Share Your Favorite Inexpensive Vacation

Parents Forum Parent Cafe
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I think we should probably start a separate section of the Parent Cafe - Travel!

We are in the midst of planning a family vacation for a week this summer and I’m OVERWHELMED with the prices of even a moderate rental in a moderate state (like Michigan for example). I know, I know, we should have planned sooner!

I mean, here is an example of (IMO) an overpriced vacation rental - we have stayed nearby before and while it’s near Lake Michigan, not a fancy area! https://abnb.me/RmYIR4eJRnb

Regardless, it has me thinking. There is “cheap” and then there is “inexpensive”. A good value vacation. Hope they are not all camping. :wink: Where was it, how long (overnight not really a vacation!), how was your lodging and why was it a good value?

I’m not going to be handpicking my vacation from yours….I just thought it would be fun to hear everyone’s content. :slight_smile:

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We go to Ocean City NJ for vacation. We have the flexibility to go either just before Memorial Day week…or just after Labor Day….so off season. We are renting a three bedroom, two bath place for about $850 for the week. Easy walk to the beach and OC Boardwalk, and to the little downtown.

We booked last fall for this summer. Best to do so for best location, cost and availability.

It’s a very nice and relaxing vacation.

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We have gotten some great deals by booking late and using places where there aren’t many/any reviews. New renters are eager to please and their prices might be much better. We rented a house in Bar Harbor, it was less than a month old for less than 1k ( yes, about 5 years ago but still). We also rented a great apt in Athens (same thing, they had just listed and the price was $200 less than it should have been). Look at sites that not everyone uses, instead of airbnb use others. And we’ve had good luck on local sites for rentals (weneedavacation.com for the Cape and Islands, for example), or others which are very local to the area we plan to visit.

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At first glance, I thought that Airbnb was similar in what my sister in law charged for her cottage. Slept 16 also. But she was in Leelanau County, waterfront on an inland lake, smack dap in the middle of Sleeping Bear Dunes. I think I’d pick the latter every time.

It’s a nice place but pretty pricey for non waterfront. Good luck to them. Michigan is just so crazy anymore, short season. I blame the Pure Michigan people.

What about the Angola, IN area? Is that area less expensive?

But I’d like to know inexpensive vacations also. Usually we stay home in the summer but I’d love to hear some great places to go in the fall or spring. April stinks here!

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We’ve had good luck going places off season. My favorite recent inexpensive vacation was to Door County, WI. We went in March. We had a great time cross country skiing, snow shoeing, and winter hiking. We rented a two bedroom cottage and it was really reasonable. That said, I just checked and it’s more than $100/night more than we paid two years ago.

Wonder if you look at FL in the summer if you could find some deals?

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I’m not so much worried about my vacation in this thread - we will figure it out as for this vacation we are planning we need it to be within a certain amount of driving hours, needs to be pet friendly, etc. - we are trying to accommodate some tricky family member schedules - though some of the content might just be good vacation planning tips.

(LOL, @deb922 on blaming the Pure Michigan marketers - the best tourism ad EVER! So effective!)

Loving your stories!

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You can also rent a cottage in Ireland very cheaply. You’ll need a car and want to see the countryside. It’s dirt cheap. And if you study it, you can tour several spots in a couple of days. Most cottages are very simple. Ask questions about plumbing esp how much hot water and lighting the stove. These can be tricky/ But oh so much fun esp if you like to bike.

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I remember being really excited when we got a 2br/2ba condo in Grand Cayman, steps from the water, for about 1100 bucks for the week. For next February we got a 1 BR poolside unit (very close to but not on the beach) for 1050 for a week. We look for “extra vacations” as part of our timeshare “benefits” (I know many people HATE timeshares, but we’ve done OK with ours - we had a “starter” timeshare and upgraded).
Of course we have to pay for flights to get there, but that’s OK.

We used to go to Virginia Beach right before Memorial Day, to save money. This year we are going to Nags Head before Memorial Day, but mostly because we want to be there before it gets too crowded.

I think right before Memorial Day and right after Labor Day are “cheaper” times for beach, still with great weather.

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Nice vacation? I remember being amazed that our Edinburgh Airbnb 2BR apartment was only $79/night. It was only a couple of blocks from the main train station.

My H likes to stay in old roadside motels. Think Schitts creek. The kind where you still pay with cash and real keys. We’ve never done that for a week though.

When we were poor with little kids, one year we stayed at Chez Mom and Dad. They still lived near DC. My kids had been to DC before but we always hit the same few sights each time. This time we hit almost everything and drove one day to baltimore to do the aquarium/fort McHenry.

When we were poor with no kids, H&I went to the Bahamas and stayed in a hotel with bare cinder block walls, an iron burn on the carpet, and one light bulb from the ceiling. We brought most of our food (canned and pop tarts) and were hungry a lot. Then Hurricane Andrew hit and we were evacuated to a resort hotel with a free buffet. We were in heaven!!! (We were also 19&23)

And then while we were still poor without kids, I wanted a vacation so I ran a marathon for TNT. Raised money for the cause and got to go to the Bermuda for free. Just had to pay for H’s plane ticket. I was not the most noble participant.

