Summer vacation budgeting

[Anonymous]

A lot of places have beaches that don't have the price tag of being "The beach." I'm from Connecticut, and the entire southern border of the state is beach. There are a few public beaches that are accessible to everyone. Rent a house

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We don't go to the beach in the summer. We go for a long weekend in the late spring and in the early fall. We drive to a lake or somewhere else less expensive in the summer.

School age kids?

Yes. We used to take our daughter out for a week, but I think we better not this year, so tacking one day onto a weekend will have to do.

[Anonymous]

Frankly, spending a week at the beach and staying in a hotel room sounds like pure hell. We almost ALWAYS get a condo or a house and it generally is cheaper than staying in a hotel. As an added advantage of a house/condo, cooking your own meals will save you tons in money that you'd otherwise be spending at restaurants.

Generally we do VRBO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think you'd be very hard pressed to find a decent beach rental for $200/night. I have a rule that I don't stay anywhere that's not almost as nice as my house. I try not to think of the per night amount, but an oceanfront condo with 3br and 2baths usually runs about $3-$4k a week. That's for a newer place with parking and a pool and up to date furniture without floral bedspreads. Food runs another few hundred a day. It's expensive, and it's also why we aren't going this year.

Amen. It best be at least as nice as my home for me to be interested in staying there, unless it's camping, which happens rarely. I expect super clean, renovated, updated, bright or why bother. Don't do smelly, dank, dark, We don't vacation near home--e.g. ocean city. We just close our eyes and plan vacations. We often do a week in the Caribbean during high season (when it's unbearable here in the winter). We also visit family for a week in California, rent a home in Martha's Vineyard for 10 days in the August high season (we rent a house, fly direct/non stop and rent a car) and go away for Labor Day weekend. We probably spend $15,000 to $18,000 a year. We earn approx. $195,000 including rental income from a second home. We drive old cars from 2003, and could use a new roof and a fresh coat of pain indoors in some rooms. But, if we were to become disabled tomorrow, I don't think any of us would wish we'd purchased a new car sooner and travelled less. It's the way I rationalize it. Works for us.

[Anonymous]

Our HHI is a little lower than yours and we will pay around 1,500 (2,000 max) for a vacation rental in a nice destination that we can drive to. Like others I would never do a hotel for that long - mostly for sanity/comfort, but also because having a kitchen is a huge money saver. This price point doesn't getting us within walking distance to the beach, but we've still had great vacations. We are in New England, though, where there are lots of destinations that aren't "destinations." Perhaps it's more than I'd like to spend, but we can afford it (typically only 1 vacation a year) and we don't want to scrimp so much we don't enjoy the time.

[Anonymous]

Local MD Beaches - the last week of August is the cheapest because MD schools are back in session before labor day. Rates go down significantly. Also, the early weeks of June in case your kids are out from school then. But then you might also run into high school kids celebrating beach week.

Hotels at local MD beaches - look for clean. Almost all are old that are located on the beach or ocean block. 70's decor is standard. They really are fine and work for a few days at the beach. There are a couple of higher end hotels but they cost quite a bit in. Newer hotels and renovated hotel chains are not normally on the beach or close by and require a drive or a walk. It's something to factor in when you have young kids and lots of junk. We prefer to stay at the clean, old decor place that is right on the beach.

Condo rental - it's a good deal if you can get another family to go in on it. Otherwise for one family of 4 or less, the hotel option works better. You can email a few realtors and ask if they have any rentals in a certain price range and/or for "mini weeks"- 4 days, 3 nights.

Before renting any place, look at a map of the area to determine how far it is from the beach (ask how many blocks walk and if you must cross a major road) and also ask if parking is included, if it's on sight and how many spaces. You would be surprised as sometimes it's street parking or in a lot that you have to walk to.

[Anonymous]

Rent an oceanfront condo. They have some nice ones in Ocean City, MD. Most require a 3 night min. stay or give a discount on a week rental. Or go the OBX or Myrtle Beach, SC route and split a house or big condo w/ another family. We're doing this in Charleston, Folly Beach, SC this year. It's $1500/family for a 3 bed/3 bath ocean front condo near the pier. We'll grocery shop when we get there for breakfast, lunch, snacks and drinks. We'll eat out at nice restaurants for dinner. We already bought a lot of the staple items to bring with us.

