Camping vs Glamping

Thinking of camping for Christmas just drains the blood out of my face.  What a lot of work!  I love camping, but taking my house and moving outside provides enough work without adding all the holiday traditions, baking, presents, and the Christmas Tree. (Our Christmas is pretty low key; read about it here. How We de-stressed Christmas and You Can Too)

Just a side note: When camping for Christmas does one bring a tree? Or just decorate the surrounding available foliage with lights and ornaments?

Instead, what about Glamping for Christmas?  What is glamping?–glamour camping of course!  Made famous with the remodeling of 1950’s travel trailers into little luxurious suites.

Glamping ranges in style from Canvas African Style Safari Tents with colonial wood furniture inside, to space module minimalism with clean lines that even Hal might recognize (Hal is the computer in 2001: A Space Odyssey).

Glampinghub.com offers a way to plan these vacations around the world. With over 15,000 accommodations of 27 different types in 165 countries, they make glamping easy.

Want a tipi in South Africa, done! A tree house in Oregon, it’s ready for you, Christmas Camping in Australia find it here.  Recently I spoke with Jessica Armstrong, Head of Public Relations and Partnerships, at glampinghub.com,

Glamping hub started as a travel blog by founder David Troya, in 2011 while finishing his MBA.  Shortly after he invited two colleagues to partner with him creating a worldwide booking network of unusual luxury accommodations.

See pictures of Jessica’s personal stay in a treehouse in Julian, California, plus my dream destinations!

What Kind of Camping Accommodations Can You Expect from Glampinghub.com?

Everything!  Yurts with outdoor kitchens, tents with luxury swimming pools, tiny homes surrounded by wilderness and some really cool tree houses and greenhouses in out of the way locations.  Almost all locations included a modern bathroom and kitchen with running water–a far cry from me trying to camp in our no bathroom little vintage travel trailer for the holidays.

Need to bring Fido for your Christmas Camping Trip.  The Glampinghub.com site offers extensive information about flying with dogs and cats, E.U. pet regulations, and even a public transportation guide for pets.  In Seattle for instance:

The post Reasons you should go glamping for Christmas appeared first on Traveling Family Blog.

Summer is almost here!  When you consider planning for the family “get away” keep the following thing in mind:

A Stress Free Vacation Requires a Budget

No one wants to come home from vacation overdrawn and sunburned.  Planning a budget for vacation can help soothe everyone’s nerves and stop the “back from vacation” hang overs.

4 Main Categories Stress Free Vacation Planning

Lodging- a lot of options here.

Check out National Park cabins, college dorms, YMCA, hostels also can be rented out for the summer, plus a family “airbnb” has some great rates.  Want some great memories at cheap prices pack the kids and a tent.

Food-where do I start?  No one wants to be stuck in the kitchen on vacation. Having  simple cooking facilities saves a bunch.

-divide up who does what meal and what meals are on your own– snack meals– e.g., breakfast on your own, when     you get up

– Lunching out is often cheaper than dinner out and can come with left overs!

-Planning to do meals in the rental space with a few special trips to the ice cream shop/bakery/candy store can save  on both frustration with picky eaters and dollars.

Travel-what are you willing to do for a  cheaper price or less hassle.

-leaving on a 6 am or 8 pm flight can help with flight cost, plus what about flying into a smaller airport (Dallas Love  Field instead of DWF)

-take the car–make the journey part of the vacation, plan this into the budget and enjoy the ride.  Down load family  podcasts, bring music just of the trip, play car games and plan special snacks just for the car ride.

-make the travel the vacation itself.  A train trip or a boat ride or even a ferry out to an island you have been wanting  to explore.   Make this the fun event and the way to get there.

Fun-Running wild or sitting at the beach we all want to Laugh

-this is why the beach and national forest are all kinds of fun for free.  Hours of riding the waves or exploring the woods are real fun and do not cost $89 per person to enter.

-campfires, cook-outs, picnics are just a few stress free vacation ideas that solve two problems for the price of a  bucket of chicken.

-start looking early for  coupons and deals.  If you are headed to a theme park or someplace with a high entrance fee, look for lodging and ticket combos. Join their email list in advance for special offers.  Read up on what you really want to do and find the dates that work for you.  Staying over night at the Georgia Aquarium is a breath taking experience and much cheaper than a hotel and meal.

