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How
to Travel Less Expensively
(This page is kind of outside of
our "box," but we know it's expensive to travel with children, and we hope these
suggestions can help you and your family have more fun on the road
Do you
have suggestions for us? Please tell us and we'll add them.)
Tips
for Less-Expensive Travel
Eating:
 | Make the noontime meal your main meal of the day. Lunches
typically are less expensive than dinners. Have a salad for dinner rather than a steak
dinner. |
| Pack fruit and vegetables for snacks. It will
be healthier and less expensive than packaged snacks, and it will help
to keep your digestive system
working properly. |
| Consider eating some meals from a grocery deli -- or if
you're traveling with a crowd, buy the separate ingredients and make your own meals. Keep
leftovers in a cooler with ice in it. You'll find that buying the ingredients for several
meals -- even if you have to throw some of it away -- will cost less than many single restaurant
meals. |
| Share restaurant meals with your partner
and/or children. Most meals -- including child meals -- are two to five times
larger than they need to be. Consider how much you eat at home, and don't
spend your trip overeating. Overeating -- especially with a
bunch of fatty, sugar-filled restaurant meals -- will not just
be more expensive, it will bother your digestive system. So take a few extra
minutes to plan ahead. Figure out what your children will eat, and then order a meal for
yourself that incorporates it. You can even order a kids'
meal for your child, plus a salad for yourself, and then you and the child can
share both dishes. In general, neither of you should go away hungry. |
| Drink water, not juice or sodas. You can liven
up water with
a squirt of lemon and some sweetener. Remember that juice and sodas are dehydrators, not
hydrators. Not only will drinking water save you money, it will be healthier. (Do
watch, however, for the quality of the local water. When in doubt, avoid it). |
| If you're staying for a while, book a hotel room with a
kitchenette or microwave oven, and cook meals in your room. Use a cooler (keep it in your
bathtub to avoid mess) carefully to make sure items are properly cooled (when in doubt,
throw it out). |
| Book rooms in hotels with a free breakfast. Do consider that
some hotels might bump room prices to pay for free kids' meals and other amenities, so shop
around. |
| Milk and juice tend to be very expensive in restaurants.
Some restaurants serve a drink with a kids' meal. |
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Hotel
rooms:
| What you really need is a clean and quiet room, a good bed
and nice shower. Everything else is extra. Go ahead and book the room you want, but
remember that you're going to pay for the extras. |
| Hotel rooms in the core of the city -- by and large -- tend
to be much more expensive. Hotels without much competition, close to airports or close to
special tourist stops also can be more expensive. |
| Book rooms in hotels with a free breakfast. Find hotels that
allow children to stay for free. Some hotels offer a "toy
lending library" for young children. |
| Take advantage of hotel coupons that you find in gas
stations, coffee shops and various publications. Ask if there are discounts available: for
seniors, students, military or government, corporate, groups, etc. |
| Share hotel rooms when possible. Look into suites, rollaway
cots, pull-out couches, etc. Sometimes suites can be less expensive overall than booking
more than one room -- and sometimes kitchenettes are less expensive because you can cook
your own meals. |
| Book late in the day, during the mid-week, when hotels are
more likely to give you a deal. Shop around, and don't be afraid to bargain. Contrary to
popular belief, hotel rates are not chiseled in stone.
