Fall Break Vacation Ideas

Fall Break is coming up....do you have plans?

Lots of people from Utah head to Disneyland over UEA (CA locals call is "Utahans invadE Anaheim) which is why my family and I steer clear of Disneyland over UEA.

If you are still looking for some vacation ideas, here are a few my family and I are debating on:

During October many San Diego attractions have a Kids are FREE with paying adult deal. Some of the participating locations are:

San Diego Sea World: One child ages 3-9 gets in free with each full-price adult ticket purchased. (This offer is only valid for one-day admission and is not combinable with other offers

San Diego Zoo: Kids age 3-11 get in free. Free admission does not include bus tour or Skyfari, but can be upgraded at the gate.

San Diego Zoo's Safari Park:  Kids 3-11 get in free.




San Diego Old Town Trolley: Kids 4-12 ride free with each adult ticket purchased.

SEAL Tour:   Kids ages 4-12 free with the purchase of an adult ticket

Vacation Budget a little low? Here are some alternative ideas a little closer to home:

Yellowstone starts is off season in October. Hotels are deeply discounted from their summer season rates. The park is not as crowded and the animals are plentiful. We went last October and had a great time and saw a million elk. Be sure to bring coats gloves and winter hats. The mornings are chilly but the air heats up mid-morning.  For more  Yellowstone tips, check out my post HERE.

Southern Utah National and State Parks are a great alternative.  Look at booking your hotel NOW. If you aren't 100% sure you can get away this fall, make a reservation you can cancel with no fees.  At least you will have the room if you decide to go.

YMCA of the Rockies in Colorado. Hotel rooms as low as $79 a night and that includes most activities. (Things like Horseback riding are extra) It's worth looking into!

Still looking for a cost cutting vacation? Here are a few tips:

1. Use your membership passes to local attractions. Try packing a picnic or going during hours you don't usually go. The zoo looks different in the late afternoon compared to early morning visits.
2. Go on a "Park Hunt" around your community. Drive around until you find neighborhood parks and have your kids rate them on their favorite. Coming up with fun names for parks is fun too. We have been to "Basketball Park, Tree Park and my all time favorite name...Dead Bird Park".
3. Search deal sites like LivingSocial or Groupon for things to do.
4. Take a drive up the canyon and view the changing leaves.

1 Night Condo in Park City starting at $89

Groupon has a deal for 1 night at Silver King Hotel for

• $89 a night during off season
• $135 during ski season.

The savings build the more nights you stay.

Utah Readers: Park City off season is my favorite time to visit. The leaves are turning colors, it's not crowded and during the day it's warm enough to go hiking.

If you are looking for an inexpensive Stay-cation for fall break, this is one you might want to look into.

(Thanks Coupons4Utah)

Planning vs. Doing, Vacation Planning Part 3

I just found this image on Facebook.  It made me think of people that ask me all the time about how my family and I travel so often.

We have traveled to 19 countries and many states. As a family we have decided that instead of collecting "stuff" we will collect memories and see and experience other places and cultures.

My husband is a teacher so our summer schedule is very flexible.  We don't really plan vacation, we look for deals and go where the deals are.

Here are some ways we have found cheap vacations:

• Think about visiting friends and family out of state or country.  We have connections in NYC, NJ, Boston, Denver, Southern California, Seattle, Japan and Australia. We have taken advantage of these destinations a few time. ;) If you can stay with family or friends, you can save a TON in hotels. (now I need a connection in Hawaii....:)
• Be flexible with your airfare. Check before and after your desired dates. In my experience, Tuesday's seem to be the cheapest travel dates for Airfare.  Also traveling ON holidays are much cheaper then before and after. Example: Travel ON Thanksgiving when everyone else has plans and you can get 1/2 price airfare compared to the day before or the day after.
• JUST DO IT! When people find out I've been to Australia they usually say "Lucky! I've always wanted to go there!" I tell them "DO IT!" and they act like it's beyond their reach to travel to Australia or anywhere.  At least look into it, you may be surprised at the prices you see. Once you get an idea of prices you can set a goal to save for what you need to make your travel plans a reality!

Like the above image says "You can't change anything or make any sort of progress sitting back and thinking about it."

Vacation Planning (Airfare & Luggage)- part 2

I covered quite a bit in my last Vacation Post. Here are a few things I didn't mention about how to find a Thrifty deal on Airfare:

• Use your air miles. If you have saved any miles up, take a look at that airline reward schedule. You might be surprised and how far you can get on the miles you have, and if you are a little short, most airlines let you "buy miles" to make up the difference. Also remember most airlines have "air partners" and you can use your miles on ANY of those partners. Here is a list of Sky Team partners (Delta), and Here is a list of Mileage plus partners (United). We travel a lot, and we had enough miles and used them to get our family of 5 to Maui over Easter this year.
• Fly in and out of the same airport, it's usually cheaper. Arrange your plans so you and arrive and depart from the same airport.