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Cruises have always been enjoyable for us, and pretty cheap. If you consider what is included, it can be quite affordable. And now in Covid times, many cruises are cheap as can be. For example, we just went on a highly discounted cruise, and they included a bunch of extras like cabin credits, shore excursions, and free drinks. Usually after a cruise, we have a big bill to pay because of all the onboard charges, this time, very low. Think the cruise line lost money on us, with as many fancy cocktails as my family consumed. :see_no_evil::wine_glass:

Looking online, there are so many cruise deals, even for the upscale and adventure cruises. If I wasn’t swamped with stuff to do, I’d book one. Of course, we caught Covid on the cruise, despite being boosted/masked/everybody onboard tested and vaxxed, but if you already had Omicron and aren’t high risk, it would be an inexpensive vacation. Cruise ships are only half full, nice.

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The sunrise side of Michigan is still reasonably priced (Lake Huron), as is the Lake Erie shore in Ohio. The upper peninsula in Michigan is reasonable in many areas. The Gatlinburg area can yield deals off season, even when the weather is still good. Once Canada opens up, there are great areas on Lake Huron & Lake Erie, and Stratford can be a fun, reasonably priced vacation.

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Actually one of our favorite inexpensive vacations was to France (included Paris, Chartres, Bayeaux, and a brief stay in Normandy) It was 5 years ago, but our total cost (for 2) for +/- 9 days in France, was around $3800 all inclusive (airfare, travel insurance, museums, transportation, lodging, food, and more). Not cheap (for us), but we felt that was an excellent value, compared to tour packages that covered similar itineraries.

The only impulse buy was the airfare which was a very good price for our airport. For everything else, I spent HOURS planning that trip, looking for bargains, when to purchase museum passes, easy public transportation methods, etc.

We don’t wine and dine like many, but enjoy local pubs, picnics, and would occasionally treat to a nice dinner. I mentioned on another site, dining out was cheaper in Paris than many cities in the USA. Most of EU tradition is to round up (not 20% tips), and no tax added, so while the menu prices may appear higher, the totals are not.

We purposefully stayed WITH AirBnB hosts, because at the time, the local gov’t was being strict about the rules, and we didn’t want any last-minute cancellations. Those stays turned out to be incredible memories. We also found traditional French Gites through a French site. My French is ancient from high school days only, but we tried, and with small chuckle the locals would quickly start speaking English :wink:

I’ve found there’s typically an inverse relationship between saving on vacation costs, and time spent researching and planning. I keep thinking I’ll sign up for a pre-planned package someday, but never do. This will be a fun thread to follow.

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When I was in college and grad school, we mostly tent camped or stayed with friends or loved ones—much cheaper than cobbling together funds for lodging (this was Stone Age, before you could find internet deals.

When we’ve been in DC, we mostly have stayed with S. Sometimes my nonprofit (or another) would subsidize parts or all of my lodging and/or air. When we visit LA or DC, we have open invitations to stay with our loved ones in their very nice homes. Sometimes we will have some nights at a hotel that is “reasonable” and has parking and breakfast and sometimes social hour.

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I’m not in the same league as many posters. We like yurts in state parks - especially along the Oregon coast.

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Which Oregon yurts do you like best?

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On the coast, our favorite is Devil’s Lake, followed by Ft. Stevens and South Beach. Nehalem Bay is OK, but it’s very windy and it’s quite a hike over the dunes to get to the water.

Inland, 100% it’s Wallowa Lake.

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We’ll have to check them out if there is ever an available date!

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For my 50th birthday my wife took me on a 50/50/50 trip. 50 years old, 50 hours and 50 miles at a time. We started in Saint Paul at 5 pm on a summer Friday afternoon. We had a spinner in our car marked with north/south/east/west. We spun to determine the direction of travel and put a mark on the map 50 miles away. We drove there and found something to do within 5 or so miles of the mark (hike, eat, museum, shopping, bar). When we were done with that location, we went back to the car and spun again. We spent 50 hours meandering through southeastern Minnesota, northeastern Iowa and southeastern Wisconsin. No plans and no reservations. It was a blast.

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KOA Campgrounds was our favorite lodging back in the days when we could barely afford Motel 6 and long before “glamping” was a thing. Some of them were quite impressive… we stayed at one amidst gorgeous Montana nature. The campground had log cabins available… so we splurged on one. It was so worth it.

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Other than paying with my kidneys for airfare, i go to southern albania every summer. Rent a 2 bedroom apt with view of the ionian sea for 40 bucks a night (with kitchen, ac). Dining out is super cheap but so are the groceries too. But those airfares always put a dent on the budget (1800 per person). I travel with my two teens. They always say why can’t we go to florida like everybody else? Me thinks mama needs to go alone this summer :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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