Traveling for a vacation is both fun and stressful, more so if the trip includes bringing the kids along. Like every family travel, detailed planning must be taken into account. Aside from keeping everything organized, it will also be easier on the family budget. There are five major factors to keep in mind when making a plan for a vacation; these are destination, transportation, accommodation, meals and entertainment. In fact, getting the best deals for each factor is made a lot easier, since there are hundreds of sites from the internet where one can search, browse and choose.
DESTINATION:
Be financially realistic in choosing the target destination. Select a place which can be afforded by the family budget.
ACCOMODATION:
Staying with family or friends. This is a simple money-saving activity that is made more special and enjoyable for all, practically called reunion.
Home exchange programs. As far as accommodation is concerned, cost for lodging is one-third of the vacation cost. One can save this much plus the added benefit of staying in homely surroundings.
Camping. Simply choosing a place to park the car, pitching a tent, and hooking up electricity for additional convenience, eliminates the cost of high-price hotel accommodations.
Find discounted hotels. When finding hotel accommodations, used discount hotel services from sites like Priceline.com and Hotels.com.
Make use of offered coupons. Once a specific hotel has been chosen, search the internet for an on-line “coupon” for that particular hotel, this will save money on the accommodation price.
TRANSPORTATION:
Flexibility on Travel Dates. Airline prices vary, depending upon the day of the week. It is advisable to make use of an on-line ticketing service to compare dates of traveling.
Making Use of flyer miles. Points.com can help track frequent-flyer miles. Not only can these points be transferred from one person to another it can also be used to save cost on transportation.
Consider Driving. Driving with the family is more fun, and can considerably cut vacation transport expense.
FOOD:
Weigh the value of “Free Breakfast”. Make a comparison between the costs of staying at a hotel that offers free breakfast to a hotel that doesn't. The extra cost of breakfast may not be worth the money compared to a hotel which doesn't serve breakfast.
Book an accommodation that has kitchen facilities and make most of it. Some kids prefer the taste of their favorite foods than trying out unfamiliar dishes in restaurants. Plus cooking foods a lot cheaper.
Bring your own water bottles.
ENTERTAINMENT:
Have an entertaining time with the kids by getting into library attractions/activities for free.
Obtain inside scoop from local parents by using sites like Trakaroo.com. Here one can do the search, by filtering using “Cost” to obtain the list of available fun-filled activities that are free or a lot cheaper.
Great discounts on major tourist spots are offered on Bundle passes. Simply visit tourism websites or visitor's center to get discount bundle pass.
In the end, it can be said smart budgeting, and savings are the key elements in having a fun filled vacation with the family.