• When you purchase your tickets, you will often have the option to select your seats. Selecting an aisle and window seats (leaving the middle seat vacant) will deter strangers from taking your middle seat...if the flight is not full. Think about it....if you were buying a ticket that was sitting single, would you purchase a ticket in between 2 people? And if you luck out and no one does sit in that seat, you have room to stretch out. If someone does purchase that seat, it's VERY easy to swap them after you are on board for the window or aisle seat....no one wants a middle seat. :)

Luggage: People over pack. The end.
Here are a few tried and true tips to packing luggage:

• You can not carry water through security. HOWEVER, you CAN carry EMPTY water bottles through security. Pack an empty water bottle (disposable ones you have previously used) and fill them at a water fountain after you pass security. Then you can carry it on board and use it when the stewardess takes too long with your Coke. This works GREAT with kids with short attention spans that "NEED A DRINK NOW!!!"
  
• Ear phones are a must. Airlines charge you an average of $2 to use a pair of theirs. Earbuds don't take up much room, just toss them in your carry on bag for easy access.
• I like to travel with magazines I haven't had a chance to read yet. When I'm done with them, I can toss them in the trash and have more room to bring back souvenirs. And I don't have to re-pack that book to take back home.
• On long flights, or red eyes, be sure to pack eye masks and sleeping pills. You might feel stupid wearing the eye masks, but they really do help. They block out the annoying cabin lights. Sleeping pills help you sleep undisturbed for longer while on the flight.
• You can do laundry in your hotel. This lessens the amount of clothes you need to pack and therefore maximizes your space to bring stuff home. My husband and I traveled to Europe for two weeks a few years ago with a carry on each (2 total) and one small backpack, we did laundry in the hotel.
  
• As of now, carry on luggage is FREE. Take advantage of it and pack light.
• And lastly, pack an empty duffel bag in your luggage. This comes in SO HANDY if you buy stuff where you are going. Choose one that is very compactable without a hard bottom. *Think Gym bag* They roll up nicely, but can hold quite a bit of stuff when opened.
  

Vacation Planning part 1 - Airfare

It's that time of the year to start thinking about Spring Break plans and next Summer vacations!
When are the best times to travel? Where to start? Where are the good deals on air fare? When is the best time to book?

*Tip- Book your airfare BEFORE your hotel. It might be cheaper to fly into a nearby airport rather then the one you planned to book your hotel near. Also, there are a ton of hotels.....not as many flights.

When are the best times to travel?
Off-season, period. It's cheaper and less crowded. If you can go while school is in session to say, Disneyland, the park will be SO less crowded then on ANY school holiday and you will find better hotel rates. I will dedicate an entire post to Disneyland later. :)

Also, when searching for airfare, if your plans are flexible you can find better deals. Leaving and returning during the week is extremely cheaper then weekend travel. Search non-stop first. Often they are the same price as a 1 stop ticket, and you get there faster.

Where to Start:
I always start with a search for airfare through Kayak . It is easy to use and compares most airlines. And on the right side of the search there is a calendar that shows you fares for different days for the entire month. I just did a search for SLC to JFK in November and found a fare on Nov 3 for $279 Round Trip & non-stop!!
*After you find a good price on airfare on ANY search engine, go directly to that airline's web page to book the deal.* Search engines charge you a fee if you book through them.

With airfare, also check Southwest and Jet Blue. These two airlines DO NOT get searched on Kayak. They do not fly into every airport, so if your airport is not listed you will not be able to fly with them. (direct anyway)

What are good deals?
A decent deal to NYC from SLC is $400 RT (round trip). Anything less then that is AMAZING! (like the Nov. 3rd deal I found above)
SLC to Hawaii is about the same $400 RT.

You can base the places in between off that rate. Searching over a period of time, like a week or two will give you a good idea on what you should be paying.

Sign up for travel newsletters like Travelzoo and your travel destinations could be determined by a great deal you get in your inbox.

When is the best time to book?
I have noticed a difference from the beginning of the week to the end of the week. Never search/buy tickets on weekends. If you search over a period of time, you can see the fares fluctuate slightly.

Purchasing your tickets for planned travel as early as possible is the rule of thumb. Fares raise the closer you book to your departure. But again, search over a week or more so you know what the cheapest rate is you can get.

However, if you are available last minute, there are some great deals to be had. My sister was available to go last minute, so I bought her $10 one way tickets on Jet Blue to JFK during their "10th anniversary sale". She flew the red eye (leaves late at night and arrives early the next morning, you sleep on the plane and wake up with "red eyes") landed at 5:30 am, and left at 7:00pm that night. 12 hours in the "big city" for $20 and memories to last a lifetime!

Airport time:
Plan on arriving 1 hour PRIOR to your departure. I know that seems ridiculous, but with security today, and especially if you check a bag (a BIG NO NO) then you will need more time.