See below links for some that offer to help you find a
better deal. |
| Use the hotel soaps and shampoos. That's what they're for,
and their cost is incorporated in the cost of your room. |
| Besides getting a quote for the cost of the room, make sure
you find out about any unanticipated extras you might get
charged for -- such as parking, telephone, in-room
movies, guest laundry and valet, fax line, room safe, room bars, early
departure, housekeeping, room service, airport shuttles, business centers,
energy surcharges or room tax. Some hotels have even charged for in-room
coffee makers, using the swimming pool, calling the receptionist or room
service, dialing a toll-free number, or watching television! Ask the hotel
staff to clean out the mini bar and use it instead to store cartons of milk,
juice and yogurt. |
| Consider traveling in a camper or motor home -- or perhaps
camping in a tent along the way. It can be an adventure for the whole family. |
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General
suggestions:
| Call ahead when possible and find out
what's available. You might be able to avoid getting stranded in cities with no
facilities, limited facilities or extraordinarily overpriced facilities. |
| Avoid buying trinkets and souvenirs as much
as possible. You will typically pay much more for items in tourist spots than you will in
stores in the city. |
| In general, avoid
having to buy necessities on the road -- or anything
at an airport. Packing as many necessities
and creature comforts as you can will help you avoid paying, say, $7 for a can
of peanuts or $2 for one tampon. Some airports restrict restaurant prices (Vancouver,
B.C. is one), but typically, prices at airports, hotels,
gas stations and corner stores will be higher than at a grocery store. |
| Booking airline tickets is an art that we
haven't learned yet. We struggle like everyone else to get good rates and good traveling
times -- without traveling half-way across the world just to get across the state. We know
there are Internet sites that offer cut-rate fares, but we also know the quality can be
erratic. We suggest you shop around. Airlines can be accommodating when they have
empty seats. Try booking your flights in the wee hours of the morning, and at mid-week.
Try calling a month or more ahead of time. Be patient on the phone and press for better
rates. Be as flexible as possible about departure times and routes. When all else fails,
consider driving instead of flying. It can be healthier (air quality is better), less
frustrating, less expensive, and more interesting. |
| Remember that children can usually find fun
anywhere. You don't have to buy a week pass at Disneyland -- or fly to
Paris -- for your children to enjoy themselves. Tour your local community, state or
province. Take them on an auto trip across the country. Take them fishing (girls, too!),
hiking, camping or to a playground. Go swimming with them at the local pool or water park.
You'll spend less money, you and your children will get good exercise, and you'll all
probably have a lot more fun. |
| Actively seek discounts that apply to you:
senior, government, corporate, family, student, etc. If you don't ask, most facilities
will not think to tell you. |
| Do your own laundry: If you're staying
somewhere for a while, you might be able to save money by doing some of your laundry in
the bathtub. |
| Decide whether you really want a rental car.
Many cities have excellent public transit and a plethora of
taxi cabs. And many cities have
little parking or very expensive parking. A rental car might be more of a problem than a
help. If you do rent, try to get a vehicle with good mileage and few extras. |
| Shop around for gasoline. A gas station
might charge more than another for gasoline for several
reasons: higher taxes, less competition,
high visibility from highway, close to airport, close to downtown, close to expensive
neighborhoods, close to tourist stop, high tourism season or special tourist event, etc. |
| Do not try to save gasoline money by driving
close to big trucks. For one thing, it won't save you that much, and for another,
this is a very dangerous sport. If you crash while tailgating, changes are very good that you and
your family will die. Instead, save money on gas by not
using your roof rack (creates aerodynamic drag), by keeping your vehicle in good
mechanical shape, with the tires properly inflated and aligned -- and also by driving at a
consistent speed, at the speed limit, without peeling away from lights, on the highway
instead of through the city, and with the air conditioner off whenever possible.
See fueleconomy.gov for more tips. |
| Check out
"66 Ways
to Save Money," from the Federal Consumer Information Center and
the Consumer Literacy Consortium. This publication offers tips for ways to
save money on various aspects of traveling. |
| Travel in your own
state, county, province or home area.
TripAdvisor.com can help you plan a fun getaway that doesn't entail a long
travel time. |
| Check out online travel
deals. Do remember that sometimes the best bargains show up at the last
minute, and that good deals go fast. Always read the small print, and make
sure you know if tickets are refundable, how many connections are involved,
with whom you're flying, and where you're staying. For a sign of reliability,
look for the ASTA (American Society of
Travel Agents) logo. An image of a key or a closed lock indicates that
credit-card transactions are secure. Here are some sites that indicate that
they offer travel
deals (inclusion of any site here is done as a courtesy and does not
indicate Safer Child approval or support. Check all sites before you buy and
make sure you read and understand the fine print!):
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