I love to travel - the adventure, getting to see new things, talk with different people, and learn about a new place. It’s a time to put aside all my life’s day-to-day responsibilities from my home and work, and to instead just enjoy being with my family. The memories are just as important to me as the trips themselves. My boys frequently bring up stories from our vacations, and it makes me happy that they love travelling and spending time together as much as I do.
Partition Arch - Arches National Park
(Road Trip from MN to Zion National Park, Las Vegas, Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon National Park, Arches National Park, and back home)
So how do I budget for my vacations, especially when I’d like to go on more than one trip in a year? I can’t afford multiple trips per year to an all-inclusive resort, but with a little planning and wiliness to make a few sacrifices, there are ways to reign in the price of a nice family vacation.
When I plan for a trip, I typically break the costs into four buckets: Travel, Lodging, Food, and Activities. Here are a few ideas to potentially reduce the costs.
Travel
This bucket includes how to get to your destination and how to get from place to place on your agenda. There are a few options for traveling to your initial destination – flying, driving, train, or bus. Flying is by far the most convenient, however, if there are more than two people in your group, it’s likely the most expensive option. I haven’t traveled by bus yet. I looked into it one time to get to New York City, but it was last minute due to a flight cancellation and there were no available options, so we drove. I’m not sure that I would be brave enough though to try this option with kids. We have traveled by train once for the experience of it. And we talk about doing this again when we go out to Glacier National Park the next time. If there are buses at your destination to get your to where you want to be, this might be a reasonable option to reduce the cost. Primarily the point I want to make here though is to consider driving.
Jackson Hole - Grand Tetons
(Road trip from MN to Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Devils Tower National Monument, Wind Cave National Park and back home. This was a trip that we camped each night.)
1) Consider a Road Trip
You will put miles on your car, so this is a bit of a hidden cost, and there’s always a chance for your car to breakdown mid-way (as it did for my husband and children on their way out to Washington DC). But primarily the cost of travelling by car is just gas and maybe a few nights in a hotel depending on how far you’re going. If you have a minivan, you can easily fit 6 people for the cost of just gas and a hotel room as opposed to 6 plane tickets. (I mention 6 as we once did a road trip from MN to the Grand Canyon with our two boys and two exchange students – crazy awesome trip that yes, I would do again in a heartbeat).
Canyonlands National Park - Grand View
(Road trip from MN to Badlands National Park, Mount Rushmore National Monument, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado National Monument, Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Mesa Verde National Park, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, and back home)
If you’ve haven’t tried a long-distance road trip yet, don’t be intimidated. Use Google Maps, pre-print out your itinerary in case you loose cell coverage, and take a look at my suggestions for Road Trip Survival with your family. Stop along the way and enjoy the journey – every state in our country is beautiful.
2) Fly Monday Through Thursday
Nothing says that your vacation has to start on a Saturday and end the next Sunday. These are the most expensive days to fly. Leave on a Thursday and come back on a Friday, or some other weekday. Take your kids out of school. Let their teachers know a week or more ahead of time and ask for the work that they will miss. Work on it in the airport and while you are driving to different places or in the evening at the hotel. Just don’t leave it all for the end – break it up throughout the vacation.
Big Sur Highway 1
(Flew to Las Vegas. Drove to Sequoia National Park, Yosemite National Park, Monterey to see the sea lions, Santa Barbara for whale watching, Disneyland, and back to Las Vegas)
3) Meet Up with Friends or Family, Take Them with You, Use their Car
This only works if you know someone in the area of the country that you plan to travel, but it’s a fun option if it works out. My parents are snowbirds in Phoenix, and we’ve visited them a few times for Spring Break. They’ve picked us up at the airport, we spend a few days at their house, and then we travel together around the southwest. We get to spend some time together, travel and explore, and we don’t have to rent a car – win, win, win!
Antelope Canyon
(Flew to Phoenix. Drove to Sedona, Monument Valley, Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Antelope Canyon, Grand Canyon National Park, and back to Phoenix)
Lodging
The most obvious place to sleep on a vacation is in a hotel. Hotels are likely in the $60-200 per night range depending on where you are in the country. This adds up really quick if you are vacation for a week or longer. Another option? Camping - it takes more planning and a little longer to get settled but is phenomenally cheaper.
