Five Ways to Cut Family Vacation Costs

Recently, Yahoo listed five ways to cut family vacation costs. Their thoughts:

1. Stock the cooler. Pack a cooler with healthy snacks.

2. Go all-inclusive at a family camp. Affordable, old-fashioned family camps are still thriving -- and some cost as little as $1,000 a week, including meals.

3. Explore the great American outdoors. From North Carolina's Blue Ridge Parkway to California's Los Padres National Forest, there are more than 77,000 reservable recreation facilities in 2,000 locations in the United States managed by different government agencies.

4. Rent a timeshare or vacation home, or swap for free. Before you book a hotel, consider renting an apartment, home, or timeshare from the owner.

5. Search, and search again, for airfare bargains.

Here are my thoughts on these:

1. This tip is not only good for vacations, but anytime you're in the car for awhile. My wife packs a load of food for every trip. We eat better food, cheaper food, and more of it than if we had to stop and get some along the way. Plus, we can eat in the car, which helps satisfy my "let's get there as fast as we can -- limited stops" philosophy. ;-)

2. No camp for us this year, we're off to Disney World. Besides, I'm not really the camping type -- unless bike riding is a major part of the trip, and for some reason my kids can't keep an 18 mph pace for long. ;-)

3. Everywhere we've lived, we've taken shorter, day-or-two trips to nearby sites, events, etc. versus going on a long vacation far away from home (this year is the exception for us.) Not only have we saved a ton of money, but we've become much more acquainted with what's available around us and what our state has to offer. These have been great trips full of memories for our family.

4. We'll probably go the condo/home route when we go to Disney. We'll need to drive to the parks as a result (the headache) but we'll save money on food and have a TON more room (room for each kid and even a private pool) for the same or less than staying at a Disney hotel.

5. Being flexible can really save you a ton on airfare. By going on vacation in the "off-season" (late September) and being willing to drive a couple hours to a nearby airport, our tickets are going to be very, very cheap.

For more tips on saving while on vacation, see these links:

• How to Get the Best Rate on a Hotel Room

• Save on Vacations by Being Flexible

• Save on Hotel Stays

Comments

[Anitra]

Number 4 is so true. Most people don't think of options other than hotels when thinking of a vacation. Our week-long "family vacation" for the past two years has been to spend time with friends who live in Arizona. We pay for airfare and some of the food while we're there. We stay in their guest bedroom, play with their kid and dog, and have a great time. We also get the added bonus of escaping the cold for a week in February/March.

We invite them to come stay with us for a while in the summer, escaping the Arizona heat.

[Hawkmoon Nine]

Late September is when we're taking our next trip (going back to NC to visit wife's family since we can't get out there for the holidays). We had out choice of going anytime in Sept/Oct. Found 2 round trip tickets from Portland to Raleigh for Sept 25 - Oct 2 for under $200 a piece!