10 Creative and Affordable Vacation Ideas

It’s all about tip sharing today!  Twitter Moms is bringing you the best tips from the bloggers in their community to help you have fun and save money.  Of course you can find more tips at the link above.

We travel a lot and I’m pretty frugal so it wasn’t difficult to come up with 10 creative and affordable vacation ideas.

1. Look for coupons.  Before you get to your destination search the internet for coupons or discounts to use on attractions and restaurants.  They are out there for virtually every place you might visit.  From Buy 1 get 1 to % off discounts you will save money. 

2. Vacation during off season if you can.  The prices for hotels are cheaper.

3. Call the hotel, airline or resort directly.  They will often match or give you a better price than going through a middle man.

4. If you have AAA find out if the attractions, hotels or restaurants give you a discount if you show your card.  Lots of places do.  Go to your local AAA office and find out what you can get either for free or for a low cost by getting it through them.  Often the price of a yearly membership pays for itself with the discounts you can get if you use it.

5. Breakfasts are usually cheaper than lunches or dinners.  Eat a bigger breakfast, grab a snack at lunch, and then get counter service for supper if you want to save money.

6. Stay closer to home so you can drive.  Usually you can find some place to visit within 3 hours of your home that you can visit and spend 2 or 3 days there.  It is still time away with new and fun things to do, without the expense of a one week or longer vacation further away.

7. If you’re doing a short vacation between 2 to 5 days, plan it during the week.  You will avoid the crowds, and might save money with the local attractions offering cheaper rates.

8. Ask for “vacation certificates” from family for gifts.  If your family is trying to save money for a large trip like DisneyWorld or Hawaii, ask Grandparents and other family members to give the amount of money they would spend on a gift into an account set up for only that purpose.  It will make the saving go quicker.

9. Have friends that live out of state or out of the country?  Arrange to either visit each other, or to exchange homes at the same time.  Experience another city without the expense of hotels or restaurants.

10. Take the train.  The train is both a great way to see the country as well as being affordable.  You won’t worry about having to drive, but will save money on airfare too.

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the Toyota Sienna and TwitterMoms blogging program for a chance to get a $30 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here