Making Family Travel More Affordable

Mums Tips

Travel with kids

Published on Sunday, 28 April 2019 12:06

Last Updated on 28 November 2019

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It can be one thing to head off on some travels when you’re fresh out of University or secondary school, or travelling far off on a luxury honeymoon. But when you become a parent and have children to take with you, care for, and feed, then travel, especially going abroad, can feel like a pretty daunting task. In fact, for many, travel might even feature that highly in your priorities, but it can still be something that can help and give you the chance to relax and have some quality time together. 

Children can learn a lot from travel too, so travel shouldn’t be something on the bottom of your priority list either. Travel and getting away as a family can help you all to work together, learn how you all deal with new situations and places, as well as help you to all communicate in an effective way.

There is no getting away from the cost of travel, though. Even if you stay in your own country and just plan to travel to different parts of the country, it can still add up. When you’ve got a few people to cover the costs of, then it all does add up. But there are some ways that you can make travel with children more affordable. Here are some tips to help.

 

Travel Off-Season

If your family has some degree of flexibility on when you travel, then you can save quite a bit of money to travel outside of the school holidays, for example. But you also need to think about the country that you are going to; a lot of places with have peak travel times. For example, the best weather in the Caribbean is from November until February or March. But you could still get some warm weather in May or June, alongside a couple of spells of rain. If you don’t mind travelling to a country in the ‘off-season’ then it can be cheaper as it is less in demand.

 

Voucher Codes and Comparison Sites

If you shop for your travel and holiday needs online, as a lot of people do, then it can be made much cheaper by using things like voucher codes and comparison sites. If you find something that you want, then look for look for a voucher code to see if there is one valid to save a little more. There are often codes for sites like Expedia, Eurocamp, and Tui. It is also a good idea to look at comparison sites when planning a trip too. Sites like Kayak and SkyScanner are good places to look or flights, for instance, as they can look at a whole host of airlines to get the cheapest combination of flights and airlines.

 

Go Self-Catered

When you’re away from home, one of the biggest things that can cost you a lot of money is food. And when you have a family, it really can add up with little ones that want to keep snacking all of the time. So one of the best things to do is to take plenty of your own snacks, as well as choosing self-catered accommodation. That means that you can cook for yourself, and will just spend on groceries, much like you would be doing if you were at home. So doing things that way round can make it much more affordable, rather than eating out at each meal. You can get some good deals for hotels with breakfast included, for example. But generally, the best prices are for self-catering.

 

Choose Your Location Wisely

There are some locations in the world that really aren’t cheap to visit. Places like Italy, France, Norway, and even staying in the UK can be pretty expensive, just because of the cost of living in these countries are high. So instead of setting your sights on these popular destinations, think about destinations in Central America and some US and UK territories (along the lines of Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Puerto Rico). Flights are often less to places like this, and the cost of living is much lower. You can generally get more for your money in terms of accommodation and activities, in destinations that have a weaker currency and a lower cost of living.

 

Of course, at whatever destination that you choose, you don’t want to skimp on experiences that are exclusive to that place. Otherwise you could have gone anywhere. So look for ways to get more for your money, or even free things. For instance, if you’re in Paris then places like the Louvre are a must. So look to go on the days with free admission (Sundays).