If you are anything like I, you are reading this budget vacation article because if you don’t actually take your vacation this year you will end up having a breakdown. I decided not to take a vacation last year and to instead enjoyed a few long weekends; what a mistake! My own personal opinion is that, no matter the budget, a vacation is a necessity if you intend to stay sane. But unlike some well-to-do family members, I can’t afford to drop $10,000 a year for a week of relaxation.
Just like most single moms I am not loaded and I have to budget and penny pinch my way through, month to month. This however, has yet to stop me from enjoying a family and friends vacation every couple of years in Florida. I save every month and take about $1,000 from my income tax refund to complete my vacation savings. And it’s even more fun when you go with friends.
The first year, which I will be writing about in the future, was ghastly. Our fabulous “group vacation” to meet Mickey ended with each of us going at different times. And since I am the unofficial travel agent, I was proud to say that I got my friend a 8 day trip for 2 adults and 7 kids for around $2200.
First things first, the vacation budget, although it’s tough to think of a large amount without hyperventilating and thinking of a hundred other ways to spend that money, you can do it if you take a breath.
Remember, without a budget you will surely overspend, and I don’t know about you but I can’t afford to do that. And while some must be saying that staying close to home is the wisest thing, what with gas prices soaring and the dollar falling, I say you can do it if you plan right.
This year the main budget per family was anywhere from $1500 to $2000. This can get tricky when you consider that one family has 3 people and one has 5. So my mission was to get us transportation to and from Florida, transportation while there, hotel rooms and theme parks tickets. All of this considering of course, my one friend and sister without a license, oy vay!
So I got to researching, in February. I started with airlines, I was daunted at first because it seemed like no one from any part of the country was going anywhere for under 400 bucks. So, hopes high, I went on to the hotels, my hands were tied since I was being berated by one friend with “can we get it cheaper” about 5 times a day and “wow that’s a lot” from my sister in Colorado. It seemed to me that no matter what, they weren’t going to be happy. They wanted a luxury resort for hostel charges.
Personally I can stay at a 4 star resort or a mom and pop motel and be happy as long as it’s clean, we are safe and my kids are having fun.
After hours and days on the regulars like expedia, hotels.com and sidestep, I stumbled upon www.gtahotels.com, the prices were so low on some that I was sure they were crack houses. I mean 19 a night? Are you serious. So I logged on to Trip Advisor and started looking up the hotels, low and behold, yep! Some were crack houses. After about a week of sifting I found what I considered an okay motel in Kissimmee, which is close to Orlando. It was 36 a night, free breakfast, a heated pool and a game room. We all prepaid for this except for my sister whose husband was having second thoughts about vacation. So far on the Orlando on a budget we weren’t doing too bad, 294 for 7 nights lodging, including taxes. And no, it wasn’t the Ritz, but it got the job done.
Next I went back to the air fare, and BAM, I got lucky. Something you should consider is perhaps flying out of a town a little further away from you, or a smaller airport. I scored us tickets on Air Tran from Philadelphia and White Plains NY respectively for $179 round trip per person, and this was after the gas prices starting going nuts.
On to transportation, One of my friends got a great little economy car for the entire stay for $130. I paid $508 for a minivan and shared the cost with my sister, since she does not have a license. My last friend, well I found her the information needed for the Mears transportation company, she purchase roundtrip seats for the airport as well as the attractions for her and her 2 child for $380.
We had also decided to forgo Disney and take advantage of the awesome deal at Universal Orlando. $79 for 7 days unlimited entrance to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure, $89 when I purchase my sisters tickets just a few weeks before our July 1st trip.
Since my sister made her final decision to join us so late in the game, I thought she would pay through the nose for sure. But there is something to be said about airlines not wanting to have their planes take off from smaller airports with empty seats. She got a deal on American from Colorado Springs that was actually cheaper than the ticket price they were advertising on their website. The plane ticket was 376 per person, and 291 per person including hotel on their American Airlines Vacations website, go figure. And that was with her choosing the same hotel we were staying at, otherwise it would have been 269 per person.
This chronicle is just to show that starting early enough, dedicating time to research and keeping your budget in mind you can enjoy a week’s vacation in Florida without breaking the bank. My sister did pay a little more but please keep in mind that she wasn’t sure she was coming until the last minute.
Running total for each of the families that went:
Mine – 1 adult 3 kids
716 – Air
294 – Hotel
254 – Car rental
345 – Universal Theme Park Tickets for 4
$1609*
*Same for my friend except for an extra $179 and $79 each for 2 more children.
Friend from the Bronx – 1 adult 2 kids
534 – Air
294 – Hotel
380 – Transportation
240 – Universal Theme Park Tickets for 3
$1448
My sister 1 adult 3 kids, her husband stayed behind
1164 – Air and Hotel for 4
254 – Car Rental
356 Universal Theme Park Tickets
2374
So we each came in close to budget and that gave us more money to spend while we were there, which always rocks.
Look out for my other articles in the near future, Thanks for reading.
