Tips for saving money on family travel
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
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Cindy Richards
[Photo by Cindy Richards]
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[Photo by Cindy Richards]
[Photo by Cindy Richards]
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Dallas-Ft. Worth, Atlanta and Orlando top the list of cities offering the best value for your vacation dollar, according to a new study from Hotwire.com.
The study also lists Tampa, Phoenix, Houston, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami and San Diego among its top 10. Hotwire is the hot Web site that sells unsold airline seats, hotel rooms and rental cars at deep discounts. Its value index looks for cities with affordable airfare, hotel and entertainment options.
It's true: The keys to a truly affordable family vacation are to lower the cost of transportation, lodging, entertainment and (I would add) food as much as possible. Here's how:
1. Transportation
Try not to fly. That means none of the cities on Hotwire's list is a great option for a Chicago family with a one-week vacation. Some folks might be OK driving to Atlanta (about 12 hours south) but most of us would choose a closer-to-home option, pile the kids in the car and head off. Continue the transportation alternative theme when you arrive at your destination--park the car and take a walk, ride a bike or take the subway.
2. Lodging
Think outside the hotel room. That can mean many things-rent a condo with a full kitchen so that even though you spend a little more on the room, you save a bundle on the food; arrange a houseswap either formally via an Internet site such as HomeExchange.com or informally with someone you know who lives in a place you'd to visit; or visit the relatives and stay for free.
3. Entertainment
Look for coupons on the Web or join a local deals site such as Groupon.com for your destination to buy deals before you go. And plan to do the free stuff. Every destination has free stuff to do. Check the local tourism Web site as well as the site for attractions you want to visit to find what's free when. (TravelingMom.com, the site where I'm the editor, has a feature called Free in the 50 States that is a collection of free and family friendly things to do on a family vacation.)
4. Food
Bring your own food and cook it too. See points 1 and 2 above re: driving and staying somewhere with a kitchen.
Cindy Richards is the mom of two who gets her muse from traveling the world, usually with kids in tow. She also writes for TravelingMom.com, where she also serves as editor.
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Another Option
By Janice on Tuesday, November 13, 2012
If you're worried about roaming fees or any out of area calling while you're on vacation, I suggest you think about carrying a prepaid cell phone with you - its what I do. Anytime my family travels, I always make sure to carry a dependable prepaid phone with me for the just in case and it has to be something on a really good network. The best I've found so far is Straight Talk (sold at Walmart) that runs on both the Verizon and ATT networks and I've found the service solid everywhere. The price for their cheapest plan - $30 for 1k use - isn't the cheapest out there, but it worth paying $10 more to know you have the reception you might need when travelling.