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It’s Mailbag Week here at Pocket Your Dollars! Every day this week, we will post a different question that’s been emailed from one of you, the faithful readers, and ask the Pocket Your Dollars’ community chime in to help.
Today’s question comes from Barb and is about family vacations:
“Our family (two adults, four kids) decided to not give any presents for holidays or birthdays this year in order to save money for a family vacation in December. We’re hoping to go on a cruise or possibly an all-inclusive resort for families. We have $3,000 saved so far, but our travel agent tells us that the cost will be more like $8,000-$10,000. I’m pretty discouraged that it’s already June and we’re not even halfway to where we need to be. Do you have any ideas or alternatives that may be a little more realistic?”
Do you have a question? Email Carrie and yours might be featured later this week.
Your turn: What ideas do you have for Barb and her family? Please leave a comment at the end of this post or, if you are reading this via email, click on the title to come back to the site where you can share your thoughts.
You might have to think outside of the box on this one. Does it have to be an all inclusive? Is a warm weather destination required? December and January are great times to go to waterparks. We’re close to several (the Dells anyone?) You could also look at renting a cabin. We go to a cabin and cook our breakfast and lunch and then go out for dinner.
If warm weather is required, try Mexico. Passports are required, but you can set up a very nice all inclusive trip for far less than paying for places like Florida, Bahamas, etc. If leaving the US is an issue, look for house rental options in a warm weather place like Florida. You will have to do your own cooking, but that’s a small trade off. Keep in mind that Florida will be having issues with the oil spill and that may reduce your price (but that could affect the quality of your trip.)
Hope this helps.
I would say to look sites like expedia, travelocity for your travels I searched cruises on there just now and for a 4 day carribean cruise in december (around xmas) it was $300 per person and flights from MSP to Miami were about $400 per person so that is about $4200 so i would look around and I would think about $5k should suffice for a nice cruise or you could do something else like disney or something. Good Luck in fiding an affordable vacation for you and your family I am sure you’ll have a blast!!!!
Another option would be to ask friends/family if they have any relatives etc in the warmer states, flordia california texas that you could possible “rent” for a week then buy your own food etc and go that route (just an idea)
I think the quote you were given is a little high. I would definately check with a different agent. I would recommend not doing an all inclusive for a family. They work best if you plan to eat a lot of food and drink a lot of alcohol. I would recommend checking with traveling to the Dominican Republic, that area is still developing into a tourist area, so there are deals to be had. If you plan on a cruise book together for higher savings, also Airtran flies to Orando nonstop, and they have really low fares.
Our available funds for family vacations are rather limited. We’ve found that you can rent a nice cabin at church camps during the winter months when camp is not in season. They can come with kitchens (so you can save money on meals), or you can select a meal plan and they’ll do all the cooking. We have found the rates to be reasonable. I think we paid $50 a night. We picked one that was close to area where there were other attractions we wanted to visit. The camp also made all their facilities available to us…i.e. using their boats for free, game room, using their pool, etc. You don’t have to be a member to take advantage of these camps. Here’s a link that can give you some ideas…scroll down to the bottom and select the state you are interested in. http://www.elca.org/Growing-In-Faith/Ministry/Outdoor-Ministry/Camps-and-Centers.aspx
HTH
Susie- Thanks for the tip!
In terms of a cruise you do not need to worry about food because that’s included. So that might be more affordable. I would definitely check with other travel agents to see if they have deals. My sister in law used a site where TAs had to compete for our business meaning they sent her a quote of the trip we wanted with incentives and then we chose the best TA based on the deal they could give us. I don’t remember the website but i can get that information from her.
Mary, please let us penny wise Mammas know this site, thank you!
Also, if you don;t mind waiting to the last minute you can get great finds at All-Inclusives and cruises as they want full capacity … I have used sites such as:hotwiredeals.com, hotels.com, bordersrewards.com,DunhilVacation, cheapcarribean.com, about.com family vacations, etc.
Hope that helps!
