The Ultimate Guide for Families Travelling on a Budget: Top 9 Tips

Photo by Weiqi Xiong on Unsplash

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If you're like most families, you're always looking for ways to save money. And when it comes to traveling, that can sometimes be a challenge. But don't worry – we've got you covered!

In this blog post, debt help experts Creditfix go over their top money-saving tips for families looking to travel on a budget. From everyday budgeting and savings tips to free advice on the latest solutions, Creditfix are financial experts and help thousands of people beat debt each year.

Check out their top tips below:

1. Plan ahead:

Your vacation is a time to relax and enjoy yourself, but it can also be a major strain on your budget. If you're not careful, the costs of travel, lodging, and activities can add up quickly. The key to any successful vacation, especially one on a budget, is planning ahead. By giving yourself time to research different travel options and compare prices, you'll be more likely to find the best deal for your family. You should also look for ways to cut costs without sacrificing quality. For example, you might want to consider renting a vacation home rather than staying in a hotel. 

Whilst you're away, you'll want to keep in touch with your loved ones, and a cost-efficient way to do that is with Holafly's esim for travelers.

2. Set a budget:

One of the most important aspects of planning a vacation is setting a budget. You need to know how much you're willing to spend on travel and accommodations before you start searching for deals. Keep in mind that vacation prices can vary depending on the time of year and the destination. If you're flexible with your travel dates, you may be able to find a better deal. It's also a good idea to consider the cost of activities when you're budgeting for your vacation. If you're traveling with family, look for vacation packages that include family-friendly activities.

Helping your Teenagers enjoy a trip to National Trust Beningborough Hall, York

Teenagers, they are a funny thing. In my experience, one minute they are still your little child, holding your hand and cuddling up to you on the sofa and then the next they want nothing to do with you and you are so embarrassing! Despite this, I actually love being a parent to teens and I find them great fun to be around. I've known from the start that my job as a parent wasn't to be their friend, it was to train and nurture them, so they grow up to be great human beings.

I know many parents have given up trying to get their hormonal teenagers to go out for the day with them, but I am persevering and as long as we have a nice treat in the cafe they tend to be quite tolerant and enjoy their time out with me.

Whilst we were on holiday in early August we headed to Beningborough Hall, a very nice National Trust site in York. I had the normal groans when I announced that we heading there, but they soon got into it and had a good time. 

I thought it would useful if I shared a few tips for getting your teens to enjoy going out and spending time with you. I tend to be quite relaxed with them, as I find the tighter I try to control the outing and their behaviour, the more they want to be contrary.

Give your teen space to be who they are. 

We're all different. We wouldn't expect our adult friends to like all the same things as us, so why would we expect it of our children? On the day we visited my twin teens were pretty tired and they both decided that some of the benches looked like good places to have a lie-down. Not something I'd do but they weren't hurting anyone, so why not?

Holidaying in the UK: Planning for All Eventualities

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More and more of us are choosing to stay in the UK for our holiday this year and I suspect it may become a trend over the next few years as well, as people recover financially and emotionally from the scars of Covid 19. 

Personally, I love going on holiday here as we have such a beautiful country and there is so much to explore, with great diversity in our towns, countryside and coastline. There is no need for holidaying in the UK to be looked down on as the poor relation to foreign travel. It is far more kind to our world, it can save you a decent amount of money and you know the language!

In the last couple of years, we have explored so much more of our home county, East Sussex and found some real gems for days out. Also, we have also stayed in West Sussex, Kent, Yorkshire, Surrey, Hampshire, Hertfordshire and London and I can honestly say the only thing we have missed is the guaranteed sunshine and massive swimming pools that you tend to get abroad. I've found that going on holiday with the right attitude and knowing that the holiday will be more about exploring a new area, eating great food and enjoying time as a family has allowed us to not feel as if we have missed out. 

Of course, things can go wrong on holiday here in the UK, just the same as they can anywhere else so it is important to be ready and prepared as you can be. Here are a few things to think about and organise before your holiday, so that you can have the most stress-free time whilst you're away. 

