Family Cheap Vacations

[belle22]

We have been spoiled the last past vacations -- DC and St. Louis. Many free places to see. Any other good family cheap vaction places?

 

[my3squeals]

We went for a few days last year to Stone Mtn Park outside of Atlanta and had a wonderful ( and Cheap) trip. Online they offer a family pkg which includes 2 nights at the resort full breakfast with omlet station, (a true breakfast) for both mornings and 2 day passes to all the attractions.We paid $298 + tax. They have alot of neat things there to see and do. Once you have the passes, it is unlimited for the day. So if my bunch wanted to play mini-golf 6 times then knock your self out. One draw back was because it was a "park" once inside the eateries were a little more pricey, your average $4-6 burger, but you can bring coolers in and there are lots of places jsut outside of the park to eat. Also there is a laser show on the mountain each night which is spectacular. There are also other neat things in and around Atlanta but for the value it couldn't be beat! There is a skywalk that the kids jsutu loved. It is a ropes course of sort with a zip line. Something for all ages

 

[ajk912]

IMO the cheapest vacation is usually a beach vacation. Swim in the ocean or lay in the sand and read a book, either way the entertainment is usually free. No one bats an eye if you bring in your own picnic lunch or snacks for food (sure beats paying $3 for a bottle of water ). The only thing that stinks is often the hotel rates are high..but we have good luck by going in semi-off season (we still need to do during school breaks, but June is usually cheaper than July or August) OR..if you are willing to drive to the beach, that's even cheaper. I insist on oceanfront, and it's usually pricier but I figure we have zero entertainment costs so it's ok.

Plus..so relaxing. We usually break up our time by allowing one paid activity..so a nearby aquarium, etc, if the budget allows. This summer, I can't justify the $100 to do the aquarium so we are doing cheap cheap cheap..lots of pb&j in the room, chips, granola bars, etc, so the only real cost (that I wouldn't have spent anyway) is gas and hotel.

 

[funkychunkymonkey]

mackanaw island/ macknaw city/ st ignace is a good one. our trip is costing us $500 with 14 specail places (mesuems, build a bear, a zoo and more) and were a family of 5. lots of free stuff to do too. We love the zipline and rock wall

 

[Toots]

Once you get there, Yellowstone National Park can be very reasonable. There are many free ranger lead programs. The park lodging is reasonable and each lodge has a dining facility. The only catch would be finding lodging. We enjoyed staying in the Old Faithful Inn which gets booked up a year in advance. If you have time to plan, look at xanterra.com for lodging in the park. They do get cancellations so calling is a good idea also. We've used points to fly and always rent a car. It's a wonderful family vacation. We've made the trip twice and would love to go back.

 

[momoflizandains]

Enjoying this thread...always looking for new ideas.

 

[Disfan3]

mackanaw island/ macknaw city/ st ignace is a good one. our trip is costing us $500 with 14 specail places (mesuems, build a bear, a zoo and more) and were a family of 5. lots of free stuff to do too. We love the zipline and rock wall

Where did you find this deal?? Something I might consider for summer!

 

[Pastamom]

Not sure where you're from...but last year we went to the Smokies/Gatlinburg area. The Smokies were free and we had lots of great hikes and drives. There are also ranger program - most free or very cheap. I think many of the National parks are worth looking into. We rented a cabin that had a hot tub, pool table, and fooseball table. It also had an outdoor pool for everyone staying there. That was a little more than a hotel, but we figured we made up the cost , by making are own food and not always having to go somewhere to "entertain" ourselves

Also I love beach vacations - rent a cabin and you're set.

Can't wait to hear all the suggestions - always looking for cheap/fun things to do.

 

[Serling126]

Camping trips! Once you buy the tent & other equipment, it costs very little per night. There are plenty of campgrounds with pools, playgrounds, organized activities & more. If you don't want to invest in a tent, there are usually cabins or campers you can rent.

 

[Serling126]

Also, if you have a membership to a museum or zoo already, check out if they have reciprocal memberhsip at any other locations. We belong to the local science museum, children's museum and zoo, and they offer free admission to hundreds of locations in the US and even abroad.

