Anonymous wrote:Disney cruise for family of six, two cabins with windows, this fall for five nights = just under $4k for cruise (non-alcoholic beverages included), $2400 for airfare, and less than $500 for excursions. Not cheap, but we are looking forward to not having to pull out our wallets during the trip.

good luck with that-photos, games, etc are not included-there were tons of minor items they charge you for that you would think would be included but were not-waste of time/money

We have the amex hilton (free)- I can rack up the points and get an elite level by charging as much as I can (I do pay it off every month). We have been able to cash in weekly vacations (or more) per year this way. It is a lot more than when we had the cash card (received about $400 or so per year). I actually am not a huge Hilton fan since they have few very nice places nearby (the international ones are supposed to be great) but overall it does work. The hotels in general have treated us well.

7 of us took a trip to Florida so we could go to Disney World. 4 of us drove down from DC to Orlando. Left on a Tuesday evening, stayed overnight on way, and arrive in Orlando following afternoon. Stayed until Sunday. 1 of our party flew down for a conference, 2 of our party came down from Tallahassee and met us there.

we ate breakfast in our rooms, lunch wherever we went for the day, and dinner out each night. We stayed in a chain hotel off site. Went to Disney world, Sea World and a lace called Gatorland. Total cost of everything was $2500 for the 7 of us, and we even threw the toddler who rode down from DC to FL on the plane home with his mom for $100 so he wouldnt have the long trip, plus see his mom as he'd been away from her as she left 2-4 days ahead of us. We got souveniers to bring home, enjoyed the sights and everything. I dont see how people spend thousands and thousands and thousands going on these trips

We are not yet a family of five, but I love frugal vacation planning and wanted to second the national parks as an idea. We had a fantastic trip to Glacier Nat'l Park a couple years ago and this year did one to Great Smoky Natl Park in TN and NC. We found lodging options outside the parks that were pretty spacious and reasonable in price. In particular we had a two bedroom cabin with full kitchen that gave us a decent amt of room and allowed us to cook/make lunch and dinner many days to avoid the subpar-but-pricey restaurant. I think the park-sponsored lodging can be fairly reasonable too, depending on the park. The accommodations are not super luxurious and hiking is a big attraction, so it may not be the right choice for your fam, but we love these kind of trips.

Anonymous wrote:Rent of beach house for $1,200 - $1,500/wk and drive ~ Carolinas or similar. Plan vacation time for good weather.

+1. We spent two weeks in a beautiful house with a pool in Corolla (OBX) in August. It was $3,800 for the rental and our monthly food budget was only $300 higher. Gas was probably $100. We didn't do a lot of activities beyond the beach, pool, bike riding etc.

Beach house rentals are not exciting, but can be super relaxing.

We did Colorado last summer with our 3 boys. 4 nights residence inn 1 bed in Co Springs, 2 nights camping, 4 nights Marriott in Aspen. Loads of activities including zip lining, rafting, hiking and hot springs. Great trip. But it added up to $7k all in. Thinking about a Feb vacation and also having trouble keeping it affordable...someone recommended Panama to me. Looks beautiful...

Anonymous wrote:We have 3 kids. We would do a Mexico vacation for 10 days, all inclusive, two connecting rooms with airfare for between $5-$6k. Try www.cheapcaribbean.com. Direct flights from IAD and BWI into Cancun; hotel shuttle picks you up from there. We always stayed in Rivera Maya. Hope this helps; good luck! Almost forgot - look for hotel with Kids Club - those are usually free and you can spend some couple time without paying for sitter while the kids have a blast with organized activities.

I second this. We had a very luxurious vacation at the Barcelo Maya Palace Deluxe for less than 10k for 8 nights, we went in early December and not over the holidays though. If your kids are all in carseats, then go on vacation at an off-time.

Anonymous wrote:We have 3 kids. We would do a Mexico vacation for 10 days, all inclusive, two connecting rooms with airfare for between $5-$6k. Try www.cheapcaribbean.com. Direct flights from IAD and BWI into Cancun; hotel shuttle picks you up from there. We always stayed in Rivera Maya. Hope this helps; good luck! Almost forgot - look for hotel with Kids Club - those are usually free and you can spend some couple time without paying for sitter while the kids have a blast with organized activities.