Creating the time for a Stress Free Vacation

Summer sport leagues, spending time with family, work commitments and child care can slow down the stress free vacation planing process.  Not to mention trying to do a multi generational trip where several adult schedules are involved.  Uggh!  Sometimes this makes you just want to give up and stay home.  Which is not a bad idea!

-“staycations” are awesome!  Do all the things in your town that you normally only do with guests.  Visit the amusement park, take in an afternoon movie, go to lunch at the fancy restaurant, play a round of golf, enjoy a night at the theatre, take the kids to a restaurant for a big bunch meal.  You can visit the museum, park, lake, fishing hole you drive by everyday and wish you had time to stop.  Be sure you fold down the sheets and put chocolate on everyone’s pillow at night just to make it official that you are on vacation.

-Can you vacation at a time or place that is a little toward a”shoulder” season.  My family went to Dauphin Island, Alabama  for 3 weeks in August.  The kids in Alabama return to school in early August so we booked a wonderful house for 6 people for less than $140 a night.  The water was warm and the beaches contained only a few other families.

-try shorter weekend trips to close locations.  Paid vacation for many of us is as foreign as a duck billed platypus.  Plan frequent short trips that don’t require long travel times or extended time from work.

-camp in your own yard.  I love camping and can’t wait for it to stop snowing so we can dust off the camper and take her down the road–even just 20 miles or so, build a fire, roast marshmallows and talk about what we enjoy about summer.

Setting Expectations With Spouses and Kids

Make a list of all the things you really, really want to do this summer.  Hang it up in the kitchen in the spring.  Just the act of writing things down changes things.  After a little mulling over and a few parent to parent conversations, take the the top five suggestions and discuss what might really be possible.

-teach even young kids about budgets

-look on a map about distance–how long it would take to get there.  (We went to the Georgia Aquarium because the  one in Okinawa, Japan was a little out of our reach, for now!)

-what will give everyone the most satisfaction with the least hassle.  Camping for 3 weeks may give 3 out of the 4 of your family hives just thinking of it.  While a tour of 14 cities in 10 days may create a claustrophobic feeling for 2 of you.  Is sitting on the beach the right ticket for the workaholic in your family while the runner needs a lot more action in their days?

Fun Family Dinner Game For a Stress Free Vacation

Describe in detail your perfect stress free vacation experience. What would you do, where would you stay, what would you eat.

What is the best vacation you have taken ever?

If you were to vacation with these groups of people–immediate family, friends, just your kids, extended family, just your spouse, just you–what would you do?

Start with the family game.  It will give you an idea of where every one is in their lives right now without commitment.  Just fun thoughts?

The post How to Plan a Stress Free Vacation appeared first on Traveling Family Blog.

When You Can’t Remember Why You Had Kids in the First Place

When the boys were little just leaving the house was an adventure.  Going to town needed to happen between naps, meals, playtime and after a fresh diaper.  Getting all the gear in the car left me exhausted and a few times driving way without the kids. (Boys, if you ever read this, I never did lose you at that age, that came later). Before you start your holiday travel do a few things to remember why you had kids in the first place!

• Go in and watch them sleeping.  (Why this should restore our faith in the little darlings I am not sure but the internet says it does.)
• Watch Old Family Movies.  (Like the Facebook/Instagram/Youtube clips from last year) We only put the good stuff on social media so fall in love with your kid’s avatar again.
• Call the Grandparents have them recite all the wonderful items you have now to help you parent. (Ipads, podcasts, DVD players, iPhone apps, sippy cups.)

Can you really believe people took children on long trips before portable DVD players?

*** If you are traveling soon, take advantage of this deal from our partners at Disney – you can get 4 Disney DVDs of your choice for just $1***

• Only fix the kids favorite meals for a week. (For 6 weeks on a road my kids ate pizza, hot dogs, and pasta) I might have pickled them from the inside with all the preservatives but dinner time was blissful!
• Old school it with the TV and watch crazy stuff like I Love Lucy, The Adams Family, and The Sound of Music.  Use this as a generation connector and constantly remind them how difficult life was without a cell phone.

