Budget-Friendly Summer Family Travel
Longer Getaways
By Melanie Monroe Rosen
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In scary economic times, the thought of planning a family vacation can seem truly daunting. Eileen Ogintz, a leading national expert on family travel and creator of the family travel advice website TakingtheKids.com has this advice for trepidatious travelers: “Don’t be afraid to travel because of the economy; know that you’re going to get more bang for your buck.” To take advantage of some of the great deals out there, one of the key first steps is to keep an open mind about your destination, suggests Kelleher of WeJustGotBack.com. You might be surprised where you can find the most vacation for your money -- but be sure to account for all expenses (transportation, lodging, food, entertainment) at any destination under consideration before making a final decision.
Get in the Know: Sign up for airline e-newsletters and alerts from travel websites like Airfarewatchdog.com, Farecast.com, Farecompare.com, Orbitz.com, Yapta.com, and so on. By becoming a (free) subscriber, you’ll be alerted to all kinds of deals on domestic and international fares, some of which are unadvertised sales available for an extremely limited time. If your summer schedule is flexible, be sure to sign up for Airfarewatchdog.com’s flexible date search which can potentially help you save hundreds of dollars by showing you fares on surrounding dates.
Hit the Air… and then the Road (or Rail): George Hobica, creator of Airfarewatchdog.com suggests familiarizing yourself with a variety of means of transportation. If airline tickets to your destination of choice are too steep, but tickets to a city close to your ideal destination are within reach, check out options like rail, bus, or ferry tickets. Who knows? Getting there really may be half the fun!
Travel in the Off-Season: Family travel experts like Kelleher and Ogintz recommend hitting hot spots like the Caribbean in the off-season because of major discounts on flights and lodging. If you’re concerned about a hurricane potentially destroying your plans, be sure to investigate whether your hotel or resort offers trip insurance. And, if you like the idea of the Caribbean but aren’t so keen on staying at a resort, Brooklyn, New York-based Marion Gropen, mom to an eight-year-old daughter, recommends chartering a sail boat instead. Of her family’s chartered sailing trips, Gropen says, “One of the best and least expensive ways to see the Caribbean is to charter a sailboat. Caveats: the non-sailors will need to hire a captain, and the children will need to be at least five years old. But, the boats are more comfortable than you might think. You can get the charter agency to do your grocery shopping for you, in advance, and bring the food to your boat right as you're getting ready to cast off, and there is NO other way to see some of the most unspoiled and fun out islands. The beaches are amazing, the snorkeling gear is included and the areas are fantastic. And you're not sitting on some plasticized resort, although you can still get the little umbrella drinks at **real** beach bars.” Sign us up! Among other off-season options to consider: ski resorts in the summer, which offer loads of outdoor activities such as hiking, biking, rafting, and swimming, as well as fun festivals and concerts.
Stay Grounded: One of the easiest ways to create a family vacation on the cheap is to skip air travel and just load up the car and head on out. Generally much cheaper than flying (especially for larger families), a road trip can be a fun way to escape as a family. For help planning a road trip, check out DiscoverAmerica.com, the official U.S. travel and tourism website as well as your state’s official tourism website and those of nearby states. To make the most out of your miles traveled and dollars spent, also consult the American Automobile Association’s (AAA) Fuel Cost Calculator, Fuel Finder and TripTik Travel Planner. Although you won’t need to be a AAA member to use these online tools, annual membership only costs around $50-75 and can pay for itself quickly through the wide array of discounts and emergency roadside service it offers its members.
Home Away From Home: If the thought of squishing your family into a single hotel room is too much to bear, consider renting a condo or vacation home for a week. In addition to getting much more space for everyone, with access to a kitchen you’ll be able to save money on food as well by grocery shopping and preparing your own meals instead of eating out three times daily. To find vacation rental properties, check out CyberRentals.com, HomeAway.com, ResortQuest.com, http://www.resortquest.com VRBO.com or Zonder.com, among others.
Stay Chez a Stranger: One of the all-time best ways to take a family vacation on the cheap is to knock out the cost of lodging. By participating in a home exchange with another family, you’ll not only get free lodging, you can also get access to local insider info, such as the best local playgrounds, phone numbers of babysitters, and best child-friendly restaurants. Home exchange websites like Digsville.com, Intervac.com, HomeExchange.com, and HomeLink.org generally offer access to their database of homes for a low annual fee (typically $100 or less). To save even more money by avoiding the membership fee, it’s also possible to arrange a vacation swap through websites like Craigslist.org.
Kim Felsenthal, another Brooklynite and mom to a four-year-old daughter and six-month-old son, has successfully arranged swaps in New Hampshire and Montreal through Craigslist.org. Of the process, she says, “I posted ads and responded to ads, and corresponded a lot with various people. When I got a good feel for them through email, we exchanged photos of our places (theirs usually looked a lot nicer than ours!). Then we would talk on the phone a bit. We prefer doing it with families because the houses tend to have kid's rooms and lots of toys, which is always fun for our daughter.” Regardless of whether you choose to go through a home exchange site or not, you’ll need to work out the specific details of your swap individually with any interested parties. And, of course, if you can work out an exchange with a family who has similarly-aged children, even better as you’ll need to pack that much less in the way of toys and supplies!
Get Back to Nature: If your family isn’t allergic to the Great Outdoors, camping is a great, economical way to take a family vacation. Not only will you save money on lodging over staying in a hotel, but you’ll get access to plenty of fun low- or no-cost activities in the parks, as well. To get started, check out NPS.gov, the National Parks Service website, to find a park near you or ReserveAmerica.com, which allows users to make reservations at federal, state, and private parks.
Head to Camp as a Family: Instead of just dropping your kids off at camp this summer, stick around and join them for a week of fun, suggests Kelleher. “A great idea for summer is the YMCA. Everyone thinks of it as just running kids’ summer camps, but there are a handful of lodge and family camps, which have a tremendous number of activities available. It’s possible to spend less than $800/week for a family of four. The camps have rustic accommodations, but lots of sporty outdoor activities like high ropes, low ropes courses, horseback riding… You can get a lot for so much less.” You should expect the classic summer-camp experience: you’ll stay together as a family in a cabin and eat your meals in a dining hall. To find a family camp, check out the American Camp Association’s website, CampParents.org, and search their database by “family sessions” or do a Google search for a YMCA family camp in your state of choice.
Hostels: They’re not just for college kids! Although plenty of hostels won’t be a good match for families, there are a number of them that qualify as “family-friendly” (as long as your family doesn’t mind bunk beds). You’ll need to look for a hostel that features special “family rooms,” often with en-suite facilities. Hostels may also boast play areas, laundry facilities, or even a swimming pool. The best place to begin your search is the Hostelling International website and check out individual hostel pages for your destination of choice. Be sure to check if the hostels require membership in a hostelling organization.
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