What are you spending on vacation next year..

[pens4821]

OK, so I can plan the heck out of a Disney trip. But I'm pretty clueless when planning other vacays. Are there websites y'all get deals from? How do y'all decide where to go? Give me some of your deal secrets!

If you know where you're going early, try booking ASAP. I always book the refundable rates. I've booked hotels for trips that have never materialized, and cancelled without paying a fee. I've noticed that booking hotels early you usually get a better deal. Not always, some post rates that never change, others may have deals as it nears. This summer we went to Colorado and up to Mt Rushmore. I booked our hotels in September of the year before, and got GREAT deals. I kept checking the hotel prices, and we ended up saving quite a bit of money. The hotel we booked in Rushmore ended up raising $100 for the night we were there. The other hotels went up around $50/night. We did the same for our rental car. Kept checking but the best rate was the one I booked in December, and I kick myself because it would've been $200 cheaper if I would've booked in October (but it went up $600 not long after I booked and never came back down).

I use TripAdvisor ALOT! You have to take the good/bad from each review, and make your own conclusion. I'm a pretty budget traveler, but I also don't want a run down hotel. I've stayed at some really cheap places that get so-so reviews, you just have to know whats ok with you. I don't mind staying in an older hotel if I'm going to be out of the room most the day. So if the reviews say old, but clean, I'll stay there. However if they all say run down, dirty, etc I won't. If I'm going to be I the room for a good portion of the trip, I'll spend the extra for a nicer room though.

TripAdvisor is also good for finding out what to do in a specific city, and where to eat. The forums are quite helpful too. For the most part, everyone will help you plan a great trip. I've used the forum to ask in-depth questions, as well as ones that may seem silly but I'm curious about. And if you post questions about specific places/things, people will usually try to lead you to ways to save money.

Hotwire is another great site for discount hotels. I don't use it quite as much, but if I'm going on a night or two getaway I always take a look. You don't know the hotel you're booking, but if you're ok being in the area of your destination it's great. With some effort you can usually narrow down to a couple hotels which one you'll end up at. You can choose from a map of the areas you want to stay in that specific city. They do list recommendation percentages so you know if others would go back or not, and amenities which is helpful as when I'm with my nephew I like having an indoor pool and free breakfast. You can book up to 4 people so you're guaranteed 2 beds although I'm sure there's been people with issues with this, never us though.

Groupon, living social, and attractions own websites are good for getting some discounts. We like Groupon the best, and it's saved us quite a bit through the years. Local flavor I use around home, but never used it for travel. We booked our parking at our local park and ride for the airport through way.com and saved $40.

I put a lot of time into planning all our trips, not just Disney. My family makes fun of me, but doing so can save you a pretty big amount. If I would've booked everything for Colorado a couple months before hand instead of nine, we would've ended up paying well over $1000 more. While most of that is was the minivan, even taking that out we saved at least $500 between hotels and attractions.

 

[CalDisneyMomof2]

Awesome info! Thanks for posting! Ideas like this are just what I'm looking for. If anyone has any clean, DC area hotels that they recommend that sleep 5, please post. I would love to be able to surprise the family with a small bonus getaway. And if anyone has any other ideas,please post. I am in need of ideas!

We are staying at the Springhill Suites Alexandria Old town Southwest next summer. It sleeps 5 and includes free breakfast and free parking. It's about 20 minutes driving (depending on traffic) from the Mall. I think rates start at about $100 a night (we're staying on points).

 

[grumpy28]

If you know where you're going early, try booking ASAP. I always book the refundable rates. I've booked hotels for trips that have never materialized, and cancelled without paying a fee. I've noticed that booking hotels early you usually get a better deal. Not always, some post rates that never change, others may have deals as it nears. This summer we went to Colorado and up to Mt Rushmore. I booked our hotels in September of the year before, and got GREAT deals. I kept checking the hotel prices, and we ended up saving quite a bit of money. The hotel we booked in Rushmore ended up raising $100 for the night we were there. The other hotels went up around $50/night. We did the same for our rental car. Kept checking but the best rate was the one I booked in December, and I kick myself because it would've been $200 cheaper if I would've booked in October (but it went up $600 not long after I booked and never came back down).

