If you have been following this blog for a while, you must have noticed that we love going on adventures as a family.
We have different tastes when it comes to traveling… My husband and our daughter are the adventurous types so they enjoy activities that give them an adrenaline rush. Trekking, snorkeling, diving with whale sharks—they are going to jump into it! Our middle child, on the other hand, prefers to chill in a hotel room while he indulges in delicious food. He is very particular about the hotels we book ha! The hotel needs to have a spacious room with a bathtub. Or, if there is no bathtub, it has to be near a pool or at the beachfront. What I love to do is to immerse myself in the culture and history of the places we visit because stories fascinate me! As for our littlest one, where mommy is, he goes. 😀
That said, traveling can get a bit expensive for our family of five. The question is, how do we make sure everyone in the family enjoys the trip without hurting our budget? Here are some of our travel tips for family vacations…
Tip #1: We plan in advance.
My husband and I are notorious for going on spontaneous trips. His work schedule is so unpredictable so we got used to going on trips any time his schedule opens up for a trip. However, now that we are a family of five, that is a bit of a challenge. I mean, we cannot just fly or drive somewhere then look for a hotel right then and there… because what if there is no accommodation available? What do we do about the kids?
Now, we try our best to plan in advance. We look for a date, my husband files a leave, then we choose our hotel and list down the activities we want to try out.
Tip #2: We set a budget and we stick to it.
We have always been asked about how we can afford traveling. Our secret? We create a budget and we stick to it. Go back to Tip #1 and research how much your hotel room will cost, how much each activity will cost, and we even go as far as budgeting our gas (Do you know your gas consumption per kilometer? You should!) and toll fees.
Everything is listed down in our budget sheet so we know exactly how much we need to prepare way ahead of time. I even have this handy dandy wallet to keep our spending money organized!
Tip #3: We take advantage of promos.
I am always on the lookout for seat sales, hotel promos, and travel deals. Moms, take advantage of these because you will save a ton just by availing these promos. Not just that, you can also score free upgrades!
If you want to stay updated, follow the social media accounts of airlines and hotels. They usually post their sales there! But, if you want travel deals all year round, head over to Deal Grocer.
I usually check the site out whenever we have a specific hotel we want to book or a certain activity we want to try. They have everything there. EVERYTHING! Not just travel deals ha. You can try buffets, staycations, beauty services, getaways at discounted rates just by purchasing vouchers from Deal Grocer. And I don’t mean just good deals, they actually have the best available prices across different channels!
So next time you go on a trip with your family, be sure to check out deals at Deal Grocer first. I never miss this step whenever I plan for our trips because sayang ang discounts!
Anyway… do you have a big family too? Share your smart travel tips with us in the comments section below!
