marriot.
Let’s see… our vacay money saving tips…
1) Take the train! Scenic, cheaper (than a plane, and sometimes even a car!), and MUCH more kid-friendly.
2) Pack your snacks. I like to cut loose and get a box of Little Debbie snacks for trips. And Twizzlers. Buying them at the grocery store is SO MUCH cheaper than on the train, in the airport, or even at a gas station. Be prepared for when the snack attack strikes!
Our biggest expense when vacationing is hotels. There are too many of us for one room, so we either had to get two rooms or a suite. Way too much money. To get around that, we camp our way! More work, but less money.
We love to go to the beach. To save money, we try to wait until August when some of the rates go down. We also say in a condo off the beach. It is well worth the money we save to walk across the street to go to the beach. We also do most of our own cooking. For the trip there and back, we pack our own snacks (we can buy these cheaper at a discount store rather than buying them at a gas station).
Have a great trip!
We love to go to the beach. To save money, we try to wait until August when some of the rates go down. We also say in a condo off the beach. It is well worth the money we save to walk across the street to go to the beach. We also do most of our own cooking. For the trip there and back, we pack our own snacks (we can buy these cheaper at a discount store rather than buying them at a gas station).
Have a great trip!
With travel rates soaring, my husband is planning a “stay-cation” in the backyard for the family. He wants to set up the tent for the night with sleeping bags. We will barbecue camping food, complete with s’mores. We will read bedtime stories by flashlight. It sounds like a fun time without having to spend a dollar on gas….. I just hope he remembers to turn off the sprinklers!
Vacation in your hometown! Most folks live someplace all their life but never do the things the tourists come to town for.
We’re in the Dallas area, and there are hundreds of tourist attractions we still haven’t seen. Museums, amusement and water parks, outlet malls, zoos, etc. The only set rule is we have to eat at new restaurants.
Let the household chores slide, spend your days doing something new, and don’t answer your home phone unless it’s an emergency.
I get an Entertainment book each year and the local coupons come in handy for close to home vacations!
There are 6 of us which makes hotels quite expensive. We decided to camp on our cross country trip last summer. We found campsites that were $13-$40 a night. We didn’t own a trailer, so we purchases a used tent trailer. the cost of that was several hundred dollars less than renting one. A tent trailer is small and light which made it easy to pull. We now own a trailer that we can sell for the same amount that we purchased it for, or keep for future outings.
One of the best and cheapest vacations we’ve done is to just PRETEND to go on vacation! We owned our own business when we did this and it was great. We told everyone we were going out of town to an undisclosed location and told them when. When that time came, we stopped answering our phone (except for the cell that our business could call for “emergencies” like -where’s the new package of tape you bought?), stopped cooking (we ate out or picnicked about every meal), and started exploring our town. We even had memberships to some places our youngest child had never been! We toured a bread factory, saw movies at the park, drank phosphates at the old-fashioned drug store. The nice thing was that every night we could go home and sleep in our own bed. We saved a lot on lodging and gas, although we had budgetted for meals and attractions. One night we dragged our TV outside and had our own movie in the “park”. We also drove about an hour to one of the last drive-in theaters in our area – what a blast! You don’t have to leave home to have a grrrrreat vaca! You just have to tell people that you are!
We stayed at a hotel which primarily caters business clientèle, which means Mon – Fri business. We stayed Fri – Sun in a really nice hotel for the cost of a “cheaper” hotel that caters to tourists. The only ‘drawback’ was the location. Our view was of the airport, but since we weren’t there for a view, it didn’t really matter.
In addition, when we said it was our anniversary, they tossed in a free upgrade, passes to the free cocktail hour at the bar, and $150 gift certificate to the hotel restaurant.
So my tips are determine what’s really important to you instead of what others say is important and don’t be afraid to mention special occasions to solicit freebies.
Before you head off to your destination, contact the state visitor’s bureau for one of their packets, there will be lots of information and coupons for discounts to attract out of state visitors.
Plus, when you’re there (wherever “there” is), don’t be shy about asking for discounts. When I asked at Universal Studios I found I was eligible for a discount for handicapped people because I wear hearing aids. Military discounts are even more common.
We were able to take a trip to Disneyland for very cheap! We had accumulated Marriott Reward Points from hotel stays my husband had used while out of town for work. We were able to get a hotel room for 8 nights for free. We also packed most of our food and took it with us (we drove, also a money saver). We bought our park tickets discounted online. The only thing we paid full price for was gas. We also went in the off season so we maximized what we did at the parks because it was less crowded.
I would suggest taking the kids to visit a relative that you haven’t seen in a while. You can stay/eat with them. Just make sure you take day trips to do fun things. The other advantage is the kids get to know a particular family member a little better.
When we went on our honeymoon we were close to broke (after all the wedding costs). We did a few things – first, we booked one of the package deals off Travelocity and we got the flight plus a week at the hotel plus a rental car for close to less than the hotel was going to run us. Next, we bought a “citypass” in the city we were in. Alot of the major tourist cities have these and they are a bargain if you’re going to visit the traditional tourist spots. We didn’t go everywhere available, but we still saved money buying the passes and it made it easier to plan our days. Finally, we planned at least two “non-activity” days, where we just laid by the pool, relaxed in a local coffee shop, and napped. It was actually awesome because its (1) cheap and (2) something you rarely do for yourself at home.
We are huge NY Yankee fans so we find an away game in driveable distance and buy tickets way in advance. We use hotels.com for our lodging. Since we book in Jan/Feb the rates are great. Most cities have a tourism website that offers coupons for dining and entertainment. It’s a fun weekend away from home without taking a huge chuck of your budget. This year we’re going to Baltimore…Cant wait!
Take advantage of resort pitches! We’re taking a weekend vacation this year and only paying $60 for 2 nights hotel ($30 / night). We signed up to go to one of those “buy a condo/timeshare” deals. Basically, we have to spend a day visiting a beautiful resort, which is giving us a $50 giftcard to use on the premises (which has several restaurants). So we will have spent $10 for 2 nights at a hotel and dinner! This specific deal is available through Bass Pro Shops in Missouri, if anyone is interested.
Our church camp offers its chateau’s on the off season for buy one night get one night free. These are three bedroom, two bath units with a full kitchen and gorgeous view of the woods, especially in the winter. One night costs $110, if you invite another family and take advantage of the B1G1, you can get away for two nights for $55. The other mom and I plan the food ahead of time, making and freezing casseroles or easily-put-together meals like haystacks. It’s a three hour drive so the fun is had quickly and the children make memories that will last them a lifetime. I’ve been a lot of places but taking a weekend and going to the church camp is one of my favorite vacations. Try to think of unique places that you might be able to stay!
