What are you spending on vacation next year..

[QueenIsabella]

Short answer: we're spending A LOT!!! There's a reason, though. Here's the story:

This past June, I went to Italy with my DD's (ages 21 and 14 at the time). It was 12 days, the trip was a graduation/birthday trip for my older DD. We had a glorious time, but DS11 felt quite miffed that he was left home--I felt he didn't possess the maturity to handle the trip, with its strange foods and different language and all that history and walking and so forth. I promised him a future trip to Italy.

Earlier this month, we came into some money. Our family values are such that education and travel are two big expenses. Looking into travel options, I found a tour Europe that includes London, Paris, and Rome. It's geared towards kids, so in London, for example, there's a Harry Potter tour. Plenty of other kid-oriented stuff, meant for family travel. OTOH, it's a very pricey trip--everything's 5-star, which generally isn't our style, but this particular tour really spoke to our family. So, bottom line, 5 of us will be flying to Europe next June. DS20 will stay home--he'll be taking a summer class. Including airfare all around, you're probably talking close to $50k for this trip. We have no intention of travelling like this every year, but I'm looking forward to the experience.

On a normal year, a travel budget of maybe $10k for the 5-6 of us is much more common. Sometimes DD22 doesn't come along--she lives in another state--and sometimes DS20 stays home (he's always invited, just not much of a traveller).

 

[LilyWDW]

Disney trip in May: Looking at a max budget of $3000. My split of the hotel and tickets was $1184.16. Then we will have the drive, including hotel and food for a single night on the way down (hotel should be about $50 for my split plus $50 for food that day), gas for both legs, and food for the way back. Then I need money for food and spending while at Disney. I think I can do it for less then $3k.

Gen Con in August: All I need money wise is the badge ($110), parking ($75ish), events ($40ish), and food/spending money. I love near Indianapolis so I just drive in so luckily I don't have to pay for a hotel.

 

[NotUrsula]

Absolutely no clue. We decide based on airline sales, so the furthest out we will plan is about 4 months.

FWIW on the "kids in Europe" itinerary, it's very possible to do that independently, if that's the focus you want to take. The UK's Time Out magazine online has a family travel feature, and the Guardian website has a family travel in Europe recurring feature that is archived, so you can dig through for all sorts of ideas. It can be done more affordably (which is not to say that the PP should do that instead, only that if that is an idea that appeals, but that budget doesn't, it's still do-able with a bit of effort.)

 

[QueenIsabella]

Absolutely no clue. We decide based on airline sales, so the furthest out we will plan is about 4 months.

FWIW on the "kids in Europe" itinerary, it's very possible to do that independently, if that's the focus you want to take. The UK's Time Out magazine online has a family travel feature, and the Guardian website has a family travel in Europe recurring feature that is archived, so you can dig through for all sorts of ideas. It can be done more affordably (which is not to say that the PP should do that instead, only that if that is an idea that appeals, but that budget doesn't, it's still do-able with a bit of effort.)

I appreciate the mention, but there are things on this tour that simply can't be replicated on your own. Aside from the Harry Potter tour, we'll be doing things like a scavenger hunt through the Louvre, truffle hunting in teams in Umbria, and going on an after-hours tour of the Vatican Museum/Sistine Chapel. That last one is of particular importance to me--when we were in Italy in June, the tour included a visit to the Vatican. The Vatican Museum literally has 4 miles of priceless art...that you go through, shoulder-to-shoulder, unable to stop and take a closer look, surrounded by thousands of other sweaty tourists. The Sistine Chapel is similar--we had 15 minutes in there. I could have contemplated it for a week, just admiring what is truly the most impressive work of art of all time. Funny thing is, I'm not the slightest bit religious, but the stunning quality and volume of artwork cannot be understated. So for me, this one facet of the tour, alone, is worth the price of admission.

The rest of the tour will definitely appeal to my youngest. If I hadn't found a tour so family-oriented, he would have had to wait a few years before making it to Europe. I'm sure some of the items we could have arranged on our own, like high tea and going on the London Eye. In fact, we're flying into London a day early, and I hope to find something special to do when we get there (Whitechapel tour? Big Ben? Bangers and mash at the pub?)

 

[MomToOne]

9 days in Japan - Kyoto, Hakone and Tokyo, with day trips to a few other places like Hiroshima.

