There’s no summer tradition quite like the family vacation. For one week, maybe even two, your family heads on an epic trip, whether it’s camping in the north woods, going to an amusement park or even traveling across the country to see sites like the Grand Canyon or Niagara Falls. The only problem with these trips is that they can be expensive, and all too often parents feel as though they have to choose between taking on a lot of debt or sacrificing their anticipated vacation.
Here’s the thing—you can take a family vacation that will be fun and memorable even if you’re on a tight budget. You just have to know a few budget travel tips.
Here’s how to have the best family vacations on a budget
Plan Ahead for Your Family Vacation
One of the most effective ways to make vacations more budget-friendly is to save for them in advance. The more time you have to save, the less the strain will be on your wallet when your vacation date arrives.
In order to start saving, though, you’ll have to think about your vacation goals. These should include:
- Where you’d like to go for your vacation
- What you’d like to do
- How long your vacation will last
- How you’re planning to travel
Once you have your goals figured out, you can figure out a potential vacation budget where you can list all the expenses you expect to incur on your trip, and then add them up to get the total cost of your family vacation. To be safe, you’ll also want to add an additional 10% to that number for unexpected expenses.
Another advantage of planning your vacation early is that you’ll have more time to search for better prices on everything from travel expenses to accommodations. You’ll also get a better price on items like airplane tickets and hotel rooms when you order them in advance.
Start saving for your family vacation today!
Choose an Affordable Vacation Destination
You might want to take your kids to Disney World or visit the tourist locations in New York City, but traveling to both these locations can be pricey, to say nothing of the money you’ll spend once you’re there. Instead, look for locations and travel options that will fulfill your vacation goals without the hefty price tag.
For instance, if you’d hoped to go to Disney World, you could look into other amusement parks in the Midwest, such as the Six Flags amusement park in Illinois or Cedar Point in Ohio. You could reduce your travel even further by visiting Valleyfair in the Twin Cities or going to the rides at Mall of America.
Trying to find an affordable substitute for a vacation like New York City is a bit tricker. However, a lot of Midwest cities also have some impressive landmarks. You can find attractions in a lot of Midwest cities such as the Willis Tower and the Navy Pier in Chicago, the Gateway Arch and the City Museum in St. Louis, and even Greenfield Village and the Detroit Zoo in Detroit.
Take Advantage of the Off Seasons
When you plan to travel can be just as important as where you’re going. Companies tend to raise their prices when they know more tourists will be visiting, and lower them when there are fewer tourists, also known as the off-season. If you’re trying to figure out how to reduce costs while traveling, vacationing during the off-season can be a huge help.
You won’t find any official off-season dates, but it’s not hard to figure out when they are. For instance, skiing towns like Vail and Aspen aren’t that busy in the summer, and the crowds on Florida’s beaches thin out a lot in September and usually don’t come back until the beginning of May.
Of course, if your family vacation does depend on seasonal weather, you can also book your trip during the first couple of weeks at the beginning and end of the tourist seasons, also called the shoulder seasons. Just keep in mind that you do have a higher risk of inclement weather derailing your plans.
Look for Affordable Lodging
There’s no arguing with the fact that it’s nice to come back to a hotel room after a fun-filled day. However, they can also be a huge expense in your vacation budget. However, you can reduce these costs by booking ahead of time, and you might even use travel sites like Roadtrippers, Kayak or even Google Maps to see if any hotels at your vacation destination are offering a discount.
Of course, there are other options than staying at a hotel. You can search sites like Vrbo or Airbnb to see if you can find a less expensive place to stay. If you really want to take advantage of the summer weather, though, you might even want to buy a tent and stay at a nearby campsite.
Avoid Eating Out While on Vacation
One of the appeals of a family vacation is eating out at fun and exciting new places, from high-end steakhouses to little independently-owned restaurants that just happen to make an incredible hamburger. However, eating out all the time can also get expensive fast.
You can lower the cost of your vacation substantially by going to a local store and buying groceries. If you’re going camping, you can bring along a camp stove and make some fantastic cooked meals, but you can also have an informal dinner in your hotel room. You can even take advantage of the local scenery and find a park where you can have a picnic.
Prioritize Experiences Over Souvenirs
Getting a souvenir as a memento of your family vacation is always fun. However, it’s not money you actually need to spend, and the memories of your experiences will last longer than a t-shirt ever will. Prioritize expenses like park fees and tickets for rides over souvenirs, and make sure to take photos of your experience if possible.
Got questions about how to save for a vacation? Ask us!
Take an Affordable Vacation With First Alliance Credit Union
If you’d like to take a family vacation but are concerned about the cost, you can take advantage of some budget travel tips to not only have a fun vacation, but keep your costs down as well. You’ll want to plan ahead, first and foremost, and create a vacation budget that shows your potential expenses. From there, you can lower your vacation expenses by looking for affordable destinations that still meet your vacation goals, getting an affordable place to stay, and cutting down on costs like souvenirs and eating out.
You can also take steps to have a fun, affordable vacation when you become a member of First Alliance Credit Union. Once you’ve created your vacation budget, you can make saving for a vacation a financial goal with our SMART goal planner, and then open up a separate savings account where you can put your vacation expenses. You can even open a vacation club savings account where you can make regular deposits toward your goal and have the money transferred to a checking or savings account on June 1st, just in time for your vacation.