Remeber How Dull It would Be to Fly Without Kids

Remember flying with babies?  The total stare down of the other passengers as you boarded the plane.  Their inner thoughts were audible.

• Please, please please don’t sit here!
• I bet he cries the whole flight.
• Why do they always sit next to me?
• Is she really going to change the diaper on the tray table?
• What was that? Is that food on my ear?
• Do you really need to turn around and look me the whole flight?
• No, I will not move you should have booked your seats earlier.

Without Children to Travel with You Would Have Missed

The toddler fascination with airplane bathroom

“I need to go Mommy!”

“You just went.”

” I can feel the pee!”

I think my kids wore diapers on the plane until they were 5 years old.  One trip to the bathroom on a two-hour flight no more! And please, please don’t touch everything.

Hide and Seek in the Cavernous Airport Bathroom

And what about the monstrous airport bathrooms where you could lose your child in the vast sea of stalls. I appreciate the convenience of multiple lanes of stalls but when your three-year-old crawls under the stall and then can’t find you it becomes a frantic game of hiding and seek.

Just think, those of you who travel without kids missed running up and down the bathroom stall isles hissing your child’s name and looking for their little legs under the stall doors.

Mommy Can I Have

The airport offers a plethora of worldly goods all at you figure tips.  Toothbrushes reside right next $12 dollar bacon filled chocolate bars that are only a stone’s throw from exciting animal shaped luggage.

I tell you what is a child to do?

Without children, you might have sat quietly scrolling through Facebook.  With kids, you now need to get up a look at everything while repeating the word no a 100 zilloin times.

Practical Tips for Holiday Travel with Children

1. Put the children and yourself to bed early the night before travel
2. Cuddle, snuggle and talk about all the fun you will have the next day
3. Set expectations of time if they are old enough ( we will leave at 10 am and be at Grammy’s by 6pm)
4. Pack plenty of snacks
5. Explain airport rules– age appropriate about how important it is to listen to mom while traveling.
6. Make sure you have packed the lovey, toys and new games on the electronic and to hold their hands
7. Podcasts are awesome family driving entertainment
8. Pray

Finally to Get a Little Perspective

Watch this over and over until you can quote it by heart!  Then the lines at the airport won’t seem so long.

If you are going to Grandma’s house take a look at the 5 Tips for Extended family Travel

The post How to Get Jazzed Up About Holiday Travel with Your Kids appeared first on Traveling Family Blog.

I hate to say it but I am married to a man whose imagination is not sparked by the idea of travel.  Given a chance, I would hop on a plane at least once a month.  I am one of those that just wants to see what is over the next hill.

The boys and I did an epic journey this summer clocking over 3,500 miles from Colorado to Georgia with a 14 ft travel trailer–amazing journey and family bonding time.  See this trip on Youtube and please subscribe while you are there!

How are Best Friend Trips Different?

1. No kids to look after
2. To different income sources
3. 2 adults who can take care of themselves
4. Ability to be on your own or in the company of you girlfriend
5. No husband to consider (you know, what he likes vs your choices)
6. Did I mention no kids

What do you need to consider before heading out with you best friend?

1. Budget–even though there are two income sources, they may vary widely.  Be honest with each other about you budget.  You can always choose to do different attractions and meet up for lunch.
2. Discuss how you travel. Do you expect to be together all the time or to do some separate sight seeing, ( I am attending a conference and invited a girlfriend along who is perfectly comfortable wandering around Seattle on her own).  On another trip, I missed the cue from that girlfriend that she really wanted me to go to all the museums with her.  That was a big rough point in our trip.
3. Main attractions–make a list of the main attractions that you want to see. Compare lists, decide on the ones you want to do together and the ones that are just important to you.  Set a loose plan on the days you will do these thing.
4. Housing–what are the basics that you and your girlfriend need for comfort?  What are you willing to pay for it?  Do you need two rooms or your own bathroom? Do you snore? Do you know you snore?  ( this was a big issue for me when I was sharing a room with 3 other women. I “uhhum” bought them all earplugs.)
5. Schedules–are you a morning or evening person.  Do you need to get a run and shower in before you start you day?  Or, do you roll out of bed at the crack of noon and go until 2 AM?
6. Meals–with gluten, dairy-free, vegan, juicing, energy shakes, and all the like this has become a bigger deal than it used to be with three square meals a day as the basic formula–especially in cities where food is a primary feature.  Again budgets, timing, and taste are important to talk about together.  (My girlfriend once went on a camping trip where they brought all their food to cook, while the other couple expected to go out every meal.)
7. Shopping–I don’t shop.  I make that clear.  If you have something you just don’t do then state that up front instead of being miserable later.

