Where can I vacation for $500 and a 6 yr old?
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
Last year we went to Colonial Willamsburg at the recommendation of this board. We had the best time and followed the advice of how to budget. It felt so wonderful to be able to take my child someplace and he was thrilled to spend the night in a hotel. I am following up I all these suggestions and I'm excited to see which place we visit next. I love the Dollywood idea although I'm bracing myself for ticket prices. I am almost done with school and then I will be in a better place to plan for Disney. I went to school a little later in life but didn't want to get stuck with student loans so I pay for my studies. |
Anonymous
| Thank you all for these suggestions! |
Anonymous
| Busch Gardens/Water Country/Colonial Williamsburg/Yorktown |
Anonymous
Ooops, just saw you did CW last year. |
Anonymous
You sound like a great mom, OP! I'm the pp who suggested Dollywood/Great Smoky mountains National Park. I've found that the best "bang for your buck" vacations involve National Parks. I have 4 kids and for many years when they were young we were on a very limited budget. Most of our trips involved camping at National parks, picnics instead of meals in restaurants, etc. Another place my kids loved is Steamtown national park in Scranton PA (yeah, I was THAT poster from a few months ago!  ) and the mine tour--but I think the mine tour is closed until some time in April.
|
Anonymous
|
PP here
Oh, and I just wanted to add that not all of the National Parks have free admission. Smoky Mountains is free, Manassas National Battlefield park is free (and local--if you know where Jiffy Lube Live is in VA, it's close to there)...but some require an admission fee. Generally its less than $10 per vehicle and covers you for several days or a week, but each park has a website that you can look up for specifics. You can also get an annual pass for $80 that covers admission for all the national parks. 
|
Anonymous
|
I highly recommend Hershey Park. The park itself is great for all ages and has a ton to do. If you sign up online you can get deals on Hershey Lodge. The Indoor/outdoor pool area is being redone and is scheduled to open Memorial Day. That said, hotels offsite or one of Hershey's cabins at their campground would be a better bang for your buck.
BTW: you sound like a great mom. Your son is lucky to have you. Good luck with your studies. |
Anonymous
|
Great Wolf Lodge has some really cheap rates in the summer. If you go midweek, you could go for two nights and get a Paw Pass for all the fireplace about $375. The rooms have refrigerators and microwaves, so I would eat in the room
|
Anonymous
|
Another PA idea is Strasburg if your kid likes trains. Great train museum and fairly cheap hotels. This could be combined with some other suggestions here.
Camping definitely saves money. If you don't have a tent, many area parks offer cabin camping (different from renting climate controlled furnished cabins). One year for Labor Day, we did the following 3-day trip: Day 1: Fort Frederick State Park (MD), Cumberland (watched steam train arrive, went to C & O Canal visitor center), arrive at Ohiopyle State Park (PA). Day 2: hike & swim at Ohiopyle Day 3: more Ohiopyle, Fort Necessity, stop at scenic overlooks on the way home. We camped, but other lodging options are likely available. It was very affordable and felt like a real (albeit short) road trip. |
Anonymous
| Following up on the national park idea, you could look for something around Harper's Ferry. My 6 year old really enjoyed it last year. We 'camped' in some rustic cabins (picnic dinner with s'mores) then spent the day exploring the old historic town, wading in the river, and checking out some of the battle fields. It was a great weekend trip and probably cost less than $75. |
Anonymous
| Maybe Knoebels? You just pay for the rides you ride (and/or the pool, if you want to swim) and so it's really inexpensive. And it's in central PA so there's lots of great nature parks, etc. nearby. |
Anonymous
| There might be a good deal on Groupon, Certifikid, etc that might help keep costs down. Try there too! |
Anonymous
|
Do you have a car? I'm taking my 9 year old son on a mini vacay to Philadelphia in June. We stay in a hotel in Mt Laurel NJ and it's about $90 a night. Then drive to attractions. There is a cool Adventure Aquarium that at least looks like it's even neater than the Baltimore Aquarium. It's on the Camden waterfront. Tickets are around $20-30. There are a bunch of things to see and do, depending on your interests. An old penitentiary tour, museums, a huge battle ship. I'd research free and low-cost things to do.
Our hotel was the holiday inn express with free breakfast and a microwave and a fairly big mini fridge in it. You could pack a lot of food to eat in with. If this is interesting at all, I'll find the name of the road the hotel was on for you and report back. It had about 15 hotels on it, all different prices. Safe, clean. But you do have to have a car to get around. So much cheaper than staying in the city itself. |
Anonymous
Here is the hotel. About 25 minutes outside of Philadelphia. But they are advertising discounted tix to the aquarium. And again, tons of hotels on that road at different price points. https://m.ihg.com/hotels/holidayinnexpress/us/en/hoteldetail/mtlnj |
Anonymous
| Drive to Rehoboth, Bethany or Ocean City. Hotels right now are pretty reasonable, especially if you stay mid week. Have fun! |