Traveling with your family can be expensive. That additional plane ticket, the extra meal at dinner, the bigger hotel room. Dave and I have always traveled, but traveling with kids was harder in more ways than 1. We absolutely LOVE traveling with our babes, and we’re determined to keep doing it and equally determined to find the best ways of doing it. We’ve only started scratching the surface, but I’ve compiled a quick list below on some of our biggest $-saving tips.
1. Looking for flights? Don’t book on a travel hub (like Orbitz) just yet. There are many airlines that aren’t included in said search engines such as Southwest, Allegiant, Frontier, Virgin, Spirit, etc. Check the independent sites first, then go to a website for larger comparables.
2. Search all airports within a 2-3 hour radius. Sometimes a more inconvenient drive can save you a pretty penny on airfare! We have a trip coming up in 2 weeks and found a better fare out of Orlando. We’ll have to drive 2 hours to get there, but in the end, we’re saving a good amount!
3. Airfare too expensive? Try searching train or bus travel (for the non-cross-country trips!) We’re looking to schedule a train trip in the near future and I’m already giddy with excitement over it. Did you know you can reserve a room on the train? There are also dining cars for sit-down meals. They take longer than planes, but you can book an overnight trip and sleep for the duration!
5. Hotels too expensive in a given area? Try Airbnb. For those of you who haven’t ever used Airbnb, it doesn’t mean that you’ll be sleeping on a couch in a stranger’s home. Ha! You can filter the search results to find an “entire place” if you wish. VRBO is also a great site for home/vacation rentals.
6. Try to find a hotel/house rental with a full kitchen. It is so much more cost-effective to purchase a few groceries to make simple meals “at home.” Don’t get me wrong, we love tasting our way through new cities, but it’s definitely cheaper (and healthier) to choose to eat in 1 or 2 times per day.
7. Travel with friends! This is probably THE funnest (I know that’s not a word) way to budget! You can find a bigger rental house or hotel suite and split the cost! Sometimes this can end up being cheaper than purchasing 2 smaller units. Traveling with friends is also helpful when splitting the cost of groceries – makes eating-in, even more, cost effective.
8. Forego the rental car. Most cities have a good/decent public transit system. You may just have to do a little more research on the front end to find which train/bus/subway lines to take to get from point A to point B. But this tends to be the cheapest option when traveling inside city limits. Not up for this? You can always Uber.
9. Opt out of the super touristy things to do. Most touristy shops, attractions, and restaurants can do some damage on your bank account. Ask locals about their favorite things to do instead! Dave and I have come across some amazing restaurants and beautiful destinations by doing this!
10. Find free activities. Find local parks, gardens, state parks (may have to pay for parking), beaches, mountain hikes, running trails, etc. I think it’s safe to say that I’ve never regretted choosing something natural & beautiful over something man-made & expensive!
I hope you’ve found this list helpful! I would certainly find your money-saving tips helpful as well!!
Please share your advice with the rest of us in the comments below!