Introducing Jeana Mitchell:
Jeana is the mother of seven kids. An expert on crowd control and stretching a buck, she recently found the time to give our readers some terrific advice in the comments sections of our posts “The Slacker Parent and the Travel Friendly Child” and the “10 Essential Packing Rules”. We’re very pleased she has agreed to share some additional travel tips with Family Hack.
Vacation “packages” are set up for families of four. Having a family of nine can make vacationing on a budget a real challenge. However, it can be done! Here are some tips we have used to cut costs on our vacations without cutting out the fun.
1. BE NICE!
Make friends with the staff at the hotel or campground you are visiting. Tipping well once or twice will make you a friend of all the staff. Train your children to be polite and helpful to the staff. This goes miles if you are a large group and works on several levels.
- The staff knows the area, and normally is happy to help you find great deals.
- The staff knows if there are discount tickets behind the counter, and they do not have to make it public knowledge.
- They will share if they like you.
2. SHOP LIKE A NATIVE!
Before getting to your destination, locate at least two shops you would like to visit. When you’re there, ask the shopkeeper if they can recommend any other shops…they can! They will also usually tell you which grocery has the best deals as well. Also, grocery coupons that work in California, will work in New York.
3. BUY A MEMBERSHIP!
For our family, the cost of a membership is roughly the same as visiting one time. Even if your family needs two or three visits to make up the cost, check out the fine print and see if your local museum, zoo, or science center has a membership program, find out if they are partnered with reciprocal facilities. If so, most will honor your membership and let you in free or at least for 50% off. Children universally love these places and they tend to be very different. As a bonus, most reciprocal facilities offer discounts in the gift shop as well. Check these websites for science centers and zoos that have programs nationwide:
Association of Science-Technology Centers
Association of Zoos and Aquariums
4. MAKE A CHECKLIST!
Make a travel checklist on fun or brightly colored paper and use it. This gives you time to figure out what is missing and put it in the bag before you go. Personalize a checklist for each member of the family, leave a few spaces blank so kids can add their own items to the checklist. Pack the checklists in each individual’s bag so nothing is left behind.
5. ASK FOR FREEBIES!
If you have, somehow, forgotten something, ask a member of the staff, who now adores you, if they have complimentary toiletry items available. If you already have toiletries in the room, and don’t use them, take them with you anyway. Kids will love them for future trips.
6. EAT AT THE HOTEL!
Eat the free breakfast and accept the free snacks. One hotel we stayed at made fresh cookies and had a free milk and soda bar every evening. Nearly every hotel has a complimentary breakfast of some sort. Eat breakfast at the hotel and save $$$!
7. CAMP!
Camp near your destination instead of staying at a hotel. If there is a state or national park nearby, camp or stay in a cabin and save lots of money. As a comparison, our family typically needs two hotel rooms or a large family suite. A deeply discounted weeknight is roughly 189.00 for a large suite. A night at a campground runs an average of $30.00 for a site with electric and running water. Throw in a huge tent for $120.00 at a local superstore and you’re already ahead on the second night of the vacation. Campground staff is just as important as hotel staff. Be kind and ask for tickets to local attractions.
8. TAKE YOUR FOOD!
A cooler or a hotel refrigerator can hold quite a bit of food for inexpensive meals or midnight snacks. Pack an extra duffle bag of high interest, non perishable foods, and a cooler with lunchmeats and cold snacks, such as cheese or yogurt. Freeze yogurt and juices before leaving to ensure freshness.
In most tourist areas, food prices are exponentially higher. Eating out for lunch and having sandwiches for dinner is another way to save, as lunch prices are usually much cheaper.
9. GO TO TOWN!
Do not shop or get gas on the main highway. Go into town whenever possible. Prices are usually cheaper, and you also have a chance to find out what is going on locally by looking at the bulletin board in the grocery.
10. BUY A LOCAL NEWSPAPER!
Yes, this is one of Michael and Hannah’s tips, but it holds for US travel as well. You will be able to find local free events geared toward kids and your interests.
11. TAKE A PRIVATE TOUR!
When you have a large group, ask for a private tour. Many companies will discount the tour price or give a free tour to help with the flow of traffic through the attraction.
12. MAKE THE KIDS DO THE WORK!
Let kids plan at least a portion of the trip. Give them a reasonable budget, but do not waver on the budget! Let them know how much can be spent and what it has to cover (food, gas, attraction tickets, etc) then follow through with their plans. You will be surprised how resourceful children are at planning fun activities.
13. BUY POSTCARDS!
Instead of buying cheap souvenirs that will barely survive the trip home, consider buying postcards. They are great ways to remember the places you visit and usually less than a dollar.
14. CALL AHEAD!
Call travel and tourism board for the area and ask to have discount books shipped ahead to your home. Normally they will send an avalanche of discount tickets for you to look at or you can simply ask for the website and have specific coupons sent to your home. This also works for the hotels or campgrounds you will be staying. Call and ask if there are special rates or discounts available.
15. GO LOCAL!
Planning your vacation during local festivals or fairs can build in automatic free or low cost activities. Talk to friends who are local or familiar with your destination, they may have an “in” or know of special deals. Many small towns have free cultural attractions and LOVE out of town guests stopping in.
16. USE COMPANY DISCOUNTS!
Check with your company to see if they have any sort of travel discounts. Many large companies have special deals with travel companies that allow employees to get discounted rates.
17. VACATION WITH OTHERS!
Say it with me….Group Discount.
18. BE FLEXIBLE!
Go off season, during the week, or in monsoon season. Rates are down at these times.
19. BE LOYAL TO A HOTEL CHAIN!
This may seem contradictory to being flexible, but many hotels have discount clubs that allow you to get free stays. If you get a discounted stay in the first place, and that stay goes toward your free vacation stay, the ten dollars you save by going to a different hotel may not be worth it in the long run.
20. ASK FOR A BETTER PRICE!
Prices are almost always negotiable, and if rules #1 and #2 are followed, you will usually get a better deal.
Hopefully your family will find some of these tips useful. Good luck and happy vacationing!
About the Author:
Jeana Mitchell is the mother of seven kids under the age of 12. She knows things. You will listen to her.
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