Families That Travel Together Save Money 10.1.11

Do you travel with children? While it can be fun, it can be expensive. Even though they get discounts on everything from zoo admission to bus rides, it can still be hard to keep costs down on family travel. Don’t resign yourself to thinking you can never go on vacation again until your children are old enough to get jobs to help pay for your trips. As always, I have learned a lot of things in my travels that you can use to keep money in your wallet, or at least keep trips within your meager budget and still have a great time. Remember, just because you don't stay in a 5-star resort and eat at Michelin-starred restaurants doesn't mean that you can't have a good time, create lasting memories and also have a luxurious vacation experience. Here are 5 ways to save a bundle:

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Travel in the off-season. When your children are small and don’t yet go to school, you have the choice of being able to travel year-round. Worldwide, the busiest and most expensive time to travel is summer break. The second week in June through the second week in August is a peak time to go anywhere. Airfare and hotel rates can double and most places you go are packed with tourists. Plan your holidays outside of this time and save big, but also avoid crowds that make it impossible to efficiently do as much as you otherwise could. Even with shorter operating hours for theme parks and other activities, you will be able to do more when it is less busy.

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Look for Kids Eat Free deals at restaurants and hotels. Dining can be a huge chunk of your holiday budget and with little ones around, you add to that cost. Most hotels have a kids-stay-free deal, so don’t let this fool you as a “discount”. Instead, look for those that have restaurants that include kids eat free. There are a lot of restaurants worldwide that also offer free meals for children with the purchase of an adult entrée. If you are traveling in the U.S., the website Kids EatFor is a great resource. They even have an iPhone app, so you can find out on-the-go which restaurants are participating. If you’re traveling other parts of the world, search the Internet for “kids eat free” and your destination. There is a wonderful selection of Kids Eat Free Cards for popular locations, including London and Spain, available for a reasonable fee.

Book a vacation rental. When you travel with your family, it’s helpful to have a little extra room to spread out. Four people in a small room with two beds and nowhere to hide for a bit of privacy is a nightmare. Also, not everyone wants to be on a toddler’s sleep schedule. When taking a holiday with four or more, consider booking a vacation rental home or condo. You’ll have separate living and sleeping spaces, a kitchen to prepare snacks or full meals – which will also save you money – and you don’t have to worry about your children making too much noise for your hotel neighbors or the other way around. Flipkey and VRBO have extensive listings for vacation rentals worldwide for all budgets. Generally, you save more if you are staying for a week, which can’t be said for almost any hotel. With the space and privacy you get along with it, it really can’t be beat for family travel.

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Rent baby equipment. Dragging all your bags and kids along can be more than enough to deal with when you travel. You don’t want to worry whether or not your buggy or car seat will make it to your destination as well. You also have to pay baggage fees for those items. Save money and keep your arms more free by renting those items at your destination. BabiesTravelLite has a comprehensive list of rental locations across the globe where you may pay less for an entire week’s rental of an item than you would to check it at the airport (one-way) to your destination. That way, you don’t have to juggle everything you own or deal with your personal equipment being damaged in transit.

Go all-inclusive. With all the costs associated with a family holiday, it can sometimes be easier to pay for everything up front and not have to worry about your budget at all when you travel. Many all-inclusive resorts offer kids stay and eat free deals for children of all ages. Sometimes it includes those up to age 14. If you find a resort you would like to stay at and the rate seems like a bargain, price out what you think you would end up paying separately to see if it really is. All-inclusive stays include all your meals and drinks – some include snacks – as well as entertainment and a selection of activities. It also helps if what are offered are things you and your family will want to take advantage of. Keep in mind that you may end up paying for some things, like sightseeing, shopping and maybe other activities not provided in the rate, so the total for the resort may not be the total for your vacation. Family-friendly resorts often have a kids club on site, so your kids can make friends with other travellers and give you some adult time.

By being more creative with your holiday planning, you can save money and still have a great time with your kids. Let them help you find things to do, so everyone will feel like they had a hand in making your holiday great. Kids big and small like to feel included and helpful. Plus, by saving on one aspect of your trip, you can spend a little more somewhere else and make your family holiday one to remember.

Put Away Your Wallet - It's All Included! 9.29.11

This week, I wanted to share a great new resource for my UK readers (as well as anyone looking to take a mini-break from their vacation to the UK). Since most of my deals are centered around my readers in America and there are so many sites that cater to just the UK, I thought it would be great to showcase one type of site for you that can really help you save money on breaks and long holidays.

Travelling can be expensive, but as I’ve shown you before, there are many ways to cut costs and go on great holidays for less. One of the easiest ways to do this is by seeking out all-inclusive resorts that bundle all your meals, entertainment, lodging and, if you’re lucky, airfare into one manageable package. You know exactly how much you’ve paid and any leftover money in your budget can be put toward activities that aren’t included in your rate, like shopping and other things you want to do off-site. While some websites claim that an all-inclusive is cheaper than you could book on your own, it’s not always true, but if you do the math to see what it is per night per person, you may find that if you book separately, you would never be able to go for so cheap.