The one thing that can ruin your plans is a missed flight.

Disneyland Ticket Prices increase up to 35% at midnight TONIGHT!

If you have plans to go to Disneyland this year, you will want to purchase your tickets TONIGHT!

at midnight tonight they increase up to 35%!!!

Tickets need to be used by 12/31/2012.

Here's the breakdown:

Ages 10 and older			Ages 3 - 9
Ticket	Old price	New Price	% increase	Old Price	New Price	% increase
5-Day Park Hopper	$266	$290	9%	$246	$270	10%
5-Day 1-Park Per Day	$251	$260	4%	$231	$240	4%
4-Day Park Hopper	$249	$275	10%	$231	$255	10%
4-Day 1-Park Per Day	$234	$245	5%	$216	$225	4%
3-Day Park Hopper	$224	$250	12%	$208	$235	13%
3-Day 1-Park Per Day	$209	$220	5%	$193	$205	6%
2-Day Park Hopper	$173	$200	16%	$161	$188	17%
2-Day 1-Park Per Day	$158	$170	8%	$146	$158	8%
1-Day Park Hopper	$105	$125	19%	$99	$119	20%
1-Day 1-Park	$80	$87	9%	$74	$81	9%

Annual Pass	Old price	New Price	% increase
Premier (DLR/WDW)	$749	$849	13%
Premium	$499	$649	30%
Deluxe	$379	$469	24%
Southern California*	$269	$329	22%
Southern California Select*	$199	$269	35%
Annual Parking Pass	$99	$129	30%

This increase is for the Disneyland California resort, NOT Disney World.
You can get more info HERE.

(Thanks Karen!)

Fiji Island Cruise

A few years ago my husband and I went on a Fiji Islands Cruise. We booked through Captain Cook Cruises (based out of Sydney). We did the 4 night Yasawa Islands cruise and it was an AMAZING trip. I tell everyone I can about Captain Cook Cruises...now I'm telling you. :)

They have 3 night cruises starting at $649 per person.

If you've ever thought about going to Fiji, I would HIGHLY recommend this cruise. The main island of Fiji is nothing. Denarau is lined with high end hotels with no or not very good beach in a shipping harbor and off that small island it's a 3rd world country.....not the picture of "Fiji" that you have in your head. Those images are off the main island.

Crystal clear water, beautiful green covered islands, fun locals, beautiful sunsets, deserted beaches....it's amazing.

Travel packages vs. Planning it on my own

I have been able to travel to Australia twice in my lifetime. We visited Sydney both times as well as Cairns "Gateway to the Great Barrier Reef". We did a 4 day live-aboard SCUBA trip on the reef, visited Daintree Rainforest, Sydney Opera house, the Sydney Bridge and stayed with some friends in Port Macquarie. Both trips were amazing.

I found a deal on Groupon today for a packaged deal to Australia that included the Gold Coast, Cairns and Sydney for $2,499 per person if you travel between May 1 and June 8th.

I thought this would be a great time to point out the benefits and negatives of using packaged deals.

Cost:
The Groupon deal for 2 people is $4,998 (excluding any tax and fees that I don't know about)

EXACTLY everything that the Groupon deal includes (minus the surfing lessons in Sydney) will cost 2 people $5,823 if you were to package it on your own.

Airfare alone is $1,668 each person ($3,336 for 2 people). So depending on what you want to do and how long you want to spend at each place, this may or may not be a good deal for you. If you are fine with everything that the the package offers, then using the package deal this time will save you over $800 on 2 passengers.

Agenda:
If the tours are guided you are bound by the tour guides schedule and the pace of the group. My husband and I did a guided tour of Jerusalem and although the tour was good, being tied to the group was torture! We wanted to explore things on our own, go places the tour wasn't going, go faster or slower then the group. We got funneled into tourist shops that had "deals" made with the tour company so we HAD to shop there....I'm talking locked us in the shop and drove away type of experience. (NOT kidding) I always thinks is funner to explore on your own, but if that's not your thing you might want to look at a guided tour.

Hotels and Activities:
The Groupon deal for Australia has selected companies and hotels that were able to offer them discounts for offering lower rates to get more people to fill their open rooms or schedules. The hotels Groupon is working with are not 5 star, but they also aren't the cheapest you can get.
If you book on your own trip at less expensive hotels you can get your total "pieced together" trip lower then the packaged deal.

I bought a snorkeling tour in Florida last summer on Groupon for $49 each. The tour company in Australia is charging $187 per person. Granted it's in another country and I have no idea if Australia has "Groupons" but my point is that there are better deals out there if you look for them. You might even be able to call the company and they will quote you a lower rate then online. Or your hotel might be able to offer you a discounted rate on select activities if you book through them.

