Budget Tips
• Use aggregate travel websites like Kayak or Travelocity that give you an at-a-glance way to compare pricing.
• Then check with hotel/airline/car rental company first to see if booking directly through them is cheaper.
• When checking in to a hotel or picking up a rental car, sweetly ask for an upgrade. They might say no, but it doesn’t hurt to ask!
• Sign up for member programs with airlines, hotel chains, and rental cars. You will be surprised how quickly points rack up and you might be given a gift or upgrade just for joining.
• Booking a condo, vacation home, or private villa gives families more space and amenities like a kitchen, and can sometimes even be cheaper than booking a hotel room.
• Stay with friends and family or travel WITH friends and family. You can save on costs by splitting accommodation fees and maybe even get some free childcare while you’re away!
• Do a home exchange either through friends and acquaintances or through websites that offer listings for an annual fee.
• Travel off-season to ski resorts and hot spots like Palm Springs or Phoenix during the summer or chilly places like Minneapolis or Chicago in the winter. You can nab an upscale hotel room at a deep discount and take advantage of hotel amenities like the pool and spa or stick to indoor fun like children’s museums and science centers.
• Go to the grocery store or open-air market to purchase groceries or use a grocery delivery service to have food delivered to your destination. Stock up on bottled water, mid-day snacks, and breakfast items.
• Rather than spending a lot of money on souvenirs, encourage children to collect flattened souvenir pennies as a reminder of all the places your family visits.
For more information on this topic see:
• Discount Resources
• Dream Trips on a Budget
Have we missed something? Let us know if there is a travel tip you particularly love and why so we can add it to our list!
.jpg)