It depends on when you go and how long you stay, but we did this for Christmas -- more like $8K, all in.

Rent of beach house for $1,200 - $1,500/wk and drive ~ Carolinas or similar. Plan vacation time for good weather.

Anything where you have airfare + the accomodations per person is going to add up. I'm still in shock that I can't go to Europe on my miles and stay in youth hostels anymore.

You can't get away for cheap but you can still take vacations! I would drive to a nice destination in US or Canada that was appropriate for the season, and rent a vacation condo or house or get a good deal on a resort hotel with a kids club and room service.

OP, I think your trip was a bit expensive, but you are pretty much on point about vacations for a family of 5 being pricey. Some of the comments - like a budget of $1k for food, sight seeing and souvenirs - show that people are out of touch. That's only $150 per day and food alone runs my family more than that given that we have two teenagers. Plus if you have a family of five, you aren't likely to be able to travel on off peak times.

When you have a family of five, you need two hotel rooms or a suite because occupancy is usually four. You can't travel on off peak times due to school schedules and activities. I find I take more tours instead of freewheeling it because I won't take certain risks with my kids and that costs more. Five really does change things - everyone I know with three or more kids talks about how traveling gets ridiculously expensive after the third child. Still we've done some amazing trips.

Sometimes what we do is shorter and closer trips that we can drive, like NYC and Niagara Falls. The Cleveland, OH also has some really fun things to do. Or I save FF miles and travel to places where we have family or where family will meet us so that we don't have to get a second hotel room. We've done what one poster suggested - flying out west and then renting a vehicle and visiting National Parks. I did do a cruise last year, but I drove to South Carolina and booked like the only room that allowed five and we lived with the cramped quarters (but we don't mind that). The cruise only had two stops, but excursions ran me over $700 because I wasn't comfortable just hoping to get a taxi - I wanted the guarantees that the boat wouldn't leave without us so I paid the premium to book through the cruise line. Another trick I have is to book a cabin in a campground instead of a hotel, which has the added bonus of being able to cook and roast marshmallows over a fire outside.

Right now I'm itching for a vacation and thinking about a cruise for Spring Break or a trip out west for next summer. We also have a family event and have to go to Asia two years from now, so I'm not sure I can make a vacation work before then. I hope people keep sharing their tips and ideas.

We fly to FL a couple times a year and have never spent more than $200 on tickets outside of major holidays. Try SW, Airtran, and Jet Blue.

We also took a cruise 2 years ago and it was $249pp for double occupancy for a Mon-Fri cruise.

gotta shop the deals and be willing to go at off times.

It's hard to do a transatlantic for less than 1K per person, alas.

OP, I think you just have to do a lot of research. Think creatively--railpass over car rental. Apartment rental over hotel.

So Mexico? That's the affordable option? Anything else?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't have 3 kids, but our family does travel a lot, and I would not spend 10K for a cruise ship vacation. I bet you could spend a week in Mexico for half that price.

Really? Where? I tried pricing out flights and hotels inthe yucatan peninsula earlier this year and it looked at least as expensive as a cruise before you even added in food, especially given we need 2 rooms. Again, maybe I'm doing it wrong. We don't travel for work do we don't have any points with any airline or hotel chains, which I guess some people use. And I tried to price out vacations in Europe where we'd go around and see stuff like castles, but it's impossible to rent a car that's big enough for 5 with carseats. It seems like everyone else takes such fabulous vacations.

I just priced out a trip to Puerto Vallarta (picked it only because I've been there). Round trip airfair on US Air is $650 per person; $3200 for five.

On hotels.com I found a suite hotel that has a room with two queens and a pull out sofa bed, plus a balcony. Hotel has four stars on tripadvisor. Price is $121 per night.

Total for air plus accommodation is now a shade over 4K. That's $1000 left over for food, sightseeing, souvenirs, etc, and you come in at 5K even.