Let’s be real, traveling with a family can add up very quickly. Flights for 4+ people can cost the same as we would have spent on a trip for just two of us years ago. For many, traveling with a family can be completely out of reach unless you can find ways to do it in a way that’s cost efficient. Here are seven of our favorite ways to save money when traveling as a family.
1. Book Far in Advance
You’ll be amazed at how much money you can save when choosing to plan and book trips 10-12 months in advance instead of 4-6 months in advance. When you plan a trip a year in advance, you’ll have a full selection of flights and accommodation availability. All of the nicer and well priced accommodations will be booked up first so if you wait until 4-6 months out, you could find the only accommodations left are either very expensive or very run down. Similarly for flights, especially when traveling with a family of 4+ people, when you book as soon as flight schedules are available you’ll usually find some good deals and you’ll ensure there are enough seats open.
2. Travel During Shoulder/Low Season
If there’s a country you really want to see but it always feels a bit out of reach, consider traveling during low or shoulder season instead of high season when everything is more expensive. Sure, sometimes the trade-off of traveling during low season is less than ideal weather conditions but consider a little rain vs not seeing that country at all. We’ve visited many countries during low season and while we’re sometimes exploring in the rain, there are fewer crowds and everything tends to be much cheaper. You’ll find accommodations that normally cost an exorbitant amount are well discounted to draw anyone willing to visit during the slower time of year.
3. Buy Food + Cook While Traveling
This one is a controversial tip as I know many people don’t want to worry about grocery shopping or cooking while on vacation BUT hear me out, this can be one of the top ways to save money while traveling with a family. On one of the first days of your trip, run to the local grocery store and grab easy breakfast items, snacks, drinks, and ingredients for some easy meals to make. Imagine not spending $50 for every breakfast at the local cafe or $200 on dinner for a family of four every night. Food costs on a vacation add up quickly and can be a simple way to save A LOT, especially on longer trips.
4. Sign up for Flight Deal Alerts
If you’re flexible in where you want to go on your next trip, utilize travel alert companies who send mistake fare and cheap flight deals. See an overview of our favorite deal sites below. If you’re just trying to find cheap economy international deals, my personal recommendation would be to get the premium version of Going and sign-up for the free version of Thrifty Traveler.
Going.com
Free Version: Sends out flight deals from your home/preferred airports to U.S. domestic (including Alaska and Hawaii) and Caribbean locations.
Premium Version: Sends out international cheap flight and mistake fares. This one costs $49/year which pays for itself if you buy just one flight priced hundreds of dollars cheaper than you would normally find it. Some of our favorite Going.com flight redemptions have included $600 roundtrip tickets to Australia and multiple $300 roundtrip flights to European destinations.
ThrifyTraveler.com
Free Version: Sends out limited domestic and international economy flight deals from your home airport.
Premium Version: Sends out more frequent domestic and international deals from your home airport. Additionally, they send premium economy and business class deals with this $99/year subscription.
5. Choose Cheaper Travel Destinations
Not all travel destinations are created equal when you’re thinking of saving money while traveling. Countries like Norway, Switzerland, Australia and New Zealand are beautiful but can definitely break the bank for a family vacation. Choose cheaper countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, Czech Republic, Albania or Bosnia. Also consider that even more expensive countries can have some cities that are much cheaper than others.
6. Stay Off-the-Beaten-Path
Another easy way to save money on accommodations and food is to stay in less popular cities instead of the main tourist spots. A lot of these smaller cities will have accommodations for half the price and local restaurants that aren’t gauging prices aimed at tourists. Find cities on an easy public transportation route so that you can still hop to the main tourist spots easily. Just because you stay further away, doesn’t mean you can’t still experience the popular locations.
Some of our favorite examples of saving money off the beaten path have been staying in Haarlem instead of Amsterdam (Netherlands) or staying in Oudenaarde instead of Brussels (Belgium).
7. Opt for Vacation Rentals Instead of Hotels
This one can be very dependent on location and how many people you are traveling with. But depending on the situation, you can save money choosing to stay in a condo/apartment/home rental instead of a hotel. As a family of five, we always have to buy two rooms at a hotel which adds up quickly. For our situation, we definitely save money choosing a rental over hotels. This also gives us a kitchen which allows us more opportunity to cook and save money instead of always eating out.
Tip: When you find a rental on a popular site like VRBO or Airbnb, do a reverse Google search for the name of the rental or with the key photo. A lot of rentals are run through larger rental companies and you can book the same property for cheaper through these sites instead.
Overall, there are lots of different ways you can save money while traveling – sometimes you just have to get creative and think outside the box. Hopefully implementing some of these items can help make your next family adventure more within reach. Have questions or comments? Leave them below, we’d love to hear from you!
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