I use TripAdvisor ALOT! You have to take the good/bad from each review, and make your own conclusion. I'm a pretty budget traveler, but I also don't want a run down hotel. I've stayed at some really cheap places that get so-so reviews, you just have to know whats ok with you. I don't mind staying in an older hotel if I'm going to be out of the room most the day. So if the reviews say old, but clean, I'll stay there. However if they all say run down, dirty, etc I won't. If I'm going to be I the room for a good portion of the trip, I'll spend the extra for a nicer room though.

TripAdvisor is also good for finding out what to do in a specific city, and where to eat. The forums are quite helpful too. For the most part, everyone will help you plan a great trip. I've used the forum to ask in-depth questions, as well as ones that may seem silly but I'm curious about. And if you post questions about specific places/things, people will usually try to lead you to ways to save money.

Hotwire is another great site for discount hotels. I don't use it quite as much, but if I'm going on a night or two getaway I always take a look. You don't know the hotel you're booking, but if you're ok being in the area of your destination it's great. With some effort you can usually narrow down to a couple hotels which one you'll end up at. You can choose from a map of the areas you want to stay in that specific city. They do list recommendation percentages so you know if others would go back or not, and amenities which is helpful as when I'm with my nephew I like having an indoor pool and free breakfast. You can book up to 4 people so you're guaranteed 2 beds although I'm sure there's been people with issues with this, never us though.

Groupon, living social, and attractions own websites are good for getting some discounts. We like Groupon the best, and it's saved us quite a bit through the years. Local flavor I use around home, but never used it for travel. We booked our parking at our local park and ride for the airport through way.com and saved $40.

I put a lot of time into planning all our trips, not just Disney. My family makes fun of me, but doing so can save you a pretty big amount. If I would've booked everything for Colorado a couple months before hand instead of nine, we would've ended up paying well over $1000 more. While most of that is was the minivan, even taking that out we saved at least $500 between hotels and attractions.

Thank you so much for all of the info! I will check out the sites you mentioned. Sounds like you got an awesome deal!

 

[grumpy28]

We are staying at the Springhill Suites Alexandria Old town Southwest next summer. It sleeps 5 and includes free breakfast and free parking. It's about 20 minutes driving (depending on traffic) from the Mall. I think rates start at about $100 a night (we're staying on points).

Thanks so much! I will check out this hotel.

 

[pens4821]

Looked up Atlantis. Woah! $$$$. We are a 5 person family, so traveling can be expensive. Would love a $2,000 or less "bonus trip". We live in NC. Anyone have any ideas? I do not have any credit card points or airline miles, so no free things that way. We have APs to Disney, so we drive down multiple times a year. Looking for something different. We do the beach and the mountains annually, so not those. Anyone have any suggestions?

I know someone else mentioned it but you could do Williamsburg. The tickets are a little pricey, but if you get the multi day tickets it's a much better value (I think they're $50). Search for a cheap hotel with breakfast in the area. Don't know if you have younger kids, but the Great Wolf Lodge is on Groupon rather often.

I've never done DC (well, when I was young) but there is quite a bit of free things to do there.

 

[QueenIsabella]

Another thought for larger families (like mine!)--try sixsuitcasetravel.com . They have hotels all over the US (and beyond, I think) that can sleep up to 8 people. It's a great resource--we've had good luck with most of their hotels. I say "most", because on a drive to NY last summer, we had a GREAT Holiday Inn Express in Harrisburg, PA. But then on the way back, we had a lousy hotel room in VA. In their defense, though, we booked the hotels kind of late--just a few days before staying--so there wasn't a whole lot available.

 

[TwoMisfits]

To give you a Williamsburg/Jamestown/Yorktown plan that avoids the theme parks (I also love this area)...let's do 6 days/5 nights again...
Embassy Suites and Homewood Suites are great there - you can get both for under $200/night with advance booking $1000
Gas/Tolls $100
Food for 5 $100/night $500
Colonial Williamsburg/Jamestown/Yorktown 7 day Historic Triangle Tickets $91 adult / $42.50 kid (15 and under), so $309.50
Parking Free (these sites have free parking)
Total $2009.50

You could also do the 7 day pass that is Colonial Williamsburg/Busch Gardens (which isn't Disney, but is beautiful) for about $120 more total...then, you'd probably have some extra parking, making the trip $2200

BTW, these tickets do sometimes go on sale, so you could do even cheaper...

PS - Children 5 and under are always free in CW (and may be free in the other historical sites, so that may drop your cost further)...

 

[GrnMtnMan]

You can do a couple things to keep costs down for Atlantis.

I started a thread about this a few years ago:
Tips for Doing Atlantis-Paradise Island for Less.