I'm expecting to spend around $5000 for 2 - but that's with our airfare and all but two nights hotel for free (very kind sister is covering those with points). That money will cover the hotel for 2 nights, Japan Rail passes, misc other train and subway tickets, food, activities, pet boarding, parking and souvenirs. It's amazing how expensive even "free" trips can be!!!

 

[belle032]

I treat spending money on vacations like other people spend money on things. I would rather travel than buy stuff. And I cannot go a year without a vacation, so I make sure that we budget for that. We also want to travel as much as possible before we decide whether or not we want to have kids!

We are looking at the 7 nt. British Isles cruise on the Disney Magic in September. Even with an interior room, we are obviously looking at a few thousand between the cruise and flights. DH and I are cruise veterans (just got married on 1 a month ago!), but never with Disney. DH has also never been to Europe and I'm dying to go back, so seems like a win-win.

I'd also like to sneak in a shorter, cheaper cruise or a cheap Disney trip in Jan/Feb. Winters can be miserable here, and that combined with it being the off-season, I can usually work it out. I rationalize it by us not technically getting a honeymoon as we had 30 friends/family members on our wedding cruise!

 

[Aurora_Australis]

5 kid free nights in Bali or New Zealand at this stage, our 10th anniversary. If we can get a good deal on flights to somewhere else within a good flight time for a short trip we might change but time and cost are the main factors. Looking at $2k all up.

We had 2 big trips this year and a big one in 2019 to save for, if it weren't for our anniversary we wouldn't be going anywhere!

 

[focusondisney]

Hmm, I have no idea. I am not one to budget. But I do try to optimize our money & get discounts when I can. DH & I go to WDW once or twice a year. Next year we had planned for early May & early to mid September (that one will be for our 40th anniversary). We usually stay at YC club level. We will be at DW in December & I will book bounceback reservations for both trips then (hopefully.) I also just renewed our APs so tickets are taken care of. We will renew our Tables in Wonderland card in December also.

I have our May flights booked already, less than 300 for DH & mine on points. I am going to to have DH apply for the SW credit cards in a few weeks & earn the companion pass for 2018 & 19 in early January. Then I could cancel my flights with the points & fly free. After that DH will have 120000 points to use for the next several trips & I can fly with him for free.

So our biggest costs will be hotel & food. I won't know the hotel will cost til I get there & book the bouncenbacks. We do like signature restaurants but the TIW will help with hat plus I will have Disney credit card rewards also. We don't drink but will probably spend about 1200 for meals each trip. Maybe more, depends on how much prices increase next year. We really don't get many souvenirs, maybe a tshirt or 2. Oh, and once in awhile, a Disney Dooney & Bourke.

That was the plan til today. Disney just announced they are having the Disney After Dark event again this winter. I just talked with DH. Looks like we'll be doing a quick 3 night trip to attend that. I will book a moderate room for that one. Probably move my flights on points to cover that trip & plan to use the companion pass in May for my flight. Would again have to pay for DH but at this point, both flights would be less than 250 for him. So all in that trip would be about 1200 + food.

 

[TwoMisfits]

2 trips - 1 planned, 1 not...planned budget for all yearly travel is $8K for 6, but $1K of that is saved for trips home to my mom, so I'm planning $7K - I do best value vacations, or as I say "best bang for my buck"...

1st trip - Pittsburgh (grandparent visit)/Niagara Falls CA/Columbus, OH (Game Convention) - 10 days/9 nights...
Hotel - we are staying at an Embassy Suites at all 3 locations - we used points for 1/2 the cost, so we are paying $660 total, but even full cost would only be $1320, since we are doing Sun-Wed in Canada (and the difference in June cost between weekends and weekdays was monumental)...
Gas/Parking/Tolls - $400 (this is way too high, but it's buffer)
Game Con Badges/Tickets - $250
Canada Attractions Passes (the 4 attraction ones) - $300ish (we'll see next year)
Canada Dinner Theater - $200ish (we'll see next year)
Canada Extra (Souvies, Groupons, etc) - $200
Groceries (picked up in Pburgh for Canada and Columbus for CON) - $125 (light lunches in case breakfast is too light, snacks, drinks)
Dinners for 7 nights (grandparents have 1st dinner bought, dinner theater will be 2nd dinner bought) - 1/2 fast food/1/2 casual sit down - $500 (no alcohol, since we'll have it at the hotel each night)
Ohio Extra (Souvies, Random) - $100
Total Budget OOP - $2735 - rounding to $2750

So, I'm trying to plan a week long trip elsewhere, and I've got a little over $4K...and I'm waffling on where else we should go and when we should go...there are lots of ideas floating here, but nothing I've pulled the trigger on...

