Cheap Family Vacations
Are you looking forward to the next big family vacation, but dreading what kind of result it may have on your bottom line? If you are looking for some ideas on how to cut corners and costs for your next family outing, keep reading. Vacations are supposed to be fun and enjoyable times spent with the people you love, so we want to help lower your stress by giving you some money saving suggestions.
First, where do you want to go? I know it sounds like an obvious question, but where you go can determine several money saving factors. For example, if you are going to an amusement water park, you and your children will probably be spending much of the day in the water. When you settle down for the night, are you really going to need a hotel with a pool? After all, you are planning on spending your days in the pool. Save your eyes the chlorine overdose and use your free time to take a walk out on the town with the family. It might only be $10 per night difference, but if you are looking to pinch pennies on your vacation, $10 for a pool you aren't going to swim in is worth saving.
Another important factor to calculate on where you are going is the difference between flying versus driving. If your vacation destination is 1000 miles away, it would probably be worth getting up in the wee morning hours and spend an extra day driving each way than to spend $250+ on plane tickets for every member of your family, plus a rental car for the trip. The two main variables in figuring whether to drive or fly are the amount of people traveling, and the distance.
If you and your wife are the only travelers, it might be more convenient just to fly, where it might not be worth spending the extra $1000 on plane tickets for a family of five.
If you are driving to your paradise destination, what vehicle are you going to take? I ask this because if you are taking a camper or a big van, you can save a lot of money by sleeping in your vehicle and not paying for a hotel. Please note that you should only do this where overnight parking is allowed. You may get lucky and find a highway rest area or truck stop that lets your park for free, but expect to pay a small parking admission fee at a local campsite.
One final tip is to purchase vacation packages. You can go to an airline website to book a flight, and then book your hotel separate, and then your rental car etc. Planning your vacation like that will cost you an arm and a leg, plus tax and interest. There are several "all inclusive" travel deal sites where you can do all of these things at once and have one consolidated price. Also, the bigger name sites often offer cheap family vacation packages to popular destinations. You may have to shop around a bit to find the best deal, but if you haven't decided where you want to go yet, these sponsored travel deals may just give provide you with the options you are looking for to have a great family getaway.
We are trying to give you tips to have cheap vacations, so before purchasing online, make sure you have read all the directions and fine print first! We don't want you to spend more than you have to on your travel plans. You will need that extra money to blow on other fun stuff with the family!
First, where do you want to go? I know it sounds like an obvious question, but where you go can determine several money saving factors. For example, if you are going to an amusement water park, you and your children will probably be spending much of the day in the water. When you settle down for the night, are you really going to need a hotel with a pool? After all, you are planning on spending your days in the pool. Save your eyes the chlorine overdose and use your free time to take a walk out on the town with the family. It might only be $10 per night difference, but if you are looking to pinch pennies on your vacation, $10 for a pool you aren't going to swim in is worth saving.
Another important factor to calculate on where you are going is the difference between flying versus driving. If your vacation destination is 1000 miles away, it would probably be worth getting up in the wee morning hours and spend an extra day driving each way than to spend $250+ on plane tickets for every member of your family, plus a rental car for the trip. The two main variables in figuring whether to drive or fly are the amount of people traveling, and the distance.
If you and your wife are the only travelers, it might be more convenient just to fly, where it might not be worth spending the extra $1000 on plane tickets for a family of five.
If you are driving to your paradise destination, what vehicle are you going to take? I ask this because if you are taking a camper or a big van, you can save a lot of money by sleeping in your vehicle and not paying for a hotel. Please note that you should only do this where overnight parking is allowed. You may get lucky and find a highway rest area or truck stop that lets your park for free, but expect to pay a small parking admission fee at a local campsite.
One final tip is to purchase vacation packages. You can go to an airline website to book a flight, and then book your hotel separate, and then your rental car etc. Planning your vacation like that will cost you an arm and a leg, plus tax and interest. There are several "all inclusive" travel deal sites where you can do all of these things at once and have one consolidated price. Also, the bigger name sites often offer cheap family vacation packages to popular destinations. You may have to shop around a bit to find the best deal, but if you haven't decided where you want to go yet, these sponsored travel deals may just give provide you with the options you are looking for to have a great family getaway.
We are trying to give you tips to have cheap vacations, so before purchasing online, make sure you have read all the directions and fine print first! We don't want you to spend more than you have to on your travel plans. You will need that extra money to blow on other fun stuff with the family!