Time Allotted:
I stated earlier that I've been to Australia twice. I've never been to the Gold Coast aka "Surfer's Paradise" but I've been to Carnies and Sydney. 3 days in Cairns as listed in the packaged deal is a good amount of time. 4 nights in Sydney is too many in my opinion. I'd say 3 would be my max but I'd probably opt for 2. When you purchase packaged deals you are on their time schedule.

Transportation:
Airfare will be the highest expense on the trip. I suggest doing a search on your own to see what airfare you are able to get. Starting with airfare rates will give you a good idea if it will be worth it to book the trip on your own.

Another thing to consider is transportation to and from the airport. Dose the hotel you are staying at offer a free shuttle to or from the airport? Package deals usually include hotel transport.

Food:
Are there eating establishments nearby your hotel? Does the hotel offer free breakfast? Whenever possible we always book hotels with free breakfasts. It saves us time in the morning so we can gut up and go see the sights rather then having to find breakfast on the road.

Off Season:
Package deals seem to pop up a lot during the destinations off season. Australia is in the Southern Hemisphere so in May they are just getting into fall. The weather should still be nice, but be sure you question on any package deal if you are okay to go at that time of year or if you are just going to get the deal. If you are not okay going at that time of year, hold out and look for deals on every aspect of your trip and you can book the trip you want when you want to go.

We decided to take advantage of off season airfare deals in Florida last August. Ya~Florida in August, one word....HUMID!!! But the airfare was only $138 round trip from SLC, UT to Florida. We had to purchase 5 tickets so for us the price outweighed the time of year.
So in summary:

1. Start with a search of Airfare prices you can get on your own. I always start with Kayak.
2. Search for hotels and check reviews at Trip Advisor
3. Trip Advisor also lists local activities and places to eat.
4. Do some quick math so you can determine if the package deal is cheaper for you.
   

For more vacation planning tips click HERE.

Yellowstone on a Dime

My family and I went to Yellowstone for the weekend and had so much fun exploring the park! We even hit Grand Teaton National Park and Jackson Hole on the way home. We bought a National Parks Annual Pass ($80) over Spring Break so we didn't have to pay entrance fees at all. A 7 day entrance pass to Yellowstone is $25. This trip was our 9th and 10th National Park this year, so we definitely got our money's worth.

We stayed in West Yellowstone, MT and were given a heads up about how expensive things are there, so we planned accordingly. Here's what we did:

• 2 Night stay at the Best Western Weston Inn $69 a night. ($155 total for both nights) October 1 is the start of "off season" so we were able to score some really cheap hotel rates.
• Breakfast was provided at the hotel. Waffles, bagles, toast, muffins, cereal, oatmeal packets, juice, milk, coffee and pastries. FREE (included with the hotel cost)
  

• Lunches were sandwiches picnics in the park. We brought up all the open packages in our pantry. Granola bars, Fruit snacks, chips, microwave popcorn, marshmallows, bread, hotdog buns, oreos, little debbie brownies (these are a vacation treat for my boys...and me. ;)...etc. We also brought up a cooler with a gallon of milk, lunch meat, sliced cheese, apples, bananas, condiment packages, bottles of water and ice packs. FREE because I already had everything.

• Dinner the first night was Nachos. Before we left I browned some hamburger, seasoned it with taco seasoning and put it in a gallon zip-loc bag. I also grated some cheddar cheese and placed it in a quart size bag. I packed a 3/4 empty bottle of salsa and our 1/2 empty bag of Costco tortilla chips and paper plates. We put chips on our plate, then a little meat, cheese and salsa and ate dinner in the hotel room. Once again....FREE.

• Dinner the second night was BBQ chicken sandwiches. We used the extra bread we didn't need for sandwiches and 3 buns I brought from home. I packed 1 container of Loyds BBQ Chicken that I had in the freezer. I actually packed it frozen so it was like one more ice pack in the cooler. We heated the meat in the microwave, put it on our bread or bun and ate it with chips. cost: FREE
• We did eat out twice. On the way up we stopped at Wendy's where we paid $8 to feed all 5 of us. I used 2 FREE Dave single coupons and we bought the boys value menu burgers. The second time we ate out was in Evanston, WY on the way home. I "splurged" and bought an Arby's regular roast beef and my son got a jr. roast beef. Then I drove across the street and got the other 3 people in our family each a value menu item for $1. So Dinner cost us $7 total. We didn't buy any fries or drinks because we still had chips, apples and water bottles. Total cost for eating out: $15.

A trick about using water bottles and saving money on buying soda for trips is to use mix in flavor packets. You can get them for $1 for 8-10 packets per box at any dollar store. They are sugar free and they taste really good. My kids think it's a treat to mix in their fruit punch mix into their water bottle. :)
Gas was our most expensive cost. We left with a full tank and topped off in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. We used my phones Gas Buddy App (FREE) to find the cheapest gas station. I highly recommend this app! :)

And of course we did the FREE Jr. Ranger program!

We did Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park in the same trip.