 

[littlbugmom]

We typically do one year Disney, one year smaller trips. We're doing back to back years this December because we wanted to try Christmas at Disney. It's a little over $4,000.

2018 is a smaller-trip year:

Feb weekend trip to indoor waterpark--$500
Spring weekend trip to cabin/hiking---$400
Spring trip for DS13 to Washington DC w/school---$800
Summer weekend trip to my hometown---$200 or $300
Summer weekend trip to neighboring city---$500
Fall weekend trip to cabin/hiking---$400

 

[Colleen27]

I haven't started detailed budgets yet. Next year is going to be a budget-buster because some of these trips aren't negotiable and it is more traveling than I normally do in a year. We've got one kid's belated graduation trip, college visits for another, and a cross-country journey to carry out my father's burial wishes - nothing that can be easily put off.

Right now, the plans are Disney in March with DS & his SO, NYC and Ithaca for college tours in April, renting a cabin for our annual fair week in July, a cross-country road trip in July/Aug, and if there is still enough room to breathe, hopefully an anniversary Food & Wine trip for just DH & I in Sept. since 2018-19 will be our last school year with our older kids at home and available to watch our youngest. All together, we're looking at about $15,000 and 50+ nights away from home in 2018. That's not counting DD16's exchange program in Japan, which is a reasonable (IMO) $3750 plus airfare for 8 weeks.

 

[Ngwira]

We are doing Banff/Lake Louise/Calgary in March/April, Niagara Falls /Toronto in June and WDW in August.

In 2019, we are doing Salt Lake City /Utah National Parks /Las Vegas in April and WDW and DCL cruise in August.

 

[pens4821]

We will be doing WDW in August. We went in 14, then 16, so figure we'll try to keep the every other year thing going. Don't how much we'll spend. Usually seems to be around $7,000.

Not sure, but will probably go to the Outer Banks late April/Early May. It's cheaper that time of year, but the weather is usually nice. If that's what we end up doing, I'd say around $2,000 for the week.

I may also look into the Grand Canyon, but probably not until 2019 since we are doing WDW. We had a trip planned last winter to fly into Vegas and stay there a couple nights. Then pick up a rental, and stay at a Grand Canyon hotel a night. Stop at Flagstaff and sightsee the next night, then move onto Sedona for 2 nights. From there we were going to spend a night in Glendale (to see the Penguins play the Coyotes), then fly out of Phoenix. I think it was going to be about $4,000 (although that isn't counting gambling, and the hotel in Vegas would've been free). It was really a great sounding trip to us. Unfortunately it just didn't end up working out because of work, but I'm sorry it never did. Would probably skip the Vegas part if we go here though.

Will probably take a couple little trips here and there too. We live a couple hours from Erie PA, so sometimes we head up for a night in the summer ($300). We try to get to Atlantic City a couple times a year (depends on how much gambling I do, but maybe $700 for food/gas/tolls). My nephew lives in Virginia so we may head there for a 2/3 nights ($700, but we don't usually do any kind of sight seeing, just get a hotel with a pool). We won't do all this, but these are just some the the littler things we do. Unfortunately, this year we haven't been able to do any of those little trips. We did Colorado (which was awesome) and the Outer Banks, but haven't had the extra money to do any of the little trips. I had a great time on those trips, but miss my little getaways.

 

[NotUrsula]

I appreciate the mention, but there are things on this tour that simply can't be replicated on your own. Aside from the Harry Potter tour, we'll be doing things like a scavenger hunt through the Louvre, truffle hunting in teams in Umbria, and going on an after-hours tour of the Vatican Museum/Sistine Chapel. That last one is of particular importance to me--when we were in Italy in June, the tour included a visit to the Vatican. The Vatican Museum literally has 4 miles of priceless art...that you go through, shoulder-to-shoulder, unable to stop and take a closer look, surrounded by thousands of other sweaty tourists. The Sistine Chapel is similar--we had 15 minutes in there. I could have contemplated it for a week, just admiring what is truly the most impressive work of art of all time. Funny thing is, I'm not the slightest bit religious, but the stunning quality and volume of artwork cannot be understated. So for me, this one facet of the tour, alone, is worth the price of admission.
...

