My Top Ten Creative and Affordable Vacation Ideas

Family travel is such a wonderful way to bond with your children while exploring the wide world - but you shouldn't have to sacrifice your financial security to do so! Here are my Top 10 Creative and Affordable Travel Tips:

1 - Make the drive part of the fun. We're big roadtrippers and love to enjoy the journey, stopping at unique spots along the way, getting to know some of the towns we pass through and so on. This tends to be more interesting and less costly than powering to our destination and spending 5 days at a theme park.

2 - Spring for the fridge. Many hotels have rooms with small fridges, microwaves, or even kitchenettes and usually they're only 10-20$ more a day. Packing our food and eating in a couple meals a day has saved us big cash in the long run.

3 - Enjoy Natural Resources. Choosing a destination that's close to a National Park (even if you're still going to Disneyland or whatever) will give your vacation variety and provide lots of interesting outdoor activities at low cost.

4 - Buy souvenirs ahead of time. For young children with big eyes, souvenirs are irresistable! But they'll kill your budget if you're buying something new everywhere you go. Especially when it comes to theme parks, purchase a few appropriate trinkets before you leave and bust them out just as you hit the park. This is a particularly cost-effective when it comes to princess dresses and movie-themed dolls!

5 - Talk to the locals. Take a few minutes before you trip to try and connect with people who live in the place you'll be visiting. Ask them about free things to do in their city, unique activities or off-the-beaten path recommendations.

6 - Burn the Midnight Oil. Driving overnight requires preparation and precautions, but it can save you a bundle! Rather than stopping for the evening at random motels along your drive route, take turns driving while the kids sleep. Not only is this cost effective, but it makes it easier to roadtrip with little ones who get stir crazy in their carseats during the day. (PLEASE take a nap beforehand and pull over THE SECOND you feel sleepy).

7 - A Festivus for the Rest of Us. Most cities have a summertime festival that will have lots of free family activities - parades, petting zoos, and the likes. Plus, they usually focus on the region's trade or something they're famous for, so you'll truly get to experience local flavor.

8 - Use local transportation. Even if you drive to your vacation destination, keep the car parked at the hotel and ride the bus, train, metro, etc. Given the cost of parking these days plus rising gas rates, you'll mostly likely fair better with public transport and see some fun things along the way!

9 - Camp! We'll be trying our hand at this for the first time this summer and I'm excited to enjoy nature with my children while saving money by pitching a tent.

10 - Don't plan every minute. Being overly ambitious on a family trip can leave you forking out money for stuff that you'll only enjoy for a few minutes before everyone's burned out. Plan down-time into everyday - a couple hours at a local park, in the hotel pool or just watching a movie in your room. These are great family bonding activities that also build relaxation into your trip and don't cost a dime!

Being the travel-aholics that we are, we look forward to putting every one of these tips to good use this summer!

HAPPY SUMMER TRAVELS!

I wrote this blog post while participating in the Toyota Sienna and TwitterMoms blogging program for a chance to get a $30 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.