Travel on a Budget

One of the best ways to travel on a budget in these "interesting" times? Rent a vacation home. We may be cash-strapped and worried. But cutting back can help us find our way back to what really matters.

Here are five inexpensive family vacation ideas you can use to spend less and have more fun. And just maybe one of your most memorable family beach vacations in a long while.


#1. Take a road trip.

Plan a road trip. Your own Great American Road Trip, complete with road trip games snacks and songs. These days there's no more rewarding way to travel on a budget. Gas is (relatively) cheap. And you won't have to rent a car at the other end.

That's the dollars and cents. But consider this: driving can be part of your vacation experience. I just returned from a road trip to Santa Barbara -- seven hours each way -- and here's what I remembered.

Driving puts me in a meditative state. I wound down from "overwhelm" to a more relaxed and realistic focus. Lots of enforced alone time in the car trimmed back the distractions of home. I listened to some audiotapes ... all the way through. (I can never seem to find the time for more than short snatches at home.)

Driving encourages real conversation. If my husband had been along, I know we would have had one of our great in-depth talks that always happen in the car on the way to somewhere.

Driving creates opportunities for planned or serendipitous side trips. New scenery along the road never traveled. I stopped for honey-tasting and navel oranges. On the way back, I covered some new terrain: the bright-blue beach towns of Shell Beach California and the rolling hills of the Paso Robles wine country.

Driving gives you time to notice the scenery.
Turn off the DVD and pass out Auto Bingo -- or call a contest and reward the prettiest/strangest/most mysterious photo taken from the car window. It will give your family new eyes.

Tally the cost of fuel with AAA's road trip calculator.

A beach house vacation rental has all the comforts of home, without all the "to-do" and "must-fix" baggage your own home carries with it.

No soccer games to rush off to. No reason to get dressed before noon.

Instead, play marathon games of Monopoly, share memories, make popcorn and catch up on movies. Laugh loud without having to apologize to the management.

This is one of those inexpensive family vacation ideas that gives back -- strengthening your connections.

# 3. Eat in.

Not every meal. After all, you're on vacation!

But this is one of my favorite ways to travel on a budget, because in a rented vacation home making meals a group effort turns them into a fun event.

Get Betsy to work on her famous guacamole while Gary is firing up the grill the fish that's been soaking up Kathy's secret marinade all afternoon.

Throw something grown or caught in the area you're visiting into the mix. Buy the fresh catch right off the fishing boat. Shuck your own oysters. Shop the local farmer's markets. Uncork a bottle of local wine with dinner.

When you do go out, skip the pricey tourist traps and try a local hole-in-the-wall cafe or bakery.

They're rarely fancy. Some are open only certain days or certain hours of the day. Many come with long waits (with good reason).

A tuned-in owner or local rental property manager can clue you in on the places the locals love. (Check out Owners Favorites at the end of each review on Beach Vacation Rental Scout.)

#5. Do laundry.

This is one of those ways you can travel on a budget and reap the rewards the minute you arrive home.

Throw in a couple loads of laundry the day you leave your vacation rental. And you'll have one less chore when you get back to reality. (Plus you'll save on your own utility bill!)

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