 

[GrnMtnMan]

Looked up Atlantis. Woah! $$$$.

One thing to think about with Atlantis: if you're comparing it to Disney costs, the room rate at Atlantis includes park admission.

As I said in the thread about saving money: Your room pays for all the fun you really need. Unlike Disney or other theme parks, once you pay for your room, you *can be* done at Atlantis. Yes, there are excursions and dolphin experiences that cost extra....you don't have to do these to have a good time. I haven't been on an excursion in 10 years, and we've only done a dolphin experience once! And we go back annually and have enough fun that we want to go back again and again.

Plus there are lots of free activities: movie theater, trivia games, live music, touring the aquariums, and just a nice walk on the beach. Now people who need a snorkeling trip one day, jet skis the next, and a dolphin visit the next aren't going to find any place to vacation cheaply!

 

[grumpy28]

To give you a Williamsburg/Jamestown/Yorktown plan that avoids the theme parks (I also love this area)...let's do 6 days/5 nights again...
Embassy Suites and Homewood Suites are great there - you can get both for under $200/night with advance booking $1000
Gas/Tolls $100
Food for 5 $100/night $500
Colonial Williamsburg/Jamestown/Yorktown 7 day Historic Triangle Tickets $91 adult / $42.50 kid (15 and under), so $309.50
Parking Free (these sites have free parking)
Total $2009.50

You could also do the 7 day pass that is Colonial Williamsburg/Busch Gardens (which isn't Disney, but is beautiful) for about $120 more total...then, you'd probably have some extra parking, making the trip $2200

BTW, these tickets do sometimes go on sale, so you could do even cheaper...

PS - Children 5 and under are always free in CW (and may be free in the other historical sites, so that may drop your cost further)...

Wow! Such a helpful breakdown! Thank you!!

 

[grumpy28]

I started a thread about this a few years ago:
Tips for Doing Atlantis-Paradise Island for Less.

Thank you! Great info!

 

[kymom99]

I like the DC idea. We stayed with a large school group at the residence inn across from the pentagon. Can't say enough about the convenience of this location. There is a very nice mall nearby with a great food variety. Also you can get the train over to the city. We had a charter bus so never rode the train but its there if you need it. Regardless of your religion, the Catholic cathedral is nothing short of amazing. I've never seen anything like it and I'm Catholic myself. Try to see the monuments at night. Very cool.

On the way home we stopped at Monticello. I highly recommend it.

 

[kymom99]

Another thing my family has done that is fairly budget friendly is the Virginia Creeper trail. Google it. It is a rails to trails project where they converted an old railroad track into a bike trail. If you start at the top its all downhill, but not steep. Runs alongside a beautiful stream. There are many wooden bridges that you cross over. You rent bikes from one of the rental places. You can either rent at the top and get shuttled back at the end or rent at the bottom and get shuttled up with the bike. There are little places to stop along the way. We rented a small cabin from a private owner in Whitetop. Damascus is where you can rent the bikes and buy groceries. It is a hiking town as the Appalachian Trail crosses there. Just a lovely area.

 

[StaciaRae]

January 2018 – 4 night Disney Cruise followed by 4 nights at the WL. Using credit card rewards points for flights from NY. Estimating around $9K.

Summer 2018 – 3 long weekend camping trips. We always go Memorial Day, my son’s birthday in mid June, then a last one mid-August before school starts. Estimated around $300 each trip.

Early-mid October – Great Escape. We always go for fright night (although we leave the park before it gets too scary). We stay at the indoor water park for 2 nights. Usually spend around $800 for the weekend.

I’d love to add a DC trip in there too. We haven’t been in a few years and the kids are getting big enough to identify the things they’re learning about in school (they’re 5 and 7). DH wants to wait for a year when we're not doing Disney also - but we'll see about that.

 

[100AcreWood]

Looked up Atlantis. Woah! $$$$. We are a 5 person family, so traveling can be expensive. Would love a $2,000 or less "bonus trip". We live in NC. Anyone have any ideas? I do not have any credit card points or airline miles, so no free things that way. We have APs to Disney, so we drive down multiple times a year. Looking for something different. We do the beach and the mountains annually, so not those. Anyone have any suggestions?

I'm also in NC and have looked into Atlantis for our family of 5. For the same money I could go to Hawaii. Now I understand the water park is included in the price but having to book two rooms really increases the cost!

