Minneapolis Winter Must-Do List

Do you love the snow and cold? If so, then maybe Minneapolis in the winter sounds like an awesome plan. Sure, it’s not Vail or Whistler, but that just means it’s cheaper and less crowded, especially in the winter. Hotels are more affordable, which you’ll find with a search on Hipmunk. So, if your winter plans include Minneapolis, pack your warmest clothes. Here are just a few things you’ll want to put on your list when putting your trip together.

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Lake Harriet Kite Festival

Spring and summer aren’t the only seasons for kite flying. In fact, Minnesota thinks winter is the perfect time to take out your lightweight friend and show it off for all to see. If you don’t have one, you can just watch others or buy one at the lake when you arrive. Kite experts are on-hand for advice as wanted. And also, there’s ice fishing for kids, so don’t fall in a hole.

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U.S. Pond Hockey Championships

When bodies of water ice over enough for you to play on it, it’s pretty incredible. Because it gets so cold in Minnesota, their ponds are perfect for playing hockey. See the best of the best pond hockey-ers take to nature to take the title.

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Minneapolis Home and Garden Show

Get some ideas for you own home , while also enjoying gardening demos where you can smell the flowers and pick up seeds to start thinking about your garden at home. This weeklong show at the end of February is the perfect way to spend an afternoon and keep warm. Thousands of experts will be there to answer questions on everything from growing corn to installing solar panels.

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Embrace the snow in Theodore Wirth Park

Do you like cross-country skiing? How about regular skiing, snowboarding, tubing or sledding? This is where to do it all. If there’s no snow, you can go biking, hiking or even tee off at their 18-hole golf course. Your whole family will love it.

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Take photos of the wintery goodness in Minnehaha Park

Outdoor snow activities not really your thing, but still want to take advantage of nature’s wonders? Stroll through the park and keep your camera at the ready for gorgeous winter photo ops like the sculptures that call Minnehaha Park home or the Minnehaha Falls waterfall that takes on a whole new look when frozen by winter chill.

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Take in a Minnesota Timberwolves or Minnesota Wild game

Go Sports! Cheer for your faves and have a hot dog and a beer during a basketball (Timberwolves) game, hockey (Wild) game, or even a football (Vikings) game if your visit overlaps their season. Make sure to buy your tickets well in advance, so you can get good seats and pack your team gear.

Minneapolis has something for everyone in the wintertime, so even if you’re not sure you’ll find enough to do on a trip there, I’m confident you will, especially if you like the outdoors. If not, you can always head to Bloomington and spend your whole trip inside the Mall of America, but then you’ll never see how cool Minneapolis can be. Check out the Skyway if the weather outside seems way too daunting to play around in.

Disclaimer: This post was inspired by my partnership with Hipmunk - a great site to find low hotel rates wherever you travel. #hipmunkcitylove

Free and Cheap Activities in Washington, D.C.

When you arrive in our nation’s capital, you might be afraid of how much everything will cost, especially when you find that most parking garages will run you $20-30 per day. So, that’s like a big chunk of your daily budget, right? Bummer. Well, believe it or not, if you plan it right, you can do a lot of cheap and free things on your visit.

Lunch at the Farmers’ Market

Throughout the city there are farmers’ markets open on specific days. We parked in the Ronald Reagan Building – which is super secure and also has room to actually turn to get in and out of a parking space – and right out front was a farmers’ market that opened at 11am. We decided that we would grab a quick snack and were not disappointed with our choices. I got a veggie empanada and Eric got lamb sausage. Bother were delicious and more affordable than sitting down somewhere for food.

Eat From a Food Cart

D.C. is chock full of food carts. There seems to be one on every other corner. From hot dogs to egg rolls to curry, you’ll find something to satisfy your hunger pangs. Take your selections to one of the many parks to devour it or, if it’s easily portable, snack on it while walking to the next monument.

National Monuments

If you’re visiting D.C., you probably want to see the famous landmarks. Almost all of them are free, like the Lincoln Memorial. Some require a ticket to get in, which are free, but they only release a certain amount per day. This is how the Washington Monument works. They suggest you get there before opening to line up in order to have a chance to get tickets. We were unaware of this, but were lucky enough to snag a pair from the lady at the hop-on hop-off bus stop, since she had two left that someone else couldn’t use.

So Many Museums

Somehow, there are way more things to do than you will ever have time for. We were there for three days and maybe got to two-thirds of our list of things we wanted to do. Things will take longer to get to, longer to look at and make it seem like you have accomplished nothing. Don’t plan a ton before you go. Instead, make a list of those things you really want to do and worry about the rest later. In those three days, we hit up as many museums as possible:

The Museum of Natural History is just that. See tons of taxidermied animals from all over the world, as well as live insects, fish and more. When we were there, they had a butterfly exhibit, which we paid $6 each for.

