Be it a trip to grandma’s house, summer vacation or a long-awaited holiday, you need time and money both to build the best memories. If you are on a tight budget for your vacation doesn’t mean you need to skip the fun activities or quality time with kids during vacation. We understand that kids love to enjoy outdoor activities and some grown-ups too but everything just looks to be too expensive out there. You might be nervous as a parent to manage both the finances and individual interests of each family member.
But not necessarily you need to shell out a lot on the food, entertainment, gifts or entry tickets to attractions, etc. while on vacation. There are many smart ways to plan your vacation right and tight. We are here to help you and provide some quick (tired and tested) useful tips for entertainment during vacation.
Ways find Low-Cost Family Activities
1. Book a Smart Stay:
Whether you visit a historical site, or a national forest, or a new city to explore, by booking the right place to stay you could save on a lot. What we mean here is to consider the distance of your stay to the attraction places you want to visit which is directly proportional to the travel expense and time. By staying closer to the places to visit, you save on your conveyance each day. Looking for some deals beforehand also makes it easier on your pockets. Book a stay only after you plan your itinerary and list of places you want to visit.
In case, if you are going to leave the accommodation in the morning and only come back at night to sleep you can book cheaper lodges/ hostel rooms instead of hotels which are way more expensive. Look for some group discounts, child/ toddler discount and student discount etc (R). accordingly. Also, most of the tourist places have excellent public transport with discounted whole day tickets or weekly tickets (again includes group discount, family discounts depending on the place). Try to compare the rates and plan your commutation for your whereabouts.
2. Book yourself and through owners:
First of all, take out enough time to research and look at the deals yourself. Do not blindly indulge in booking via agents. You might not just lose on the agent fee but also on a lot of discounts that hotels might offer you. Look for more than just a bed and a bathroom. For example, it is good to have a working kitchen to save on outside expensive food.
Talk to the owner of the properties for discounts and bargain rather than going via the websites which might turn out to be expensive and bargain-less. This type of flexibility makes it an excellent resource for bigger families. Always read the reviews online before you book a property with the owner.
3. Plan a Holiday According to the Free Days
Don’t forget about all those free days in your calendar. It needs a bit of planning but you will end up spending lesser money by investing an hour or so of your time to research and plan. Find great places for free events via social media or online websites. Look for some free days at the zoo, local festivals with free admission, free kid’s yoga classes etc. Having a tough financial situation could be stressful enough for the family, but finding a way to get everyone smiling and enjoying is all you need to do. Undoubtedly, you get an opportunity to make brilliant memories regardless of your monetary concerns.
4. Package or No Package:
While they could be a lot of offers on the packages available online, reconsider looking at the airfare, hotel, and car rental etc. separately to compare that total to the package deal.
Yes, it is also worth comparing this rate to the vacation packages that the agents offer. Some agents can offer excellent deals that you don’t find online. The crux here is to say that do not rely on only one source, try to research and find out the cheapest deal looking at various options.
5. Get Active – Hiking Trekking etc.
Did you think about some great activities that you could do while on vacation? We are talking about passive activities which do not cost a lot of money usually. They are good for family bonding and entertainment as compared to looking at attractions and sightseeing mostly. Listing some such activities for you:
- Hiking
- Rafting
- Trekking
- Camping
- Cycling
- Picnic
- Fishing
You can check for any nearby ropes courses or zip line courses and pre-book them for cheaper rates. Add some adrenaline rush, crazy fun events like these to your worthwhile vacation.
Best Tips on Planning a Vacation in the Budget
- Fix a budget and stick to it: Figure out how much you want to spend and can afford. In the end, stick to it.
- Account for overflow: Once we book our airfare and hotel, we tend to forget to account for the additional simple things like car rentals, parking fee, baggage fee or any add-ons while on vacation. Thus leave extra space for your budget to swell so that you can accommodate these additive costs. Look and research for any additive costs by reading reviews online
- Look for complimentary facilities and make the best use of them: If your hotel has a facility to any of the cycling activities or hiking, encourage your kids and family to do it together. There could be discounts further on the attraction sites that the hotels offer, ask for it at the reception before planning.
- Be flexible: Start your plan with a more flexible date in mind. Usually, the online flight booking websites etc. tend to show you which week or the day s of the week are the cheapest to fly. Try to grab the best possible offer by travelling during the off-season. Tag along with friends to get a group discount whenever possible. Avoid the typical holiday seasons as the rates are bound to soar up with demand like Christmas holidays or thanksgiving long weekend etc.
- Ask for upgrades: Hotel room, flight seat upgrades etc. happen usually when you ask them for. You never know, when you could just get lucky. However, if the officials say no, there is nothing to lose – so give it a try!
- Plan as a family: Ask your family to help you find deals and discounts. The teens are the best bet for these tasks as they are well-versed to technology and want to take up such challenges. Look for any discount codes if your friends have that they could share.
Things to Do on Holidays With Kids for Free:
- Plan a garden party
- Hold up pot-lucks
- Visit a library
- Go to the beach
- Go to a museum
- Attend a free workshop
- Listen to a free park concert
- Plan movie nights at home
- Pitch a tent in your backyard and camp
- Indulge in science experiments
- Do some DIY for décor
- Build a fort at home or the beach
- Baking classes in the kitchen
- Visit a pet store
- Observe the stars
If you are looking for best all-inclusive holiday resorts in the US then read here Remember, a family vacation does not need to be all luxury but the valuable time you spend together as a family makes it worthwhile.
