HotmailYou can still afford that family vacation
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11. Snag CVB coupons
Haven’t you heard? Clipping coupons is back. We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: Always, always, always visit the online version of your destination’s tourism office or convention and visitors bureau (a.k.a. CVB) before you leave home, and poke around for a discounts or coupons page. For instance, if you head to the San Diego CVB coupons page , you’ll find that it’s chock-a-block with money-saving discounts on everything from harbor cruises and meals to tickets for top local attractions such as LEGOLAND and hot-air balloon outfitters.
12. Aim for the season’s fringes
Even at the most popular resorts, certain weeks sell out more slowly, or not at all. Love skiing? Depending on region, the snowy season can last anywhere from four to six months. Many resorts out West are open by mid-November and remain open through April. In general, prices at ski resorts are highest when there is a greater chance of snow (read: coldest months) and also during school breaks. Opting to ski before December or after mid-March can almost always save you a bundle. Hint: If your travel dates fall on the fringes of ski season, it’s wise to choose a resort with a reputation for good snow-making capabilities, in case Mother Nature doesn’t oblige with a layer of the white stuff.
In summertime, the high-value weeks fall on the fringes of summer, when many schools are still in session. In the northeast, for example, rates at The Tyler Place and Point Sebago Resort are up to 50 percent lower during the last weeks of June and the first week in September. In the west and south, value weeks often fall a few weeks earlier, to coincide with school calendars there.
13. Meet some friendly locals
There’s nothing like getting shown around for free by someone who, well, knows his way around. And, as luck would have it, “greeters” programs are popping up all over, allowing visitors to benefit from a free half-day orientation tour with a volunteer local resident. For instance, a grassroots group of some 120 volunteers called Paris Greeters are giving tourists fun, informal walking tours of the City of Light. Here in North America, we know of free greeter programs in New York City, Chicago , Houston, and Toronto. Typically, you need to sign up for your tour in advance. Greeters will usually not accept any tips, but will expect you to pay for their local transportation fares.
14. Buy the tee-shirt before you go
Heading to Disney World? The Wal-Marts, Targets, and Costcos of this world carry cheap character merchandise—caps, stuffed toys, tee-shirts, sticker books, you name it—for a fraction of what you’ll pay for similar items inside Disney World. Buy Junior something emblazoned with his favorite Disney character, but don’t give it to him until you arrive in Orlando. Even if you choose to let him pick out one more small memento at the end of your vacation, your total souvenir spend will stay reasonably low.
15. Stay at the YMCA
You probably never imagined that the good old Y might also be the best-kept secret in family vacations. Each summer, the YMCA runs over 2,000 day camps and some 339 sleepover camps for boys and girls. Much lesser known are the handful of lodge- and cabin-based YMCA family camps, including the exceptional YMCA of the Rockies, which offer vacations all year long in enviable locations in tremendously scenic areas. As you might expect from the YMCA, the focus is on active diversions, from hiking, biking, and fishing to ropes courses and tug-of-war competitions. Best of all, prices at these not-for-profit camps are downright affordable, with lodging sometimes starting at less than $700 a week for a family of four.
16. Trade spaces
You can avoid the cost of a hotel altogether by temporarily swapping your home for another in a destination you want to visit. Two years ago, Anna Fader, who lives in New York City with her husband and two children, listed their apartment on HomeLink International and HomeExchange.com and then wrote about her positive home-swapping experience on Mommy Poppins, her popular blog about parenting in the Big Apple. Home swapping can save a family of four $2,000 or more on a week-long holiday, compared to what would be spent on a hotel room, rental car, and three meals a day in restaurants.
But saving money wasn’t the best part, insists Fader. “We spent a beautiful weekend in Paris enjoying all the amazing insider restaurant recommendations our hosts gave us. Then we spent three weeks in Italy. Our hosts had arranged for us to have an outdoor lunch cooked by a friend who is a professional chef. They even let us use their car. It’s not just about saving money, but about experiencing the trip in a completely different way.”
17. Act like you live there
“Riding the subway is the fastest, easiest way to get from point A to point B in NYC. And it’s a great way to travel with kids,” writes Fader on Mommy Poppins. She’s right, of course, but she left out “cheapest.” Another virtue of public transportation is that it lets your kids have a more authentic experience. Before visiting New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, or Washington, DC, hop on Hopstop.com for directions, maps, guides, and other helpful tips on getting around like a local.
18. Join the AAA
This one’s a no-brainer. The standard AAA membership costs $59 per year, but can be recouped in just a few days on vacation. Membership entitles you to discounts on an enormous range of travel services, from train travel on Amtrak and the Grand Canyon Railway to Hertz rental cars. You can chop up to 20 percent off your lodging bill at major hotel chains, including Hyatt, Comfort Inn, Holiday Inn, and even Disney properties. And you can shave 10 percent off your bill at popular restaurant chains, including Hard Rock Café and Pizza Hut. (For more good-value spends, see our 6 Genius Travel Buys.)
19. Buy an Entertainment Book
If you’ve grown accustomed to saving big money with the Entertainment Book in your own hometown, then you know how quickly the mother of all coupon books pays for itself. So why not get the same great savings when you hit the road? There are 154 editions, including Orlando, Washington D.C., Vermont, Denver, Hawaii, San Diego, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Vancouver, and New York City. Each book is jam-packed with freebies, two-for-one admissions, and discounts to exactly the sort of places your family is likely to visit: local restaurants, amusement parks, golf courses, museums, movie cinemas, local theaters, kids’ attractions, zoos, ski resorts, drug stores, and much more.
Most Entertainment Book titles cost between $25 and $30, which an average family could quite conceivably recoup in just a day. At press time, you can get free shipping when you order any 2009 book. On your way out of town, leave the book behind in lieu of a tip for the hotel’s housekeeping staff. The remaining coupons will surely be worth hundreds of dollars in savings at local businesses.
20. Go electronic
The cost of choosing a paper airline ticket is skyrocketing—up to a whopping $75 at United. If you opt for an e-ticket and print it out online, you pay nothing.
What’s your favorite money-saving travel tip? Tell us.
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