budget vacation ideas

[mrsklamc]

Depends on how far you want to drive. A NJ poster said you weren't too far from the national parks out west- All in perspective, I guess. I wouldn't want to drive there from Indiana.

I'm just going to throw this out as an idea- Come to Indy! The Ft.Wayne children's zoo is supposed to be spectacular- you could stop there on the way. The Children's Museum here is considered by many to be the best in the world. You could visit Conner Prairie Museum as well- meet various farm animals and watch people go about 'their' day in an 1836 village. The Speedway has a museum if DH is into racing. Our zoo is nice, but probably doesn't participate in the membership discount program. After a few days in Indy if you were wiling to drive 3 more hours, hit Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana. Super clean, super friendly theme park with free sunscreen and free drinks.

You could circle back north through Cincinnati- there's King's Island (which I personally would skip after Holiday World but that's me)- Great Wolf Lodge, Ikea if you don't have one, the zoo there, and probably a bunch more stuff on your way home.

 

[JaymeC]

I love the idea of DC. It's a pretty inexpensive trip loaded with things to do.

Also, this is just my two cents, but even with young kids I don't think that they need to be entertained by what you're doing 100% of the time. There's always got to be some room for give and take. We spent the last 3 years stationed in Okinawa, Japan. If my husband and I had limited ourselves to ONLY things our now 4 and 5yo kids would enjoy we would have been quite disappointed! Instead, we learned to balance it out. We could take the kids to a park in the morning and usually they'd pass out in their strollers so that we could go through the museums in the afternoon. Or doing what really are relatively boring thing with the kids, but also keeping them somewhat entertained by taking little mini-breaks. This had the side effect that now at 4 and 5 my children do understand balancing things out. We may go to Disney for them, but we'll also go to a museum for us

With DC I think this could be easily done. The Mall area in general has many areas for a young kid to spread out and relax a little bit. I know that when we were there over the summer a few years back just as the WWII memorial was opening quite a few kids were splashing in the fountain there No one thought anything of it. Nor would anyone think anything of a kid running around the mall area with a ball. Many of the museums like air and space would be entertaining to kids and adults as well as the zoo of course

 

[csharpwv]

This our other favorite vacation spot.

We went to Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge last summer with DW's family - we had a great time - but quickly realized how affordable Disney really is considering the many dining and entertainment options - and the ability to with an all inclusive package.

Vacations are very expensive - and we don't have kids yet - but I can't help think about how expensive vacationing will be once we do have children.

Guess we had better start saving now -

 

[etoiles]

We did a budget road trip that we really enjoyed to Kentucky. We stopped first just for a while in Indianapolis and went to the art museum there (free admission and parking!) I haven't checked out the zoo in Indy but I'm sure it's ok!

Then we drove to Louisville, KY. We went on a tour of the Louisville slugger factory, Churchill downs, and ate at the amazing Lynn's Paradise Cafe.

Then we drove to Lexington and made a day out of it touring some bourbon distilleries and stopping at a chocolate factory and some other places! We also ate at the KFC Colonel's wife restaurant. In Lexington we went to the Kentucky Horse Park which was awesom and went on a tour of the Toyota factory in that area which was my favorite part of the trip. It was very budget but nice and we got to see a lot!

Also to make trips budget I save up points that I accumlate on survey sites or mypoints and cash them in for gas cards to help with the trip or gift cards so I don't feel guilty buying new clothes for the trip.

 

[mom2d&b]

We took a break from Disney this summer. We live in South Florida and wanted to take a vacation someplace different. We headed to Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge in June. The kids (DD10, & DS8) said it was the best vacation. Even better than Disney. Not sure I agreee that it was better but we had a great time and lots of fun. Instead of better, I would say it was different. Next summer we are heading to Boston. We have a wedding near there and then will be hanging in the city for a week after the weddng. We thought about NH but choose Boston as we did the mountain vacation last summer, so now we will try a city vacation.

 

[neatokimmo]

I thought of something else about DC. There is a Safeway right at the hotels in Arlington and the prices were really good. If you wanted to save even more, you could grab lunch items and pack food with you. I saw a lot of families doing that.

And stay away from Museum fast food. We got hosed at the Air and Space Museum. I thought, it's just a McDonalds, how expensive could it be? Like $8 combo meal expensive. yikes.

And take drinks to the zoo. I think I paid $3 for a coke and the food is horrible.

I love the idea of DC. It's a pretty inexpensive trip loaded with things to do.

Also, this is just my two cents, but even with young kids I don't think that they need to be entertained by what you're doing 100% of the time. There's always got to be some room for give and take. We spent the last 3 years stationed in Okinawa, Japan. If my husband and I had limited ourselves to ONLY things our now 4 and 5yo kids would enjoy we would have been quite disappointed! Instead, we learned to balance it out. We could take the kids to a park in the morning and usually they'd pass out in their strollers so that we could go through the museums in the afternoon. Or doing what really are relatively boring thing with the kids, but also keeping them somewhat entertained by taking little mini-breaks. This had the side effect that now at 4 and 5 my children do understand balancing things out. We may go to Disney for them, but we'll also go to a museum for us

With DC I think this could be easily done. The Mall area in general has many areas for a young kid to spread out and relax a little bit. I know that when we were there over the summer a few years back just as the WWII memorial was opening quite a few kids were splashing in the fountain there No one thought anything of it. Nor would anyone think anything of a kid running around the mall area with a ball. Many of the museums like air and space would be entertaining to kids and adults as well as the zoo of course

 

[Mom_Rides]

The African Wildlife Safari in Port Clinton OH is on the reciprocal zoo list at 50% off. Its a nice way to spend the afternoon. Spend the day at East Harbor State Park in Marblehead and a day or two at Cedar Point/Soak City. There is a waterpark, Monsoon Lagoon, in Port Clinton as well. The zoo in Cleveland is on a reciprocal list for 100% discount as well.

We have trouble finding things to do that fit our family. With our kids being 14, 9 and 4, its hard finding something that will fit everyones interests. Even at Disney it was hard to accomodate all of them. Cedar Point is the same way.

We're looking to do the closer to home getaway next year as well and rumor has it that my MIL is getting us season passes to Cedar Point for Christmas and if that happens, we'll upgrade to Platinum passes and take short trips throughout the summer to the Cedar Fair parks in Michigan and southern Ohio and maybe even Pennsylvania instead of a big trip like we did this past year.

 

[wgwtgb]

The reason I recommend Gatlinburg is because there are tons of things to do and it is just a relaxing enjoyable place to be if you like the Mountains. They have a great Aquarium. You can either stay in Hotels or Rent a nice Cabin or Chalet. They always have deals for free days or discounts on the Chalets and Cabins. That way you can cook some meals in to save some money and a lot of these offer hot tubs and game rooms for the same or less than the price of a hotel room. There are really pretty scenic drives you can take with the possibility of seeing bears and other wild life. You can also go over to Cherokee NC, about an hour or so away, it is a really pretty drive also. They have a really cool place in Pigeon Forge called the Rain Forest that has different animals, snakes, and birds. My kids love it there. It is their second favorite place behind Disney World.

Not to take away from the original poster, but could you give me some of your info. on this... I have a friend who wants to leave Thurs. and hasn't found a cabin yet and doesn't really have an agenda. My family would also love to take a trip here. Please feel free to PM me. Thanks!

 

[mrsklamc]

After much looking the place I wanted to stay in Gatlinburg was http://www.sherwoodforestresort.com/

but they were booked and I ended up getting a great deal from a last minute name-your-own price from patriotgetaways.com

This blog:
http://blog.cabinconnection.com/

has some great suggestions too.