Arabian Knits: Frugality (Part XXI): Bargain Getaways

Friday, June 17, 2022

Frugality (Part XXI): Bargain Getaways

We have a big family and so our vacations are usually pretty modest affairs. We have a few favorite hotels and a guest house that a friend rents to us at a friends and family discount or we stay with family or friends most of the time. This may not sound that fun or exciting, but it helps us travel when we can do so.

One place we always look for when traveling is Homewood Suites. They have a two bedroom suite, with two queen sized beds in each room and a pull out couch in the living room that sleeps all of us. They have a full breakfast every morning, included in the room price, and a social hour that amounts to dinner and wine or beer (sometimes cocktails) from Monday through Thursday nights [I have stayed at one recently, which showed this meal only once a week, so this policy may have changed]. Since meals are a huge cost on the road, this makes the hotel quite a good deal for us. Likewise, the room itself has a refrigerator and stove, microwave, coffee machine, sink and dishwasher, and so on, which permits us to prepare lunches or dinners, when necessary. There is usually a grill down by the pool, too, which we have used for meals before while staying at one of their hotels. The lowest price we have paid for one of those suites was around $180 a night and the highest we have paid, for all ten of us, was near $400 a night, but when you consider that we would spend nearly that on two small rooms at another hotel or motel with the kids, and wouldn't have the meals included, it's quite the bargain for us. Unless we stick to fast food, dinner out for our family at an above average, but not fancy, restaurant tends to run us between $150 and $300 for the family for lunch or dinner, and breakfasts tend to be about $100 to $150. So, to have breakfast included for all days of the week and dinner included four days a week, is a huge savings for us.

If we cannot find something like I describe above, we try to find a house to rent, which is usually less expensive, even with deposits and fees, than a hotel for our family. This also gives us a full kitchen, so we can choose to eat at the house for the majority of our meals, and we can choose which meals we wish to eat out deliberately. Even if we have to go grocery shopping for the trip, we can eat breakfasts at leisure in the morning and bring picnic lunches, if we wish, and the groceries left over can come home with us when we return.

I know that sometimes, especially we wives and mothers, want a trip on which we don't have to be responsible for meals. However, the truth is, any trip with children involves our being responsible, anyway, so I don't mind doing the extra effort to make meals, and plan simple ones with which the kids and Rich can help me. When I want a vacation with minimal responsibility, I go by myself or with Rich without the kids. That is just the reality of family life.

Which brings me to part two. Often, the way I get a vacation is to accompany Rich on a work related trip. He frequently has meetings in other towns, or conferences that are related to his industry. Usually, I go with him to these. Since his costs are covered, that leaves relatively minimal ones for me. We have even been able to travel to France, Croatia, and Japan, because of work related trips he was assigned. Obviously, there are still costs associated with me traveling, especially overseas, but his being taken care of brings our cost down considerably. I'm also pretty good at scouring airfare websites to get rather low deals on flights, which saves both us and his work money when we travel. I know it's gauche to talk direct prices, but we spent eight days in Split, Croatia (with a short overnight in Dublin), which only cost us around $1300, which included my airfare, my transit tickets while I explored the city, many meals with wine (which were fantastic, by the way!), a manicure and pedicure in preparation for a gala night out, foods and liquors we brought back home to share with friends and family, gifts for friends who helped our kids while we were gone, my own purchases of shoes, handbag, and dress, plus yarn and ribbon bought both in Split and Dublin, and a hand crocheted pillow case. The airfare was $724, which tells you how little we spent while we were actually out traveling. I will definitely recommend Croatia as a Mediterranean/Riviera type experience on a tiny fraction of the price. The Adriatic coast is spectacular, the food and wine are fabulous, their olives and olive oils are fantastic, the lodgings are inexpensive, the climate is gorgeous, and the people are friendly and kind (though reserved). There are hills and forest accessible from town, mountains by car or train, and we fell in love. It was like being in Italy for a quarter of the price. The language is not too terribly hard to learn enough to get by while there, either, and the people appreciate it so much that you even tried.

So, how do I find good airfare? Kayak and Scott's Cheap Flights (that is my referral link) are my favorite ways to find fares. With Scott's, you need to be flexible, and see what is available, and the pull the trigger when you see something that matches your price point and preferences.

Some families really like camping, which can also bring down your costs. We haven't done a ton of it as a family, I have to admit, but we did camp a while in Yellowstone, and we rented yurts for our trip to the Oregon coast recently. The yurts were great, and had electricity in them, though we weren't allowed to cook inside. We were able to bring extension cords and cook on the deck, though. So, we brought our electric pressure cooker, a gas stove burner, and tools and cooking utensils for grilling where we were permitted. They had showers, for free, a cleaning station for fish and shellfish (of which we availed ourselves), and coin operated laundry facilities. The yurts themselves only cost about $600 for two, for six nights, and were right on the bay near the ocean. So, you see, if you are creative about where you stay, you can find a bargain this way, too.

What are your helpful hints on how to save money on vacation? Are you still able to take trips as a family? Or are you trying to use your vacation time at home, enjoying your family and property? None of my hints will help you with the rising gas prices, but might help you make up for them in other ways.