[Anonymous]

I used to camp for vacation, on a mountain lake literally right out of an Ansel Adams photograph...it came as a shock to me and my siblings to learn that our mom did not enjoy camping, it was for her the same old chores but in less convenient circumstances...using a propane stove to heat water for dishes etc. Dad taught us how to trout fish.
In my 20s my future DH and I rented a mountain cabin, then a larger group house, for weekends. Then we got a boat. Then we had kids and I insisted on a W/D, dishwasher etc. Hadn't been camping except on a handful of occasions for nearly two decades. We recently tried it again with the kids and it was a blast! Of course it helped that it didn't rain and it wasn't for a whole week. We picked a great waterfall hike to do and nobody was eaten by a bear although we did see one.
I have some suggestions for less expensive but still good vacations.
1) Drive, take your own car, even renting a car for a week is cheaper than plane tickets for 3-4 people usually. Use frequent flier miles and have a card that rings up miles for other purchases with an airline you can actually use.
2) Go to someplace scenic and close, but not right at, the place you want to be. Local suggestions: Chincoteague (Victorian houses with water views, everybody drives to the beach) Ocean Pines (comfy screen porch homes in the woods with a drive-to beach club with a pool and parking) Berlin Md. or Rum Point - country area near the beach - get a beautiful farm or inlet view and fan out to OC, Assateague etc. for day trips. Crisfield, Md., Cape Charles Va, Onancock, Va - Eat crabs, go canoeing, learn to sail, fishing charters, take a ferry trip to Tangier or Smith Island, teach the kids to ride bikes on a deserted waterfront road, go to Kiptopeke, or rent a boat at Wachapreague and visit a deserted beach. So peaceful.
Try VRBO, or a discount website like EndlessVacationRentals.com that offer last-minute deals on condo rentals in vacation towns.
OBX - you can always find a place for $2000/week or much much less. Try Avon Cottages or Sun Realty.
Orlando is a good place to find a comfortable condo or townhouse with a pool or a really fun waterslide spray park type community pool. The theme parks are $$$ so don't spend your whole trip there. Budget for one or two parks and then go to the beach or explore the springs and nature areas, old Florida is a great place to see dolphins, manatees, tropical birds etc.
Vegas. No really. Grand Canyon, Valley of Fire State Park, Lake Mead, bighorn sheep and & Hoover Dam, hotel with a wave pool? That's four days without stepping foot in a casino. The hotel deals are a steal.
State park cabins. You have to plan ahead to get the reservations, weekdays are easier. Pack a bin with dish washing supplies, a camp stove, sleeping bags, flashlights. Eat at the lodge if you don't want to cook.
North Carolina mountains - Maggie Valley, Ashland area, Boone. Have a list of fun destinations and hikes, family friendly restaurants, waterfalls, music venues, you probably can't do it all in one week.
House swap! Ask around too. We have friends with an apartment in Paris and another with a place in NYC they never use, one family has a family cabin they let friends borrow.
If you have a boat or RV, once you own it, it is considerably cheaper per night at a marina or campground than staying at the resort where it's parked. Kingsmill for example, same goes for the beach towns.

[Anonymous]

A lot of great ideas there PP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A lot of places have beaches that don't have the price tag of being "The beach." I'm from Connecticut, and the entire southern border of the state is beach. There are a few public beaches that are accessible to everyone. Rent a house

I'm from CT too, and our beaches kind of suck, to be honest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I used to camp for vacation, on a mountain lake literally right out of an Ansel Adams photograph...it came as a shock to me and my siblings to learn that our mom did not enjoy camping, it was for her the same old chores but in less convenient circumstances...using a propane stove to heat water for dishes etc. Dad taught us how to trout fish.
In my 20s my future DH and I rented a mountain cabin, then a larger group house, for weekends. Then we got a boat. Then we had kids and I insisted on a W/D, dishwasher etc. Hadn't been camping except on a handful of occasions for nearly two decades. We recently tried it again with the kids and it was a blast! Of course it helped that it didn't rain and it wasn't for a whole week. We picked a great waterfall hike to do and nobody was eaten by a bear although we did see one.
I have some suggestions for less expensive but still good vacations.
1) Drive, take your own car, even renting a car for a week is cheaper than plane tickets for 3-4 people usually. Use frequent flier miles and have a card that rings up miles for other purchases with an airline you can actually use.
2) Go to someplace scenic and close, but not right at, the place you want to be. Local suggestions: Chincoteague (Victorian houses with water views, everybody drives to the beach) Ocean Pines (comfy screen porch homes in the woods with a drive-to beach club with a pool and parking) Berlin Md. or Rum Point - country area near the beach - get a beautiful farm or inlet view and fan out to OC, Assateague etc. for day trips. Crisfield, Md., Cape Charles Va, Onancock, Va - Eat crabs, go canoeing, learn to sail, fishing charters, take a ferry trip to Tangier or Smith Island, teach the kids to ride bikes on a deserted waterfront road, go to Kiptopeke, or rent a boat at Wachapreague and visit a deserted beach. So peaceful.
Try VRBO, or a discount website like EndlessVacationRentals.com that offer last-minute deals on condo rentals in vacation towns.
OBX - you can always find a place for $2000/week or much much less. Try Avon Cottages or Sun Realty.
Orlando is a good place to find a comfortable condo or townhouse with a pool or a really fun waterslide spray park type community pool. The theme parks are $$$ so don't spend your whole trip there. Budget for one or two parks and then go to the beach or explore the springs and nature areas, old Florida is a great place to see dolphins, manatees, tropical birds etc.
Vegas. No really. Grand Canyon, Valley of Fire State Park, Lake Mead, bighorn sheep and & Hoover Dam, hotel with a wave pool? That's four days without stepping foot in a casino. The hotel deals are a steal.
State park cabins. You have to plan ahead to get the reservations, weekdays are easier. Pack a bin with dish washing supplies, a camp stove, sleeping bags, flashlights. Eat at the lodge if you don't want to cook.
North Carolina mountains - Maggie Valley, Ashland area, Boone. Have a list of fun destinations and hikes, family friendly restaurants, waterfalls, music venues, you probably can't do it all in one week.
House swap! Ask around too. We have friends with an apartment in Paris and another with a place in NYC they never use, one family has a family cabin they let friends borrow.
If you have a boat or RV, once you own it, it is considerably cheaper per night at a marina or campground than staying at the resort where it's parked. Kingsmill for example, same goes for the beach towns.