We probably will stay local this year. Luckily we have been blessed with the fact that my parents live on the lake! When they have to travel out of town they let us use their home. So we pack up the kids and go to their house and spend several days, we just relax, swim, fish and watch movies. The kids really enjoy it and it feels like a vacation, even though it is just grandma’s house!
We have generous relatives with a large home so it’s like going to a resort to visit them! We also get to go to a Christian camp for free when we help take a youth group there. We don’t do anything fancy or far away, but we enjoy what we do. We’re also looking into camping out, since the cost is mainly in the supplies (which can be used over and over) and the campground fee.
each of my kids gets a special “box of goodies” when we road trip and they have thier own snacks, coloring books (from the dollar store) and goodies to keep them entertained so we don’t have to replenish snacks at pricy gas stations, we also always try to either stay somewhere with free deluxe continental breakfast or a kichenette. One more tip- most hotels will offer discounts for government employees, sometimes it is as much as $50 off the published rate, so if either parent works for the state or government in any capacity and can show a work ID this is another great way to save (if you work for the county, post office, state road crews, etc- they usually aren’t picky)
Have a great summer!
Dawn
http://www.cruisecompete.com lets you enter the cruise you want, the size of your party, how many cabins, etc …. and then multiple travel agents send you quotes for the price of the cruise!
Stay with family. A dinner or two is still cheaper than a hotel. And always fun
everyone gets a work out and its clean healthy fun!
Priceline.
camping trip
an all-inclusive resort. there’s sticker shock. but when you consider that everything has been paid for…that can be cheaper than having to pay for each expense (and sometimes unexpected) that comes up!
we always bring along a cooler so we can buy food to keep in our hotel room for most meals. We’ve made it a guideline to “eat out” maximum of 1 time per day on vacations and eat the rest from our hotel room. (This is still quite a bit of eating out, but hey! it’s a vacation!)
We also try to find out when a local farmers market will be happening and go there together. It is a great way to go local at the vacation spot and get to know the area better — lots of fun! Plus we get to buy delicious, fresh, healthy produce for a good price.
We just spent a long weekend at the beach and planned to eat big breakfasts (cooked at our place), lunches that we had packed, and then dinner out. One day, we went out in the late morning for brunch and made that into a two-meal day, with just some snacks in the early morning and afternoon to hold us off until dinner.
We pack breakfasts and lunch while traveling, and we don’t usually purchase souvenirs unless it’s something really special. Another money saving vacation tip is to visit the grandparents, because they will often cover some expenses. =)
For souvenirs and “fun” for the kids…. we bought postcards and the flattened pennies most places have. We took along a spiral bound index card pack and at night the kids pasted the card in and then wrote or drew something on the facing pages. They are now 14 and 16 and treasure these keepsakes and we have great memories of our trips. We got a little book, made especially for the flattened pennies and we dated the back of the pennies with a Sharpie. They remember getting each one!
Love your blog!
Lynette
Michigan
For souvenirs and “fun” for the kids…. we bought postcards and the flattened pennies most places have. We took along a spiral bound index card pack and at night the kids pasted the card in and then wrote or drew something on the facing pages. They are now 14 and 16 and treasure these keepsakes and we have great memories of our trips. We got a little book, made especially for the flattened pennies and we dated the back of the pennies with a Sharpie. They remember getting each one!
Love your blog!
Lynette
Michigan
We have started camping more. Granted we don’t have a camper but we rent one usually at the campground. We stay at Cherrystone RV in Virginia and love it. It is right on the bay. They have two pools and all kinds of activities. For $800 we have a great, relaxing vacation. There is nightly activities and events to keep the kids occupied. We take 90% of our food with us. I use samples I have accumulated for our grooming needs.
This year we are skipping it and we are going to enjoy my brother’s company instead. He lives about an hour from the ocean so we are going to stay with him and enjoy the beach a couple of days! Cheap and fun!!!
We bought a canoe a few years ago, and we take it to a campground with sandwiches and snacks. It is a cheap way to have lots of fun. Our son (almost 2) loves to fish and eat, so it fun for all. Even the baby loves riding down a river.
We are planning a quick weekend getaway to Atlantic City – to save money we are carpooling with family members and sharing hotel rooms.
This year, I think we will be camping. We have a long road trip across the country, and with the gas prices, we’ve had to take a week off of our trip (that’s okay, we’ll vacation at home a bit). As I’ve been looking over room rates for a family of our size, I have not been able to find anything less than $100 a night, so I have looked into camping at a place that has showers and a pool. It is a lot less expensive, and you can find some nice places.
I would also plan ahead, and find cheap or free family activities that our family will enjoy.
We have teamed up with an older couple in our Church who own a time share. If you pick off season, they can eaisly get much cheaper rates. We split the cost of the trip straight down the middle. This mid September we are headed off to Williamsburg.Last year we went to Myrtle Beach, Washington, D.C. amd Lancaster, Penn. All in one trip. The cost of the trip for 5 nights/ 6 days was $500.00 total. our family had a wonderful time!!
We always pack snacks for our room. In addition to this we take breakfast bars or something similar for quick meals in the morning so we do not break the bank (unless breakfast is included at a hotel).
I also make sure to look for deals on entries to places before going to make sure we get in for as little as possible. There are often great deals for people IF you have a relative in the area (like in LA for Disneyland).
When my family went on our annual Florida beach trip, my mom and I both went through our cabinets and pantries to see what items we already had on hand. We based our menus for the week on what we had, i.e.: she had taco shells so one night we made tacos. I had lots of cereal, so I brought that. We drove in my Expedition, so we just packed our groceries in a big box and when we got to the condo, we mostly just bought perishable foods. I think we only spent like $100 for the week on milk, bread, meat, etc.
My husband’s family has a lakehouse so we are trying to go there when we get the itch to travel this summer. It takes less than a tank of gas to get there and back (300 miles round trip) which is about $50 these days. We take food to eat while there since it is too far into town. We pack food to eat on the way as well. The girls play in the water or do crafts inside or play games. We also can take the dog so no boarding fees. It’s a lot of fun and there is always family around to enjoy too. The only cost for us is food we take and the gas!
WE go to my dad’s house in VA. He lives on Lake Anna and has a beautiful dock area to swim with lots of tubes and water toys, they also have a boat that we go out on, a kayak, a jetski (although we are not jetski types). He has a nice beautiful house and we stay in the downstairs area with our own bedroom and bathroom. We get to visit with my dad and get a nice vacation for just the mileage it takes to get there.
Our best money saving vacation tips….here are a few off the top of my head….
1. Plan Ahead- We always like to have an idea of what places we will visit while on vacation…this way we waste no time on finding what to do for the day once the relaxing time has arrived.
2. Look for Coupons- Whether it be online, sending away for brouchures, or from frinds and family. And if we are driving to our destination…always look for a Welcome Center…there are always lots of coupons and “Attractions To See” books for visitors!
