How to Afford Family Travel: 7 Easy and Effective Ways
*This post explains how to afford family travel. It may contain affiliate links, meaning we may receive commissions for purchases made through those links, at no cost to you.
Travelling as a family can be expensive. Plane tickets, accommodation, food, activities, you name it. All this multiplied by 4 or 5 (or even more!) – depending on the number of children you have. All these expenses can quickly add up. So how do families afford family travel?
In all honesty, it’s quite possible to travel as a family without winning the lottery or getting into debt! There are many ‘ordinary’ families, like ours, who manage to travel with children every year. If family travel is your priority and you’re prepared to make a few small sacrifices along the way, it will be easier to afford family holidays.
If you’re looking for tips on how to travel more with your kids, keep reading this article – you’ll find 7 easy and effective ways to afford family travel.
7 ways to afford family travel
1 – Reduce your daily expenses
This one may seem obvious, but still! Take a look at all your daily expenses: transport, groceries, restaurants, clothing, miscellaneous purchases, etc. Are there areas where you can cut back a little?
One of the best ways to afford family travel is to adjust your daily budget. There are several ways of doing this. For example, you could check grocery shop flyers to reduce your total bill considerably. To get to work, you could opt for car pooling or public transport to cut vehicle maintenance and gas costs. Instead of buying a coffee in a restaurant every morning on your way to work, make a coffee at home before you leave.
By cutting certain everyday expenses here and there, you’ll see a difference in your budget! You can use some of this extra money to save for travelling with children.
2 – A savings account dedicated to travel
This may seem like an obvious way of doing things… but few families actually put it into action. Having a savings account dedicated to travel helps you accumulate the funds you need to travel as a family.
There are several effective ways of contributing to this account on a frequent basis. In our case, we opt for a pre-registered transfer that happens automatically every week. This way, our travel budget grows without us even having to think about it.
If you have a trip coming up, you can also create a contribution calendar. I did this for our first trip as a couple (long before our children arrived!). Here’s a good example:
It’s quite simple: every week, you choose an amount to put into your savings account for the trip and cross it off the calendar! If you do this for a year, you can easily accumulate $1,378.
For this trick to work and for you to achieve your travel goals, the savings account must be used strictly to cover travel-related expenses! If you contribute to you travel savings account regularly, you will be in a better position to afford family travel!
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3. Choose your credit card carefully
One of the best ways to save for travelling with children is to choose the right credit card. Many credit cards allow cardholders to accumulate points that can be exchanged for cash rewards.
By choosing your credit card carefully, you’ll accumulate rewards points that you can use to pay for travel-related expenses.
For example, in our case, we paid for our last family trip to Disney (hotel and plane) with the points we had accumulated on our credit card.
Reward point rates per purchase and eligibility conditions vary from bank to bank. Here’s an article that gives you an overview of the different credit cards that can help you save for family travel.
The method of saving is quite simple: we pay for all our day-to-day expenses with our credit card to maximise the number of rewards points we can accumulate. To avoid paying any fees or interest, we pay off the credit card balance at the end of each week. In fact, we use our credit card as if it were our debit card. In the end, you’ll accumulate a nice sum that you can use for your next family trip.
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4. Plan WITHOUT a destination
This tip may seem counter-intuitive… It actually goes against what we tend to do when planning a family trip: start by choosing a destination. In fact, choosing a destination severely limits your savings options – especially if your travel dates aren’t flexible.
To afford family travel, we suggest you be flexible when it comes to destinations. Several tools exist to help travellers spot bargains in the months ahead. We particularly like to use Skyscanner, Kayak Explore and Google Travel Explorer to find out which destinations have low prices during the periods we’re interested in.
To help us choose our family travel destinations, we’ve also signed up to a number of airfare alert systems. There’s a whole range of them – some paid, some free. Make sure you sign up to receive alerts and notifications straight to your email inbox. You’ll be amazed at how much you can save with these powerful tools. In Canada, we love Les vols d’Alexi and Flytrippers. There are also several other interesting ones, for international and domestic flights, such as Going, Secret Flying and Airfarewatchdog. Explore the options to find out which is right for you.
Start planning your trips differently and let bargains and good prices guide your choice of destinations. Your wallet will be the winner!
5 – Don’t follow travel trends
When it comes to travel, trendy is often synonymous with expensive! When a destination becomes trendy, many tourists want to go there and visit its attractions. Prices are inevitably inflated. Plane tickets, accommodation and attractions become more expensive for these trendy destinations.
Following travel trends makes it much harder to afford family travel.
By following this logic, you may have to sacrifice a popular destination in favour of less popular ones. For example, Greece is generally a much less expensive destination than France (Paris) or Italy.
Try to find destinations that are similar to what you’re looking for, but less trendy and popular.
6 – Target low seasons
If your aim is to afford family travel, a good option is to plan a vacation in the low season. Visiting a destination during popular and busy periods is generally much more expensive.
For example, visiting Vienna during the festive season is a sure-fire money-saver. The Christmas markets are in full swing at this time of year, and many tourists flock to the destination during this period.
The same applies to sun destinations during the cold season – tourists flee the snow and cold en masse and head for warmer climes, such as those in the Caribbean. During the high season, prices are at their peak, both for plane tickets and accommodation.
So one of the best ways to save money on a family trip is to target less busy periods.
On the other hand, some attractions may be closed or have reduced opening hours during the low season. Weigh up the pros and cons of each option to see what suits you best. Sometimes it’s possible to strike a balance. For example, if you absolutely must go on a family trip to an all-inclusive resort in the sun during the winter season, check which dates are the least busy.
7 – Explore ways of saving on your trip
A fairly simple formula is that to travel more, the cost of the trip must be less. In short, the cheaper your family trip, the sooner you’ll be able to go on another holiday!
There are a number of tips to help you plan a family trip on a budget. For example, depending on your destination, it can sometimes be cheaper to rent a flat (Airbnb or VRBO style) than a hotel. Prepare your own meals and bring your own snacks rather than eating out every day. Choose attractions that offer free or reduced-price entry for children. Find out more tips for travelling with children on a budget here.
Wrapping Up – 7 Simple and Effective Ways to Afford Family Travel
Family travel doesn’t have to break the bank, and with a little planning and creativity, you can make those dream trips happen without the stress of overspending. Whether it’s using travel rewards, booking at the right times, or embracing budget-friendly destinations, these tips are designed to help you get the most out of your travel budget.
The key is to stay flexible, keep an eye out for deals, and remember that it’s not about how much you spend but about the quality time and experiences you share with your family. By using these strategies, you’ll be able to afford more adventures and create lasting memories without the financial worry.
So start planning, get those savings in motion, and show your kids the world—one affordable trip at a time!
