I love to travel! With kids, without kids, with friends or other members of my family! I love it. I wish I could do more of it, but with 5 kids and a husband who works full time, it’s not always easy. With that said, we have made it a priority to go on at least two family vacations a year. One with just our little family, and one family reunion. It has worked out perfectly because that’s really the most time we can take off of work and school. One great benefit of homeschoolnig is being able to travel during the school year, so we usually do our own family trip at that time, and then do our family reunions in the summer! This year we are headed to Bear Lake, Utah for my family reunion to stay in the Alpine Lodge! We are SO excited. I have lived in Utah my whole life and haven’t ever been to Bear Lake. Sad huh? Anyway, my husband and I were discussing all the different vacations a family can go on and some different Ideas for a Family Vacation that families can do. We were thinking of some fun ones we have done, and some we wish to do! Here’s what we came up with!
10 Fun Ideas for a Family Vacation
1. Staycation – We have had so many years where we didn’t have the money to do anything big so we did a stacation, which is where you stay home and vacation in your own town. Visit parks, go out to eat, and just play in your own city. It’s a perfect option for a family vacation for those that don’t have the time or money to go away on vacation, and it can be just as fun!
2. Visit Family in Another City or State- For the longest time our family vacation was a 3 hour drive in the same state to go be with our family. We would stay with family to save on money and then enjoy our time with our relatives. We just had family move to another state, Texas, and my kids can’t wait to go visit.
3. Go to a Theme Park – Pick a theme park and go. There are SO many ways to get deals on different theme parks. If you are planning a southern California adventure, and going to Legoland, Knottsberry Park, or Disneyland, I would recommend working with Get Away Today. They are all about helping families save money to be able to go on trips!
4. Visit a National Park- A national park is great place to go for a family vacation. This year all the national parks across the nation will be celebrating their 100th year of national parks. Another great thing is if you have a 4th grader your family will receive a free national parks pass!! We live near so many amazing places, in Utah alone there are 5 National Parks!! Check out this new website www.nationalparkkids.com to get deals and find out about events going on in or near the national park you might be visiting.
5. Go Camping- Camping can be a lot of work since you have to bring your own tent, bedding and food, so my rule when we go camping is we have to stay at least 3 days (unless we go right by or house). Some of my most favorite memories are camping at Fish Lake, or Graeagle, California for the summer! Kids love camping and you can save a lot of money by camping instead of being in a hotel.
6. Boating/Lake Trip- Summer trips on the water are the best! I just recently wrote a post with ideas for spending your summer time on the water! There are all sorts of things you can do if you want to be near the water for your vacation! Head over HERE to read them
7. Cabin in the Mountains- This is such a fun vacation to do as a big family reunion, or just renting a small cabin for your own little family! Either way having a cabin can be so nice. You don’t have to bring a tent, and there is usually a full kitchen! (It’s my kind of camping!)
8. Beach Trip- This is a trip I want to do really soon. Camp on a beach or rent a beach house! Either way It would be so fun to be at the beach for a few days and live a carefree life!!
9. RV Road Trip- This is another dream of mine. To rent an RV and head out for a week or two and travel to a bunch of different states!! My sister’s family just got a Tent trailer and are having a blast using it for little overnighters and weekend getaways!
10. Cruise- 3 years ago my husband and I went on our first cruise. We had a great time and can’t wait to go back. There are tons of amazing cruise lines out there that would be perfect for families or just you and your spouse! Before my daughter turns 18 I want to take my whole family on a Disney Cruise.
There are obviously a lot of other vacation idea outside of the us, such as service opportunities outside or in the country or traveling abroad. Those aren’t as practical so I didn’t include them, but they would be so fun if you have the money! Speaking of money….
Save Money using a Credit Card
This summer we are headed to a cabin in the mountains and then in the fall we are hoping to do a bigger trip either to California or possibly Yellowstone. No matter what we do travel is expensive. Just driving a few hundred miles costs a lot just on gas. I always hear about my sisters using the “miles” from their credit card as part of their travel to help save money. We aren’t big credit card people, but feel like they are good to use if you can receive benefits and you pay them of as soon as you use them. I recently heard of the Discover It Miles credit card which I think will be great if we plan on traveling a lot,which I do! Discover it Miles card-members can redeem miles at any amount for cash, or as a statement credit toward their travel purchases, including commercial airline tickets, hotel rooms, car rentals, commuter transportation and taxicabs. Perfect card to use for any and all family vacations
Here are just some of the features of the card….
- No annual fee
- Fly any airline any time. Just buy a ticket and use Miles to credit your statement
- 1.5x miles for every dollar spent on purchases
- An annual credit up to $30 for in-flight Wi-Fi charges
- Miles never expire
- No foreign transaction fees
- Overnight shipping of a replacement card to any U.S. street address upon request
- A $0 fraud liability guarantee where you are never responsible for unauthorized purchases on your Discover card
Click here to read more and learn to use it to save on Family Vacation.
No matter what you do this year for your family vacation, make time as a family to go on one. Your kids will remember their fun family vacations forever!
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