 

[luvmy3]

Camping, you can't get any cheaper than pitching a tent and enjoying the outdoors. If you are like me and can't do a tent for more than 2 nights, a cabin or camper is a great alternative. The initial cost for the cabin is along the lines of a hotel stay, but you can cook all your own meals and like a pp said there are tons of free activities and entertainment to do in the campground. Our best vacations, other than WDW of course have been our camping trips.

 

[Jennifer in MI]

mackanaw island/ macknaw city/ st ignace is a good one. our trip is costing us $500 with 14 specail places (mesuems, build a bear, a zoo and more) and were a family of 5. lots of free stuff to do too. We love the zipline and rock wall

I want to know this too!!! We live in MI and we've done a number of trips to Mackinac Island. We've done this fairly cheap as we've done it off-season. But, I'd love to know where you got the deal on the 14 places!!! My boys would love the zipline and rock wall!

We've found when you can rent a condo and cook the majority of your own meals, it's really cheap.

Have you checked out VRBO.com? We're currently planning a trip to Europe for our family and one of the ways we'll save money will be cooking our own food in an apartment/condo. They have places in the US as well!

Have fun planning your trip!

 

[eyeheartgoofy]

mackanaw island/ macknaw city/ st ignace is a good one. our trip is costing us $500 with 14 specail places (mesuems, build a bear, a zoo and more) and were a family of 5. lots of free stuff to do too. We love the zipline and rock wall

$500??? Do tell!

We spent 6 nights in Mackinac City last August and my husband and I were both dumbfounded by how much money we spent beyond the lodging costs (we rented a cabin at Mackinac Mill Creek campround). We found everything in the area to be quite pricey. We are going back this summer for 4 nights and are planning on packing all of our food to save some $. We will probably spend one day on the island and I expect that to run at least $150 for the 4 of us by the time we factor in Ferry rides, lunch (maybe I could take a cooler with us?) and a carriage tour (we considered taking our bikes, but I think some of the island hills are just too steep for my 6 year old to navigate).

 

[sumrmist]

www.citypass.com

there are multiple cities on there and you buy a ticket usually valid for 7 days I think and it includes many attractions in the city you choose.

try www.vrbo.com for rentals wherever you go. You just have to watch and be careful that you dont get sucked in with large booking fees and cleaning fees.

www.bookit.com great place to rent hotel rooms pretty cheap. Last May I booked a beachfront hotel for $99 a night if you called hotel directly that room was $189

We do state park cabin trips. Usually they have at least two bedrooms and a kitchen/living area. I pack groceries( youre gonna have groceries cost at home anyway) I dont mind cooking if it gives us a change to get away. There is always something to do at a state park. We take games and sit out on the patios and just spend time together.

We go to Destin to the beach. in 2008 I found a timeshare rental on ebay $479 for five nights and again cooked most of our meals. it was across the street from the beach but we didnt mind.

There are many cheap options for vacations. It all depends on how much entertainment you want. Im lucky and my kids are just go with the flow and dont mind what we are doing so long as we are somewhere.

Hope you find an awesome vacation.

 

[2bearsmom]

Thanks for the great tips. I did just find this about Smoky Mountain National Park: http://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/road-facility-improvments.htm not sure if it will affect anyone but I thought I'd post it.

 

[jojo0612]

mackanaw island/ macknaw city/ st ignace is a good one. our trip is costing us $500 with 14 specail places (mesuems, build a bear, a zoo and more) and were a family of 5. lots of free stuff to do too. We love the zipline and rock wall

Can I ask where you stay at while visiting? I've tried looking for a cheap place to stay, but it seems so expensive! TIA

 

[dyna]

Yep tent camping did it for yrs we slowly bought equipment started out with just dh an I an a 3 mn tent that he already had an a sleeping bag an an army blanket...When the DD's was like 3 an 4 we got a bigger tent gave little tent to the DD's set it up next to ours it was just like having 2 bedrooms at home an just like at home if it stormed an they got scared they could bring their sleeping bag into our tent

We had very very little money in our camping gear camped mostly in state parks very cheap cooked quick easy meals on the cheap.

Swam at beach at the lake in park went on nature hikes the vistors center had at least 1activity a day that we was interested in sometimes am an late night program.

 

[lukenick1]

subbing