How to Save Money on your Family Travel

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Family travel! It can be one of the most fun and rewarding experiences. Unfortunately, it can also cost a lot of money, making it tough for many families to travel as much as they would like. The good news, however, is that there are some strategies you can use to travel without busting your budget. Keep reading to find out what they are -

1.  Compare prices

The great thing about booking holidays these days is that it can all be done online. The advantage of booking online is that you can compare you break with similar ones to check that you are getting the lowest price possible. However, doing so isn't quite as easy as when you are purchasing a physical product. The reason being that what vacations include and how they are displayed can often be quite different from provider to provider. 

You may have also noticed that the low price you discover when first visiting the site fluctuates and even goes up daily. Although searching again via a VPN, using an incognito page or after clearing your computer's cookies should take care of that particular problem, and you won't end up with overinflated prices.

2.  Use exclusive offers run by tour operators

Utilising the special offers that tour operators run can be very beneficial, many operators offer particular deals for families with younger children, such as free or half-price child places. These kinds of deals that can save you a significant amount of money, especially if you have a brood that is on the larger side. But remember to book early, to bag them, as there is normally a limit number of spaces available. 

7 Amazing Places to Visit to Discover the Diversity of Canada

Image Credit: Lake Moraine by Garrett Parker on Unsplash

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I often think that people miss a trick when they pass Canada over in favour of a visit to the United States. This massive country has so much going for it, like 79 million hectares of protected wilderness, long summer days, winters that don’t stop day-to-day life and the eTA Canada is incredibly easy to gain too.

Of course, when you start planning your trip to a foreign country you want to check out the costs, safety, climate, health and travel requirements, and Canada is a hit on all fronts. Once you have booked your trip and made sure that you have your travel insurance in place, you want to get your electronic travel authorization (or eTA) in process by filling out the Canada eta application, then you can sit back and start to plan all the truly exciting places that you will visit whilst in the country.

As Canada is so big, you’re either going to need to be there for some weeks to travel all round or you’ll need a few trips to the different areas. Let’s take a look at some of the amazing places you can visit to discover just how diverse Canada is.

1. Lake Moraine, Banff National Park, Alberta 
Lake Moraine is only half the size of its sister, Lake Louise but many say it is even more beautiful. Well known for its clear turquoise colour, this glacier-fed lake is best viewed from late June through to August. In fact, you’ll only be able to visit from late May until early October as then the weather may become too harsh and unpredictable for the access road to be open. You can take one of the many trails along stone steps to see the magnificent mountain and lake views, including the iconic ten peaks.

How To Spend 5 Days In NYC

Photo Credit: Clay Banks at Unsplash

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As you may know, travelling can be great for the soul. But not only that, it can be great for your family dynamic too. Because when you travel together, you get to spend some valuable time together too. And not only that, but you get to make great memories too. This is why it’s great to go to new and adventurous places together, like New York City.

It’s easy to think that NYC isn’t the place for a family trip, but it certainly can be. There’s a lot going on in the city for families and kids can get just as excited over the magic of the big apple as you do! We definitely want to head there as a family in the not too distant future, Im just savign up at the moment.

Here’s how to spend five glorious days there -

Day One: Check In & Explore

Your first day can be a bit slow after a long flight; you just want to get settled in. No matter what time you arrive, make sure that you check into your hotel and try to adjust to the new time zone right away. Time is precious, so sticking with NY time is crucial. You’ll find that heading out to explore helps here.

Day Two: Sightseeing

When you wake up on day two, you may feel a little jet lagged, but you’ll also want to ensure that you’re able to make the most of the day. So push through and plan a day’s sight-seeing! There are lots of different family-friendly attractions in NYC that you can explore, along with the most notable. So think about the things that will make your time here as memorable as possible. Talk to friends who have visited before and check out family blogs for great ideas.

Seeing the Seals at Blakeney Point with Beans Boat Trips

At the end of the summer, we had a lovely stay in Fakenham, North Norfolk. We stayed at the White House cottage, which is an Air BnB property and we love it there. This is our second year staying and I’m sure we’ll go back as it suits all the family, with animals to keep the girls entertained, good Wi-fi for JJ and a lovely lounge and garden for my husband and I to fully relax in.

