So long, staycation: 11 tips for budget family travel plans

Family vacations are a fun way to spend time with the people you love the most. The lasting memories made when you get away from the day-to-day can be some of your most treasured. And you can make sure those memories are about the times you spent together rather than the money. 

Time away with loved ones doesn’t have to be cost-prohibitive. Even if you’re on a budget, family travel can be a fun and full experience. Use the 11 tips in this blog to plan unforgettable family getaways without breaking the bank. 

Budget family travel planning tips

Family travel on a budget can seem like a fairy tale, but we promise you won’t need a magic wand to whisk your family away on a vacation you’ll all love. Plan ahead and be prepared for expenses during your trip so you can enjoy budget family travel to many destinations. These 11 travel tips will help you save money before you’ve even packed your bags. 

1. Calculate the costs 

Before you book your tickets or plan your driving route, make sure that you’ve planned an affordable family vacation. After all, you can’t have a budget-friendly trip without a budget in mind.

A road trip might seem more affordable than a destination you have to fly to, but take a big-picture view of the trip. Remember that you’ll have to buy meals, fuel up the car, pay tolls, and book hotels. It’s likely that a cheap flight to a destination with a low cost of living could be more affordable than hitting the interstate.

Make a list of everything you’ll need to spend money on during a possible family trip. Then, get an estimate of how much each item will cost. Do the same for a different kind of trip — road trip vs. international vacation (with flight deals), for example. Total them up and see which price tag is affordable and worth it for you. 

You may need to try out a few different vacation budgets to find the right one for your family. Use this as an educational opportunity with your kids and teens to teach them about budgeting.

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2. Consider the shoulder season 

Summer and spring break are some of the most popular travel times and, not surprisingly, the most expensive. This makes sense since school breaks present midyear travel opportunities for families. But if you can travel during the shoulder season (aka the off-season), you’ll probably have an easier time planning family travel on a budget. 

If you have young kids or if you homeschool, look at hotel and transportation costs during the off-season in your ideal destinations. This is a useful tip for a family vacation with adult children as well. But if your kids are in school and you have to plan around their calendar, don’t worry — there are still plenty of ways to plan budget family travel.

3. Save on the supplies 

An affordable family vacation takes more than budget airlines and off-season travel dates. You can run up your bill just by shopping for a vacation. 

Camping trips, for instance, seem low-cost on the surface. But if you don’t already own a tent, sleeping bags, cooking supplies, and other essentials for the outdoors, you’ll eat up a good portion of your budget before you even choose a campsite. 

Whatever vacation you choose, make sure you have most of what you need already so you won’t make too many purchases.

4. Look for discounts and rewards 

There’s no shortage of travel companies offering exclusive deals and discounts in exchange for your email address, but many of these come with fine print that makes them hard to use for a family vacation. Luckily, there are some places that might have more flexible travel discounts to offer you.

Check with the benefits department at your place of work for travel perks. Some employers have partnerships with hotels, airlines, and car rental agencies. If you’re a veteran of the U.S. armed forces, you’re eligible for travel discounts as well.

Organizations like AARP and AAA also offer discounts on hotels, rental cars, and even theme parks. 

You might even have help in your wallet right now. Your credit cards might get you special deals at certain hotel chains or travel destinations, or you may have rewards points that you can redeem for airfare or other travel expenses. 

5. Take the road less traveled 

Many popular destinations have more budget-friendly areas surrounding them, so you can stay nearby without paying a lot of money. Here are some examples:

• If your family is set on visiting Disney World in Florida, save on travel expenses with a hotel room outside of the resorts or maybe even an Airbnb or VRBO in the suburbs of Orlando. 

• Consider a day trip to the Grand Canyon while you spend more time at Canyonlands National Park in Utah. 

• Even an international vacation spot like Italy or Costa Rica can be a budget family travel destination if you find cheap flights into nearby airports or book affordable accommodations in areas less popular among tourists.

6. Take a DIY approach

Guided tours can be appealing because they advertise convenience and professionalism, but they’re often much more expensive than arranging an outing on your own. Even if the base cost of the tour is reasonable, you can expect upsells along the way that may be challenging to turn down. 

To save money, plan your own outings and self-guided tours. Use travel guides and blogs to research the attractions in your vacation destination. If there aren’t regulations that require a tour guide, you can see a lot of sights — and save a lot of money — on your own terms. 

If it’s too much work to plan your own outings, ask around local shops or restaurants, or consult guests at your hotel or your vacation rental hosts. They’ll likely have recommendations of a local tour that could be less expensive and less crowded.

7. Take transportation into account

Don’t forget to include transportation costs in your overall trip budget. If you’re flying, you should know how much you can expect to pay to get to and from the airport. An Uber or Lyft might seem like a convenient idea, but they can come with a hefty cost at peak times.

Look into local transport options. In some places, taxis and even private drivers can be more affordable and available than rideshare apps. Research public transportation as well. It might be a fun adventure, and it can save you the extra cost of a car rental or private taxi rides.

8. Watch your souvenir spending 

This can be a challenge on a family trip, but souvenirs are often expensive and can add to your overall spending. Encourage your kids to collect the free things your vacation offers, like seashells (where collecting is allowed), photos, and happy memories. 

You can also use Greenlight’s Savings Goals to help your kids budget for their own souvenirs. Decide together how much they’ll save for souvenir shopping and how they’ll do it. They can earn their spending cash through chores and allowance or share their Greenlight pay link with relatives and neighbors.

9. Have fun for free 

The key to budget-friendly family travel is to look for savings throughout the trip. Once you’ve made it to your destination, research the area for free activities and low-cost entertainment. 

Local online groups and newspapers will advertise family-friendly events like festivals and free museums, which can be fun for the whole family. You might also find some kid-friendly hotels that offer on-site child care, playgrounds, and fun activities for younger kids so the grown-ups and teens can enjoy some quiet time. 

10. Dine on a dime 

Meals account for a big chunk of vacation spending and the food available to you isn’t always worth it. It’s one thing to spend on a high-quality dining experience but going over budget on mediocre meals and fast food is sure to leave a bad taste in your mouth. Look for lodging deals that offer free breakfast with your hotel rooms. Taking one meal a day off your plate can add up to significant savings. 

Consider a trip to the grocery store as well. If your hotel room has a fridge, having food on hand for healthy breakfasts, snacks, and late-night meals can save a lot of money.

11. Reflect on this trip as you plan your next one

You can make your trips affordable family vacations if you put effort into your planning. As you settle back in at home, take note of where you saved money and where you want to adjust your spending in the future. Look at your pre-trip budget plan and see how close you kept to it. You might be able to adjust your budget for future trips to allow for more spending in some areas and less in others. 

Help your kids learn about budgets by including them in this process. You can also discuss what destinations they want to visit in the future so you can start planning, budgeting, and saving together.

Create amazing family memories affordably

Budget family travel plans can take you to your dream destinations — or at least get you pretty close. Start with a detailed look at how much your ideal vacation would cost and decide on what’s affordable for your family trip. Make sure you don’t plan a vacation that will require a lot of spending beforehand and check for travel discounts through your employer, organization memberships, and credit cards. 

Stay on budget while you travel by limiting how much you spend on food, souvenirs, and entertainment. And set yourself up for more family travel on a budget with proactive planning after your trip comes to an end.

Planning a budget with your kids is one way to teach financial literacy lessons that can instill money confidence. The Greenlight app is another way. It has videos, games, and other educational content for the whole family to level up their money skills. Sign up for Greenlight today!