Warning:  You don’t know someone’s habits until you travel with them. Just because your friendship is 2o years old, does not mean you know their intimate living style.  My friend went on a European trip with her girlfriend of more than 20 years.  Of course they had stay at each others houses over the years and knew each other really well. But long term travel, sightseeing and sleeping arrangements proved to be a challenge.

I love my bestfriend trips!  Fun new places, awesome memories and wonderful bonding with precious women in my life.  Planning and being honest can save heart ache and the friendship in the long run.

The post What to know before you travel with your best friend appeared first on Traveling Family Blog.

Tree House Tents for Car Camping

Change your car camping experience with the Yakima Car Top Tent.  It turns any car into a tree house.  Use it in a parking lot, in a meadow, at the beach or in your friends yard.  The view is awesome!  Having seen one of these in action this summer in San Isabel Forrest the boys and I decide it is a must have!

If a tree house style tent is not super cool enough, try out this Tepui Tent with a hard shell and a bike rack. Get this, you can even keep your bikes on the rack while the tent is open on top of the car.  How cool is that!!  These tents won’t ship until the end of 2016 be the first in you bike club to have one.  By the way, they work for paddle boards and kayaks too!

Camping Lights with Chargers

The Pika 3-1 Rechargeable Lantern is about the coolest thing going.  It recharges. It can charge you phone and other devices off its charge.  I know, I know, if you are out camping you don’t want devices, but my son saved us from wandering the backwoods of the pan handle of Oklahoma by finding our location on google maps satellite.  Without a charge, no maps, without out maps we might still be lost in Oklahoma in the cold.

Camping Food Storage & Prep

Part of the fun of camping is the strange combinations you can make with the bits of food you have left.  Anyone up of hot dogs wrapped in cheese covered by smashed Fritos.  I hate to throw away food while we are camping, but I also hate food poisoning.   With a Yeti cooler this is never a problem.  Amazing and pricey these coolers do everything but pitch the tent.  You won’t need to stop for ice twice a day or pull a sopping wet loaf of bread out of the top of the cooler. These coolers are super tough; they also make a great extra seat.

The best part about camping is the food.  The worst  part is making and cleaning up the food.  The Grub Hub Camp kitchen will end this struggle forever.  With its fold up pack back format, it is smaller and easier to pack than that silly folding table you have been lugging in and out of the car.   With a pantry, hanging racks, shelving and cooking counters, the Grub Hub even has a kitchen sink and drying racks!  The best

The post Camping Gear Must Haves appeared first on Traveling Family Blog.

You can see the top 50 cities for Bed bugs, but you might not want to, yuck!

What do they eat?  You!  Human blood is there staple food.

Shake off your shivers with these how to protect against bringing these pests home from your travels.

They are Named Bed Bugs for a Reason

#1 Never put your suitcase on the bed –  Suitcase to bed is the highest transfer rate for bed bugs.   When traveling place your suit case in the bath tub, on the suit case rack, on the chest of drawers, on a table, even the floor away from walls is better than the bed.

#2 Pull back sheets and blankets from the beds.  Look for black dots or stains on the bedding especially in the corners of the mattress and box-springs under the braiding that seams them together.  I do this before I bring my suit cases out of the bath tub.  If you find ball point pen black looking stains around the corners of the mattress or on the bedding in that area leave with your bags immediately.  Ask for a new room.

#3 Unpack suit cases and all travel items away from the house when you get home.  In the driveway is the best, garage or bath room with rugs removed.