3. Pack Snacks- With young ones…it’s inevitable….The kiddies always get hungry…so we pack snacks and drinks…so when the tummy rumbles….we are prepared!!
Just a few things we do to save a bit before heading out for one of our family vacations!!
My husband and I flew from Flroida to North Carolina with our almost 2 year old son. I paid full price for 3 plane tickets because I knew my son would need his own seat. The day before we left I was searching the Southwest Airline web site and realized that because my son was under 2 (his birthday was 1 week away from the day we left home) I could have gotten his ticket much cheaper. Southwest gives parents a break on the childs ticket price. IF only I ahd researched it more before I purchased our tickets.
What I do is go to the Chamber of Commerce website of the specific place that I am going to visit via Google, and then I find what restaurants they have available in the area. I sign up for their email list before I go and usually get great coupons, such as the last time that we went to the beach, we got a great deal at Fazoli’s. I was shocked.
Also, as far as the place that I am going to stay, I go through http://www.VRBO.com. With the trip that I was talking about above, I agreed to straighten up the condo before I left, and the owner knocked off $50.00.
Thanks for the great job you do!
We have been having this same discussion at our house this summer. Since gas prices are so high, we decided to stay home for the week and do things we always say we would love to do but don’t. The money we would spend on gas will go a long way so we can eat at our favorite restaurants (and try some new ones), and take day trips.
We live in a very touristy area on the beach, so there is a lot to do locally.
This is not ideal- I think we would still love to get away, but since our kids are very young (four kids ages six and under- we still depend on daily naps for half our family) and our extended families would not be able to join us, going away right now seems like a lot of work combined with a lot of money. I think our plan for this year might be best on our sanity and our wallets.
We always Priceline our hotels. We usually get 2 1/2-3 star hotels for $35-$55 a night, which is a HUGE savings!! I like the 2 1/2 star ones best because they also usually come with a NICE free breakfast!!
We recently just drove to South Carolina for a week’s vacation. We saved a ton of money by bringing a lot of our own food in the car (it’s much more expensive on Hilton Head than KY where we live)and cooking every night but two for the week. We enjoyed our meals out because they were more “special” and overall it was more relaxing to have quick, pre-planned meals the rest of the week.
We live in central Florida but still enjoy a weeks stay at the beach every August.
We book our room at least 6 months in advance (that usually gets you at least a 20% discount) We also book for 2 weeks (the longer you stay the cheaper the nightly rate) and my in-laws take one of the weeks. We take a cooler and an electric skillet and sandwich fixings ( we eat out only once during the week). If we have an effiency it makes things easier. This year it was cheaper to rent a condo for 2 weeks than it was to stay in a hotel, so we get a complete kitchen!!! We may splurge for ice cream sometime but the kids don’t “expect” it and it’s always a nice surprise for them. They also save up their pennies and buy their own souvenirs, no begging for stuff (well, they can but it doesn’t work!)
We mostly camp for our vacations. Very cheap once you have all of the supplies you need (a lot of these can be purchased used too). The kids have a blast helping to make meals over the little camping stove or the fire, so we rarely eat out. We usually bring a coupon with to stop for ice cream one day. Most state parks have great hiking trails that keep us busy for hours, we pack some snacks and a picnic lunch for a break along the way.
If you stay where you have a fridge in your room, go to the grocery store and stock up on breakfast and lunch items. Go to http://www.restaurant.com to get discount gift certificates for dinner. Sometimes, you can get $25 GC’s for just $5!
Before our last “vacation” my husband made two big meals (beef stew and spaghetti with meat sauce) and froze portions in big plastic containers. These helped keep the cooler cold for days and were so easy to reheat and eat on the camp stove or in the hospital cafeteria microwave (we were visiting a relative who had a long hospital stay).
We live near the beach so even thoug we don’t take a family vacation every year we do tend to go to the beach as a family at least once a week if even for a couple of hours.
I also bring a cooler ands bring 12pks of drinks that I catch on sale, like recently I stocked up when I founds them for $2.00 a 12 pk. I do drinks for us and waters and juice boxes for the kiddos. I also buy sandwich meatham and cheese and put it in our hotel fridge like others mention but only I bring our sandwich maker which makes it feel a little less like brown bagging it. We usually have continental breakfast then have a nice lunch somewhere since lunch is cheaper. We can have sandwiches at the hotel or pick up something light somewhere else.
My husband craves food late at night so its also great for that when he is a little hungry after diner, like his 4th meal!
Oh if I’m going to a popular location I also search EBAY for tickets to places that maybe some didnt get a chance to use.Like Zoos, museums etc. People buy them online through websites and never get a chance to use them, so we get them cheaper than buying them and I save a ton like this.
Amen to the poster above who said it’s okay to take small vacations. No need to break the bank going on a cruise or to Mexico (even though we would LOVE to do those things)! We have done small day trips – to the Children’s Museum, zoo, beach, etc. This saves gas money and lodging. And everyone’s already said it, but packing your own food saves a ton!
We have a favorite vacation spot on the beach in Florida. We reserve the house 6 months to 1 year ahead of time. We have found that by doing this the rental company will give us a lot of “deals”. We can rent a house for the Spring rate or Fall rate instead of the higher Summer prices.
I know this isn’t for everyone but it works well for us…we also find out what family members would also like to vacation there i.e. my sisters and their families…etc. Then we split the cost of the house or condo.
We cook all of our meals in the kitchen except one special night out(which we scan vacation flyers and ads for “deals” for restaurants). We split the meals up to save as well. We don’t neccesarily do everything together just split up the meal responsibilities and cost.
The rental houses also come with amenities like golf and deep sea fishing. We always take advantage of these…my husband and I will go fishing for free, while aunts and uncles watch the children and vice versa. For us it makes a great and inexpensive vacation.
Also we pack a cooler with food and snacks for the drive down so that we don’t have to stop for any fast food or gas station snacks. We also research ahead of time activities that are going on around the time we will be visiting. We take advantage of the free or discounted days at museums, aquariums etc. Also local festivals are a very inexpensive way to enjoy the local cuisine and entertainment. Hope this helps!
Food is an easy way to save. For the car, pack a lunch in the cooler for the way. Also bring homemade snacks like ceral bars or fruit and cut up veggies that won’t make a mess. Bring a trash bag and empty it when you stop at the gas station or rest area.
For the return trip, stop at a grocery store and pick up a bag of hamburger buns. Get enough meat and cheese or other fillers to make sandwiches for the way home. Add a bag of baby carrots, and a few apples and you have a well-rounded lunch.
Flying is not so easy to bring your own food. But you can still bring packets of oatmeal, granola bars, and dry cereal for cheap breakfasts and snacks.
State parks are a great, inexpensive family vacation and keep your dollars in your area.
We always wait to go on vacation when my parents have their 4 times a year timeshare at the beach. That way, our daughter can see her grandparents and we can have a place to stay at the beach for free!