The National Air and Space Museum is large and has several floors full of NASA space probes, ships and even a moon rock. On the other side of the building is the history of flight where you can see how commercial airlines have changed over the years.

If you’re interested in the history of the Holocaust, the Holocaust Museum is free when it’s not high season. Fair warning, there is a lot of reading and can get a little tedious. It seems much more political than anything else and I didn’t “enjoy” it as much as other WWII exhibits I’ve been to. If you plan on visiting, make sure to eat before you go, because you can spend three or more hours in here if you look at everything.

We also spent time at the International Spy Museum, the Newseum and Madame Tussaud’s, which we did have to pay for, but we had a city card that got us a good deal on them, so we didn’t pay full price.

Parks and Gardens

D.C. has a lot of green spaces for being such a modern city. Put together a picnic lunch and enjoy them. We spent a considerable amount of time walking along the National Mall and we also paid a visit to the U.S. Botanic Garden, which is free and packed full of amazing plants from all over the world. It is broken up into sections like desert plants, medicinal plants and tropical plants. Outside is a fish pond, fountain and a butterfly garden. (We didn’t see any actual butterflies.)

There is so much to do that if you take multiple trips to the city, you’ll always see something new. With all the freebies, those trips can be totally budget-friendly.

Traveling on a Budget in Expensive London

London is right up there as one of the most expensive cities in the world to travel to. It’s unfortunate for me that it is one of my favorite places to visit, but aside from the airfare to get there, you can make a trip to London quite affordable. It will take some planning and budgeting, but you can do it. True, you won’t be able to do it every year. We like to hope we can get there every five. Of course, with so much time in between visits, it means you also want to make the most of your trip. This is where you decide which things you want to splurge on and which you can skimp on.

Dining out is where we tend to spend the most money, because we enjoy trying the local cuisine and having the experience of relaxing while someone waits on us. Prices in London are the same as they are in America, but instead of being in dollars, they are in pounds, which means they are approximately 1.6 times as much. It can be confusing and then overwhelming to realize how much you’re spending. Amazingly, there are plenty of ways to save when dining.

When traveling, we realize that we are always being served large portions. Sometimes you’re starving, and that’s okay. Most times you’re not, and you’re rarely going to want leftovers – not that you can take them with you in London – and it’s perfectly acceptable to just split something. Many times during our last trip across the pond we ordered one entrée and split it for lunch or dinner.

Street food, including food carts, is a staple in London. I wished I had more time to try more when I was there. These items were quite a bit more affordable than sit-down meals and are easy to eat while you’re walking down the street.

London has a ton of outdoor markets. Some just have antiques or clothes, but several of them have food stalls where you can buy everything from pastries and fruit to cheese and meats. I found a lot of budget-friendly foods and purchase several to eat later. Some of the markets you may want to check out are Portobello Road Market, Borough Market, Brick Lane and Leadenhall Market. Besides some cheap foods, you may find a few fun souvenirs to bring home.

Use daily deal sites to get up to 90% off dining experiences (and other tourist activities) around the city. We saved so much doing this and had quite a lot of yummy food.

See the free sites, because London is full of them. Walk along the Thames or across the many bridges. The views are spectacular and make for gorgeous photo opportunities.  London also has so many parks, it’s hard to miss out on them. Stroll through Hyde Park or head over to Holland Park for a more unique experience. It’s like several parks in one and it’s not as easy to get lost in. (I recommend carrying a map and a compass when visiting London. Just in case.)

Explore the museums for nothing. It’s true. The Tate Modern, the Imperial War Museum, the British Museum, the National Gallery and the Victoria & Albert Museum are all totally free. Even if you drop a few notes in the donation box, it’s practically nothing for hours of amazing artwork and history.

Book a vacation rental instead of a hotel room. Prices are comparable and can also be cheaper, like our loft apartment was. It enables you to have your own space, feel like a local and gives you kitchen facilities to make your own food – we always make our own breakfasts. You can also look for places that have other extras, including internet, cable, proximity to public transportation or popular attractions or a washer and dryer, letting you pack less and do laundry when you’re not out exploring.

If you look for ways to save anywhere, even in a place as posh as London, you will find a lot more than you expected. Between free activities, sharing food and daily deals, we probably saved as much as half of what we did the first time we visited eight years ago. A lot of the fun of visiting London is just walking around the city and taking in the scenery and the historical buildings.