# 4 Wash everything in hot water or run it through the hot dryer for an hour when you return home.  Only heat kills these yucky bugs.  Cold only makes the bed bugs go dormant.  Heat needed to kill the bugs is 118-120 degrees for and hour.

What to do About Luggage

Lets be realistic.  Bed bugs can come from seats on planes, movie theaters, public transportation, computer bags and phones, basically everywhere.  We did throw out some luggage the first time it happened, but after that we have learned.

#1  If it is small enough put it in the dryer for 1 hour on hot.

#2 Place in black sealed trash bag in a car that reaches over 120 degrees for an hour.

#3 Place in black trash bag with diatomaceous earth for at least a month.

DO NOT bring it into the house if all possible. Store in the garage, shed or outside of the home.  Place in large black trash bag with bed bug sticky stripes to trap the little devils when they do come out or in diatomaceous earth, a natural white powered substance to suffocate them.

Be Realistic

We are very fortunate in the USA to have clean water to wash with, plastic to cover infected items with, and amazon.com to order almost all products needed to battle this little beasties.

There are plenty of countries where bed bugs are a way of life.

PLUS

There are no know diseases that come from bed bugs and allergic reactions are rare.  Hives and welts can result from bits but normally disappear within days.

As with all travel, check your surroundings carefully.  One final tip, bed bugs are slow and can’t hop; they must come in contact with you.  A hotel bath tub makes an excellent luggage storage space.

What tips do you have to prevent bed bugs?

The post How to avoid bed bugs while traveling appeared first on Traveling Family Blog.

The whale sharks in the Georgia aquarium were flown in as juveniles from Asia with some difficulty.  Special holding tanks were built and the landing and take off the transporting airplanes needed to be as shallow and level as possible so as not to spill all the precious water out of the specially built tanks.

Built by Home Depot, the whale sharks new home, the Ocean Voyager, is a 6.3 million gallon tank in downtown Atlanta, Georgia that houses “schools of predatory Trevelyan jacks, squadrons of small and large stingrays, sea turtles, enormous Goliath groupers and several other types of sharks.”

Blue Tangs, like in Finding Dory, are also found in the waters of the Ocean Voyager Exhibit. The whale sharks four foot long mouth and 300 teeth make it unlikely that Dory and Destiny would be friends except for one thing.

The whale sharks throat is the size of a quarter making it only able to digest zooplankton (krill, larvae, jellies, copepods, etc) and small fishes (sardines, anchovies, etc).

In the Georgia Aquarium the whale sharks are fed from small rafts by divers dropping krill into their waiting mouths. Each whale shark has a specific “lane” like a lap lane that it must swim in to get fed.

Get out of your lane and the feeding stops until the whale shark returns to its proper lane.  How is that for a lunch line?

In the movie, Finding Dory, Destiny is constantly bumping into walls and recognizes Dory by her voice not by sight.

Are whale sharks really unable to see well?  Scientist at National Geographic are unsure.  In a whale sharks huge body that can grow to over 32 feet in length, its eyes are only the size of a golf ball. In the video you need to look closely for the black spot on the side of the head.

Whale sharks eyes can rotate back into their heads for protection and do have ” a cornea, iris, lens and retina – but they also feature a unique mirror behind the retina that increases their sensitivity to low-light environments (similar to a domestic cat), ” according to National Geographic writer Jodi Kendall.

If whale sharks don’t see well, what about “the most powerful pair of glasses” used by Dory’s new friend, Bailey, the Beluga Whale.  Just around the corner from the Ocean Voyager exhibit in the Georgia Aquarium is a tank full of playful Beluga Whales.

Echolocation is only one of the ways these white whales communicate.  Super social animals, they communicate by facial expression, touch and sound.  Just watching them play with their enrichment toys is worth the price of admission.

Never fear Nemo is here!  The Tropical Diver Exhibit is host to a lots of Nemo cousins swimming in and out of their anemones.

These four species are just a small drop in the bucket in the enormous Georgia Aquarium.  The best and most cost effective way to see the Georgia Aquarium is with an over night stay.

That’s right, sleep with the fishes in Atlanta, Georgia.  This is our awesome experience with the Georgia Aquarium sleep over.

The post The Georgia Aquarium appeared first on Traveling Family Blog.