Well, I am not sure if this counts..but it sure helped us out:)
My husband travels alot…so we really stacked up on airline points, hotel points, and rental points. It really lets you look forward to something when he is gone alot:)
We live in KS and were able to use the airline points to Vail, Co – it dosen’t cost for our little ones yet (free!).
We were able to rent a car when we got there (free, except for gas).
We were able to have a 3 night stay in the Marriott Resort (free!).
We ate out nice for lunches (cheaper prices) and then the only other thing that we had to pay for was a nice horse back ride in the mountains! We all had a blast, very memorable, and comforting knowing that we had not spent that much for a very nice 3 day resort stay!!!
One really good inexpensive vacation is to visit a National Park. Most National Parks have free or almost free programs for the kids (the Junior Ranger program), plus there is always great hiking, historical tours in the park, national landmarks, canoeing, etc. My family went to the Smokey Mountains National Park last year–we stayed in a nice cabin, which we splurged on, that had a kitchen–so we cooked all our own food and saved money by not eating out. We went on a different hike or tour every day. A couple of the kids did the Junior Ranger program, and one of my sisters got engaged at a waterfall! We got to walk around Gatlinburg one afternoon, too. We hardly spent any money, besides on the cabin, but we had a blast!
Well, I am not sure if this counts..but it sure helped us out:)
My husband travels alot…so we really stacked up on airline points, hotel points, and rental points. It really lets you look forward to something when he is gone alot:)
We live in KS and were able to use the airline points to Vail, Co – it dosen’t cost for our little ones yet (free!).
We were able to rent a car when we got there (free, except for gas).
We were able to have a 3 night stay in the Marriott Resort (free!).
We ate out nice for lunches (cheaper prices) and then the only other thing that we had to pay for was a nice horse back ride in the mountains! We all had a blast, very memorable, and comforting knowing that we had not spent that much for a very nice 3 day resort stay!!!
We went to the beach last year, and what we did to save money was to rent a house, it sounds expensive but it was cheaper than a hotel at least we thought so because with a hotel the only food options you have are to eat out. With the house we were able to prepare meals at the house instead of eating out. Other things we did was to pack 2 coolers, one cooler was in the driving compartment with us and contained drinks and I also had snacks for our kids. That saved us from having to stop at convenience stores and paying high prices. The other cooler was packed in the back with our clothes and things and contained more substantial food items. I baked muffins, cookies and such for breakfast as well as packed cereal, frozen meals and condiments. And I am glad I did because once we got to the beach and stopped at a grocery store the prices were astronomical, I am thankful I only needed to pick up bread and milk. I also took my coupons with me just in case. We did go out to eat once or so but it was nice to enjoy our time doing other things when our meals were taken care of. I also bought our kids “beach toys” at the dollar stores here and hid them from the kids till we got there, the same bucket, shovel and such that I got here for about 2.50 cost 10.00 at the beach.
So I guess my best tip is to be prepared. Think about what you might need before you get there, beach toys can be bought inexpensivly, food stuffs can be prepared and frozen ahead of time, and it is more to pack but its worth it in the long run to be able to get to your destination and enjoy yourselves instead of running here or there and spending extra on things you need.
Enjoy your vacation!!
We like to go camping. Depending on where you live it can even be a free stay. Around southern Wisconsin, we have to pay the camping fee and there is a state park sticker that we have to get but out west (i.e. Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, etc.) BLM land is pretty much fair game. Obviously, be careful and know the area. All you end up paying for is the food you take with you and gas there, especially if you already have to camping equipment. Much fun to be had by all!!!
We’ve always shared beach houses with other family to make it more afforable. And it gives the children someone besides each other to play with and the adults someone to trade off “adult duties” with. We also pack a cooler everywhere we go in the summer to avoid picking up expensive food along the way.
Lindsay
I pack our own snacks and drinks to take with us on vacation. We also try to rent a condo or extended stay place so that we can cook some meals and not have to eat out all of the time. We also wait to buy suvinoirs until the last day, then the kids know exactly what they want and you are not buying random junk throughout the week.
I have a few vacation tips that I love to use. First, find interesting things in your hometown, state. Every state has something unique and sometimes it might be very close to you. My next tip is that when driving somewhere I always pack a cooler with food so that we don’t stop for fastfood. We do things like bologna, cheese and crackers ( I buy a chunk of bologna and cheese then cut them up and put into separate ziploc bags) or sandwiches & chips. I always make some sort of cookies to munch on too and a staple for us is pretzel rods, I don’t know why but my kids LOVE eating these, in the car, on a plane…anywhere!!
We always pack our lunch for the trip and take advantage of some nice welcome centers/rest stops with clean bathrooms and space for the kids to run. And using coupons is a must for anything you must buy. Coupons for fast food are great because you can use the indoor/outdoor play area. We have been blessed to stay at the home of various friends when they were out of town and thus not using their homes. It’s not about spending alot of money, but about being together, relaxing and having a change of scenery and routine.
My husband works for the state so we use his state discount when we can and combine it with other discounts when able. We pack our own food and check out the free museums and tours offered.
My husband and I went away on a little getaway for a night a few months ago. We rented a room with a little kitchenette in it and I brought food to make dinner. It was so nice to have a nice quiet dinner with no interruptions and I figured out that it was cheaper to pay a few extra dollars on the room than to go out to dinner.
For day trips, we also use the passes from the library to get into places free or cheap.
I found that restaurant.com has some amazing deals. I searched for restaurants within the zip code radius that we were staying, and got gift certificates for various restaurants. Right now, they have a promotion that you can get a $25 GC for $4, and you receive an additional $10 GC for a restaurant of your choice. In addition, use Ebates to order, and you receive some great bargains!
Well, my cheap travel advice is to stay close to home!! Become a tourist in your own town! Or a town close to yours..
We love to bring our tents and go to nearby state parks, exploring the many wonders there. Plus kids LOVE to see all the animals and nature. We love biking as well. Great outdoor ideas, and camping is fairly cheap!
Plus who really knows *(and has seen) everything in their town? I find there is always something new going on that is fun to go to!
We try and do several things. One of which is we have ONE credit card. WE are very faithful to pay this off at the end of every month. We chose the Chase Freedom where we can earn cash instead of points. We then take that cash and put it into a savings account and once a year we try and take a weeks vacation, We go with my husbands family and do not travel more than 6 hours away. We go to a river that is very family frendly and is in a resort and has a major water park right next to it. This is a vacationing town. The whole family shares the expenses and takes turns cooking and it is so much fun and really helps with money. It is really nice to float on an inner tube for an hour down the river slowly and enjoy the scenery!
Having a spending limit for each kid is a must for us. We are lucky to live close to Lake Michigan and we like to take advantage of that. Ther are so many reasonable things to do and it is just beautiful and peaceful. We usually take a couple mini vacations or weekends instead of a long trip. Plan on the go snacks and drinks to keep eating out costs down.