In regards to checking with friends and family, also check to see if any have a time share that they’d be able to let you use. I’m not sure exactly how they work, but I hear about people who sometimes get extra weeks for free (as a bonus), or who can pay a little bit for an extra week. So if they had an extra week they weren’t going to use, or could purchase one for cheap (which you would pay them for, of course), then you would just pay the maintenance fee that they’d owe, which would come out a LOT cheaper than staying in a hotel, and then as others have said, you can cook some of your own meals to help defray the costs of dining out while on vacation (I’m a big fan of this, or at least taking advantage of hotels’ continental breakfasts to avoid having to pay for 3 meals a day).
Also, if you’re a member of AAA, check through their website and see if they can offer any good deals on vacation packages, or I think Sam’s Club might have travel deals too, if you’re a member there.
If you are flexible on destination and can leave on a weeks notice – You should take a look at the last minute deals they have them on travelocity and websites like that.
First up – pick your area. Second – look to the local Visitor’s bureau. Third – do a craigslist & ebay search. Fourth, visit AAA (or find a friend who has a membership) and get the vacation guide. Last – do an internet coupon search – like “Orlando coupon”. I never like doing cruises due to hidden fees & everything being an extra or all inclusive packages because it’s always more than you can use. Their quote seems really high. I took 2 adults and 1 child to Alaska for about $14,000 inclusive – I know that seems high but we are talking Alaska, we went all over – from Barrow, AK (Arctic ocean) (which you can only fly in & out of) to Ketchican (near Seattle) (which you can only fly or boat in & out of), and it was for the MONTH of June. Look for buy one get one coupon books, order the Entertainment book for that area. There was an Alaska charity which was selling these & they would mail it to me so it was a win for them & us. Also I found people on Craigslist & eBay who were getting rid of tickets they couldn’t use to local attractions we wanted to go to. Also consider shoulder season – it’s higher than off season but everything is gearing up by then so almost everything is open.
I would not use a travel agent. I would book online myself. You can find tons of deals that way. Cruises should be affordable for your family if you book online yourself. We have four kids so we are in the same situation you are. We go to Orlando and book a condo twice a year. A 2 bedroom, which sleeps 6 easily, has a full kitchen, washer/dryer, 2 bathrooms and a nice jacuzzi tub will run you about $1000 for a week maximum. If you agree to go through a time share presentation, most places will either give you a much cheaper rate or some free tickets or something. You can cook some of your own meals and if you decide to go to the parks, bring your own snacks. We bring a cooler full of food and drinks to the park every day (that is a lot more convenient if you have a stroller or motorized scooter but a backpack would work too)!
Disney, Universal and Sea World are nearby, plus there are water parks, Downtown Disney which has LegoLand and lots of other fun things. Orlando has tons of reasonably priced restaurants with lots of coupon books and stuff that you can get discounts from.
We go over Christmas week every year and its pretty quiet at the parks. Plus the condo we go to has about 14 different pools on the property and you can go to any of them that you want. It would be difficult for you to stay on Disney property because of the expense but the condo would work well for you. If you need help, feel free to email me at spuggles@aol.com.
You can also look at buying time-share rentals on E-bay. We did that when we went to Disney World last fall. We got a beautiful condo for 5 days and two adult two-day tickets to Disney for under $500 – and attending the time share presentation wasn’t so bad, because our kids kept interrupting us so the guy just wanted to get us done and out of there! LOL. But there are also people who own timeshares who are looking to rent out their time because they aren’t going to use it, or who have points you can buy to rent a place.
Barb, we went to Disney World with 2 adults 3 kids several years ago. When we went back 2 years ago with just our youngest, we found they were doing far more deals as the economy was falling. Our son LOVED the Pop Century resort even though it’s one of their “economy resorts” and if you could get there during a time they offer their dining plan free, it can really be a great deal. We hardly ever get to do restaurants like that, and we’ll always have great memories of all those nice restaurants. We booked our airfare online ourselves (using Air Tran as someone just mentioned), but even though we’d done 2 other Disney trips, it was so helpful to use a friendly agent at SmallWorldVacations.com for everything else. That along with our trusty Unofficial Guide to Disney World, and we were set. We’ve not spent anywhere near the amount you were quoted, although we have 1 less child in the family….