 

[Superchikk]

Looked up Atlantis. Woah! $$$$. We are a 5 person family, so traveling can be expensive. Would love a $2,000 or less "bonus trip". We live in NC. Anyone have any ideas? I do not have any credit card points or airline miles, so no free things that way. We have APs to Disney, so we drive down multiple times a year. Looking for something different. We do the beach and the mountains annually, so not those. Anyone have any suggestions?

Have you guys done the Biltmore? It might be close enough to keep travel costs low, but just far enough away to make you feel like you've gone somewhere.

 

[grumpy28]

Have you guys done the Biltmore? It might be close enough to keep travel costs low, but just far enough away to make you feel like you've gone somewhere.

We have not. Great idea! I will have to look into that. Thank you!

 

[grumpy28]

Has anyone ever done DC with little kids? My kids are 3,5 and 16 so need something that will please them all if possible. Also, would like to look into Niagara Falls. Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks in advance! Everyone has been so helpful!

 

[Ava]

I’m not sure where we’re going next year. We were planning to do a cruise next summer with my mom, my sister & her husband, but my sister is pregnant (due in early April) so that’s not happening any more.

Now we’re probably deciding between two options for our summer trip -

1. Niagara Falls. We’d either rent a car and drive up from NYC, or fly into Toronto & make our way down from there. Either way, we’d stay on the Canada side. The long drive is not appealing but it would make the car seat situation easier as we’d be able to use our own instead of trying to get a suitable one with a rental car.

2. Disneyland. I wasn’t originally thinking of doing a Disney trip next year, since we just did a week at DisneyWorld this summer, but we have close friends who are moving to the San Diego area next month so we could combine Disneyland with visiting them/San Diego. We’d still have the car seat issue, but it’d seem silly to be 2 hours away and not see our friends so we’d figure it out.

My wife also keeps throwing out Seattle whenever I mention vacation, so I guess that’s in the running as well.

Other than one week-long trip in the summer, we will spend Easter/spring break with my mom which costs us very little as we stay with her so it’s just whatever activities we do and a few meals out. We may also do a few days in Washington DC, but I have Amtrak points for the train and will book a hotel using points also, so again cost is just food & activities (and there are plenty of free things to do there).

ANYWAY, I didn’t answer the OP’s question at all, but my answer is always “as little as possible” because I will try to use points/miles to cover the majority of the costs. We spent about $5K on our Disney trip this year, and maybe $1500-$2000 on a couple of smaller trips. So ~$7K total. I’d like to come in under that for next year.

 

[TwoMisfits]

Has anyone ever done DC with little kids? My kids are 3,5 and 16 so need something that will please them all if possible. Also, would like to look into Niagara Falls. Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks in advance! Everyone has been so helpful!

With little kids, I'd suggest focusing on the free Smithsonian attractions of Natural History, American History (Wonderplace and/or SparkLab would especially appeal), and/or Air and Space Museums...I'd also suggest the Air and Space Museum in VA over the DC one b/c you can watch the planes come into Dulles from that museum (which is cool for all ages). If you stay on the VA side, that's also an easy drive over for the day. Also, the Smithsonian Zoo, the Sculpture Gardens, and the US National Arboretum could be nice and would break up museum, museum, museum...

I'm not sure they'd love the White House/Capitol/Supreme Court/Archives...so I'd probably pass on those kind of attractions.

I might do the Bureau of Engraving and Printing b/c seeing money printed seems to be fascinating no matter the age.

I might also try to do something on the water...the Tidal Basin Paddle Boats could be nice if you come when the weather is good (they have boats for 2 and 4 - might be nice to have 1 adult with the littles and 1 with the teen)...it would be $48 for an hour without a deal (one $30/hour boat and 1 $18 hour/boat)...

I'd also do something for the kids - you could also do a VA Waterpark (Nova waterparks are pretty cheap and easy to get to and navigate), area mini golf, some of the regional parks, trampoline parks, Tyson's Corner Mall and shopping - check Groupon and Certifikid...just something so you are not just doing learning, learning, learning all the time...kids just sometimes need the decompression...

I'd also probably have you and the teen spend a night doing something without the littles...a Kennedy Center Show, a different theater show, one of the "Top Chef" restaurants, an escape room, ziplining, even a baseball game (if the littles hate it)...something so they are not always having to go by their siblings pace and so they know you planned for them to specifically have fun, too...

It can totally be fun and work for kids of all ages...just takes a little planning...