Ah, but you CAN replicate that Vatican tour on your own, at least, if it is the one that I'm thinking of. Guided after-hours private tour for a group of up to 20 guests, led by a member of museum staff, around 4 hours inside the buildings? The Vatican Visitors' Office offers that tour, and though the price varies depending upon the season, it starts at around $350 for the tour itself, with additional charges for the extra guests. It can be a bit difficult to find an available date, but on nearly a year's notice, shouldn't be impossible.

The Louvre Scavenger Hunt (and also one at the British Museum) is available through THATMuse; it normally runs about 50 Euro per adult with a minimum party of 3.

If you like package tours, of any "star" level, then by all means do them; you don't have to defend that choice. I was merely pointing out to other readers that creating a trip to Europe that specifically caters to the interests of children is very possible on a much smaller budget than the one you named. I have family in Europe, we've always taken the children, and we've always managed to do things that they appreciate without breaking the bank too badly.

BTW, in London I would consider a tour of the Cabinet War Rooms or a visit to the Imperial War Museum if that isn't in your package. Also, a boat ride down to Greenwich and a pub lunch there is a nice relaxing way to spend time: https://londonist.com/london/drink/best-family-friendly-pubs-in-south-london

Have a lovely time.

 

[Tinknalli]

Next week 2 nights in two cabins at the State Park for DDs 16th birthday. Myself and 6-8 teenage girls. $220 for the cabins plus food maybe $200?

Next month weekend on the coast in NH for 4 (DH and I and two teens). Best Western $110. Food $200. Entertainment and shopping $200.

Numerous soccer tournaments in the spring. Hotels $100-$200 per night plus food. Number of tournaments requiring overnights varies.

Orlando 10 nights in April for 4 people. Airfare $520 (return flight booked on points). Rental car $355. 3 nights at Universal Royal Pacific $840. Parking $60. Universal 4 day 3 park tickets $900. Wyndham Bonnet Creek 7 nights in a 2 bedroom $860. Discovery Cove/ Sea World/Aquatica/Busch Gardens tickets $800. Groceries and restaurants $1000. Total $5335.

 

[Superchikk]

It's been an odd year vacation-wise for us. Next year will be odd as well.

We didn't do a big family trip in 2017. We traveled - but not for "vacation." My husband travels for work a lot, and we sometimes get to tag along and/or go to help out. We RARELY get away without the kids, but it's happened three times this year, although for work trips each time. Minimal cost to us - mostly kenneling the dog, some food, and some childcare.

The kids and I also spent time at my parents' (where they also stayed during one of our trips). It's like going to "camp" to stay at my Mom & Dad's. Ha! But the trip to my parents' costs about $500 just in gas, eating on the road, and other misc. travel expenses (sometimes kenneling the dog).

Our 2017 vacation budget was funneled toward my son & husband's father/son trip for our son's 10th birthday "rite of passage" type of trip. Our son got to pick any destination he wanted, and he chose the Grand Canyon. They flew, rented a car, went on some spectacular tours, and spent a day riding roller coasters in Phoenix. It was a fabulous trip for them, and all included cost around $3200.

For 2018 - We're surprising the kids with a quick trip to Universal in January. We decided not to travel to our parents' for Thanksgiving or Christmas, so we're using that travel $ to put toward the trip. We're also giving the kids spending money as a gift at Christmas. We're surprising them with the entire trip on Christmas morning, so they'll get their spending $ and a t-shirt to wear in the parks along with the surprise. We were able to use CC points for most of the flights (making the flight and rental car the same out of pocket as driving - or less), CC points for a good portion of the hotel, and 3 days for the price of 2 at Universal. With kenneling the dog, food, etc, I'm planning on this trip costing around $3500 max. My son is now a "theme park adult", so that's a bit of sticker shock when it comes to buying tickets now.

