Where are you vacationing this year?

[riverwed070707]

I like the diversity on this forum of those who carry their frugalism into their vacations and those who are conservative in other areas so they can afford to travel to far away places. Gearing up to book tickets for our 10-13 day trip to Honduras in November has me wondering where everyone else is planning to go next?

Any travel hacks to share? I'm really strugglign with flight prices right now. When I started looking in Feb, they were around $575 pp, now I can't seem to find much under $700 and thats with 20 hour travel days on each end of the trip I've looked at every option, including airports up to 4 hours away, even flying to a major hub like NYC or MIA and spending a day there to catch a better/cheaper flight out but surprisingly the cost is about the same from anywhere.

[bjl584]

I'm leaving for South Myrtle Beach tomorrow morning!

It's a family trip and we are driving. Pittsburgh to Myrtle is about 12 hours. I decided to rent a car. I'm splitting the cost with one other person, so it will be $160 a piece for a 9 day rental. I also have a couple of coupons that I'm going to use for a free upgrade and a discount on the cost of adding a driver. I'm going to see if they will give me free satellite radio for the week too.

We're renting a house one street back from the beach. No particular plans. Pretty much just relax on the beach, go out to dinner a couple times, do some fishing on the shore.

[SuperSavingTips]

My wife and I took a week in the Berkshires in May. Since we spent more on our vacation last year, this year we looked for something more reasonable. We used our timeshare to trade for it and were able to drive there in a few hours, so we saved on what otherwise would have been hotel, airfare and car rental. The weather wasn't entirely cooperative, but the resort was gorgeous and we enjoyed our activities including a side trip to the baseball hall of fame in Cooperstown.

Airfares can be tough, seems like they're always a bit of a gamble. Just keep checking (set up e-mail alerts for example) and hopefully the prices will dip again. You might also want to follow some airlines on Twitter or Facebook in case they post any deals.

[MonkeyMama]

I don't know for international flights, but in general Tuesday afternoons boast better airfare deals. (Don't buy on the weekends when prices peak). Book directly with airline for best rate. Use google flights to narrow down best airports and times for best rates. I always start there and then book directly with airline.

Vacation is a very low financial priority for us in the grand scheme of things. We live in a vacation-y area and try to take advantage of everything in our backyard. Particularly with my spouse long-term unemployed. But neither of us is big into travel, regardless.

But I think it's all relative. My parents never vacationed *at all* when I was growing up. Just saved up all that money to drive across the country to see family once every 5 years or so. I am pleased that we can pull off enough activities that appearance-wise it's like we spend several thousand dollars a year. We only have a vacation budget of $1500 for a family of four. Sometimes we will go beyond that for a once-in-a-bluemoon vacation or to visit family. I guess I think it's sad that my parents were never more creative in this area.

We have a couple of beach weekends planned (August and November), and I am planning to fly to the east coast to visit my sister for a few days. Probably a weekend in Napa for our anniversary in September. Maybe Death Valley in October. (We had planned to visit 4 National Parks last October but then the govt shutdown ruined those plans. So thinking we can maybe squeeze in one park this October when I get back from the east coast). I guess we generally try to do something every month, May through November. We already did one big trip and a couple of weekends away this year.

[fruitbowlk]

I'm not taking any real vacations. We are doing a few weekend trips for our birthdays. Atlantic city NY, Washington DC and maybe Charleston, SC.

[riverwed070707]

I'm leaving for South Myrtle Beach tomorrow morning!

It's a family trip and we are driving. Pittsburgh to Myrtle is about 12 hours. I decided to rent a car. I'm splitting the cost with one other person, so it will be $160 a piece for a 9 day rental. I also have a couple of coupons that I'm going to use for a free upgrade and a discount on the cost of adding a driver. I'm going to see if they will give me free satellite radio for the week too.

We're renting a house one street back from the beach. No particular plans. Pretty much just relax on the beach, go out to dinner a couple times, do some fishing on the shore.

What a timely question for you! Hope you have a blast! Nice work on the car deal!

Vegas baby!

My wife found a deal for 5 nights in Vegas plus round trip air fare plus transportation to and from airport to our hotel for around $1300.

While we are there we are going to take a bus tour to the Grand Canyon ($160 each) and a bus trip to Hollywood (around $210 each). We also plan on taking in a couple of shows. We budget every year for vacations and now that we are completely debt free, we can afford to spend a little more. What a great feeling.

Are you staying on strip? Be careful, vegas draws you in with super cheap hotel prices and then walks away with your wallet with crazy high food and beverage prices!! I've been traveling there for work a lot in the last year and it blows my mind that people will pay $50 for a bucket (ie 6!) shock tops or $17 for a margarita. If you enjoy drinks, stop at Walgreens when you get in and stock your room. Since you can take alchohol with you from place to place, its worth it to me to stop back for a refill when I need one

My wife and I took a week in the Berkshires in May. Since we spent more on our vacation last year, this year we looked for something more reasonable. We used our timeshare to trade for it and were able to drive there in a few hours, so we saved on what otherwise would have been hotel, airfare and car rental. The weather wasn't entirely cooperative, but the resort was gorgeous and we enjoyed our activities including a side trip to the baseball hall of fame in Cooperstown.

Airfares can be tough, seems like they're always a bit of a gamble. Just keep checking (set up e-mail alerts for example) and hopefully the prices will dip again. You might also want to follow some airlines on Twitter or Facebook in case they post any deals.

Good Idea. I keep saying i'm going to setup a price alert but havnet yet. Thanks for the reminder!

I don't know for international flights, but in general Tuesday afternoons boast better airfare deals. (Don't buy on the weekends when prices peak). Book directly with airline for best rate. Use google flights to narrow down best airports and times for best rates. I always start there and then book directly with airline.