I just booked a DIsney World Vacation for September (yes we have to pull the kids out of school for a week but it is worth it) We got our total package of hotel, Food and 5 day passes to Disney for $1,734.44!!!! Yes that is right and we have 6 children!!! So for all 8 of us and they are giving us 2 hotel rooms that are joined that is the total price for food, hotel and tickets into the parks!. We are driving down and expect gas to cost about $600 or so, Then we will add a couple night hotels down and back but we are thinking it will cost us no more then $3000 for our Trip. We are staying at the pop century Resort. ALso a note is our kids are ages 1 to 8 years is my oldest so we were able to take advantage of the free kids offers that is for ages 3-9 years. I opened a Disney credit card and found this package as an advantage for cardholder members. It was a package that offered free food, hotel and tickets to kids. If you book this make sure you tell the disney agent that this is the offer ( you will have to open a card account- which has no fees) ( If you do let me know I can give you a code that would give you $25 and me $25 for you opening an account) email me ryan_kracht@msn.com if you decide to. At first they tried to tell me it was kids just play and stay free but the offer on the website says eat free too and sure enough I got the whole package. We are so excited to go and think this is a fabulous price for an all inclusive package for 8 people with 2 hotel rooms!! Good Luck!
Tracy, I hope you have a great time at Pop Century. We were a little nervous about staying there last time because we had done a “moderate priced” Disney resort before (Port Orleans). But our son just loved Pop Century, and I think it has huge advantages over the other 3 “economy resorts” because Pop Century is so gigantic that it has it’s own Disney bus. So the transportation was as good as our Port Orleans experience years ago. My unasked for advice is don’t even think of eating a sit down breakfast at the food court. We went there and got our coffee each morning with our unlimited refill mugs, and then we’d head straight to the bus. We brought our own breakfast foods to eat in the hotel. The breakfast scene is chaos, and I saw lots of stressed families either spending lots of $$ or using up one of their Dining Plan meals in chaos while trying to hurry and still get to the parks before they got too busy. We used our Dining plan for a counter service lunch and a really nice dinner every day, and then we still had a dining plan “snack” which worked out so well. We were constantly full and never missed the sit-down breakfast in the chaos of that giant food court. The refillable mugs are always great, though, if you’re coffee drinkers. Disney never has coffee makers in their moderate or economy resort rooms. I wonder why : ) : ) : )
I’m not sure of the ages of your kids but I agree with the other posters who say Orlando is affordable – We just went this past winter (with our two kids) and I cannot wait to do it again.
Here’s the post I did regarding how WE saved money –
http://www.gustgab.com/2010/02/disneyour-way.html
Who could afford to go on vacation if it cost 10k?
YIKES!
Don’t use a travel agent – by eliminating the middle man – you will save quite a bit of dough! personally, I think you have already saved up enough money for a GREAT vacation!
good luck!
My husband, two children and I are going to Costa Rica in February for less than $5,000. We’re renting a house (vrbo.com) and will buy our food from local markets to prepare ourselves. Cruises are very expensive and don’t really give you the cultural experience you get when you travel through a country yourself. We go to Europe or the Middle East every year for very little money by avoiding all-inclusive, expensive hotels and tourist traps. Go off the beaten path, and you’ll be glad you did!
Hi Mary.
I always thought of Europe as my trip of a lifetime considering it is too expensive and i would only be able to do it once. How do you travel to Europe and the Middle East on a small budget?
Hi Mary…Please share. I love the idea of traveling abroad,
I just wanted to mention that if you decide to go to Orlando and want to see the ocean, it’s only a couple of hours drive to either coast – an easy day trip. My brother lives just outside of Orlando and we spent a day in Clearwater, which was an AWESOME beach (as someone else mentioned, watch to see if this area of the state is affected by the oil spill). Another time, we drove to Daytona, but didn’t care for that beach as much. Either way, since Florida is a narrow state, you can see both coasts if you want to. Also, think outside of the box – try local parks or wineries to picnic (we did this and had lots of fun letting the kids just run around). And Downtown Disney is definitely a blast!