TOTAL COST: $310.00. ($140 of that was gas)

for a 3 day Road Trip to Yellowstone.

Florida Vacation Cost Breakdown

Some of you have been wondering if I kept track of expenses while on my Florida trip. Yes I did.

I wasn't going to post about it because I knew it would be a pricey trip...not so much on the "Thrifty" side of things. But we did save money on airfare ($69 one way) and we were able to do a few fun things like eat at a local diner, air boat ride, snorkel tour and stay at a nice hotel for 2 nights with the money we saved.

So here is a cost breakdown of our trip:

889 Airfare
420 Car Rental
210 6 nights at Red Roof Inns in South Florida (with family employee discount)
347 2 nights in Key Largo Hampton Inn
75 Dinner for 5 in Key Largo (yikes, I know!)
50 Groceries (milk, doughnuts, Capri Suns, Chips, Cookies, Cup of Noodles, lunch meat, cheese, bread)
40 Fast Food
82 Alligator Farm and Air Boat ride for 5 in the Everglades
107 Eco Tour and Reef Snorkel for 5 in the Keys
32 State Park Entrance Fees and Toll Roads
6 Parking meters

Total Cost: $2,258

So our 8 day Florida beach vacation for 5 cost us $451.60 per person.
Which is $100 less then the current air fare alone per person from SLC to Florida.
Okay, so I guess it WAS pretty Thrifty after all. ;)

Travelzoo Local Deals

Travelzoo has a huge list of local deals on their website HERE.

If you are looking for discount activities in your area or traveling this summer, you might want to check the list for deals.  A few that stuck out to me are

• $15 Whale Watching Tours out of Newport Beach, CA
• 50% off Mary Poppins tickets in Portland
• $7 Ferry to Harbor Island, MASS
• $99 Hot Stone Massage, Facial and Pedicure in Manhattan, NY

5 Tips to Booking a Hotel

I am suppose to be at Yellowstone National Park this weekend.  We checked the weather before we left and the high was suppose to be 52 with thunderstorms/snow all weekend. Here's the forecast for this weekend at Yellowstone:

 BRRRR!!!! And not so much fun to hike in. :(

Since most of what we would be doing at Yellowstone was going to be outdoors, we decided to postpone our trip.  I'm really bummed about it.  I've never been to Yellowstone and was looking forward to it.  I'll get there someday....

This experience made me think of a Summer Vacation Tip that I could share with everyone. 

1. When planning a vacation that is dependent on the weather AND you can easily cancel the trip....be sure to check the hotels cancellation policy prior to booking the room.  We were driving to Yellowstone so it was easy to cancel our trip because there was no airfare involved.  The hotels I booked (Best Western and Motel 6) had cancellation policy's of 4:00 pm the day prior to arrival.  I booked these hotels because of the price and the cancellation policy.
2. Be aware that "Web Only Pricing" rates are NOT refundable or changeable.  I learned this the hard way when I tried to cancel a room over Spring Break.  Again the weather called for snow and we were suppose to be hiking Bryce Canyon in Utah. (oh the joys of living in Utah...stupid snow!) ;)
3. If you do need to change a non-refundable rate, ask to speak to the hotel manager.  I did this for our reservation and he said although he could not refund me the money, he could change the date to any other day before the end of the year.  So we booked the same hotel at the same rate for October.  It never hurts to ask.  And snow or no snow we will be there in October!
4. Be sure to check Trip Adviser to find ratings on hotels where you are going.  I always check Trip Adviser before booking any hotels.  Often you will find hotels with much better ratings for the same price.  They also tell you about things like what the free breakfast includes, how quite the rooms are and if the hotel charges for parking.  The reviews are done by travelers, not by anyone paid to review the hotel.  I've left a few reviews myself. :)
5. If you use a travel deal site to search for a hotel, be sure to check the hotels direct site for rates.  Sometimes the deal sites will charge you a fee for helping you find your hotel.  The direct website for the hotel will not charge you any fees to find available rooms.

TravelZoo Deals

If you like to travel, I suggest you sign up for the Travelzoo e-newsletter.  About once a week they email you the best vacation deals available.  Recently I bought round trip airfare from SLC to West Palm Beach Florida for $69 each way!  Normal roundtrip airfare is about $400 each, I bought RT airfare for $140 each!

I just got the most recent email and they have deals to Prague (I've been to Prague, it's AMAZING), Ireland, Cancun hotels in Waikiki and more.

Here are a few I think are great deals:
$89 hotel near Disneyland PLUS breakfast
SLC to Miami for $97 one way on weekends (not as good as I was able to get, but still good)
$169 4 night Caribbean Cruise + $25 gas card

Planning a trip to Florida.......I need your help!

Do you remember the incredible deal I posted for airfare from SLC to Florida?