Buy an entertainment book for where you’re going- tons of coupons for attractions and food
We usually go to Orlando (Disney World) for family vacations. And it can be done for alot cheaper than most people think. We have a wonderful hotel we stay at with a full kitchen, full bedroom, and a living room. We pay with tax and hotel surcharges about $65.00/night. We eat our breakfasts and dinners at the hotel. We pick the dates we want to go, usually in November, less crowds and my youngest daughter, who has had a few health concerns , it is her birthday. Throughout the year we buy the Fl. Residents tickets one at a time. I buy little souveneirs from the Disney stor outlet, little by little. Not much mostly pins. I “buy” snacks on sale from CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, when I can get them close to free and put them away (Thanks Crystal). I put away anything we have bought, such as Mickey ears and pin lanyards in a special suitcase so we can reuse them each trip. When I make the hotel reservation and get the final cost, we use a reloadable Visa card and put that amount on there plus a gas money and a little extra. You can also take a cooler into Disney with snacks, sandwiches, drinks. Our family of 5 went to Disney last year on about 800.00 total.
Travel with friends/family to split the cost. Share a condo, cook in-room, and enjoy the amenities the condo offers.
A couple tips:
-Rent a house or condo with a kitchen so you can cook all your meals in. It saves you tons of money on going out to eat.
-Use Priceline.com to “name your own price” on hotels and airfare. I start extremely low in my offer, and work up in $5 increments to reach the lowest possible price they’ll except.
We always go up north to Upper Michigan to my in-laws house (five acres on lake michigan) the kids have their bikes up there and there is always good cooking!! Our kids earned their local trip this summer. Our local library summer reading program allowed them to earn free tickets to the National Railroad museum. They have always wanted to go but at 6.50 a child this will make it FREE!
We take a trip to the Outer Banks, NC almost every summer. It is a trip with extended family of 12 people. We rent a home together which gives us access to a fully-equipped kitchen. Each night, one couple is responsible for purchasing the ingredients and cooking dinner and clean-up. We purchase and pack a lot of items from home (I have purchased many boxes of cereal, laundry supplies, etc. for free or almost free). Once we are close to our destination, we stop at a small Food Lion and purchase our perishables to stash in a cooler. Once we hit the Outer Banks, where the options for shopping are fewer and more expensive, we have stocked up and are ready to check into our home. Other than eating take-out pizza our first evening, we usually eat all meals at our rental, with the exception of one lunch at a restaurant. I also plan to take my coupons and research deals for that area’s grocery/drug stores the week prior to leaving.
We found that with kids it saves money AND stress by just staying in. We only ate out once the whole week.
Our local grocery store rewards points for every dollar spent. We redeemed our points for tickets to a water slide park 2 hours from home. We’re going to go up for the day. The back of the tickets have a Sizzler coupon on them too, so we’ve got dinner planned out. We may take a tent and camp over one night.
Seeing as we have NO budget for vacations, what we have done is go camping in a real tent at a state park. The state park fee is very minimal, and we use our regular grocery budget for the food, since we’d have to eat whether we are at home or at a campground. We go on the trails, fish at the lake, play in the woods, etc. There are 6 of us in the tent (including one pack&play!), but it’s lots of fun and great memories for the kids!
we always pack our own snacks for the car and try to take extras with us, so we aren’t impulse buying expensive snacks. Plus, we always try and take advantage of breakfasts and dinners that come with package deals.
I always try to call or register online for coupons and info from the area we are visiting, as well as printing off any online coupons for restaurants, etc. ahead of time. Also, take a cooler with sandwiches and snacks for the car ride.
Recently my husband took me to Galveston which is a resort town on the coast here in Texas. While we stayed at a nice hotel we saved money by buying groceries… muffins and fruit for breakfast, sandwich stuff for lunch. Another thing we do on vacation to save money is to always ask if a store/restaurant offers military discount. It never hurts, if they dont they dont but if they do your trip just became a little sweeter!
We are driving to a reunion in a couple of weeks and have been saving for a year. We are paying cash for everything. We also called the Chamber of Commerce for the cities we are staying in and got lots of coupons for the areas.
Two tips:
1) Get a timeshare. The initial expense is large (but doesn’t have to be – I think our timeshare was about $1,500), but you own it forever and from then on only pay $160-200 PER WEEK to go just about anywhere in the world. My family of four went to Disney in May and we paid $189 for an entire week at a beautiful resort about 3 miles from Disney. It had a full kitchen, private laundry, beautiful views and TONS of amenities. The annual dues for our timeshare are $400. So technically you could say we spent $589 ($400 + $189) for the week, but since we’re taking TWO timeshare vacations this year, it was only $389 ($200 + $189) for the week. A bargain compared to booking two hotel rooms and not having the ability to cook your own meals.
2) My other tip is to travel CASH ONLY. I saved up $1600 to use as spending money on our Disney vacation. Because I was only using cash, it made me a lot more responsible in my spending. I ended up spending just over $1,000 for the whole week – and that includes the cost for the week’s groceries and gas costs to and from Disney (which is 8 hours’ drive from where we live).
We like to rent a cabin in the mountains. We try to get the best deal by being flexible with our travel dates and letting the cabin owners tell us when they haven’t been able to book up. The cabin we like has a pool table and a hot tub, and it’s in the mountains. We can hike, drive on scenic highways, and do lots of other fun ‘free’ things in the area. We also take most of our own food and cook in the cabin. This saves us tons of money, gets us away from home and into the beautiful mountains, and we can enjoy the great outdoors!
Well I think the obvious, stay close to home and dont eat out much.
We saved up for 2 of our summer vacations buy signing up for 1 month free programs (like shoppers advantage) and getting gas rebates for signing up.
Since we homeschool we will be taking our vacation in the fall. I know this doesn’t fall under a summer vacaton, but since it will be off season we will be saving a great deal. (We will also miss the crowds.
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We clean out the pantry and fridge before vacation. That gives us at least one weeks worth of grocery money to add to our vacation fund.
We also rent a place to stay with a kitchen so we do not sped our money eating out each meal.
We like to try to do fun things around town…like go to the zoo or float the river.
When my family took vacations, we went CAMPING, had PICNICS, and went to places of historical significance–so much FUN!
Also, if in travel you need a motel, rest areas have coupon booklets for motels, so you can find some good deals.
My husband & I were just married in March, so we have not yet taken any vacations. However, we both have always wanted to go to NYC (we live in CT.) So this year, if the vacation days allow, we are going to go, but stay outside NYC at a nearby campground & tent camp. It is so expensive to stay IN NYC in any hotels & such. We plan on bringing our own food & taking sandwiches in, instead of eating at all the high in places. The only thing we will have to pay for that way is anything we want to go IN (Statue of Liberty, top of famous buildings. etc.)
