Family vacations are a must, especially during the summer time. However, it’s not all the time that you have a budget for it, right? Vacationing with the whole family means shelling out a big chunk of money for fare, lodging, entertainment, food and more. Don’t worry; there are ways to have a family vacation without going into debt or spending a fortune. You just need to be creative and smart. After all, it’s not about the location but the memories that you share with your loved ones.
1. Plan a Staycation
The best memories are made at home, right? Staycation or also known as a Holistay is a vacation spent at your own home while doing leisure activities within driving distance. The trick here is to mimic a real vacation – no chores and just pure fun and relaxation. Plan a fun stay-at-home vacation complete with fun activities, eating out or just ordering take-out, getting massages and visiting local city attractions or hangouts. It will be more fun and relaxing knowing that you aren’t spending a fortune and there’s less traveling.
2. Take a hike.
Find an area where you can hike, explore, have a picnic and do fun activities. Not only that this is very cheap, it’s also the perfect opportunity to talk and connect with your kids (and oh, to sneak in some exercise too!).
3. Plan a picnic.
Go all out with the preparation by planning the best picnic ever – complete with blankets, yummy and photo-worthy (for your millennials) food for the whole family, games and the perfect location. Whether it’s the local park, your own backyard or the beach, I’m sure that you can find very cheap and even free picnic locations near your area.
4. Go camping.
Whether you go camping at your own backyard or at a nearby campsite, this is a fun vacation idea that the whole family will surely enjoy. Agree to limit the use of gadgets and just bond over s’mores and relive childhood memories and stories under the stars.
5. Explore local attractions.
Admit it, you’ve probably spent more time exploring other places far away from your own home that your local area. Plan a full day (or days) of scheduled visits to local museums, parks, zoo and eat out at local restaurants that you’ve never tried before. You might just discover some new favorites in town.
So yeah, vacations don’t really need to be expensive. It’s all about creating memories that can last for decades and bringing family members much closer.