Well, I pounced on this deal and was able to get my family 5 tickets at the $69 one way rate. YAY!!!  We've been looking to go to Florida for 3 years and haven't found good enough airfare until now.

So now comes the part where I need your help.......I've never been to Florida and my husband did Orlando when he was younger.  After looking at amusement park ticket prices (X5), we've decided to bypass Orlando all together.  We want to explore Florida on this trip.

So for those of you that have been to Florida.....

• Where are places that we MUST see?
• Where are the best beaches?
• We found some Ocean Nature Preserve near Key Largo that looks fun, and says the snorkeling is great. (?)
• Any tips on seeing the Everglades?  
• What about crocodiles alligators ;)?  My boys would love to see a few of those. :)
• Two people have suggested Sanibel. (?)
• Do you have any tips on where to stay and how long we need at any one location?

We are flying into West Palm Beach and heading South with a rental car with 3 boys ages 11,8,5.

I'm very appreciative of any info or tips you have.  THANK YOU!!!

**I can also give tips on things to do at locations I've been to.  I've traveled to many places.....just not Florida. :)  So if you have any questions on a location you are headed shoot me an email and if I've been there I'll help you out.  Or post it up here so everyone can provide input.

1 Week Road Trip under $1,000 for a family of 5.

For Spring Break this year we decided to stay fairly close to home.  We did a road trip down to the Grand Canyon, Arizona; Monument Valley, Utah; 4 Corners; Mesa Verde, Colorado; Canyonlands, Utah; Arches, Utah; and Goblin Valley, Utah.

We ended up spending $965.97 total for a week long vacation for a family of 5.  We started with a full tank of gas that I did not calculate into the totals. Here is a summary of expenses we had each day:

DAY 1:

• Hold Breath and hope the Government doesn't shut down all National Parks. cost: free (plus a few gray hairs)  Then Saturday afternoon drive to Southern Utah and stay with family.
• COSTS: Gas-$59.24, Dinner-$9.64 (Taco Bell), Groceries-$10.02 (doughnuts, milk, cup of noodles for meals on the road) Day 1 total cost: $78.90

DAY 2:

• Drive to South Rim of the Grand Canyon, Arizona.
• COSTS: Annual National Parks pass-$80, Breakfast free (doughnuts and milk) Lunch $14.74 (McDonald's), Dinner in hotel room (Cup of Noodles) free, Hotel-$88.98  
• Day 2 total costs: $183.72

DAY 3:

• Grand Canyon all day
• COSTS: Breakfast-free (hotel), Lunch-free (leftovers and snacks), Dinner-$8.27 (Wendy's), Hotel-$88.98 
• Day 3 Total Costs: $97.25

DAY 4:

• Drive to Monument Valley, 4 Corners arrive in Cortez, Colorado.
• COSTS: Gas-$82.77, Breakfast-free (hotel), Lunch-$12.77 (Burger King),  Dinner-free (Cup of Noodles and microwave single servings Mac and Cheese) Monument Valley admit $15, 4 Corners admit $12, Walmart-$27.15 (lunchables, milk, Mac and Cheese packets and ice cream sandwiches), Hotel-$71.25
• Day 4 Total Costs: $149.69

DAY 5:

• Mesa Verde NP all day
• COSTS: Breakfast-free (hotel), Lunch-free (lunchables and snacks), Dinner-$33.77 (local Mexican restaurant), Gas-$66.30, Hotel-$71.25
• Day 5 Total Costs: $171.32

DAY 6:

• Drive to Canyonlands NP, UT; Arches NP, UT
• COSTS: Breakfast-free (hotel), Lunch-free (leftover lunchables and snacks), Dinner-free (cup of Noodles), Hotel-$89.82
• Day 6 Total Costs: $89.82

DAY 7:

• Arches National Park all day
• COSTS: Breakfast-free (hotel), Lunch-free (sandwiches), Dinner-$43.05 (Denny's), Groceries-$6.17 (french bread, lunch meat, sliced cheese and Cheez-its), Gas-$59.24, Hotel-$89.82
• Day 7 Total Costs: $188.28

DAY 8:

• Drive to Goblin Valley State Park then Drive home
• COSTS: Breakfast -free (hotel), Lunch-free (leftover sandwiches, crackers and snacks), Goblin Valley admit-$7
• Day 8 Total Costs: $7.00

Total cost for our Spring Break Trip was $965.97 

For a family of 5 for 8 days!!

Optional Purchases we made that I didn't tally are:

• Jr. Ranger patches for my 3 boys (between $3-$5 each).  We bought each boy (3) their own Jr. Ranger patch after they completed the program at each National Park we went to (4 parks). 
• My husband bought a poster from the visitor center for his classroom. 
• My boys each got a "Smashed Penny" from 3 locations. (they collect them in a "Elongated Penny Passport")  *These are usually available at the same location where the "smashing machine" is at.  Check the gift shop.  They are about $5 per book.  They also have them all over ebay.
• We also decided to pay $3 for each boy to go bowling and $5 for myself at our hotel at the Grand Canyon.

