10 Ways to Save Money on Vacation

Planning a family vacation & looking to cut costs?  Check out these Ten Ways to Save Money on Vacation – No Matter Where You’re Going!

We just got back from a little mini vacation to Yellowstone.  I love Yellowstone and it’s always fun whether you spend a week there or only a day and a half, like we did this time.  Traveling is such a fun part of Summer but it can also be a costly one, but there are easy ways to cut back on some of the cost!  Some of these are my tips from traveling with my kids and family and others are great ones that I’ve found or where linked up to our Pretty Pintastic Link party.

10 Ways to Save on Vacation: No matter where you are headed

1) Do a little research before you go – Is there free days at some of the museums, is there parks or any activities we may enjoy?  Google is your friend when planning a vacation! Use it!  But don’t just limit it to Google you would be amazed at all the travel information there is on Pinterest!  Check out our travel board to get you started.

Follow Coffee With Us 3’s board Travel on Pinterest.

2) Use your smartphone – If you have a smartphone (and it seems like most of us do these days) put it to good use.  Download some travel apps or apps specific to where you are going before you hit the road.  Here are a few to get you started:

Great Travel Apps for domestic or foreign travel by Kids Are A Trip

Camping & Outdoor iPhone Apps by Our Adventure Story

But don’t forget to search for ones specific to where you are going.  A lot of the National Parks have apps and my husband has an app on his phone that shows the animals spottings in Yellowstone. And you can even use your smartphone to make hotel reservations!

3) Make some of your own meals – Consider getting a room with a kitchenette or at least a fridge and making a few meals yourself.  And you don’t even have to bring all the food with you, hit the grocery store when you get there and it will save you a ton over eating out every meal!

4) Bring your own first aid kit – This is a must for road trips but you can even stick a small one in your checked baggage.  This will save you from having to buy overpriced aspirin or band-aids.  Jamie has a great post on how to make your own first aid kit.

5) Make your own postcards – Okay, postcards aren’t that expensive and they are fun!  But did you know you can send regular pictures through the mail as well?  Read more about it in my DIY Postcard post.  And you can use PicMonkey to add whatever message you want to the front!

6) Print off activity pages for your kids – There are so many free printables out there for every age and interest.  Use a little ink and keep your kids entertain!  Maybe you will hear “Are we there yet” one less time!  We have a great Pinterest board full of Free Printables.   Follow Coffee With Us 3’s board Free Printables on Pinterest.

7) Bring Snacks & Reading Material – Whether you’re flying or driving you are going to get hungry and food brought from home will be way cheaper!  Even if you think you or your family, will have zero time to read, you never know when you might need that extra entertainment!

8) Use Twitter – I’m not sure if this will always save you money but it saved us time on this last Yellowstone trip and time is money, right?  You won’t believe what all has a twitter account these days.  I was able to find a twitter feed that listed the next predicted time for Old Faithful to erupt.  It made planning our day easier.  Use the search feature on twitter you may find travel info, museum info, and lots of other helpful things.

Specifically for Road Trips: 

9) Take a Cooler!  – Even a small one with just a few drinks will save you from spending a fortune at convenience stores.

10) Skip the Souvenir Shop and Hit the Dollar Store – Before we head out on a road trip with my kids, my mom makes up bags from each kid with activities, small toys, or snacks.  Every few hours, they get a new bag and this keep them entertained and costs way less than buying them toys or activities in a souvenir shop.

Do you have any tips to add?  How do you save money on vacation?

This post is part of our Outside the Box Monday Series.  Check out the whole series for lots of money saving tips!

Check out our link parties.

Don’t forget to Pin!