The sun is shining and it is that time of year when you are getting stir crazy and need a break. What are you going to do? You don’t have much money saved to take that dream summer vacation you have always wanted to take, and you just know there has to be something you can do in the summertime!
So you pull up your Internet browser and start searching for a summer family vacation on your tight budget. The only thing you find is expensive, exotic locations that are completely out of your price range. It’s depressing, right? Well, don’t keep worrying… because the answer is right here in front of you! After a little bit of research, we have compiled a list of places to help our low budget vacationers. It is possible to have a great vacation without spending thousands of dollars.
With that said, let’s get started on making your summer vacations more money-friendly!
Tips on cutting your vacation costs:
• If you are not on a mission to get some “alone time”, why not share the expense with a friend. Invite them to join you and split everything down the middle.
•To find the best rates on air fares and hotels spend time researching to find the absolute best deals at sites like hotels.com (Gold Star rated hotel reservation website) and orbitz.com (Gold Star rated travel reservations website).
• If you are the outdoorsy type, camping is cheaper than hotels. You can usually rent a tent camping spot for around $5-$30, depending on where you go. If you already have the tent, you are already one step ahead of the game. Find a camping spot around the types of attractions that you want to visit, and you are all set.
• If you are a sight-seer or nature walker, consider finding an area that has an area/park that doesn’t charge admission, like a state park – where you can come and go as you please. Scenic views are also good for the diehard sightseer.
• Bring a cooler! A bag of ice is much cheaper than a 5 star restaurant. Pack some finger food and some soft drinks, and you don’t have to spend all of your vacationing money on going out to eat at restaurants. Most parks will have grills on site too, so you could bring some foods that are good to grill out, like burgers or hot dogs. With all the money saved by buying groceries (instead of fast food, you can do more activities while you are on your trip.
Now, let’s find you some ideal places to visit to help you get started on your vacation planning. Remember the tips above when sorting through this list. It doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg to get some good vacationing into your system. Many places have sites and scenery that are completely free also!
The first thing you need to do is figure out where you want to go, and then you can figure out where your free attractions are. For example, if you wanted to go to Florida, you could visit many different places that do not charge admission, like visiting Amelia Island.
A great resource to find free places to visit is Free-Attractions.com. It is very simple to search for the place you would like to visit…simply click on the state, and you will receive a list of places that are free of charge to visit. Some may charge $5 for parking, but that seems to be the only cost that was noticed when browsing through the listings. What a great country we live in that we can go visit fun, exciting, and historical places for FREE!
I know what you are thinking…where am I going to stay that doesn’t deplete my savings account? Lodging is a contributing factor as to why most people do not commit to taking a vacation, and we have researched some free and low cost options for you.
Some of the resources were found are not completely free, like the database that we found for the attractions. Some of them are specific to RVs and areas, and some of them are specific for tent sites. You just have to sort through as see what best meets your needs. If you have an RV, you can find some camp sites for $10 and under at Freecampgrounds.com. The site is the same setup as the free attractions site, where you choose the state and are given a list of places to choose from.
Another cool place that we found for camping is Boondocking.org. It was very interesting to find a site like this man has put up. He travels all over the place because he loves to travel…and he has found all kinds of places that you can camp for free. To use his site, you enter the database, agree to the terms of his site, and then you can search by proximity to find camping locations that he has used successfully for free. To search all locations, enter 0, 0, and 30000 for the values in latitude, longitude, and miles. (Cool tool, Andrew!)*
Using the resources found on the Internet, as well as this article, you should be able to plan a wallet-friendly trip that will be filled with memories that last a lifetime.
*Note to author of boondocks.org