My husband and I both listen to a number of podcasts. The thought struck me, “Do they have podcasts for kids?”  Well, yes, the podcast folks make all kinds of podcasts for kids.  Here are our current favorites.

Brains On   A podcast about kids and science produced by MPR and Southern California Public Radio explores kid listener science questions. As the mom of two boys, the gross ones are our favorites.

Farts: Understanding the Gas We Pass

Your Booger Questions Answered

These people are serious about being curious, they answer listener questions and even have a kid co-host the show from their world wide audience.

The mystery sound in each episode lets all family members hazard a guess as to what the sound might be as it relates to the topic.  Who knew a cow chewing its cud could sound like the opening of candy wrappers.

Well produced, this podcast will be enjoyed my multiple generations in the family car and spark discussion afterward.  In fact, Why couldn’t rain lemonade?

The other one we really like is Stories Podcast, created to provide family friendly content to families on the go.  Amanda Welldon’s perky voice reading any given story, be it a fables or an original work by Daniel Hind, just makes you want to smile.

This wonderful story is perfect for a bed/nap time lesson.

The Dog Who Wasn’t Useful

After we enjoyed the stories Amanda read we stumbled upon Max Goodname.  This is a dramatized reading that captured the boys attention, and mine, immediately.  A hero’s series, where good triumphs over evil and 3 young teenagers complete astonishing quests.

Magic Armor- A Max Goodname Tale

Max Goodname And the Song of the Basilisk

While the Goodname stories are for a little older elementary audience there are plenty for the preschool age such as Goldie Locks and the Three Bears.

Podcasts bring the whole family into one expereince while traveling. Sure you can listen to them by yourself, but why not use them for family time and disscussions?

Download a few to your phone and the next time your in the car and hear “I’m bored,” get serious about being curious!

Other Podcast For Kids:

Storynory  Myths, Fables, and Original Stories

Tumble Science Podcast for Kids All Life is an Experiment – a podcast for the whole family

But Why: A Podcast for Curious Kids A Show Lead by Kids Curious Questions

The post Best Podcasts for Kids – Perfect for family road trips appeared first on Traveling Family Blog.

Why Give The Gift of Family Travel?

Time

Time with you and your child is priceless.  The gift of travel offers that ever elusive windshield time.  Staring out into the wild blue brings up conversations and life issues that might never have been discussed at home.  Be sneaky, try to pick long stretches of highway where there is no WiFi.

Problem Solving 

Traveling always brings up issues that can’t be planned for in advance–like blowing up a truck in Texas —-500 miles from your home and 500 miles from your parents home.  I got to model a lot of positive problem solving in front of my boys while we decided how we were going to haul the camper out of Palo Duro Canyon, Texas without a truck.

Patience

Even well planned trips run into traffic, delayed flights, rain storms, or just plain uncontrollable events.  In this instant gratification society, it is important to teach children the gift of patience.  After a long road trip, a 2 hour drive to grandma’s house is a snap.

Traveling teaches patience with other people.  Maybe the desk clerk, the flight attendant or the restaurant host is not having a good night.  Teach you children to offer grace instead of criticism.

Teamwork

Traveling 3,500 miles this summer in a 1971 Golden Falcon Camper gave the boys and me a true test of our ability to work as a team.  Even during simple airline flights or road trips, their are teachable moments about team work.

Sense of Wonder

The vast open plains of Oklahoma and Texas are far different from the beaches of Dauphin Island Alabama. Even in our home state of Colorado the Great Sand Dunes piled up against the Sangre de Cristo Mountains offered a new “sledding” challenge to my snow board proficient sons.

Sense of Home

The San Isabel National Forest near southern Colorado looks, feels and smells just like our home near Rocky Mountain National Forest, northern Colorado.  The boys knew this instinctively as they stepped from the truck into the San Isabel camp site after 6 weeks away from Colorado.

Throwing up their arms in the air they simultaneously  shouted “we are home.”

Learning

Grits!  We don’t eat grits at every meal in Colorado.  Nor do we worry about mold or rain rot the way they do in the South.  Sometimes the traditions and the accents are so thick we don’t understand them but that doesn’t mean you can’t try.  People are people and travel offers hands on experiences and often immersion in other cultures even in the USA.  You’ll want grits with those eggs and bacon this morning?

