Affordable vacation strategy
What are your tricks? I just looked at the internet for any new ideas I haven't yet considered and it didn't yield much new useful info. I'm just looking for any new ideas I haven't yet conside...
Forum Discussion
Affordable is relative to what you can afford.
Vacation generally, costs are lower at less popular destinations. "Must see" wonders, theme parks, big cities, beach and shore resorts have elevated prices all around them. That is about land values, supply and demand. Sites around Disneyworld, Branson, Opryland or the shore of Lake Michigan are going to be more expensive than a CG in a small woodland near a stream running through the corn belt.
In much of the midwest, I've found that once away from these attractions, there is not much difference in campsite costs, RV sites at state parks vs commercial RV parks. The real bargain is sometimes the semi-improved sites at USACE recreational accesses facilties on reservoirs and waterways, or unimproved sites in National and state forests; that's if you have forests, we more likely have grassland preserves.
Not eating out saves some money. In turn, it can cost some extra time unless you are OK with cold meals while traveling. If you start buying prepared meals to zap in the microwave, you might not be much better off, food quality and cost, compared to the cheaper menu items at fast food places. When moving, rather than stopping for set meals I will nibble snacks, watching portions for the same calories per day. A couple handfuls of trail mix can get me past a lunch stop and well into the evening if I start with a good breakfast.
RVing, biggest cost can be fuel, if your vacation keeps you moving. 400 miles per day, for me that's $200 for gas, $12-20 for the overnight stay, moving through the middle of the country, stopping in uncrowded rural areas. But that could be $50 a night close to a city or a popular vacation destiination, or maybe even close to $100 for a major resort or a play where I can step out the door and walk less than 50 feet to a beach.
Most of my RVing lately has been driving out to a Corps lake campground, 18 miles each way, staying five to ten days at a time at $8 a night (senior pass). That's about 5 gallons per round trip, $16-20 per trip the past couple of years. Ther's a bunch of us doing, though some in our RV club don't like getting out the RV to go to place they could be in 20 minutes if they drove from home.
Before my wife died, we mixed this kind of RVing with road tripping, covering 150-400 miles a day, sightseeing enroute, staying overnight at destinations we visited in the afternoon, or would visit the next morning. That's roadtripping, and for that the costs are different. $75-200 a day for fuel, depending on distance, and $30-50 a for campsite or RV site in these higher rent places, plus entry fees for places we visited, fees for things like train rides and guided tours, and souvenirs (wife liked to buy guidebooks and hats, I was maps and T-shirts. Road tripping also has a hotel/car option, for which moving costs and overnight costs sort of flip, and can be higher or lower depending on the performance of the car and hotel choices. I now drive a 35 mpg car and if I stay in $40-60 motel rooms it is cheaper than RVing. Driving a 14-18 MPG family bus, and needing one or two $100-125 motel rooms (and they might be $300 at destinations) the RV is probably going to look cheaper.
If you are fiiling in National Park passports, sounds like you are road tripping, rather than staying close to home. You can save money on road trips by taking shorter trips, staying longer at destinations, not being overly ambitious driving 7000 miles to visit six natioal parks on one trip. Of course, that might be saving on each trip, because to hit all the destinations on a given list you will make more trips over time.
BTW, I find souvenir T-shirts from park gift shops are about twice as expensive as an equivalent shirt from a discount store or a clothing chain. But I buy them anyway.
Vacation generally, costs are lower at less popular destinations. "Must see" wonders, theme parks, big cities, beach and shore resorts have elevated prices all around them. That is about land values, supply and demand. Sites around Disneyworld, Branson, Opryland or the shore of Lake Michigan are going to be more expensive than a CG in a small woodland near a stream running through the corn belt.
In much of the midwest, I've found that once away from these attractions, there is not much difference in campsite costs, RV sites at state parks vs commercial RV parks. The real bargain is sometimes the semi-improved sites at USACE recreational accesses facilties on reservoirs and waterways, or unimproved sites in National and state forests; that's if you have forests, we more likely have grassland preserves.
Not eating out saves some money. In turn, it can cost some extra time unless you are OK with cold meals while traveling. If you start buying prepared meals to zap in the microwave, you might not be much better off, food quality and cost, compared to the cheaper menu items at fast food places. When moving, rather than stopping for set meals I will nibble snacks, watching portions for the same calories per day. A couple handfuls of trail mix can get me past a lunch stop and well into the evening if I start with a good breakfast.
RVing, biggest cost can be fuel, if your vacation keeps you moving. 400 miles per day, for me that's $200 for gas, $12-20 for the overnight stay, moving through the middle of the country, stopping in uncrowded rural areas. But that could be $50 a night close to a city or a popular vacation destiination, or maybe even close to $100 for a major resort or a play where I can step out the door and walk less than 50 feet to a beach.
Most of my RVing lately has been driving out to a Corps lake campground, 18 miles each way, staying five to ten days at a time at $8 a night (senior pass). That's about 5 gallons per round trip, $16-20 per trip the past couple of years. Ther's a bunch of us doing, though some in our RV club don't like getting out the RV to go to place they could be in 20 minutes if they drove from home.
Before my wife died, we mixed this kind of RVing with road tripping, covering 150-400 miles a day, sightseeing enroute, staying overnight at destinations we visited in the afternoon, or would visit the next morning. That's roadtripping, and for that the costs are different. $75-200 a day for fuel, depending on distance, and $30-50 a for campsite or RV site in these higher rent places, plus entry fees for places we visited, fees for things like train rides and guided tours, and souvenirs (wife liked to buy guidebooks and hats, I was maps and T-shirts. Road tripping also has a hotel/car option, for which moving costs and overnight costs sort of flip, and can be higher or lower depending on the performance of the car and hotel choices. I now drive a 35 mpg car and if I stay in $40-60 motel rooms it is cheaper than RVing. Driving a 14-18 MPG family bus, and needing one or two $100-125 motel rooms (and they might be $300 at destinations) the RV is probably going to look cheaper.
If you are fiiling in National Park passports, sounds like you are road tripping, rather than staying close to home. You can save money on road trips by taking shorter trips, staying longer at destinations, not being overly ambitious driving 7000 miles to visit six natioal parks on one trip. Of course, that might be saving on each trip, because to hit all the destinations on a given list you will make more trips over time.
BTW, I find souvenir T-shirts from park gift shops are about twice as expensive as an equivalent shirt from a discount store or a clothing chain. But I buy them anyway.
