Planning a Cheap Family Holiday Vacation
Spring is right around the corner and thoughts of vacations are running through my mind. Since I recently lost my job, we are looking into cheap family holidays. Times are tough, money is tight, but that doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice the possibility of a relaxing vacation with your family.
Here are some tips that my family and I are using while planning our Spring and Summer vacation.
1. “Stay”cations! Who says you have to travel 1000’s of miles away just to have some R&R time? Find a nice lodge, waterpark, or resort and have a vacation closer to home. You will save on gas, mileage and time.
2. Bring your own entertainment. Rollerblades, boogie boards, pool toys etc. Rentals for these extra things can be as high as the cost to buy them! Check into the area you are going to and see what you can bring for fun.
3. Free Fun. Yep, I said free! Be choosey with your destination and choose a place that can provide a lot of free fun. Playtime on the beach, walk in the mountains, sight seeing, camping, etc.
4. Bring Friends Along. When you think family vacations you don’t really think about bringing your friends. If you have some friends with children, invite their family along and rent a vacation home. Not only will the bigger space be great, you can split the cost with your friends, and best part of all.. split baby sitting duties! This will give you and your honey a night out in vacation town to enjoy some time alone.
5. Travel during non peak times. Everyone is looking to vacation around the holidays. Hotels, car rentals, air travel will be the most expensive during these times. Choose a travel time the week before or week after the holiday when tourists have gone home.
These are just a start…
Where will you be vacationing this year?
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One tip, especially when going to the beach, is if you have a condo with a kitchen… COOK! You’ll save lots of money by not eating out for every meal every single day!
We’re road tripping this coming week leaving on monday to Florida these tips are great, we’re definitely doing 2,3, and 4 :)
I don’t think there’s any vacations in our future.
How about you?
We would like to go to Yosemite for the spring break.
We will probably just be going to the beach by San Luis Obispo again. Hubby’s favorite place to go.
We try to plan trips during non peak times but it’s getting harder since kids are in school.
thanks for the tips! In these times I definitely am more frugal, especially on splurges like a vacation.
Free fun can sometimes be the most fun activity for a family. Bike rides or trips to a nearby pond for fishing would be great ways to save money on vacation.
Our family has done many “Stay”cations throughout the years & it seems that the boys (now 26 & 22) remember those the most! We were planning on doing a Disney World trip, but my oldest will be getting married & we need the money for the rehearsal dinner, hotel stays, etc. Great tips…we’ve done most of them & they DO work!
Stay cation with day trips to the mountains.
Remember that cooking most of your meals can save mucho dinero.
If you do eat out, make it lunch – not dinner. Same food, cheaper prices
I think travelling off-season is the greatest idea ever. Sometimes just a week or two can make a huge difference in price. :)