Bowing to you- I have two younger ES kids and this is fantastic / helpful

[Anonymous]

I think you need to enlarge your vacation budget, this is sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think you need to enlarge your vacation budget, this is sad.

Are you responding to OP or the PP with the litiney of frugal travel ideas?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I used to camp for vacation, on a mountain lake literally right out of an Ansel Adams photograph...it came as a shock to me and my siblings to learn that our mom did not enjoy camping, it was for her the same old chores but in less convenient circumstances...using a propane stove to heat water for dishes etc. Dad taught us how to trout fish.
In my 20s my future DH and I rented a mountain cabin, then a larger group house, for weekends. Then we got a boat. Then we had kids and I insisted on a W/D, dishwasher etc. Hadn't been camping except on a handful of occasions for nearly two decades. We recently tried it again with the kids and it was a blast! Of course it helped that it didn't rain and it wasn't for a whole week. We picked a great waterfall hike to do and nobody was eaten by a bear although we did see one.
I have some suggestions for less expensive but still good vacations.
1) Drive, take your own car, even renting a car for a week is cheaper than plane tickets for 3-4 people usually. Use frequent flier miles and have a card that rings up miles for other purchases with an airline you can actually use.
2) Go to someplace scenic and close, but not right at, the place you want to be. Local suggestions: Chincoteague (Victorian houses with water views, everybody drives to the beach) Ocean Pines (comfy screen porch homes in the woods with a drive-to beach club with a pool and parking) Berlin Md. or Rum Point - country area near the beach - get a beautiful farm or inlet view and fan out to OC, Assateague etc. for day trips. Crisfield, Md., Cape Charles Va, Onancock, Va - Eat crabs, go canoeing, learn to sail, fishing charters, take a ferry trip to Tangier or Smith Island, teach the kids to ride bikes on a deserted waterfront road, go to Kiptopeke, or rent a boat at Wachapreague and visit a deserted beach. So peaceful.
Try VRBO, or a discount website like EndlessVacationRentals.com that offer last-minute deals on condo rentals in vacation towns.
OBX - you can always find a place for $2000/week or much much less. Try Avon Cottages or Sun Realty.
Orlando is a good place to find a comfortable condo or townhouse with a pool or a really fun waterslide spray park type community pool. The theme parks are $$$ so don't spend your whole trip there. Budget for one or two parks and then go to the beach or explore the springs and nature areas, old Florida is a great place to see dolphins, manatees, tropical birds etc.
Vegas. No really. Grand Canyon, Valley of Fire State Park, Lake Mead, bighorn sheep and & Hoover Dam, hotel with a wave pool? That's four days without stepping foot in a casino. The hotel deals are a steal.
State park cabins. You have to plan ahead to get the reservations, weekdays are easier. Pack a bin with dish washing supplies, a camp stove, sleeping bags, flashlights. Eat at the lodge if you don't want to cook.
North Carolina mountains - Maggie Valley, Ashland area, Boone. Have a list of fun destinations and hikes, family friendly restaurants, waterfalls, music venues, you probably can't do it all in one week.
House swap! Ask around too. We have friends with an apartment in Paris and another with a place in NYC they never use, one family has a family cabin they let friends borrow.
If you have a boat or RV, once you own it, it is considerably cheaper per night at a marina or campground than staying at the resort where it's parked. Kingsmill for example, same goes for the beach towns.

I love these ideas. Thanks so much!