4) Camp in a Tent
Yes, this requires you to buy a tent, but for the cost of one night in a hotel you can buy a tent and have it for several years to come. Consistently, the cheapest places that I’ve camped is at National Parks ~$23 per night. This makes for a very reasonably priced vacation. Need a camping list? Start with mine.
Glacier National Park - Two Medicine
(Road Trip from MN to Glacier National Park, Banff Canadian National Park, Jasper Canadian National Park and back home. This was another trip we camped each night.)
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Food
Buying three meals at a restaurant for multiple people for a week also adds up quickly. To curb this cost, we typically only go out to eat for supper. Here are some ways to do this.
5) Pick a Hotel with a Continental Breakfast
Lots of hotels include breakfast with the cost of the room. When you book a hotel, look at the amenities to see if breakfast is included.
Sabino Canyon - Seven Falls
(Flew to Phoenix. Drove to Tuscon, Saguaro National Park, Kirchner Cave State Park, Chiricahua National Monument, Sabino Canyon, and back to Phoenix)
6) Bring a Cooler
If you are driving, fill up a cooler with sandwich meat, cheese, fruit, and some drinks. Keep it accessible so when you stop for lunch you have easy access to make a meal. If you are flying, bring a cooler too. I’ve flown with coolers as my luggage item, and then inside of it I’ve stuffed an air mattress (as there were five of us which is a little harder to fit everyone into just one hotel room). Other times I’ve brought cloth lined coolers that fold up and can be placed in my suitcase. If you fly with a cooler, use bungee cords to hold it shut.
Zion National Park - Angel’s Landing
(previously mentioned trip)
7) Stop at Local Grocery Stores
When you get where you’re going, stop at the grocery store and stock up on food for picnic lunches, snacks, drinks, and breakfasts (if you’re not staying in a hotel with free breakfast). Note that buying snacks and drinks from the gas station is more expensive than the grocery store. Need ideas for quick easy meals?
Grand Canyon National Park North Rim - Coconino Overlook
Flew to Phoenix. Drove to Grand Canyon National Park South Rim. Hiked to the North Rim and back.
8) Pack a Picnic Style Lunch
Use the food in your cooler for sandwiches, wraps, etc. Bring some sandwich bags or containers so you can take your lunch with you for an actual picnic if you are near a hiking location.
Badlands National Park
(Road trip from MN to Badlands National Park, Devil’s Tower National Monument, Oregon coastline, Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, Glacier National Park, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, and back home)
Activities
Theme Parks, Water Parks, Museums, Shows, and Sport Games can also be expensive for a family. But there are several outdoor activities that are included within the cost of one pass.
9) National Park Pass
For $80, the National Park Pass covers park entry fees for a carload (or up to 4 adults and children under 15 are free for locations where the fee is per person) for over 2,000 locations (National Parks, National Monuments, National Forests and Recreation Areas). This is a one-time fee good for a year from the month you buy the pass. Once you are in the National Park, there are hikes, Ranger-led activities, and often there is a Visitor Center with a movie about the park. Also, when you stop in the Visitor Center, ask for a Junior Ranger Book for your kids. These have been free in every park I’ve visited so far except Yellowstone. There are activities for your kids to do, and when they bring the books back and they will get a badge. If you don’t have time to complete the activities while you are in the park, just mail the booklets in and the park rangers will mail you back the badge.
It’s easy to fill up a vacation with just National Park Visits. If you’ve previously bought the pass within the year, your activities for this trip are free.
Grand Canyon National Park - Bottom of the Grand Canyon
(previously mentioned trip)
Other
10) Let your Credit Card Pay for your Vacation
I’m not promoting the use of a credit card but am sharing my own experience. Find a credit card where you earn “miles” from your use of the card. We put all of our expenses on this one card. We accrue credits that can then be applied towards travel-related expenses (flights and hotels). Our card has a purchase eraser option, meaning we book our flights and hotels as we normally would and we have 90 days to into our credit card online purchase history and apply the credits. The charge for these purchases disappears. In a year, this amounts to either free flights for three of us, or about seven nights free in a hotel. It’s magical! But note that the interest rate on these cards will be high, so the card has to be paid off in full each month, or this trick won’t be useful.
Arches National Park - Devil’s Garden
(previously mentioned trip)
Your Next Adventure?
Inspired but not sure where to go? Here are a few ideas.
A road trip is a cheaper option than flying but can be daunting if you haven’t tried this before with kids. Here is a list of survival ideas.