We always pack our own snacks and drinks for the road so that we have a special treat and are not tempted to spend extra money at rest stops and gas stations.
My favorite free car entertainment is to pick up some Children’s Books on Cd for the local library.
Hmmm, this is hard, there are so many wonderful comments already, similar to what we would do. Vacation is supposed to be vacation – even for mom – so a break is nice especially for dinners. We would typically pack enough food for breakfast and lunch and store it in a small fridge or cooler. I do use the coupons books available in the lobby and hotel room. I have asked the clerk/employees/other people at the hotel for recommendations. It is especially helpful to find people that are very familiar with the area. They may have suggestions for places that are not as commercialized or heavy on the advertisement that are just as wonderful to visit. My husband and I found a great restaurant with great specials last year when we asked the lobby clerk for suggestions.
This year we tried something I always said I would never do! We went on a timeshare tour. We went to Gatlinburg. I had researched online to get great package deals on the things we wanted to do. I even got FREE tickets to the aquarium through the hotel. We did the timeshare after someone stopped us on the street to sign us up. We got paid $100. cash & because we weren’t sure they gave us FREE tickets to the timeshare indoor water park. It was pouring rain & the park was AWESOME!
since we’re trying to save money this summer, due to extremely high gas prices in CA, we’ll be doing picnics in the park instead of flying or driving anywhere too far.
A timeshare actually can be a money-saver in the long run, depending on how large your family is (in other words, how many hotel rooms you require!), how often you take vacations, what package/unit you buy, etc. If you consider the cost of staying at a hotel for five or six nights, and figure that many families do that at least once a year, and also figure in the extra amenities provided by timeshare resorts, plus the fact that you can easily cook your own meals (and save on eating out!) … an inexpensive timeshare can pay for itself over the first, I don’t know, maybe ten years or so? And it’s deeded real estate, so you can even pass it down to your kids!
We buy season passes for 6 Flags parks.. They are good at all 6 flag locations. So when we travel there is always a Theme park on the way or near by. This makes fun during our vacation as well as when we are home. 6 Flags is only 30 minutes from home.
We also will use HOTWIRE for our hotels if we need one. Usually when we drive to my mom’s (KY and 6Flags Louisville) We stop one night between her house and my dad’s in WVA. We also stop one night between our home in NJ and WVA. Hot wire usually can get our room for 54.00 to 58.00. So its really a good deal and we only take the hotels with breakfast and lots of free things along the way.
Another big savings is the Hands on Museums for the kids. We have 2 in NJ and 1 in Phila. If you buy a family pass it will get a family of 4 unlimited entries into all Hands on affiliates. There is one in NY (MY sister) and one in Lancaster (on the way to Pop’s) So the investing in worth it. They are all unique and fun to have the kids play in. The one in Lancaster has a large garden and fun outdoor things which is nice for some fresh air.
Question for Jenny:
I am wondering how much the FL Resident passes are and do they have your picture on them? Can they be used at all the disney parks or just one a day.
Also.. do you rent a car or drive there?
I was trying to budget disney but it is so expensive with the air fare.
We just returned from my husband’s sister’s ‘destination wedding’ at the beach. We did lots of little money saving things, like eating most meals in our efficiency kitchen-equipped hotel room or his grandmother’s beach house, bringing water bottles and buying one of those big spring water jugs from a grocery store instead of individual water bottles, and packing rather than buying snacks on most of our outings.
The biggest money-saver for us, though, was letting extended family (all of whom are more well off than we are!), pay for our airfare, rental car, hotel room, and even some fun family activities as their Christmas and birthday gifts to us this year. Not only did we save TONS of money that we don’t have, but we won’t be cluttering up our house with more stuff come holiday time!!!
Also, with those major expenses paid for, we could use our small vacation savings for some meals out, a few ice cream cones on the boardwalk, and fun things like renting bikes for the week at the beach and joining the family on a dolphin watching cruise that we would never have been able to afford otherwise.
My biggest tip is to make use of the microwave that all hotels have! Bring popcorn for snacks. A few nights in your vacation buy some microwave meals and eat them in the hotel room. We did this on our last weekend get-a-way and it worked out great. After dinner we would go down to the hotel pool. With three small children going out to dinner every night would end up being stressful anyway!
Also if you are military you qualify for free tickets for the military member and dependents up to 4 people to Busch Gardens or Seaworld!
Lisa @ andbebemakesfour@yahoo.co.uk
It looks like a lot of us are on the same page, vacation-wise!
My primary tip would be that one should manage family members’ expectations. No one is entitled to a week of vacation or the big splash out at the beach or amusement park or whatever. The important thing should be rest and renewal of family ties – not meeting certain length or expenditure requirements, let alone providing non-stop entertainment for the duration. Vacationing is a privilege, not a right (goodness, don’t I sound like a scold!)
My secondary money saving tip is to try and be as spontaneous as possible and be willing to walk away or change plans entirely if the price isn’t right.
Just last night I booked a little last-minute getaway to Hershey, PA (about an hour and a half drive from home) and saved a bundle on the room using Hotwire for the hotel reservation. The price I got is less than half of the “rack rate” and about $50 less than the AAA rate. We were willing to not go at all unless the rate was good and thought of the whole exercise as “just checking out the options” until we found a number that satisfied us. If we’d waited longer we might well have saved even more but we’re happy so we went ahead and booked this “last minute” deal.
In smaller towns like Hershey a little internet research will likely reveal the hotel on offer (with Hotwire you don’t know where you’re booking until after you pay), which minimizes the risk. Our hotel doesn’t offer “free” breakfast (which isn’t really free but rather “included”, right?) but it does have indoor and outdoor pools which was more important to me.
We’re going away for one night only – and not once going to Hershey Park! Because it’s a holiday weekend the park is likely to be way too crowded for our enjoyment so instead we’re planning to visit a local horticultural garden (on an existing membership we hold), antique car museum (ditto), take the free chocolate factory tour, and have a swim. Total expenditure out of pocket for entertainment: $0.
Because the entertainment is “free” and the lodging reasonable, we’re planning to have a pizza delivered poolside for dinner (already confirmed the hotel allows this) and enjoy juice spritzers with supplies brought from home – I’ve even got a few of those little paper umbrellas to pop in to increase the festivity factor.
I am SO psyched! The kids are gonna love it!
When it comes to car trips and vacations, long or short trips, these three are a must for children and adults of all ages.
#1 Have water, juice and iced tea in a cooler. Every drink purchased on the road can cost $1.00 or more.
#2 Make ahead granola bars, cookies and other car friendly snacks. package them individually.
#3 Have a meal in a crock-pot or cooler to have at a rest area. Bring a festive table cloth. Have a bag to put dirty dishes in.
Both a time saver and money saver!