Some of the best deals on holidays can be found on all-inclusive holiday sites geared toward travellers from the UK. You can find 3-, 4- and 5-star resorts that have packages to fit every budget. Choose your own dates and stay between 1 day and 3 weeks! Look at the offers of the week and find great holidays starting around £250 per person, including resort stay, round-trip airfare, meals, drinks and more. Most resorts are beachfront or very close to the shore, so you can splash around in the surf, too. If the ocean isn’t for you, all resorts have beautiful swimming pools that are perfect for everyone in your travel party. You also have the possibility of shopping at nearby, off-site stores at many resorts, so you don’t feel as if you are trapped on the premises.

All-inclusive holidays are great for those travelling as a family and take the guesswork out of researching an entire trip to figure out if you can even afford to go. You will know right up front what the total of your holiday will be, including delicious multi-course meals that you may not have been able to find the money for otherwise. Isn’t that better than bringing your own food or eating at cheap restaurants that have a drive-thru the entire time you are away? The whole family will have so much to do; whether you travel for two weeks or just have time for a weekend break. Take the hassle out of holiday planning and just kick back and relax. Destinations vary widely and you will find something to everyone’s liking, whether you wish to holiday in the Canary Islands, Egypt or Cancun. Not only will you have amazing locales to choose from, but you’ll also enjoy amazing views when you get there.

 

Pricing and reviews can be found on many of the easy-to-use websites. A deposit often is required for booking, with the balance of your holiday costs due prior to your departure. Now, after finding your travel destination, all you need to do is pack your bags and be the hero of the family, because you saved so much money. You don’t need to tell them how easy it was!

This is a Sponsored Post by me for all-inclusive holidays, however, all opinions are 100% my own.

Live and Learn: Paris 9.28.11

It's called the City of Lights and also The Most Romantic City in the World. I'm talking about Paris. While these things can certainly be true, there is also much to be learned in the city, which is not always romantic or bright. Regardless, the city is an amazing one to visit and experience culture. We only had three days there, but we still ended up learning quite a few things – some good, some bad – which were useful and easy to help us change our trips for the future. And here I am passing them on to you, so you won't make my same mistakes.

Plan ahead to get around town – The RER (Metro) can be a fantastic way to get around, but if you are used to the ease of the Underground or haven't mapped out your route, it can be kinda hard to get where you want to go. There are fewer stations, so you do need to plan ahead when you first get there (or before), so you don't get lost and end up somewhere totally far from where you meant to go.

Not all food is good food – I know. I rarely say this, but it's true. Since everyone told me that I would find such delicious food in Paris, I didn't research restaurants before leaving home. I really regretted this after the first day, because I ended up having McDonald's and pizza for two meals and the other times we ate were also disappointing. In fact, the one meal that we really loved was a ham and brie baguette that we picked up at a street vendor. Amazingly, it was also much more affordable than everything else we ate as well.

Jet lag is a thing – Get your body used to "local time", otherwise you'll end up losing most of a day like I did. Two days into our trip I crashed and burned and got up for breakfast and went right back to the room and passed out. Even though I missed half a day of vacation, when I woke up, Eric had sightseeing plans mapped out for us, which was pretty awesome. Not as awesome as going to Disneyland Paris, but I probably would have missed out on some of those cool things he planned if I hadn't been jet lagged. At least we made the best of it and it worked out well.

Parisians will snicker at you, even if you attempt the language – It's true. Unless you are fluent in the language, the French think it's "cute" that you are failing, even a little bit. I've never encountered this anywhere, but I have heard stories of other travelers say this is the norm. I think next time I will pretend to be British. My most irritating travel memory is from France....getting off the train, we headed to the ticket booth to ask for directions. I asked the lady if she spoke English, to which she replied "no". So, after butchering some French to ask where I could get a taxi, where I received a blank stare all the way through, the lady points toward the door and tells me in perfect English that there was a taxi stand down the street on the left. For real? I mean, I was tired and cranky and that lady is lucky there was a wall of glass between the two of us. 

There’s no such thing as free refills – I'm probably used to the American way of restaurants where you can have as much beverage as you want/need. Europe is really not like that. In fact, you're lucky if you get more than 3 cubes of ice in a drink. If you want refills, you have to pay for them, at full price. Your best bet is to just order a bottle of still water (non-carbonated), which is usually the biggest thing on the beverage menu and about the same price as a soda. Maybe they are just used to people ordering wine.

Coffee costs a fortune – Remember how I just said there were no refills? Imagine paying more for a cappuccino at a restaurant as you would for a Venti Frappaccino at Starbucks...and then having to pay the same for a refill or even something else to quench your thirst. 

You have no personal space – Do you like your personal space? Well, you better let go of that before going to France, because people there don't believe in such a thing. More than once you'll have someone pressed up against you in a line and realize you don't actually know them. Worse is when you feel their breath on you, too. Not that I have an issue with people being within close proximity to me, but unless I know you well, I don't really want to spoon you. So, that's something I (and probably you) will have to get over next time I travel there. Also, don't resort to dirty looks, because they don't care. Just make sure your bags and everything are not accessible to them, in case there are thieves among the crowd.

The Eiffel Tower is crowded – I think if you don't care about seeing the city at night, then  going as soon as the Tower opens is your best bet for beating long lines. If you do care, then expect to stand in line for at least an hour with a bunch of people who have no regard for your personal space and 

So, there you have it. My short break in Paris taught me some valuable lessons for when I return. I'll do much more research, so I will be able to see more, get more rest and also eat delicious food. Of course, if I has to subside on those yummy baguettes, that wouldn't be the end of the world. It will just be good that I walk around the city so much, to combat all the carbs and cheese.