Anonymous wrote:Credit card points. We haven’t paid for an international flight in years.

Could you expand on this? I feel like we NEVER get enough points for flights even though we put everything on credit and are never late with payments.

You have a high enough budget to go anywhere. I would do Europe personally.

I always laugh when I see people write things like "most DCUMers". I'm sure there are many people on here with HHI less than that, but they aren't going to advertise it! The only people who are going to advertise their lifestyle are those with higher incomes. This doesn't mean though that they are representative of everyone.

Previous verbose PP -- I also don't really travel much locally. I save the money for bigger trips.

I grew up squarely middle class and although my HHI is a little above that range now, I do *NOT* take lavish vacations.

1) I barely ever pay more than $400/base rate/ for a flight -- one exception, I once paid $590 for a r/t to Sydney -- and I do this by religiously following Scott's cheap flights and being opportunistic. Flying and accommodations are the biggest travel expenses so keeping flights cheap is a priority for me. I also refuse to do anything extraordinary for flights -- I don't fly Spirit or Ryanair (especially not with kids) and I won't take flights at horrible times or with ridiculous connections. So, what I mean by being opportunistic is having a list of destinations I'd be interested in, watching the alerts come in my email, and if I see a place I want to go land in my box, booking it. You can't travel cheap if you are dead-set on a specific destination/timing situation but if you'd be ok flying into Budapest instead of Vienna (for example) and for Spring Break instead of summer, you'd be surprised at what you have to pay.

2) I don't do hotels other than on the night before travel days, and in rare cities where they're cheaper than the alternative (London is one of these). Airbnbs are nearly always cheaper, AND they save you money because you can more easily eat leftovers and have breakfast at home. I find I can't do 3 big restaurant meals a day and I like being able to have a yogurt or something in the AM, and an airbnb makes that very easy. Plus, with kids, you typically have a better set up than with a hotel. I usually cap my nightly expense at 155/200 depending on what/where (high end for places like England or Paris, lower end for places like rural mainland Europe), and you can find amazing options especially if you book well in advance.

Those are the two big ones. On a pre-pandemic trip I spent a week in rural France with my 2 kids and husband and a rental car. The whole shebang was 1200 for the flights, 700 for the airbnb -- which, by the way, was a gorgeous rural french gite -- for a week, 150 for an additional hotel night, 450 for the rental car, and all the other random incidentals. Not "cheap" by any means but certainly affordable for our big annual vacation to rural France. It was the best trip of my life, honestly.

I'm also not a huge sightseer. I like spending time walking around, people watching, grabbing little snacks and glasses of wine at cafes, going to free or inexpensive special events instead of pricey museums/sights. I'll do big sights occasionally for sure, but I would 100% prefer to spend 30$ on a West End show than the same amount on a museum. So, that keeps costs down but it's a matter of personal preference. Again, my lack of pickiness works in my favor -- I don't get my heart set on seeing Hamilton, for example, I find the show that's the best deal.

I think I just don't think of myself as a rich person even though at this point I kind of am. I still think of myself as a grad student traveling on a tight budget, and that naturally keeps costs down. Public transportation instead of taxis. Walking instead of taking public transit. Buying lunch at a grocery store and eating in the park instead of getting lunch at a restaurant. I still remember wandering around Brussels nibbling on a cone of fries I bought -- not a meal, but so delicious.

We make less than that and go on one international trip a year. We usually find flights for about $500 a person and rent a cheap Airbnb.

Now that our kids are tweens, we are hoping for one trip to a major European city (Rome, Paris, London, Berlin), one destination in Asia (would love Japan) and a nature destination before they move out. It all depends on Covid and it’s hard to plan.

Anonymous wrote:And your family can’t go on lavish vacations like many DCUMrs…what trips would you prioritize for tweens/teens? Any must do reasonably priced experiences? I’m thinking of bigger trips every 2 years but small weekend/few day cheaper trips work as well.

Here’s where we have gone as a family that was meant to be “an experience”
Colonial Williamsburg
NYC
Chicago
San Antonio
Outer Banks
Caribbean cruise
Toronto

We have also sent kids on trips via school or with loved ones to Northern CA, Costa Rica, and Europe.

Travel in the US. National parks and the closest nearby city.

For teens, I’d do a trip to Europe one year. Maybe London or Paris or both, if able.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can travel practically anywhere on earth on a budget. We've done it despite having plenty of money.

Where did you go and how much was each vacation?

