10 Tips for Vacationing on a Budget

It’s the time of year where most people go abroad or take vacation from work to celebrate the halfway point of the year. Vacation may seem like a distant dream if you don’t have a lot of money to dole out for extravagant adventures, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a quality vacation with a minimal budget.

1. Go in the off-season

Each place has its own off-season. For example, Disney World is a common place for families to go and their peak time is usually during the summer when kids are out of school. If you travel to the same place during the winter, there tend to be a lot less people and sometimes you can get discounts. If you know where you want to go, find out when their off-season is, even if that means your trip will have to wait a few more months.

2. Go somewhere close

Just because you want to vacation doesn’t mean you have to travel out of the country or even out of your state to have a good time. Do some digging into your local locales and see which places get good reviews. If you haven’t been there before, why not save a significant amount of money and have a wonderful time trying something new?

3. Go somewhere niche

If you are completely averse to going somewhere that is likely to be packed all year long, then do some research into places that have not become famous in the traveling scene. Typical families on vacation will go somewhere warm and sunny, but who’s to say that somewhere cool and rugged can’t be just as interesting and fun?

4. Pack food to go

A large part of travel budgets come from food and drink. Sometimes, this is unavoidable and the places travelers go to understand this. Places such as islands will make an average soda nearly triple the price simply because they know you couldn’t pack it on the plane. Whenever you get the chance, try to pack your own foods and drinks for a trip. This will easily cut your budget down by a third if you are willing to really stick to this meal plan.

5. Go visit nature

Amusement parks are fun, but many people get as much enjoyment from taking a hike through lush forests or rock climbing in the mountains. An entrance fee to state or national park will nearly always be much lower than paying for a ticket somewhere man-made. Try and relive your children by camping and sleeping under the stars or challenge yourself to a trail run. There are many options for those who travel to natural places, so look and see what nature parks are close to you!

6. Don’t vacation as long

It is easy to be jealous of the coworker who crows about going to Hawaii for an entire month, but you certainly can’t be envious of the hole it’s going to put in their wallet. A vacation is still a vacation if it only lasts for half a week. This may not always be an option for someone going out the country, but if you are vacationing domestically, consider taking a shorter vacation to take it easier on your finances.

7. Consider stay-cations

When we think of vacations, we think of glamorous getaways with while sleeping in a hammock on a beach at sunset. However, the definition of vacation doesn’t always mean to go on an adventure away from home. You can have as much of a vacation at home. Consider taking a few days away from work and stay at home. You can make a hammock and take a nap at sunset in the comfort of your own backyard! This option may not be for everyone, but everyone willing to give stay-cations a try, your finances at the very least won’t be disappointed.

8. Hunt for discounts

There are many sites out there that will compare hotel and plane ticket prices, so use them to your advantage since most, if not all, of them are free. You can sometimes find discounts by going in the off-season (see the first item on this list) and even if you can’t find discounts, you can sometimes find apps that will give you money back by booking your vacation through them.

9. Try something new

This may be similar to taking a stay-cation because this option doesn’t require much travel at all, but trying something new can be just as much of an adventure as going hundreds of miles away. Consider of the following suggestions:

• Go to a new restaurant or cook a new food
• Watch a show you would never normally watch
• Go to a sports event you haven’t seen in a while
• Go to a play or musical
• Take lessons on how to learn a new instrument

These are not your typical vacation ideas since most of these may take you out of your comfort zone and don’t involve lounging around, but part of vacation is exploring and adventuring, and these small adventures can help you broaden your horizons.

10. Drive

Road trips can be fun, and they don’t strain your bank account. Instead of spending hundreds and hundreds of dollars on a plan ticket, think about driving to your vacation destination instead. Sure you will still be spending in gas and it will take longer, but you will also get to see the sights you wouldn’t have if you had just taken a plane.

Happy Vacationing!

Taking vacations every now and then are important so we can learn more about the world around us and take some time to relax in some new locales, so we hope you will take these tips and do some things you didn’t think you could before. Now that you have some insider known-how about vacationing with minimal funds, go explore our world, expand your universe, and have a great time doing it!