I’m heading on the road today to go to the OCEANetwork Homeschool Conference in Portland. While we’re up on the north end of the state, we’ll also be visiting my inlaws. Visiting relatives is generally a frugal and fun trip.
Since I’m headed out of town today, I thought it might be fun to get your frugal vacation ideas. Do you like to camp? Take a staycation at home? Find bargain hotel rooms on Priceline and let the hotel prices drive your destination?
I’d love to hear all your ideas! And because I am out of town this weekend, I won’t have a post for you tomorrow. Have a great weekend, and I’ll see you back here on Monday!
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Staying with family and friends is always a good way to go and all you have to do is return the favor once in a while . . .
DDFD at DivorcedDadFrugalDad.com’s last blog post..What is Your Kryptonite?
We’ve been doing staycations for the last 3 years–just taking a week off from regular day-to-day life and hanging out at home. We got a cheapo backyard pool that we play in, and like to do things in our area, like visit revolutionary war reenactments, talks on the history of the railroad, etc.
What makes it nice is that because we’re not spending money on travel & hotels, we can budget for going out to dinner and do things that we otherwise might not.
Amanda @ Mrs.W’s Kitchen’s last blog post..Food is Not the Enemy
My husband and I take cemetery vacations… we love to visit and photograph old cemeteries in neighboring states. Probably not everyone’s cup of tea though!!
Jodie R.’s last blog post..Gardening with the Aliens Among Us
Camping, day trips, and visiting relatives are our only vacations lately. But we’re blessed with a beautiful region (Appalachian mountains) and our relatives live near DC with the museums and history and the some live near the beaches of South Carolina. Not too bad!
Camping, day trip to the zoo or museum (pack your own lunch and pinic there),
day at the beach (again, pack your own food and drinks), day at the park and pool, day hike in a state forest or trail or nature center, visit relatives out of town, invite relatives from out of town, music/church/local festivals, short road trip with a farm, cheese maker, or brewery tour, horseback riding, volunteer for a local archeological dig or hiking trail clearing, have a family reunion weekend.
Local tent camping. With fishing, clamming, hiking, and grandkids take the bikes along.
When I go to FL, I stay with my folks and borrow one of their cars :)
Works for me.
Warning — Rather long commentary — but my hope is that some of these tips from someone who has traveled all over the world (for business, holiday, and missions) will help you all save some bucks.
1) Transportation #1 (Drive or fly) – If your destination is within a few hundred miles, driving can often actually take less time, especially if flying would require a lay-over. However, cost can depend on how many people are traveling with you. Often, when one evaluates the true cost of driving vs. flying, s/he will find flying is much less expensive (if only one or two airplane tickets are needed). For larger groups (E.g., families), driving may be cheaper.
2) Transportation #2 (Rental car, cab, or shuttle) – Especially if your destination is a large city, renting can be a huge waste of money. You’ll end up paying huge fees for parking, the rental itself, and will miss out on much of what you could see by “hoofing” it. As for cab vs. shuttle, it depends a lot on how many travelers. For one or two persons, an airport shuttle is an inexpensive option, but note there will be many stops on the way. If a family, nearly all US cities taxis (and many international) charge by the ride and not the person. It’s also more convenient than a shuttle.
3) Hotels #1 (international travel) – Unless you’re using points or miles to stay for free, stay in a local hotel rather than an American hotel. Local hotels are 2-4 times cheaper, plus you’ll also get a better experience in really learning the culture.
4) Hotels #2 – Whether for business or holiday, if you plan to stay for any length of time, insist on negotiating a rate with the hotel. Even though my business travel is reimbursed, I always seek to be a good steward. When I reserved a trip to Spain for a two-week stay through our company-required agent, I first compared the local vs. “American” prices. The local hotel was much cheaper. Since my stay was long, I asked the travel agent to contact the hotel directly, and we saved 50 Euro per night. Unfortunately, when I returned the next time with my boss, she insisted on staying at an American hotel for 3x the price. Even though a five-star hotel (begins with “H”), I enjoyed the local hotel much more and thought it was silly we wasted all that money.
5) Site-seeing #1 – Research the destination ahead of time. Every time I’ve traveled for pleasure, I’ve only had a few days. This can save a lot of time in helping determine the “must-sees.”
6) Site-seeing #2 – If the city is spread-out too much to cover all the highlights on foot, consider hop-on-off tours. Prices are cheap, and one can spend as much time as s/he wants before heading to the next place.
7) Site-seing #3 – City Passes – This is offered in some major US cities, but is much more common in Europe. Such a pass will most often allow free entrance into a site or at least major discounts. For example, the first time I visited Paris, I purchased a pass. Many sites were free. Sometimes I had to buy upgrades (but at a discount) for certain things like parts of Notre Dame. Using the pass, I saved several hundred Euros. (If you’re going to Paris, please note the Eiffel Tower is not included at all. You would need to pay full price and wait hours in line during travel season. But the Tower is definitely recommended — just plan to take a few hours!).
8) Missions travel — Saving money depends on which organization you’re serving and whether you travel with a group or are supposed to meet them at the destination. When meeting at the destination, one can use all kinds of frugal ideas for travel (sadly though, “missionary” discounts are nearly impossible to get). When the ogranization needs you to travel with the group, however, it is really out of your control.
As a Utah State Parks employee, I would like to encourage everyone to check out your state parks. You may be suprised what your parks have to offer – great scenery, recreation opportunities, educational opportunities (museums, visitor’s centers and wayside exhibits), and more. I am dismayed when I meet people in our local community who have NEVER come to my park! Check your state’s website for park information. Utah has a free state parks day.
I like camping.
I am having my first ever contest on my blog, please check it out.
My family is blessed to live near mountains (really, truly, they’re just giant hills…but most folks want to call them mountains) and near two lovely lakes. We are further blessed that one of our family friends has a houseboat and other fun lake “toys”, AND they love to invite us and a few other families many times during the summer months. Being ever so grateful to them, we bring good food from home (it would also be nice to bring gift cards for gas money) to share with our generous friends. Staycations are also a great way to use imaginations and catch up on must-read books or magazines. Also, checking out your local free parks, museums, or hiking trails is a fabulous way to spend time without spending a lot of cash…
We have two young children and have decided to save our money and not attempt any sort of big vacation until they are at least in elementary school and will remember it and be able to enjoy it more. AND, there will be less gear to haul with us! Right now we visit family and concentrate on half-day trips in town and to the closest metro area. And honestly, now they are happy just going to the local pool, playing at playgrounds, or having a picnic. Someday those things won’t be as exciting for them, and then we will be comfortable spending more on travel.
My last couple of mini-vacations were:
Staying with my aunt and uncle down the Jersey Shore. No hotel cost and a few minutes to the board walk. We had a great time catching up and barbque’ing.
Baltimore: Bid on a hotel via priceline, snagged a 4 star in the Harbor for $62. It was for 2 nights and we drove so it ended up being a frugal and exciting long weekend for me and the kids.