Our kiddo's eating breakfast at an Oasis near Chicago this spring
Our family recently took a family vacation to the Creation Museum. Taking a family of 7 on a trip can get costly. So, we try to cut corners where we can without compromising the joy of the trip. One of the things we cut corners on is eating. We have a few tricks that we employ when we are travelling.~~We find a hotel that serves free {hot} breakfast. We all eat a good breakfast, and we don't have to dip into our food funds. My hubby has become a pro at finding us a hotel that is within our price range and still serves a hot breakfast. In fact, on this trip he found us a great hotel that not only served a delicious, hot breakfast~~they also served a delicious meal for dinner. We knew they were serving a dinner also, but we really were expecting sandwiches or something simple. Instead we were pleasantly surprised they had full dinners including desserts! This saved us a lot for the couple of days we were there.
~~We skip lunch and bring our own snacks. This may or may not work depending on what we may be doing during the day, but we usually have a cooler along with us on vacations and fill it with things like juice, cheese and crackers, baked goods, or pretzels. This will tide us over and then we'll eat an early dinner.
~~We check out what restaurants the cities have. Hubby is great at this also. He'll look online and even request mailed information from the cities we are travelling to. We then look into ways to eat cheaper. Things like "kids eat free nite" or online coupons help our budget. Sometimes we just order a pizza and have it sent to our hotel room because ordering a couple of pizzas is sometimes cheaper than taking our family to a restaurant.
~~We get a hotel room with a kitchen. Every fall we go to a waterpark hotel in the Wisconsin Dells and get a room with a kitchen. This way we bring our own groceries and make our own meals right at the hotel. We never leave the hotel, and don't have to have a meal budget.
~~All you can eat buffets. This is not always a good idea, as they are sometimes costly, but once in a while it is a good deal.
We want to have a good time on vacations and enjoy ourselves. Eating out is one of those areas we don't want to miss either. By using some money saving idea's we can enjoy our vacations without breaking our budgets!
Blessings,
I completely agree with you. Food is the best way to cut costs on vacation. The hotels with breakfasts are a must. Also, coupons! Tons of vacations spots have ample coupon books available. My fiance and I have a condo at Myrtle Beach and we're there 10-15 times a year and we always dine out with a coupon! Saw you on the link up!
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Thanks for these tips on how a family can vacation without breaking the bank. We've used a lot of these ideas over the years and have learned that with a little planning ahead our larger-than-average family can enjoy big vacations too.
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great tips!
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome blog you have here! I followed your link from NanaHood. These are super great tips. I'm alone now, but I still use many of these ideas even for one.
ReplyDeleteI have 5 kids as well so we too look for deals on vacation. I always have everyone grab an extra piece of fruit when we leave breakfast. Makes a great snack later in the day! Thanks for linking up to the Friday Follow Along!
ReplyDeleteWe bring a lot of food with us on vacation.
ReplyDeleteOur last trip, we ate breakfast at our hotel, and packed a cold lunch. Most evenings we did eat out. Our main goal was to find restaurants that the locals recommended and try new stuff. It was really fun!
Excellent tips!! We went to Williamsburg, VA last month and we were very strategic in keeping people's bellies full. :) Thanks so very much for linking this post up with me at Walking Redeemed last week!
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