Not the poster who said that and some of these were lost trips due to covid…

March dc-Vienna British airways $286 rt pp , air bnb’s, total trip cost $1800 2 adults, 1 week
May dc-paris SAS $400 rt pp, 1 week $3,000 4 people with air bnb view of the Eiffel Tower
October dc-Malaga, Spain $250 Rt pp, estimated cost $2,500 family of 4, 1 week.
July Family YMCA adirondacks, all inclusive but food, $1400 total 1 week, family of 4
August MDI Maine 1 week, $1800-2200 depending on lodging
Quebec Canada $2,500 1 week at christmas, old town area, driving.
Canaan valley, WV Christmas $1600 6 nights.

I hope that pricing helps! I often had to search hard and early for good lodging prices and some
Trips were planned based on cheap flights I found.

Those weren’t direct flights, correct? Were they booked through the same airline or did you cobble together legs via different airlines?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can travel practically anywhere on earth on a budget. We've done it despite having plenty of money.

Where did you go and how much was each vacation?

Not the poster who said that and some of these were lost trips due to covid…

March dc-Vienna British airways $286 rt pp , air bnb’s, total trip cost $1800 2 adults, 1 week
May dc-paris SAS $400 rt pp, 1 week $3,000 4 people with air bnb view of the Eiffel Tower
October dc-Malaga, Spain $250 Rt pp, estimated cost $2,500 family of 4, 1 week.
July Family YMCA adirondacks, all inclusive but food, $1400 total 1 week, family of 4
August MDI Maine 1 week, $1800-2200 depending on lodging
Quebec Canada $2,500 1 week at christmas, old town area, driving.
Canaan valley, WV Christmas $1600 6 nights.

I hope that pricing helps! I often had to search hard and early for good lodging prices and some
Trips were planned based on cheap flights I found.

NP. Wow, this is awesome. What search engine do you recommend for finding flights & hotel deals?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can travel practically anywhere on earth on a budget. We've done it despite having plenty of money.

Where did you go and how much was each vacation?

Not the poster who said that and some of these were lost trips due to covid…

March dc-Vienna British airways $286 rt pp , air bnb’s, total trip cost $1800 2 adults, 1 week
May dc-paris SAS $400 rt pp, 1 week $3,000 4 people with air bnb view of the Eiffel Tower
October dc-Malaga, Spain $250 Rt pp, estimated cost $2,500 family of 4, 1 week.
July Family YMCA adirondacks, all inclusive but food, $1400 total 1 week, family of 4
August MDI Maine 1 week, $1800-2200 depending on lodging
Quebec Canada $2,500 1 week at christmas, old town area, driving.
Canaan valley, WV Christmas $1600 6 nights.

I hope that pricing helps! I often had to search hard and early for good lodging prices and some
Trips were planned based on cheap flights I found.

We are at 190K per year. Here are some that my family (2 adults, 2 teen boys) have enjoyed:

- Miami FL (lots of random fun things to do, beach, everglades, etc)
- Custer State Park SD (awesome hiking and wildlife viewing, Rushmore and Crazy Horse, the presidents at Rapid City, drive to the Badlands)
- Quepos, Costa Rica (inexpensive flights to/from San Jose, amazing outdoor activities)
- Sevierville, TN (hiking, biking, white water rafting, etc)
- Freeport, Bahamas (lots of beachy fun in a cheaper area)

Have you already visited these places?

DC
Annapolis
Chesapeake Bay
Colonial Williamsburg/Jamestown
NYC (at Xmas and when it’s warmer)
San Diego
New Orleans
Charleston, SC (Kiawah)
West/national parks
Mountain/lake vacation
Orlando and FL beaches
Grand Canyon or Southwest (Santa Fe)
Alaska

Canada? Where?

Europe? Where?

Tell us where you’ve already been and what’s on your bucket list.

And, tell us a budget.

There are tons of tips we can share.

I am a single mom, at that income and can travel plenty. Took my daughter to Paris. Many different Caribbean trips. Not sure what you mean by lavish.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can travel practically anywhere on earth on a budget. We've done it despite having plenty of money.

Where did you go and how much was each vacation?

DP.

Just before covid, I found RT flights from JFK to London for $590pp. I had Hilton Honors points to cover doubletree in London and another Hilton brand hotel in the Cotswolds. Had to cancel, but this would have been an inexpensive trip for our family of 6.

I routinely see air and hotel packages around $1k per person to Europe, Canada, Mexico, etc.