invisible contract you sign up for when you start a
family. But there are always ways and
means to minimise costs and they needn’t
take the joy out of your annual vacation. Here
are a few tips for frugal families in search of the
perfect getaway.
1) Shop around
It may
seem glaringly obvious, but many people are creatures of
habit. It is all too easy
to go back to the same
place you did last year, take the same transport or book
through
the same travel company. The internet is
awash with price comparison sites and
low-
cost deal
pages where you can find great options for a cheap
holiday in 2013 that you
may never have thought
of yourself. These are natural places to begin your
search whilst
some sites even allow you to bid
for hotels according to your set budget.
Whenever you find a deal, be sure to call up the hotel
and check all the extras
(breakfasts, pool use,
ironing boards…) and be sure you’re paying for things
you will
actually use. If your travel dates are
flexible, try to find out the cheapest times of year in
your destination, as this can depend greatly on
weather and other factors.
If step 1 yields no
results, why not try cutting out the hotels all
together? Trailer
vacations and camping trips
are time-honored budget options. Orienteering, climbing,
fishing and foraging are popular ways to bond
with your children whilst teaching them
more
about the world.
If hours cooped up in a car and
huddled around a campfire are likely to send your sullen
teenagers insane, then perhaps try a homeswap or
short term rental. Plenty of sites
list
properties at a fraction of hotel prices; you can choose
anything from a room in a
host family house to
renting a rural cabin. Home exchange sites also offer
the chance to
temporarily change lives with
another family at almost no cost.
3) Eat like a
local
If you are going abroad choose wisely. Save
the Europe trip for another time and head
to
South America where
the living costs are a fraction of
what they are at home. And
when you’re there go
shopping with a local. Seek out new tastes and
experiences based
on what frugal locals eat - if
it is cheap for them, it’s definitely cheap for you.
These are just a few things to bear in mind when
planning your vacation. Try and find
out how
people celebrate their time off in other nations,
particularly those where wages
are lower - it
may yield some surprising results.
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