Planning a National Parks Vacation for CHEAP!
Late this summer we are leaving for our National Park Vacation. Not only a vacation. A cheap National Parks Vacation. We're going super cheap, staying on a budget, and planning to have a blast.
We've had our Great-American Road Trip and we've had several smaller vacations but I think this is the grand-daddy of them all.
I've decided to call this one our Great National Park Vacation because we are travelling to 7 new (to us!) states and going on an epic loop to see as many National Parks as we can fit in.
This may be the worst time to do this. I am working full-time and will have to use all of my vacation time to do this.
COVID...need I say more about this?
Nick is still building his company after the months long global shutdown.
All this to say it sounds a bit like a bad time to take a two-week vacation.
However, as a family who is used to going and exploring, we are dying just staying put. So we decided to work our way across the country.
With Nick not working much these days, the point of being on budget is very much driven home. When I started planning this I was a bit terrified as to what we are going to have to spend. But as I've researched and planned I've relaxed quite a bit. It turns out a cheap national parks vacation CAN be done!
The truth is, it really doesn't have to be that expensive to go and visit our National Parks. They are magnificent and truly breath taking. If you haven't gotten into the whole, visiting parks thing, trust me, once you go, you'll be hooked!
As we go along I'm thinking of giving you a step by step of what things cost, how we spent our time. The works. Is that something you would want to hear about? If so make sure you leave a comment and let me know.
I would be so excited to share all of this with you because if it's one thing I love doing it is planning vacations and if there is a number 2 thing I like to do it is saving money. So those 2 combined makes for some epic fun times. Well, for me anyway!
I will go into breaking down our amazingly cheap vacation planning (so far!) in another post but for this one I wanted to share some pointers we are using to make this a cheap vacation.
With these, you can take a National Parks Vacation too!
Embrace Tent Camping
The majority of places that we are going we will be tent camping. We can also call this car camping as we will have our car close and keep most of our belongings in it. We do not have many lounge around the campfire stays planned (except one!). The rest are that we are simply unrolling the tent and going to sleep.
Now I will say that we tried this when the kids were little and it was horrible! Like, almost ended our marriage, didn't speak for a month after the trip, bad. So I would say that moving from campsite to campsite if you have babies who are in diapers may not be a good idea just from my experience. However, with kids who are older and are capable of helping, we are not worried about this at all. Each of us will have our own assigned task and when we arrive somewhere we will make quick work putting together camp.
Hotel Ammenities
We are staying at 3 hotels throughout our trip. Thankfully these are free because we will be using hotel points. Whenever you stay at a hotel make sure to ask if they have a loyalty program because almost all do. These points can add up quickly.
We have staged our nights for good times when we will be coveting a real bed, a real shower, and need to do our laundry. The hotels we will be staying at also have free breakfast so that helps keep our food budget down. Also use the breakfast area to grab snacks for your family that day as they always have lots of fresh fruit and granola bars. We will be filling our water jugs, washing our clothes, and getting a fresh start for the next leg of our adventure.
Every Kid in a Park
If you have a fourth grader, this pass makes National Parks free! There are some caveats to this as some places are "free" to get into but you have to pay an outside company for parking. If you're super tight on a budget make sure to look up where you're going to make sure it's included. And make sure to print the pass out before you go. You'll either show it to a ranger in lieu of paying or you'll trade your pass in for a cool pass card that your kiddo can sign. Either way it's a great benefit!
Don't eat out
The number one way to kill your budget is to eat out. As we plan our vacation I'm also planning meals and snacks. It always astounds me how much money we seem to spend when we darken the door of a restauant. Even a fast food place!
I try to plan meals so I know what we'll need each day. For our older kids and us I plan 3 meals a day and 2 snacks. That seems to be enough for us.
Even if you don't plan though and you just went to the supermarket next to a national park and bought food, I think you'd find it to still be cheaper than if you went out to eat. The price to buy our family food for a meal seems to be along the same lines as a meal for one person at a restaurant. It's sometimes the cost of two meals if we go all bells and whistles on a meal (steaks, dessert, etc) but still cheaper than eating out.
Along the way I'll try to throw in a few fun surprises so the kids can enjoy a surprise and I'm not blind sided by them.
Water
Whether you do decide to eat out or are packing for your campsite, water is your best friend. It is cheap, free, and easy to find.
If you're like we used to be, you might go to a restaurant and the whole family orders sodas. Or do you call it pop? Or Soda pop? After years of traveling we've weaned ourselves off the soda and only order water. One, because we are usually dehydrated from the day and need to recharge. And two, because we've been to touristy places like Pigeon Forge and have seen sodas for around $5...EACH. Which means that the 4 of us paid $20 like schmucks for drinks. That weren't even FUN drinks!
Include Your Kids in the Convo
My belief the worst thing you could do is not be straight with your kids. We sat down with our kids and explained to them that while things are tight while we try to get a business off the ground amidst a quarantine, we still want them to be able to go on a fun family vacation.
We didn't go into dollars and cents but we did explain that we are trying to budget for extras so we don't overspend.
This will give them a clear and honest perspective. It also gives them an opportunity to learn budgeting and value while on vacation. I know that we will be having discussions about what is a good value and what is not and we will be tracking our spending to make sure we have a good idea of what we are spending and where our money is going.
And not only is a budget a factor for us but time is too!
To give you an example we are only spending one day at Mount Rushmore. While I've never been to Mount Rushmore I can tell by looking at a map that there are touristy things to do...ziplining, ATV rentals, roller coasters, you name it. While these don't all fit into our budget, they also don't fit into our day with only having limited hours to tour the parks and monuments.
We've tried to give them a clear picture that there may be things we really want to do but just won't have time. I've told them that we need to remember the beauty of our national parks and monuments and reminded them that that is why we are going on the trip.
By having these conversations with your kids, at whatever level they need to be for their age, you don't have to feel a responsibility to try to hide the truth or feel you are letting them down.
Plan Your Trip
Simply showing up somewhere will be devestating to your budget. Just don't do it. Now, you for sure don't have to plan out a minute by minute schedule for everyone, but for sure have a general idea.
Surf Pinterest, search for YouTube videos of where you're going, google it to find super helpful travel blogs.
These will give you ideas of must-sees and an idea of things you may want or need to buy.
For example, watching this video convinced us we need to buy bear spray before we leave on vacation. So it saved us from having to buy it at the park. And we won't be eaten by bears. Either scenario we're grateful for the tip. Thanks!
I read a few blogs that talked about the hucklberry icecream (whahhh???). So I'm def budgeting for an ice cream stop for this deliciousness.
Wiggle Room
Make sure you have some wiggle room in your budget.
Whatever your comfort level is. Whether it's $50 or a few hundred dollars. Know that things will come up. Plan for extra expenses. Then lay back and chill about them. Don't be uptight and meany vacation dude. Not fun.
Would you like to see how we spend our money along the way and how we keep things cheap? Don't forget to comment below to let me know!