15 places kids need to see before they are 15

I just found this article on Budget Travel.  We might have to make this a long term family goal!  We have a few crossed off, and we are doing the Grand Canyon in a few weeks. :)

Budget Travel's 15 places kids need to see before they are 15

1. Grand Canyon - Arizona
2. Redwood National Park -California
3. Monticello - Virginia
4. The Freedom Trail - Mass.
5. Niagara Falls- NY
6. The National Mall- Washington D.C.
7. Williamsburg- Virginia
8. Walt Disney World Resort- Florida
9. Independence Hall- Pennsylvania
10. Alcatraz Island, CA
11. Ellis Island- NY
12. Yellowstone National Park - Wyoming, Montana and Idaho
13. Fenway Park - Mass.
14. Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve- Idaho
15. San Diego Zoo - CA

Link HERE to read the entire article and see travel tips and discounts available.

There is also THIS article on "15 Places Every Kid should see, American Monuments.

Disneyland Tickets

Trips to Disneyland can be expensive.
My recommendations for planning your trip are:

1. Book your hotel or condo FIRST.  That way you can play around with the dates and get the best rate.  I talked about a few hotels in the area that I've had experience with in my previous post HERE.
2. Decide how many days you want to spend at Disneyland.  Most people go for 3-6 days.  The best deal per day price is 5 days and to do a 6 day ticket it is only $5 more per day then the 5 day pass.  
3. Here is the breakdown in prices for park hopper passes if you buy them through Disneyland.com (YES, YOU WILL WANT A PARK HOPPER PASS):    

Park Hopper Days	Child Ticket	Adult Ticket	Child per day	Adult per day
3-Day	$165.00	$186.00	$55.00	$62.00
4-Day	$178.00	$201.00	$45.00	$58.00
5-Day	$186.00	$211.00	$37.00	$42.00
6-Day	$190.00	$216.00	$32.00	$36.00

  

Where is the cheapest place to purchase tickets? 

NOT AT THE PARK!  Whatever you do, DO NOT wait to purchase your tickets at the park.    

• Disneyland.com always has tickets less then at the park and sometimes they have specials that run between select dates. Right now the special runs through April 14th, meaning your first day of use must be before April 14th.  The prices are cheaper for this special then the ones I posted.  Plus, these tickets allow you early access one morning.  I talked about the early admission tickets in my last Disneyland post, HERE.   
• Mouseplanet will show you all available discounts on ticket at the bottom of their Resort Report page.  Select the most recent day (updated Mondays), scroll to the bottom and see if there are any deals.  They break down the ticket prices by type of ticket and list where you can get the best prices from.
• If you stay at a hotel the front desk can sell you tickets at the online price which is cheaper then at the ticket booth at the park.  
• Travel agency's like Get Away Today also sell discounted tickets.  BE AWARE that they might charge a convince fee, handling fee, booking fee, push "insurance" on your tickets or try some other way to get you to spend more money then you need to.  
•  I recommend checking Disneyland.com prices FIRST, then looking around to see if anyone can beat that. (after all the hidden fees) 
• The bottom line is Disney if VERY careful to have a blanket price for everyone, unless you are a So. Cal. resident.  So do your homework, but don't expect any AMAZING deals on tickets. 
• What is a Park Hopper Pass? 

Disneyland Tips

 My family has had annual passes to Disneyland for 4 years.

Here are a few Disneyland Tips you might not know about.

Two words.....FAST PASS here is how they work: Go to the ride, and enter the "Fast Pass Distribution" line.  You will approach a kiosk that you insert your park ticket into.  Push it in, and then pull it out (like an ATM card)....a fast pass will then print out below.  It will say "Please return to this ride between the hours of 1:00 and 2:00" or some time later in the day.  It tells you as you walk in the distribution line what time the fast pass will say.  Now, even though the passes say "between" you can use them ANYTIME after the first listed time i.e. after 1:00 can be used at 8:30pm is you held on to it.  


Fast passes are great and work with rides with longer lines.  In Disneyland they are good for: Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Buzz Astroblasters, Indiana Jones, Thunder Mt. Railroad and Haunted Mansion.  Buzz and Haunted Mansion lines move REALLY fast, I wouldn't bother fast passing them.  Fast passes are best used for Space Mountain, Indiana Jones and Splash Mountain.  

The only trick to a Fast Pass is once you get a fast pass, you can not get another one IN THAT SAME PARK until your "between" time has started.  i.e. get a fast pass at 10:00 that says "between" time starting at 1:00 you can't get another fast pass until 1:01 that afternoon.
Note that I said IN THE SAME PARK. You can fast pass a ride at Disneyland and then one at California Adventure at the same time.