Planning family travel is a great holiday discussion.  Eat the big feast and make a list of where the family would like to go and how they would like to get there.   What would be the time frame, the budget, who would be involved.  Just the discussion lets you connect with your children.

Maybe even a family trip including the grandparents?

• More on Dauphin Island, Alabama
• 5 Tips for Traveling with Extended Family
• Restore a Vintage Camper as a Family Project

The post Give the Gift of Family Travel appeared first on Traveling Family Blog.

Frequent Flyer Miles

Frequent flyer miles are more flexible than ever .  Often family members  can “gift” these miles to each other . Be sure to check the airlines regulations.  Always, always sign up for frequent flier miles even if it is a carrier you do not use often.   Miles can hang around for years so you never know when a particular carrier might match miles another family member may have acquired.

Credit Card Rewards Plans

Some credit card plans have rewards policies that let you use points toward any airline,  Really!  My husband joined us for a weekend in Alabama on short notice, flying into a regional airport. Yikes! This was a very high priced ticket. No problem! My parents were able to purchase it based on points acquired by credit card rewards at no cost to them.   We pampered my husband for two days and then sent him back to work in Colorado.  Again, be sure to read the credit card policies.

Family Travel Club

Create a capital campaign to plan for the cost of travel.  Holidays are a good time to start planning when, where and how much.  Let the kids draw a graph showing how much needs to be raised to take the trip.

Start with holiday money and look at how much needs to be raised each month to meet the goals.  How much will each person contribute?  How much do you need by a certain date for airline tickets or hotel reservations?

Make a jar where everyone can see the money.  Even for young ones, it is never too early to teach resource management skills.

Fund Raising Campaign

Holidays, birthdays and special occasions where monetary gifts are given can be a great time to ask for funds toward the family travel club.  Have kids draw, paint and study about the vacation the family is taking.  Let them present the idea to grandparents and relatives.

Side jobs, whether it is extra chores that children get paid to do and the money goes into the vacation fund. Or, it is a family job for someone else–a lawn mowing, cleaning a basement, snow removal or even creating an awesome video for someone’s party or event. Look for extra ways the family can work together to raise money for the trip.

Choosing Delayed Gratification

Choosing to make a nice dinner at home on Friday night instead of going out a can be another way to “gift” yourself family travel–again, an opportunity for family team work. Decide how much you would be saving and place that in the family travel jar.  How can the at home dinner still be a fun event with a “going out to dinner” feel? Maybe prepared frozen meals? (Grabbing a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store even with all the sides is $12, as opposed to $45 for a family of 4 at restaurant.)

Maybe paper plates so no dishes?  Maybe a living room picnic with cool music like you were at a concert in the park?

Research Research Research

There are huge cost savings in researching the places and modes of travel you would like to use for your family travel.

Location– Florida would be nice but maybe the coast of Alabama is just as nice at 1/3 the cost.

Time-Traveling during a location’s shoulder season can offer lower rates. Traveling early or late in the day or week can help with airline ticket prices.  Are you flexible with dates? Many airlines offer a sneak peak at rates for the days around the dates you have picked that might be cheaper.

Activities– Rank the most important from the least.  Are there coupons or other deals.  We spent the night in the Georgia Aquarium so much cheaper than getting a hotel room and meals plus the aquarium tickets.  Plus it was an amazing experience!

Lodging-Can you stay with friends?  Can you pitch a tent part of the time? Hostels are not just for traveling teens anymore they offer family rooms too.  Look into national parks, college dorms, and YMCA’s that offer basic accommodations at much lower prices.  Plus, organizations like Airbnb and VRBO offer houses at rates that are often 40-60% less than hotels.

Transportation– Always look for public transportation in larger cities.  Research whether buying a bus/subway pass for your stay is cheaper than a single ticket. The pass may also come with discounts to attractions.

Teamwork. planning, saving and research skills are all life skills your children can develop in the process of planning family travel.  This holiday start the conversation, “if you could go anywhere?”

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Private Home Stays for Budget Travelers

How to Save Big on Flights

Travel Adventures With Kids

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