My tips are:
Surf the internet for lodging coupons before making reservations.
Reserve lodging that has a kitchenette so you can prepare some or all of your meals.
Stop at the local tourism center to pick up brochures that have coupons.
Pack snacks and soft drinks so you don’t have to pay marked up prices for them.
Look for grocery stores near lodging to save on fresh food items.
Bring a couple of gallons of drinking water.
Mine is travel in the car (you get family time together) and pack your own snacks and food. It saves so much $$ when you can do that!
We’ve been saving for our Disney trip by using the Disney Rewards credit card. We use it for all of our normal expenses (and a few unexpected expenses) and pay it off every month so we don’t pay any fees. We get $1 to spend at Disney or on a Disney related product or on their website for every $100 we have on our card each month. In just 3 yrs. time, we have over $1000 to spend on our Disney trip when we go next year. I also have friends that use it that are on a very strict budget — every time they make a purchase on it, they write it in their checkbook as if they were using a debit card and then match their checkbook up to the statement when it comes and that way they have the money in their account to pay the bill without any surprises. It’s extra work, but works great so you don’t overspend.
I remember when I was younger and we went on vacations my parents always bought food from a grocery store. We brought a cooler in the van and everything. It saved on food instead of stopping at a restuarant three meals a day.
I can’t stand to be nickle and dimed with souvenirs, so I make my kids (age 3 & 5) “treat bags” prior to the trips. Simple dollar store toys, snacks and candies wrapped in brown paper lunch sacks. Every time they get back into the car without a fuss, they know they get a treat bag. Sometimes they are simple like smarties or individual chips, other times hotwheels, silly putty, books or color books. I usually make 10 per child and they usually don’t run out until the way home. They do get money to spend in their wallets, but we tend to guide them with what they can buy. They love these bags and even ask before the trip “do we get treat bags?”
We love eating out, especially on vacation, so that can make the cost of vacations go up. But, we hit the grocery store the first day and stock up on breakfast foods and lunch foods and we eat breakfast before we head out for the day and we make sandwiches to take with us for the day and then we just eat out for dinner. And, when we do eat out, we mix it up between just cheap places and some a little pricier (like Red Robin.)
We just got back from a 8 day trip to Denver, Colorado (800 miles from our home) for less than $1000. First, we have a family of 6 and when we originally starting looking at what this trip was going to cost, we figured it would be over $3500. That was a jaw-dropper (not to mention a deal-breaker) but that was before I got creative. Here’s what we did to knock over $2500 off the cost of our trip and we didn’t skimp on fun!
Check out my blog for all the fun money saving tips at http://www.waymore4wayless.blogspot.com
When my husband and I went to Hawaii for our honeymoon, we discovered the best way to save money – be a local. Instead of staying in a tourist town, in a big hotel, we stayed in a set of time-share condos that were also rented online as hotel rooms. Since we weren’t in a tourist part of town, we found that the prices for meals were MUCH better. We just went to the small pizza and sandwich shops near our condos where the locals ate, and left the big hotel and chain restaurants to the other tourists. We had everything we needed within walking distance. To visit other areas, we even took the bus instead of renting a car. Renting a car costs hundreds of dollars…the bus was fifty cents a trip!
We will take a trip to our local park and zoo with a free family admission ticket we got in January when our son was born. He will be big enough to enjoy it this summer. We will also be enjoying time with our families when we go to visit. We will enjoy fireworks, grilling out, and swimming.
This summer, we’ll be saving a ton of cash on gas by vacationing locally. Our city has a family waterpark hotel so we’re booking a room during the week to avoid the “peak” weekend rates. I’m packing tons of snacks & drinks for our room (that I used my precious coupons to pay for) and we’ve got some buy one get one free coupons for local restaurants. We’re going to try out some exciting new family dining places. My kids are really excited because we’ve saved this water park as a special something! (This is our first visit!) Best of all, no fighting kids in the car on a long car trip! YaHoo!
My best tip is to book a hotel room that has a mini fridge. Having snacks and drinks available can save you a ton of money!
We always make some cookies or special travel snacks. This year we will be taking granola bars and fruit roll-ups we scored during the last big Kroger$10/10 sale( we had coupons, of course!)
I always make sure I have enough sun screen I bought at home on sale instead of getting stuck buying in a beach town – where all the prices seem inflated!
We family has been doing lots of camping which saves on the hotel bills and since we have a fridge in the camper I stock it well before we leave on our trip so the amount of groceries we pick up on our trip is very minimal:)
This last weekend, some of my siblings and I went to my parents, who are out of state. I encouraged a “pot luck” sort of meal where everyone was responsible to bring something to avoid eating out. It worked and was delicious!
We are taking a vacation in August to PA and Niagara Falls. I have reserved all our hotels, airfare, and rental cars on line at low prices, but I keep going back once a week or so to see if they have lowered any of the rates and have had no qualms about cancelling and reserving at the lower rate.
2.My 11 year old son also knows that whatever money he saves from his allowance and summer jobs can be matched out of his savings account but that is all the spending money he gets for the trip.
We are planning a short trip to Branson this year and we always look at VRBO.com for the best prices in lodging.
We like to go camping… you can still make good memories with your family, but for lots cheaper. We go hiking, or swimming, or exploring, and make sure to pack some good snacks that we don’t usually have at home to make it a little more special. And cooking around the campfire always tastes great!
Our vacations are short 3 or 4 day affairs and I try to research food options before we go so we can use our usual grocery budget on vacation. Most often, I pack snacks and breakfasts (unless the hotel has free breakfast) and bottled water/juice and bring it with us.
This might sound unbelievable. My money-saving vacation tip is to take a cruise. Everything: food; drinks of juice, tea, coffee and water; unlimited activities and entertainment for kids and adults is included for less than just a hotel for a regular vacation would cost. you don’t have to drive and get lost everywhere you go, no worries! They do everything for you, and you even get to see another country or a few depending on the itinerary. Granted, we live in Florida near several ports so we have to pay parking instead of airfare. There are other coastal cities with cruise ports now.
It works for us.
The best way to save money on vacation:
Don’t eat out.
Packing a few coolers and hitting the local grocery store will save a HUGE amount of money- and you’ll get much better food. We went this route on our honeymoon and only spent $100 total for 10 days. That was with having a nice dinner out one night and eating breakfast out twice. Even though that’s quite a bit more than we normally spend on our weekly groceries it was a great deal for a vacation!
The best way to save money on vacation:
Don’t eat out.
Packing a few coolers and hitting the local grocery store will save a HUGE amount of money- and you’ll get much better food. We went this route on our honeymoon and only spent $100 total for 10 days. That was with having a nice dinner out one night and eating breakfast out twice. Even though that’s quite a bit more than we normally spend on our weekly groceries it was a great deal for a vacation!
The best way to save money on vacation:
Don’t eat out.