At the California park you can fast pass: Soarin' over California, California Screamin', Mullhand Madness, Tower of Terror and Grizzly Rapids.  California Screamin' and Soarin' are your best use of a fast passes in this park. Grizzly Rapids is not too long unless its really hot out then the line will be horrendous. Be aware on Grizzly Rapids you will get SOAKED.  The Tower of Terror line moves pretty fast if it's not crowded. DON'T MISS THE "IT'S TOUGH TO BE A BUG" show!  I've also heard the "Disney World of Color" is amazing! (I haven't seen that one yet, it's new this year)
If you bought your park tickets online, you have one early admission electronically put on your ticket.  If you already have the tickets, and the bottom right, it will say "one early admission included".  This gets you into the park 1 hour prior to opening Monday through Thursday.  When we went the park opened at 10, we lined up at 8:30 and they opened it for us at 9:00.  And EVERYONE RAN to Nemo.  It's a great ride so hit that one on the early admission ticket.  There is no fast pass for Nemo and the line can be VERY long.


There is also a "Single Rider" pass available from the line attendant on the longer line rides if you don't care if you are sitting with your party.  They let you cut to the front of the line and be placed where they can fit you.  Ask the line attendant if they do "Single Riders" on that ride.  I've been a Single Rider on Soarin' over California, California Screamin' and Indiana Jones.  It's in the parks interest to get the line moving as fast as possible.  So they add single riders in the empty seats.  i.e. a party of 3 rides a roller coaster.  There are 2 in one row and 1 in the other.  The ride attendant will use a single rider to fill the void.

Parent swap passes are also available from line attendants.  One parent stands in line (or uses a fast pass) with a child or without, it doesn't matter.  Then the 2nd parent gets to cut to the front of the line when the 1st is done.  That way both parents get to ride and they can take turns watching the kids.

Southern California Vacation tips

My friend is planning a Southern California vacation this fall. LUCKY!!!  My husband is from So. Cal so we have spend many summers at my in-laws house taking advantage of their location.  My friend emailed me a list of questions about planning her vacation.  I thought with Spring Break coming up, that his info might benefit quite a few readers. I've highlighted her questions to me in red and my answers follow each question.

1-With kids being so little 7,4,1 would you suggest Disneyland or Sea World? Disneyland for sure.  You will be surprised how fast kids grow up.  Go to Disneyland while they are still little and are not too old.  Kids tickets start at age 3-9.  So you would get the little one in free. 

2- We would like to fly.  How do you get the best deals? I always start with Kayak. Nearby airports are Orange County, Ontario, Long Beach and LAX.  JetBlue flies into Long Beach.  Tickets right now on Jet Blue are on sale (travel through April, but it will give you an idea of price) for $89 ONE WAY.  Kids under 2 fly free, but airfare adds up, especially since it's only 10 hours to drive there from SLC.  PLUS depending on where you stay you might need to rent a car which would be even more money.

3- Do you know of any good deals on condos?  Is this the best way to go? With a Condo, you are paying for the kitchen. Condos are a wonderful way to go if you are willing to leave the park and make your own meals.  If you are just going to eat out and eat in the park, having a condo that you pay extra for to have a kitchen that you don't use it pointless.  I've stayed at the Holiday Inn Condos. They are just around the corner (the back side, you'd have to take a shuttle or drive, it's too far to walk)  They are nice.  I just looked into prices (not for Fall, but it give you an idea) $164-$175 a night.  I've also stayed at the Best Western Main Gate across the street (literally) from the main entrance.  Prices for tomorrow start at $62.  We've stayed there for $89 during Spring Break (high season).  There is a fridge/microwave so that makes it easy with leftovers from Denny's next door. :)  It's also nice to leave the park for nap times and meals.(If you can find this hotel less then $89, this is where I would stay)

4- What else is there to do in Southern California?  The zoo, have you been to Lego Land? I have never done Lego Land.....too pricey for me!  I've heard it's fun, but those same people tell me how pricey it was.  The zoo is great.  The Safari Park (Wild Animal Park, they recently changed their name to Safari Park) is quite a drive.  It's neat, but if you are short on time, I would pass on that one.  I LOVE Sea World.  I believe Costco sells a Southern California Pass that includes the Zoo and Sea World.  The beach is fun if you have access to a car.  Medieval Times is fun too, it's a Jousting event with a full dinner.  If any of your kids (or any of you) have a birthday that month they can eat for free. Medieval Times is near Knott's Berry Farm, about 15 minutes North of Disneyland.  Knotts is more of a "Big Kid" place.  They have Snoopy Town, but it's mostly big roller coasters.  Not worth the price if you only have little kids, in my opinion. If you have a combination of older and younger kids, it's a great option.

Check local newspapers, grocery stores and hotel lobbies for discount passes to area attractions.

Do you have any questions I didn't answer in this post?  Leave me a comment or email me at livingthrifty101@gmail.com

If you have any info to add, please leave a comment or email me! :)