Vacation is a very low financial priority for us in the grand scheme of things. We live in a vacation-y area and try to take advantage of everything in our backyard. Particularly with my spouse long-term unemployed. But neither of us is big into travel, regardless.

But I think it's all relative. My parents never vacationed *at all* when I was growing up. Just saved up all that money to drive across the country to see family once every 5 years or so. I am pleased that we can pull off enough activities that appearance-wise it's like we spend several thousand dollars a year. We only have a vacation budget of $1500 for a family of four. Sometimes we will go beyond that for a once-in-a-bluemoon vacation or to visit family. I guess I think it's sad that my parents were never more creative in this area.

We have a couple of beach weekends planned (August and November), and I am planning to fly to the east coast to visit my sister for a few days. Probably a weekend in Napa for our anniversary in September. Maybe Death Valley in October. (We had planned to visit 4 National Parks last October but then the govt shutdown ruined those plans. So thinking we can maybe squeeze in one park this October when I get back from the east coast). I guess we generally try to do something every month, May through November. We already did one big trip and a couple of weekends away this year.

If I could drive to the beach, I wouldn't need to vacation either The landlocked midwest's winters leave me longing for something more tropical though!

[97guns]

looking at a cruise to hawaii early 2015, hope to get it for $1300/person for a 14 day cruise. sails out of SF so i can just shuttle to the dock, great thing about a cruise is you really dont have to spend much once your on board

[dawnwes]

We recently (Spring) went to Seattle to see friends and family.
We also went to Phoenix to see family (my parents).

The boys have gone to several camping weeks with Boyscouts within a 2 hour drive.

Middle son went to Atlanta for a week with the church youth group.

I went to Atlanta for 5 days for a get together with friends.

Youngest is at camp at the beach (NC) this week.

DH and older two are going on a high adventure trip to W.VA. with Boyscouts next month.

We will be going to Disney World in December.

[phantom]

Good timing on this thread, my husband and I are just starting to finalize our vacation plans. This is our plan thus far:

1. Fly into Salt Lake City, spend a night there, see a couple things in the area, and prep for the rest of our trip.
2. Drive to Arches National Park, spend two nights there, and spend lots of time hiking and seeing the park.
3. Drive the Grand Canyon, spend two nights there, spend a little time hiking, and a lot of time admiring the view.
4. Drive to Vegas via Chloride and the Hoover Dam, making sure to stop and see paintings on rocks that my dad claims were awesome in the 70s.
4. Spend 3 nights in Vegas, relaxing a bit from all the outdoors-y stuff and enjoying the lights of the casinos.
5. Fly home.

I've wanted to take a trip to see Arches and the Grand Canyon for a very long time, and this is the year it's finally happening. Normally, we head somewhere we can drive, but to make this vacation happen in a reasonable time frame, driving wasn't an option.

We often do a mix of splurging and being rather frugal on vacation. For sleeping arrangements, we're going to stay in places that cost <$100/night, except in the Grand Canyon where we decided it was worth paying more to stay in the park rather than an hour away. For food, we're going to do some grocery shopping in Salt Lake City so we can keep most of our meals cheap, but we'll find some nice places to eat too, especially in Vegas. For entertainment, hiking should be free/inexpensive, but we'll probably balance that out by seeing a show in Vegas.

My best tip on saving money on flying is to either fly in or out of Vegas. If you're not leaving from somewhere near Vegas or don't want to end up near Vegas, I'm not sure I can help.

[juvy]

I would like to go to Greece.

[disneysteve]

Our summer vacation is to Disney World, as it has been for the past 6 summers I think. We used to go at other times of year but school and summer job has mad August the only time that worked for DD these past several years. We leave 8/8 and return on 8/20.

That's the only "big" vacation this year. We did have a big trip at the end of 2013 when all 3 of us traveled to San Diego (we live in New Jersey) to attend a religious convention.

We also do a lot of short trip, weekends and such, closer to home throughout the year.

[krantcents]

We went to New York for my sister in law's surprise birthday party (july 4th).

[frugalredhead]

We're probably going to Disney World in February for my son's 4th birthday. I've been hoarding my vacation time and I have enough to cash it in and play for the entire trip! Then in August we're going to take a cruise for our 10th wedding anniversary - we found one that departs within driving distance, and will be under $900 for a 5 night cruise to The Bahamas. I'll have enough PTO saved up by then to cash in to pay for that too!

[corn18]

We did London and Paris. I was there already on business so I flew my wife and daughter over.

[TBH]

Last year we spent a lot on a once-in-a-lifetime trip abroad, so this year we are taking it easy.

We already went to a high school reunion, about a 5-hour drive from home. We spent a bit more than a hotel room to get a really nice AirBnB apartment, within walking distance to everything.

We sent our son overseas by himself to see family for 10 days. That was his big summer fun. Aside from that he is doing 3 weeks of an inexpensive day camp.

I took my son on a camping trip. It was a group event for one of his hobbies, and I volunteered at the event so it was basically free.

I flew to California to see family by myself. My family, who can't travel right now, split the cost of my ticket with me since I was making the time to come to them. I stayed with relatives and except for taking one person out to lunch, they fed me the whole time, which I wasn't expecting. That was very nice.

Still ahead:

Another driving trip to see family in Boston. We will mostly stay with family but will spend 2 nights in an AirBnB apartment in Providence, kind of a working vacation while our kid hangs out with his grandparents.

A couple of day trips, including an amusement part 2.5 hours from home. We'll drive up and back in the same day.

That's about it! I might have a work trip coming up, and if it happens I'll tack on a visit to family since they live in the same area.