Family Vacations on a Budget - St Louis, MO

Image Credit

Have you ever been to St. Louis, MO?  This city is full of things to do for family vacations on a budget.  We love the St. Louis Zoo.  Admission is FREE.  However, there are several things to do within the zoo that have admission costs and you must pay for parking in the zoo lots.  We have been to several other zoos and this one is really good compared to some of those.  Other good places for families are the City Museum, Science Center,and Grant's Farm.  General admission is FREE to the Science Center but there are admission prices for some of the attractions.  Admission is also FREE to Grant's Farm, but there is a parking fee.  These attractions are just a few of the available things to do in St. Louis.  With some attractions not charging admission fees, it is possible to take fun family vacations on a budget to St. Louis.

Why Bother to Take Family Vacations on a Budget

With all of the expenses of having a family, the idea of even attempting to take a family vacation can be overwhelming or completely disheartening.  When my husband and I got married, we both wanted to take annual vacations.  So far, I think we have only missed one year.  However, the cost is very important to us when deciding where to go for our family vacations on a budget.  Our budget for vacations is usually about $1,500 to $2,000.  That still may be a lot for many families and often we could use that money for other things.  However, I want to share what I believe is important for families trying to spend time together.  We have found that our family vacations on a budget are a special time with just the four of us.  We have an opportunity to enjoy each other without the distraction of the chores to be done at home and worries of work.  We enjoy doing activities together on our trips while making wonderful memories for all of us.  It is a perfect time to focus on loving each member of your family.  And, if you drive, plenty of time to talk! 

Chattanooga, TN - Family Vacations on a Budget

As I mentioned earlier, I am going to put together a few posts on ideas for places to visit for family vacations on a budget.  Regardless of the location you choose for your family vacations on a budget, keep in mind the suggestions I posted earlier for making almost any vacation a little cheaper.  Last year, we took a short trip to Chattanooga, TN.  We found plenty of fun activities that our whole family enjoyed.  In order to save a little money, we only picked a few activities, but there were several others that we would like to do and maybe will some day on other family vacations on a budget.  For a good place to start for planning your vacation to Chattanooga, TN, check out http://www.chattanoogafun.com/ .  Some of the attractions we visited were the Tennessee Aquarium, Imax 3D Theater, Creative Discovery Museum, and the Incline Railway.  Remember, when purchasing tickets, it is cheaper to purchase a bundle instead of each ticket individually.  While we were there, we found a coupon booklet at our hotel that offered discounts for restaurants.  Also take a look at Restaurant.com.  There are several restaurants in Chattanooga on this site where you can purchase gift certificates for less than face value.  Do not forget to purchase from Restaurant.com when they are running a sale to save even more. 

Each year when we start discussing where to go for family vacations on a budget, we struggle deciding which location to choose.  We always search the web for ideas, but still have a difficult time coming up with a new location.  We also discuss ideas with family and friends and Facebook friends, and still have difficulty.  So, over the next couple weeks, I am going to put together posts on various locations where I believe you could plan fun family vacations on a budget.

Disney World Family Vacations on a Budget

We are currently planning our next trip in May to add to our years of family vacations on a budget.  We are very excited to be going to Disney World in Orlando, Florida.  A couple months ago when we started discussing where we could go for vacation this year, I checked the cost of packages at Disney World on their website.  The cost was about $1,500 to $2,000 more than what we were prepared to spend for our typical vacation.  My aunt suggested looking at timeshare offers.  We did and found that it was perfect for us to enjoy another of our family vacations on a budget.  We will have to attend a 90 minute presentation where they try to convince you to buy a timeshare, but the savings is worth 90 minutes to us.  The timeshare package we booked includes a seven night stay in a two bedroom condo, 3 three day tickets to Disney World, 3 tickets to SeaWorld (includes free food for the day at SeaWorld), and 2 Kids Eat Free Cards.  In addition to the savings the timeshare offer presents, we also are taking advantage of our youngest child being FREE to Disney and SeaWorld since he is only 2.  That saves quite a bit!

Destination Favorites for Family Vacations on a Budget

One of our family's favorite vacation spots is the Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg area in Tennessee.  We love staying in the cabins in Pigeon Forge and Sevierville.  There are many cabins available for rent.  This is a wonderful place to go if you enjoy relaxing and prefer not to stay in a hotel.  We have vacationed in that area four times in the past nine years.  Each time, we have rented a different cabin in either Pigeon Forge or Sevierville.

For family vacations on a budget, this area has several things to offer.  Whether you prefer to hike or drive, you will love the beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  The park is FREE to visit.  This is a wonderful place for those of all ages.  If you do visit the park, you just might see a black bear.  We were excited to see bears on two of our visits.  If you have young children, another FREE activity is to picnic or just play at the local parks.  Our children are both under five and they are always happy to have some time to simply play.

We always stay in a cabin that has a full kitchen.  So, we enjoy a couple of meals at the cabin to help save on the cost of meals.  Plus, it is a great time to just enjoy each other as a family.  Many cabins are equipped with pool tables, hot tubs, and DVD players which also provide some relaxing entertainment without additional costs.  There are a few Redbox Movie Rental Kiosks for cheap dvd renting in Pigeon Forge.

Family vacations on a budget can be a reality, with a little online research and creative thinking.

Saving on Meals for Family Vacations on a Budget

As we prepare for our next trip to add to our memories of family vacations on a budget, we are thinking about ways to save money on our meals.  We are planning to go to Orlando for seven nights and stay in a time-share resort that has a full kitchen.  So, for this particular trip, we are going to save on meals by
1. Taking breakfast items with us from home or stopping at a grocery store in Orlando. 2. We received a Kids Eat Free Card when we booked our lodging.  So, we will use that whenever possible.  3. We may try to prepare a few meals in our suite.  4. We are going to buy several gift cards from Restaurant.com for various restaurants in Orlando hopefully when they are running a good sale on the cards.  5.  We will also look for any restaurants running Kids Eat Free promotions.  With all of these possibilities, we should be able to save quite a bit.  We will be keeping our eyes open for any other ideas to help save on our family vacations on a budget.

Family Vacations on a Budget

Each year when deciding where to go for our family vacation, we always have the same questions.  Where can we go that will be fun, but affordable?  How can we cut costs to add another trip to our memories of family vacations on a budget?  Following are a few ideas to help make your memories of family vacations on a budget.

1.) Select a destination that is within your comfortable driving distance to avoid the cost of airline tickets.
2.) If you prefer not to stay in hotels, search online for deals for cabins, etc.  In the past, we have stayed in places that offered, buy 2 nights get 2 free.
3.) Research the off-season for your destination.  This may help with lodging costs.
4.) Stay in a time-share resort.  You will have to attend a presentation, but it might be worth it in order to stay within your budget.
5.) If you do stay in a place that has a kitchen, choose to eat some of your meals there instead of eating out.
6.) Stay at a hotel that offers FREE breakfast, or bring breakfast items with you.
7.) Eat at restaurants that offer FREE kids meals.
8.) Search online for discounted attraction tickets.
9.) If you have very young children (under 3), look for attractions where that age group is FREE or heavily discounted, but is still something they would enjoy.
10.) Always include some FREE activities in your itinerary, such as visiting local parks or wildlife, nature areas.

Remember to "think differently" when planning your family vacations on a budget.