Affordable Family Travel: Must-Follow Tips to Maximize Travel on a Budget

With all the travel content I've been posting lately, I've gotten more than a few questions about how I can afford to travel as frequently as I do with kids. While I have, admittedly, gone on several media trips this year where large portions of my trip are comped, I have also simply prioritized travel with my kids. 

I grew up the daughter of a flight attendant, and every long weekend and break from school was a chance to travel. In my 20s, before kids and a mortgage, I had a job where I traveled almost weekly. Sure, life on the road can be draining. but I love it! I want to travel as often as I can with my kids, so I've compiled my best tips for budget-friendly travel with kids! By keeping my per-trip cost down, I can afford to take my family on more trips. We simply love life on the go!

We love to travel! 

I also recently did a list about beach-day must-haves for Zulily. We did two beach trips this year, to Port Aransas and Coastal Mississippi, so I wrote an article for Zulily about must-have items when you pack for a day at the beach!

Budget-Friendly Tips for Traveling with Kids

• I know these days that AirBnB is all the rage. And I've stayed at more than a few AirBnBs in my day (my brother was an early employee at the company so I'm pretty partial for personal reasons!). But, with kids, I prefer hotels. I find them to be financially equal to or less expensive than AirBnBs in the area. Let me tell you why...
• I pick hotels with pools. This way, at the end of a long day, the kids can unwind and hang out in the pool. We don't always use the pool, but we love to have the option.
• Free breakfast! I try to always pick a hotel with free breakfast. This adds up monumentally over time. I always make my girls wake up and fill up on free breakfast before we hit the ground running. We grab apples and bananas to stick in purses and backpacks and eat a full breakfast so we are ready to explore and play until mid-day when we break for lunch. 
• Safety. Honestly, when I'm traveling with my husband or extended family members, I don't think as much about safety. But, when I'm alone with my girls, I worry about safety. Hotels feel safer because there is always someone at the front desk and other people close by. I feel safer arriving back at a well-lit hotel after dark than I do at a house or condo where I don't know the area.

We prefer to stay in hotels when we travel.

• Okay Steph. I hear you on some great reasons to book hotels. But I have more than two kids! And most hotels are only made for families with two adults and two kids. How do you work around that?
• This took us some time to work out, honestly. I have three kids. When I travel with my husband or my mom, that makes five people. Tricky when most hotels are meant to sleep four or fewer people. We simply can't afford to book adjoining rooms or two rooms with every trip. My trick? A cheap blow-up mattress from Walmart! Seriously. We always book the biggest space we can at the best rate. Typically, that gets us two queen beds or a king-sized bed with a pull out couch. Not always ideal for sleeping five people. So we travel with this mattress. Easy to blow up and fit a kid. We take turns with which girl sleeps on the mattress. And, honestly, if we are flying and can't fit one in our bags, we simply hit up a Walmart at our destination and buy one there. At the end of the trip we simply leave it behind. Best money spent all trip...
• Cool. So, you've helped me navigate saving on a hotel room. Book a room at a great rate, eat the free breakfast, utilize the pool and buy a blow up mattress to sleep an extra kid or two. But what about food? We spend sooo much on food when we travel!
• When we get to a new city, we hit up a Walmart or Target first thing. We load up on lunchables and non-perishable snacks. We snag water and other drinks that will cost us four times as much anywhere else. When we head out for the day, I stuff my backpack or purse with snacks and drinks. This saves us so much when we are out all day.
• We also don't do a lot of sit-down meals when we travel. Not that we don't want to! But $60 plus tip per meal can add up if you do that two times a day for five or six days. It's just not feasible! I do a lot of couponing apps (like Ibotta and Shopkick) and redeem my rewards for gift cards before a trip. We aim for gift cards to Starbucks, Chili's, McDonald's, etc. Then we try to find these places in each city and use money I've "earned" elsewhere. Coupled with free breakfasts from hotels and snacks (and lunchables) bought cheaply from a big box retailer, we eat well for less. We plan two-three nicer meals per city and budget for those.
• Got it. It's okay to say no to big fancy meals every day on vacation! But what about activities? Everything costs money these days! How do we do all things without spending all the money?
• This is the hardest part of budgeting for vacation honestly! We start by picking out the free things to do in a city before we start on paid activities. Once we've filled our schedule with free things, we start on paid activities. To find discounts, I always google the activity we want to do plus the word discount. Sometimes this yields unexpected discounts that add up! Also look for discount passes such as Pogo Passes (use code Everything for $5 off per pass) or City Passes in any city you visit and prioritize the activities you want to do. Don't forget to sign your kids up for the free National Parks Pass if you have a fourth grader this year- it will save you more than you realize!

Enjoying a free activity in Philadelphia- seeing the Liberty Bell!

Other tips I have....

- Join ALL the rewards programs. Even the ones you think you will never use again. You just never know! Multiple stays at the same hotel room yield free nights, and enough coffees from Starbucks means free Starbucks! 

- Check with the local visitors' center in any city you visit. Sometimes they have coupons you can use for local attractions and events.

- If you are a member of any local museums or zoos, check your reciprocal benefits! Oftentimes you can use your Fort Worth or Dallas Zoo membership for free admittance to other zoos around the country.

- Check for age-based discount. Ask for a child discount or senior discount. If you are military, check for discounts. If you have AAA or other similar memberships, check for discounts! Small discounts can add up to big amounts of money over time.

- Don't check bags. I repeat... Don't check bags when you travel by air! Not only will it save you money, it will force you to pack lighter. Use the hotel soap and shampoo- save money by not buying travel-sized items that are marked up at local stores. 

- Check for corporate discounts with your employer. Right now, rental cars are crazy-expensive. I had booked a car for our recent trip at $900 for the week. My husband's employer, however, has a corporate rate negotiated with a rental car company. He booked using his corporate discount and got a bigger car than what I was able to book and the total cost was only $600!

What are your favorite ways to save on travel? What tips can you share with the rest of us to afford the travel of our dreams without the hefty price tag?