If warm weather is not required, try looking at areas where you can get off-season rates. Cape Cod is fun, but it’s been a while since I’ve been there with kids.
To get some extra money, look through your house and see if there is anything that you could sell at a garage sale, on ebay, or on Craigslist. Would the household be wiling to give up cable (if you have it) for the summer in order to save money for the trip?
Have fun!
We went to Florida last year and stayed at a really nice timeshare, we rented on off Craigslsit from somebody here in mn for $300 for a full week!! Our plane ticket we bought in advance for $250. So right there for the airfare and lodging was $1,050 for a family of three. I also think you were giving a very high quote, I would never go through and agent because the prices are always higher, it pays off to use sites like sidestep.com or priceline. There is NO WAY you should have to spend that kind of money! I also would check on Craigslsit or a timeshare sharing site people are always renting and timeshares are very nice, also a great way to save on food since timeshares have ovens, fridge, microwave etc.
Ditch the travel agent. Cruises can be found a lot cheaper then that on the internet. If you have a young child check out Travels with Baby, they have a list of cruises that accept children under 12.
Disney is currently running a special on some of their cruises where kids will stay and play for free. You would need two rooms but it would be worth looking into as well.
I have gone on the disney world with the disney cruise, I booked it thru Bill Borders, and everything was first class. No need to rent a vehicle, all that is taken care of, with shuttles from airport and to the boat. check it out with him. We paid around $750 each for 4 days at disney world, 4 days on cruise ship.
One of our favorite vacations was a road trip to Yellowstone. We rented an RV and took a 10-day road trip to Yellowstone, with stops in Jackson Hole, Grand Teton, and Mount Rushmore on our way back to Minneapolis. There were so much to see and do in each area that we could easily add to our vacation time to another 5-7 days! Of all the places that we’ve been to (Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Florida, California, Pacific NW, Grand Canyon, cruises, etc.), it was our kids’ favorite vacation. They’ve been asking to go back to Yellowstone in an RV again.
We stayed in beautiful campgrounds in Cody and Rapid City that have swimming pools. We did a float trip down the Snake River while staying in Jackson Hole, hiked the trails in Grand Teton, and watched thousands of bison roam in front of us in Yellowstone. I planned all of our meals and cooked them; we ate out only twice. The cost of the trip was around $4000 for us, and it was during the time when gas prices was at $4 per gallon. I really think with carefully planning and lots of research, you can really have a great trip for your family around $4000.
The cost of the cruise for a family of 6 around $8000-10,000 sounds correct. I have done a lot of family reunions with my own family (20 – 60 people). Expect to pay around $1000-$1500 per person; that will include the cost of the cruise plus airfare. The price will differ depending on travel dates, destination, type of cabin, and cruise line.
I suggest thinking outside of the box with the amount of money that you have. Do your own research and book your own hotel, car, airfare, and activities. I usually find really good deals looking on my own rather than going through a travel agent. It takes some time and planning, but the results and memories are truly worthwhile.
We are planning a RV vacation to West Yellowstone next August and am having the hardest time finding a RV rental company that accepts dogs. Any suggestion?
Definately check out a cruise. We just booked on Royal Caribbean for $70/day/person and received a bonus of $100/day/person ship credit! Take your time, sign up for the e-mail alerts directly through different outlets (airlines, cruise lines, etc) and keep your eyes peeled!
