How to Afford to Travel with Kids

How to Afford Travel with Kids

Traveling with kids is something my husband and I did even before we started getting paid to do it. It all started when my oldest was a baby and we were still living with my mom, we felt that desire to just get out the house and get away with just us 3. Even if it was to a local resort (being in Orlando Florida we have the luxury of choosing from SO many resorts) it was just us 3, in a new surrounding.

And just to paint a picture, when we first started traveling as a family I worked 1 day a week at a grocery store, and Renaldo worked customer service making $13 an hour- so money was scarce around here lol. But we budgeted and made travel a priority in our life. So with everything we have learned in these 7 years, I’m going to share with you how you too can make family travel a reality regardless of budget.

Before you read, make sure you follow us on Instagram to keep up with our travels and to inspire you for your next family vacation. 

How to Afford to Travel with Kids 

Regardless of budget.

1. Determine how often you want to travel with kids: Whether that’s once very 3 months (quarterly), Twice a year, once a year, whatever, but sit down with your partner and figure out how many times you want to travel this upcoming year. For us, our trips are pretty much monthly, but prior to having a family travel niche, we traveled quarterly. Sometimes it was just a 3 day weekend at a local resort, or it was road tripping a few hours to see another part of the state. Regardless of what it was, it was apart of our travel plans for the year.
2. Now that you’ve determined how often you want to travel in the year, BUDGET!: We save for trips like you’d save to pay a light bill, or car note. We incorporate travel into our monthly budget. Whether its putting away $400 monthly ($100 weekly) and having $1200 to spend for a vacation, budgeting is key. When you look up destinations (keep reading, I’m going to share tips for finding the best deal), pretend to book it. Like book your rooms, your flights, your car, account for $100 a day in food, etc and then divide that number by how far out the vacation is, example: It’s March, I’m planning a vacation for September, my total comes out to $1500 for everything, I want it paid in full by July- I will budget $300 a month until July!
3. When booking flights, track prices: There are many different sites for tracking airfare prices, but my favorite are google.com/flights and skyscanner. With those 2 fight search engines, you are able to put in your airport and check the cheapest destinations by date. You can even see different airport and which ones are cheaper to fly out of. You may think your local major airport is cheaper but you’d be surprised the deals you can find at other airports that may be an hour drive. There is a trip we’re planning soon, and to leave from our airport (MCO) it cost over $3500 and to leave from Fort Lauderdale Airport, its $2200! I don’t mind making the 2.5 hour drive if that means saving over $1200!! So make sure you book your flight using skyscanner and google.com/flights.
4. Consider renting out a house through VRBO: I love hotels and resorts, but the only downfall with staying in resorts are paying for breakfast, and we have 6 mouths to feed. One time we stayed at a 5 star hotel (not going to say which one exactly) but we spent $180 0n breakfast-BEFORE TIP. I about died. I was like, that’s groceries for the week lol. But real talk, food adds up quick and no matter where we go, we always have to eat breakfast at the hotel right when the kids wake up or else they’ll be hangry. So staying at a VRBO where you can cook your own meals, will save you a ton of money. Also you will get more bang for your buck. Depending on the city, you can get a big ole’ house for $200 a night.
5. Speaking of food: If you decide to stay in a hotel or resort, but want to save on food, consider buying things that can be microwaved for breakfast and lunch, for example: Oatmeal, Macaroni and Cheese Cups, pack bread to make PBJ. And pack lots of snacks that can be left at room temp!
6. Consider a cruise: If you like everything planned and laid out for you, not having to worry about meals, activities and a real agenda- a cruise is a great option. Also you’ll be surprised how affordable they are. You can put down a small deposit and then. make monthly payments on it up until 60 days before departure. A cheap time to cruise is during fall (hurricane season) and winter! We always do winter! To read more about cruising with kids CLICK HERE

I hope this post was super helpful, and inspired you to travel with your kids. I know currently the entire World is in quarantine so travel isn’t a priority for most at this time. But it’s the perfect time to plan out next year’s vacations and start saving!!

If you have any questions, please feel free to comment below or reach out VIA INSTAGRAM