Packing a few coolers and hitting the local grocery store will save a HUGE amount of money- and you’ll get much better food. We went this route on our honeymoon and only spent $100 total for 10 days. That was with having a nice dinner out one night and eating breakfast out twice. Even though that’s quite a bit more than we normally spend on our weekly groceries it was a great deal for a vacation!
The best way to save money on vacation:
Don’t eat out.
Packing a few coolers and hitting the local grocery store will save a HUGE amount of money- and you’ll get much better food. We went this route on our honeymoon and only spent $100 total for 10 days. That was with having a nice dinner out one night and eating breakfast out twice. Even though that’s quite a bit more than we normally spend on our weekly groceries it was a great deal for a vacation!
Growing up in NJ, we would take at least one trip down to Florida or up to Niagra Falls every year…
My parents always brought a rice cooker & rice because you can always find the water nearby to make it fresh whenever you need it. Add eggs while the rice cooks to make them hard boiled or buy a bucket of chicken for a quick fix.
Don’t buy the food in parks, freeze water bottles to keep food fresh and buy bulk at home to divide up in baggies before you go.
We aren’t “big” vacation takers, but we do take a few long weekends throughout the summer. To save money we:
1) Go with another family or two and share a cabin/condo *this of course only works with SOME other families. We have become regulars at a cabin big enough for 18 of us in the Smoky Mountains so the owner gives us an extra discount. We stayed for 4 nights this year for only $300/family.
2) We have a camper that we have more than gotten our money out of by staying at $25-$40/night campsites rather than hotels.
3) We search online for discounts and coupons beforehand for the attractions we are interested in.
4) We ask the locals for fun things to do – not the “tourist-y” stuff which tends to be higher.
5) We don’t eat out – with cabin rentals and our camper, we make every meal – usually:)
This summer we are taking short close to home trips and hopefully saving money that way! Thanks!
My tip is check your local tv and radio stations most have some great summer family giveaways. We have scored family packs to water parks, amusement parks, movies, and sporting events.
I only order for the adults my child eats off my plate, coupons and anything toddlers can do for free, and I take travel size commodities to keep from purchasing anything once I get there.
We did a destination wedding in Mexico last year, which in itself, saved us a lot of money. My husband and I signed up to be travel agents with this multi-level marketing business so we could get the travel agent discount. We used the discount to book hotel rooms for our families, which saved them a lot of money. This is probably only a good deal if you travel a lot, or plan on traveling with a large group.
Take advantage of Wyndham hotels best rate guarentee and possibly get your rooms for free. Also stay at hotels with pools and free hot breakfast. So when you get bored you dont spend extra money on things to do, you can just jump in the pool or you dont have to buy breakfast for the family in the morning, just eat at the hotel!
Check websites for free things to do in the city you are visiting. There is a website that shows things to do in a lot of cities across the country and they will save lots of money
We are going camping at a lake within 50 miles of our house. We’ll pack all of our food and beverages, and use tents for shelter, we’re really going to rough it. Since my teen kids have never been camping, it will be a memorable event (good or bad) that they can look back on forever.
We may also take a 2 day trip from VA to PA to visit a farmer we know, and tour his farm. That will be a bit more expensive with the price of gas…its still up in the air for that reason.
Ways to save money on vacations:
These are things we do every year…
We stay in a condo with a full kitchen, so that we can buy groceries & make breakfast, lunch and dinner. We usually only eat out 1-2 times while on vacation, and never anything super expensive.
We also make sure the condo has a washer & dryer. You can pack less clothes (less weight= less spent on gas on the trip there & back!!) and wash them there, saving you from having to pack as much and worrying about having to do laundry in the event of some sort of accident.
We pack snacks & drinks when we go somewhere with the kids, so we dont have to buy the overpriced items at places we visit.
We travel with my parents when we bring all the kids (we have 4). It cuts down on the cost of the condo, AND we get some extra hands.
We bring DVD’s and a few toys with us when we travel. This can save you having to rent movies on rainy days, or can even give the kids something to do (have a “game day” instead of going to something like a video game/go kart place), which costs LOTS of $$, if you are running low on cash.
Also, we only bring cash on vacations…we used cards one year & overspent our budget. Its much easier not to overspend when you only bring cash.
I buy sunscreen on sale all yr long so we have enough for vacation. I also buy beach toys, etc before we leave home…nothing like having to shell out $50 on beach toys/umbrella/boogie boards/sunscreen/hats, etc that you couldve bought for MUCH cheaper at home!
Our best tip this year is to have a family member work for the airline! My hubby works for a major carrier and we’re all able to fly for free. We’ve saved thousands of dollars.
I really cheat! Since we home school we are able to go on vacation off season! We go early fall (September early October) that saves a bundle!! One thing we do that you could do any season is to pick up local news papers, they will often give the kind of non-touristy things you wouldn’t often find out about, like local festivals, craft fairs and community fairs. These tend to be cheaper, and have local artists and crafters selling their wears. FYI sometimes it’s fun to visit garage sales in other towns too!
This is my tip, but it says that a “Jami” posted it.
Posted by: Jami | June 26, 2008 at 10:08 PM
We stayed at a hotel which primarily caters business clientèle, which means Mon – Fri business. We stayed Fri – Sun in a really nice hotel for the cost of a “cheaper” hotel that caters to tourists. The only ‘drawback’ was the location. Our view was of the airport, but since we weren’t there for a view, it didn’t really matter.
In addition, when we said it was our anniversary, they tossed in a free upgrade, passes to the free cocktail hour at the bar, and $150 gift certificate to the hotel restaurant.
So my tips are determine what’s really important to you instead of what others say is important and don’t be afraid to mention special occasions to solicit freebies.
We stayed at Grandfather Mountain campground in North Carolina (near Boone/Blowing Rock) last summer for our first anniversary. Rustic and inexpensive for sure! We rented a small cabin, but you could also really rough it and bring a tent! Nothing better than s’mores over a fire at night, and getting to splurge a little bit more on attractions and/or food during the day because we saved on lodging. We also went fishing in the river and packed bag lunches for a picnic, another inexpensive, fun, and RELAXING activity.
Our favorite vacation tip: dining out for LUNCH instead of dinner. Sometimes that alone can cut the bill in half. Also, the restaurant is less crowded so you get a better chance of a good seat (like waterfront at Pusser’s in Annapolis!!!). The best part about dining out for lunch is that you have the rest of the day to burn off your calories! That means you might evens splurge for dessert!
For the 4th of July weekend this year, we are driving up to D.C. (about 1.5 hour drive north of us), and riding the trails in the city! We’re just hoping for minimal humidity! We are planning this outing for the day BEFORE the 4th, though, because you absolutely DON’T want to be in D.C. on the actual holiday. Unless you love crazy traffic (as if it’s not normally!) and horrendous crowds.
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