Find yourself a new travel agent who is willing to work with you. Check into an all inclusive resort in Riviera Maya, or Playa de Carmen (ask for a beachfront hotel- or if a public beach is within a 10/15 minute walking distance). Mexicana airlines offers all inclusive promotions. You can print out the details on-line yourself w/out booking & have your travel agent make arrangements the next day for the price quoted the night before. If possible, ditch airlines that charge you for luggage. Option 2- check the Smokey Mountains in Tennessee, you can rent a cabin if your willing to do some cooking (save money). Most cabins have all the amenties and can sleep up to 6 – 2 in each bedroom, 2 in living room. There are rides and attractions in Dollywood for the kids to enjoy. Consider taking vacation during off peak season (yes, perhaps the kids will have to miss a few days off school, but the savings will be worth it). Go on line – research areas you think you might want to visit, surfing is free and you can play around with quotes on line without actually booking. Consider making your own airline reservations if flying w/in the U.S. Know friends or co-workers who aren’t using a timeshare or a summer home? Consider renting their timeshare. Write to the Tourism office of your destination point (if within the U.S.) Often they will include coupons for meals and activities within their areas. There are some great cruise line offers on the internet as well. Just be sure to remember you will have to tip your room steward per person/per day. You can always fly Southwest airlines to your cruise destination port and take a cab from the airport to ship port. Good deals are out there, just do a little research. You really do have enough to take a nice vacation at this point. Happy vacationing!
Fusilli,
Where did you rent the RV from? All of the places I have looked seem super expensive plus paying for the gas. Let me know cause we have wanted to take a RV to yellowstone also!
Sara – We rented from Pleasureland RV in Anoka. I highly recommend them. You might be able to work out a deal since they’re not doing as well in the last two years.
We did the Dell’s last year on the cheap! We went the last week of August which is when their “off” season begins. Stayed at the Wilderness Lodge and paid 99.00 per night for a room with 2 Queen beds and kids ate free all meals! The resort had 6 different water parks (indoor and out) so we never really needed to leave! When we did we got great pricing on attractions and transportation was included to and from the attractions so no extra gas money was spent!
I’ve cruised 3 times. My best advice is to book early and book the lowest level on the ship. This is the cheapest. Also get an inside cabin. Less expensive and who needs a porthole? When you are at sea all you see is miles of ocean. When you are in port you probably will get off and go sight seeing. Remember to plan on funds for that also. You may be able to go online and book ahead for those and save money. Some times the ship isn’t full and they move the lower levels up a level or 2. That’s what happened to me.Also, when my daughter and I cruised NCL had a beverage thing for pop. Check on that for your kids. Good luck, you will have fun!!!
My family of 4 has been on a carnival cruise in the caribbean for the last 2 years in the winter. We did our cruise this past march on Carnival to Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Honduras, and Belize over spring break. We book thru the cruise line directly and found the best rates thru them. We paid $399.00 for the first and 2nd psgr and $179.00 for the 3rd and 4th. Cruises are great because they cover all of your meals and onboard entertainment and kids activities. We travel often so I try to find the best deals available. To save money we dont do the shore excursions on the cruise, we usually go sightseeing on our own or find a nice beach to hang out at. The cruise lines will tell you where the beaches are or where to shop at if you are not doing a shore excursion. They will even provide you with a map. Prior to cruising we found the weather to be a colder in Florida over the winter months. We also found we were spending more for our florida vacations for the condo, food, entertainment, and activities, than we were spending on a cruise. Besides, who wants to go on vacation and cook meals everyday?? I found out thru the cruise lines the best time to book something for travel in the winter months is in December. They advised me bookings are down in December because families are too busy getting ready for holidays and dont have the time or money to book a vacation so the cruise lines will run specials to get people to book. I also love Priceline for cars and hotels. I use their name your own price website for cars and hotels everytime I need to book one and have been able to get 4 star accomadations for half off or more. If you need help finding a great deal I will be happy to help. I love to travel and travel with my 3 kids at least twice a year. I also was a travel agent years ago, we were paid commissions so it was to our advantage to find a higher priced vacation for your family. Travel agents also have booking fees now because the tour operators and airlines have cut their commissions.
Oh what fun ideas to read about! I’d love to have any help on travel arrangements/ideas.
We have 5 kids-two are in college and the others are 14, 8 and 10. We’d possibly take along two other extended family members if we can find a good price on Orlando or whatever.
I agree with the person that said you can get a deal on a cabin in the Smoky Mountains. I’d researched getting a cabin “up north” in northern MN and it was cheaper to go to the Smoky Mt to a cabin!!
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