Need some thoughts on budget vacation

[pnutmnm]

My family has a lake house that I and my 2 DS enjoy vacationing at...however, DH does not. He doesn't want to go this year. He wants to go somewhere else. A "big" trip (like Jamaica) is out of the question until next year.

If we go to the lake house, all we pay for is food (we cook almost every night), the occasional night out, and gas. And...I go with my Mom so we usually split everything. All said and done, about 10 days is $250.

DH has thrown out options like Mt. Rushmore, Gatlinburg (Smoky Mountains), Washington DC. All of which we would drive to. We would then spend gas, food, lodging and sightseeing. Any thoughts on if any of DH's ideas could pan out for approximately the same amount or a bit more?

Or...any thoughts on how I can persuade him to change his mind?

 

[Darcy03231]

My family has a lake house that I and my 2 DS enjoy vacationing at...however, DH does not. He doesn't want to go this year. He wants to go somewhere else. A "big" trip (like Jamaica) is out of the question until next year.

If we go to the lake house, all we pay for is food (we cook almost every night), the occasional night out, and gas. And...I go with my Mom so we usually split everything. All said and done, about 10 days is $250.

DH has thrown out options like Mt. Rushmore, Gatlinburg (Smoky Mountains), Washington DC. All of which we would drive to. We would then spend gas, food, lodging and sightseeing. Any thoughts on if any of DH's ideas could pan out for approximately the same amount or a bit more?

Or...any thoughts on how I can persuade him to change his mind?

There's no way you're going to get gas, food, lodging and sightseeing for 4 people for 10 days at a total cost of $250 (that's $25/day). Heck even a cheap hotel is going to run you at least that a day, never mind food, gas and sightseeing.

I would plan at least $50-$75/day for lodging, $100-$150 day for meals, $5-10/day for gas (depending on where you're going) and then determine what you want to see and check on line for the costs involved.

 

[lovemygoofy]

I don't know that you are going to be able to vacation anywhere for $250 for your entire family unless it's a 3 day vacation.

I haven't been to Mt. Rushmore but have been to Gatlinburg and now live near D.C.

I think you could do Gatlinburg for a very reasonable cost. You can rent a cabin which can house everyone and make meals there. We would make breakfast and dinner or lunch but have one dinner out everyday. There are great deals for renting cabins like with 2 nights stay get 2 nights free or something similar.

Lots of coupons books floating around Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area also. You can mini golf b1g1f or some places have kids eat free. The Smoky Mountains are beautiful and inexpensive to hike or float in streams.

Washington D.C. is a bit tricky. Lodging can be expensive depending on where you stay, as in location not just hotel chain. It also costs to park your car every night at the hotel unless you can find street side parking which is hard to come by. However, there are lots of hotel deals to be found.

Food costs are going to be more here in this area depending on your style and how much you consume. There are some websites that you can find that help advise on good cheap family eats.

The best thing about the sight seeing is that most of it is free. The Smithsonian museums are free and walking around to the monuments are free. You can take in a National's baseball game for realtively inexpensive. I understand that on the day of the game some seats are just $5 each.

I would start calculating gas costs from where you are to where you want to go first. Heck depending on where you want to go and how far it is you could pay just $250 in gas!

Lots of travel wesbsites out there. Explore them and do some reasearch and you can do an economical trip.

 

[PinkRhombus]

I don't know if you would be able to come in at that amount unless you're not having to pay for your hotel.

We're NOT because we're using hotel points, but parking is still $20/night out by the Pentagon. Closer in it's $30 or more a night.

Our hotel...a Residence Inn...has the full kitchen and free breakfast. We're going to try to only eat lunch out, except for only a night or two.

There are quite a bit of free museums (Smithsonians...including the National Zoo which I am excited about because I've never seen a panda in person)

We're only paying for Mt Vernon, and I think that we'll be around $50-$60 for the four of us.

You might be able to get an okay hotel via Priceline or Hotwire, but I'm still guessing you'd be paying around $50-$75/night at least before parking

We're going to have to buy the bus/train passes. I haven't figured up that cost yet.

 

[AndreaDM]

Is it the lake house itself, or is it because your mother goes along? I know neither my husband or I like to travel with our in-laws. We did a 5 day Jersey Shore vacation with his parents last year and never again! It wasn't horrible, but it's just not the same. Anyway, just a thought!

 

[pnutmnm]

Is it the lake house itself, or is it because your mother goes along?

He says it is just "going" in general. I think that he got spoiled for a while: Disney, Punta Cana, Mexico...now - lake house.

 

[srwarden1928]

I am with your DH. I have never been to Mt. Rushmore, but would like to someday. I have been to Gatlinburg MANY times. We used to go for a weekend in the fall and a weekend in the spring every year when I was a child. It was my first out of state trip at age 6 mo. I have been to DC a few times. I would go to ANY of the three before I spent an entire vacation at a lake house. That would be a nice little getaway, but not an entire vacation for me. I know your DH ideas will be more expensive, but to me well worth the money.

 

[pomlover]

Mt. Rushmore is nice but if you go there plan on some other destinations close by, since it's not a place you can stay multiple days at.

 

[Darcy03231]

Are there things near the lake house that he'd be interested in seeing? Maybe some daytrips so you could stay there and still eat most of your meals in. We have a lake house in the White Moutain region of New Hampshire and there are lots of activities there. When we take a week there we use it as our base and take day trips to see/do things in the area.

 

[xiola]

DO NOT go to Gatlinburg, especially if you're looking for an inexpensive trip.

The Smoky Mountains are beautiful. If you go there to enjoy the mountains, state parks, rivers, etc, it's awesome. Gatlinburg is a terrible place. When we left, I joked that the sign on the way in should say, "Welcome to Gatlinburg! Now give us your wallet!"

The only worthwhile thing to do there is the skylift where you ride up the mountain. Everything else is a Rip(ley) off.

ETA, It's not that everything there is outrageously expensive. It's that it isn't worth what they charge to do it. The town is full of stuff that you can find just about anywhere, too. I just didn't find it all that special.

 

[Deffenm]

We go camping. We can get our campsite for about $30 a day and then food and gas. There are campgrounds almost everywhere.

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

Is $250 for the vacation your limit or do you have a larger budget in mind? You're going to be very limited as to where you can go if it's the former. I would suggest doing a staycation if that's the case.

It can depend on where you live of course, but you can find zoos, museums and local areas of interest that can keep you busy. It may not be the same as a relaxing week by the lake, but it could be fun.

Take the kids roller skating for the afternoon. Camp out in your backyard one night complete with roasting hot dogs on a campfire and telling ghost stories. Check your local historic society for ideas. Go fishing. See a matinee. Make jam or root beer or candy. Explore geocaching. There are a lot of no-cost/low-cost ideas that you could fill up a week with.

You could make it a challenge to see if you can stretch that $250 to last the entire vacation. And remember, keeping costs low this year will mean more money for that BIG vacation next year. Good luck!