It's also our 20th anniversary, so DH and I are taking an adults only trip to Disney. We're planning to fly, get a rental car, stay at Contemporary (RO discount, with POFQ or CSR as back ups if the budget just isn't there), UT park hoppers, and will pay transportation for my Mom to come watch the kids. We're saving CC points and Disney CC Rewards, air miles, and rental car points. If we have to pay for everything out of pocket, we're looking at $6500, but I know we'll do better than that.

 

[pigletto]

We did Disney and Universal twice in 2017.
Next year is one big trip, but will be cheaper. We are using all of dh's vacation time for a 3 week cross country trip. We are driving out west to the Alberta Badlands, Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper and Yoho, and driving back through the U.S. On the return trip we will be stopping in Glacier National Park and driving the Going to the Sun road. We are camping almost exclusively with plans to stay in a hotel every 5th night to do laundry and sleep in a real bed.
Our son is 13 and we think this is the perfect age for an epic road trip. He's really excited.

That will be the only trip for 2018 (other than cottage weekends) so the budget is around 3500-4000 including all food and activities.

The idea being thrown around for 2019 is a trip to the UK for 10-12 nights with a concentration on London.

 

[neatokimmo]

Next year we will be a family of 3. For baby's first trip, we are thinking of 4-5 days in Chicago during the summer. Housing is free, thanks to my parents and we can bring our parrot with us, so that will save on pet sitting costs. And most activities will be free as well (Millenium Park, Art Institute of Chicago, Lincoln Park Zoo, etc.). So it will just be the cost to cover gas and food. I am estimating maybe $500 total.

And in October, DH and I will be taking a 7-night Mediterranean Royal Caribbean cruise that leaves out of Venice. My parents will be watching baby and parrot. I got a steal on a junior suite for $2000. I paid $800 with credit card rewards, so only need to cover $1200 + excursion costs. We will use miles or credit card rewards for our flights and I have booked a few nights near Venice before the cruise leaves using SPG points. I am estimating the entire trip will cost us $2000.

That is a steal. I stalk NCL cruises out of Venice all the time. We spent three weeks in Italy in May. I'd like to go back soon.

 

[neatokimmo]

Take me! Take me! Our trip was super budget but still great. You will love Rome!

Short answer: we're spending A LOT!!! There's a reason, though. Here's the story:

This past June, I went to Italy with my DD's (ages 21 and 14 at the time). It was 12 days, the trip was a graduation/birthday trip for my older DD. We had a glorious time, but DS11 felt quite miffed that he was left home--I felt he didn't possess the maturity to handle the trip, with its strange foods and different language and all that history and walking and so forth. I promised him a future trip to Italy.

Earlier this month, we came into some money. Our family values are such that education and travel are two big expenses. Looking into travel options, I found a tour Europe that includes London, Paris, and Rome. It's geared towards kids, so in London, for example, there's a Harry Potter tour. Plenty of other kid-oriented stuff, meant for family travel. OTOH, it's a very pricey trip--everything's 5-star, which generally isn't our style, but this particular tour really spoke to our family. So, bottom line, 5 of us will be flying to Europe next June. DS20 will stay home--he'll be taking a summer class. Including airfare all around, you're probably talking close to $50k for this trip. We have no intention of travelling like this every year, but I'm looking forward to the experience.

On a normal year, a travel budget of maybe $10k for the 5-6 of us is much more common. Sometimes DD22 doesn't come along--she lives in another state--and sometimes DS20 stays home (he's always invited, just not much of a traveller).

 

[neatokimmo]

Disney and season passes are still on our maybe list. If we book free dining for next sept then we might spend the extra money for annual passes. If my math is right, that would be 2800ish plus ten nights in a value. Then of course any extra rooms later. Then I cross over into "I could go back to Italy for that kind of money" zone.

Well, being a Disney forum, you'll be shocked by my answer...we're going to WDW for summer vacation next year.

What we're spending is sort of hard to quantify. We went to WDW this past summer and bought APs. So we incurred that huge cost this summer, when we arrive next summer our admission cost is "zero" if you look at it that way. I also paid for our summer 2018 rental house already....we're staying for 17 nights and that cost is something like $1200. The only other cost will be food. For 17 days, we'll spend around $700-$800 total for the 5 of us. We bring our own food into the parks. Any other money spent will be for souvenirs.