About a twenty-minute drive away is the NationalTrust maintained nature reserve of Morston Quay and Blakeney Point. This is a great place to go for a family walk and just have a look around at the boats mooring up or travelling down the river.

We went there specifically to go out on a boat trip to see the seals which head there to relax and carry their babies. There are several companies offering boat trips out to see the seals, the two most popular ones seem to be Beans and Temples and from I understand from friends who have used both, they are are both reliable, quality and pretty much of a likeness.

For no particular reason, we used Beans boat trips and all the information about sailing times and prices is on their website. You do need to call to make your booking but there is no payment in advance, you pay on the day when you arrive. For this reason, there did appear to be some non-arrivals and there were plenty of people who’d arrived without reservations and were waiting in reserve.

Taking the Road Less Travelled with Simpson Travel

Are you one of those people who get a bit excited when they discover something fantastic? Do you find yourself waxing lyrical about your discovery or the amazing service you’ve received and by the end of the week every one of your friends knows?

That’s me, I just can’t help it. When I make a discovery about something fabulous, be it a bargain bath bomb that smells divine, the AA man (or our angel in yellow as I dubbed him) who rescues your family or an airline that makes sure everything is perfect I just have to shout about it, both via my blog and in real life too.

I don’t want any of my friends to miss out and this is how I feel about Simpson Travel. Despite not yet having travelled with them I feel fully confident that they are the kind of company who will fulfil and even exceed every one of my expectations.

“The road less travelled is about making an effort and going the extra mile” Graham Simpson, Chairman of Simpson Travel

And I have lots of them. It was only two years ago that we first travelled abroad with the children. Prior to having them my husband and I travelled extensively and we loved staying in a gorgeous villa in an exotic Mediterranean destination but then along came three (expensive) children so we stayed in the UK and of course if the kids were having fun then so were we. However once you’ve experienced that glorious sunshine, the deep blue sea, the friendly locals in a Greek taverna and all that amazing fresh food you can never keep that longing at bay for too long.

Searching for our Perfect Eurocamp Holiday for 2018

Oh the weather really is dreary now, isn't it? The rain has arrived, the sky is dull, the trees are shedding their leaves and all I want to do is fly away to sunnier climes. It's not to be at the moment though, so the next best thing I can do is start to look for our perfect family holiday for 2018.

In May this year our family stayed as guests of Eurocamp at the Playa Montroig Camping Resort on the Costa Dorada, Spain and we had such a wonderful time. It was just what we needed - superb accommodation with a great decked area for quality family time, amazing swimming pools and fun entertainment that engaged us all. It's no wonder that I'm thinking we will stay with Eurocamp again in 2018.

I asked some fellow bloggers where they have stayed with Eurocamp and which sites they would recommend, here's what they said -

1km of water slides at Duinrell!

Duinrell Campsite in Wassenaar, Holland
I know quite a few friends who have holidayed here and they all agree it has the most amazing entertainment, theme park and water complex. Sounds pretty amazing, right? Alana from Baby Holiday travelled there with her young family in September this year and she says it is perfect for toddlers, in fact what she said about Duinrell was that 'it's not relaxing but fab for the kids' and every parent knows that if the kids are happy then chances are they are too!

Joy at the Sensory Seeker said their families favourite Eurocamp site (they're stayed in a few) is Duinrell as well 'as there is just so much to do both day and night for the whole family. In fact we have been several times and never managed to explore the local area as the kids love the camp so much' and her kids are much older, so that gives a great perspective from the other end of the parenting spectrum.

My 10 Year Old Twins Dream Holiday

Rainbow Falls, Hawaii Image, thanks to Shutterstock

When Travel Republic challenged me to speak to my children and find out what their ideal holiday was, I knew this would be fun. Miss M is forever playing travel agents and she gets us to answer a little questionnaire she has typed up on my computer and once she knows all our requirements for the holiday she loves going off and finding the best deals she can to fit those requirements. It's one thing that I always indulge her with as I realise she is developing valuable research skills that will serve her well as she gets older.

I'm sure when I was a child if you asked me about what the best kids holiday would be, I'd have probably said to go to America to Disney World or I might even have just said somewhere like Butlins in the UK. I never went abroad until I was a teenager and my awareness of all the amazing holidays out there wasn't very vast.