How To Save Money On Your Family Holidays with Kids

Determine Your Destination

If you don’t have a set destination in mind, instead are looking for the cheapest destination, turn to the travel apps and group coupon apps, like Groupon, to help you pick an amazing – and affordable – place to visit.

If airfares are what you’re after try a site and app like Skyscanner. If you know you want to fly somewhere, but you don't mind where put in your airport and it will bring up a list of destinations and the cheapest flight prices for whatever date range you chose.

If you have flexibility around when you travel, sites like Skyscanner can also help find the cheapest dates to travel once you decide where your family is headed.  Sometimes just adjusting your trip by plus or minus a day or so can save significant costs. It’s important to note that most airlines that you book direct, like Qantas and Fiji Airways, also have a similar search feature.

Set the Budget

Before you make any plans, decide just how much money you can spend on the trip, from transport costs to accommodation to food to adventures. One place to look for deals on the latter: local and regional travel websites dedicated to helping you save money.

Find the Discounts

A great way to save money during a last-minute family holiday is to familiarize yourself with the destination’s tourism office – while these used to be a shopfront in the main centre or tourist area many are now online, but wherever you travel, chances are there’s a local visitors bureau or destination marketing organization (DMO) that exists to promote the area

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Visitor centres and visitor websites have the role of listing all the tourism activities in a region or area. These will include the local nature experiences, that will generally have no cost like national parks, bush walks, beaches, lakes, waterfalls or even watching the gathering and feeding of local fauna like at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary on the Gold Coast where you can feed the lorikeets without entry to the Sanctuary (although it’s well worth the visit). And they will also show you other cheap or free holiday experiences like a free walking tour of the City, like the one in Hobart Tasmania or the tour of the Junee Chocolate Factory in New South Wales, that will just cost a few dollars and they will expose the smaller, lesser-known experiences that may not cost as much, not just those who have a large advertising budget. 

You'll find a dedicated visitor website in each state and region for example www.queensland.com or www.australiassouthwest.com for southern Western Australia.

In addition to containing valuable information and resources tailored to visitors, some also offer various deals and discounts.

Make Your Money Work for You

Pre-purchasing activities online not only helps you organize how you will spend your trip but quite often you’ll get a discount for pre-purchasing or there might be family deals or value add-ons such as photos or extra experiences at the attraction.

As a family it’s a good idea to agree on our must-do activities, and book or schedule those first, and then have ‘if we have time and money left over activities' we do if we have money left toward the end of the trip. By discussing it in advance, avoids disappointment and the feeling that something was missed on the trip.

It’s also recommended to get older kids to bring money they’ve saved to buy their own treats or souvenir. It takes that out of your family budget and teaches them responsibility at the same time.

Consider Short-term Rentals and Holiday Houses

If you have a family of more than four, you are generally looking at two hotel rooms to stay anywhere, so it’s important to come up with alternatives.

You can look at holiday parks that are often designed to accommodate a larger family group. Many of these places also have cabins and lodges available, if you don’t plan to camp. It’s important to keep in mind that while these parks tend to offer more facilities, like pools and activities for kids, the cost of them especially during the holiday peak periods, can be the same if not more than multiple hotel rooms

Or, you can find a short-term home rental. While there might not be much savings in the cost of accommodation with a big family but you will spend way less on food because you generally have access to a full kitchen.

It may also be worth finding a holiday house with a pool or other facilities like a digital TV, pool table or games room, then you can have a relaxing and enjoyable holiday with the kids, as they can be entertained at your holiday accommodation for some of the time without spending extra money.

However, it's important to note that there is always a risk when you book directly with an owner. Guests, especially when travelling with kids, will want the confidence of knowing they’re booking reputable properties and dealing with a trustworthy owner, particularly if you've travelled a long way to your accommodation.

It's generally a good idea when travelling with your family to book a property managed by a holiday rental professional. You can be confident in your holiday accommodation:

·     Reliable bookings that won’t be cancelled, switched or changed at the last minute

·     Properties that are safe, secure and legal

·     Guaranteed privacy

·     Appropriate caretaking and maintenance of properties

·     Holiday homes in "holiday-ready" condition – no unpleasant surprises

·     Local knowledge and holiday tips that help guests to enjoy the holiday destination

·     Trust, confidence and reassurance of a manager close by, if needed.

There are several options when booking holiday houses and short-term accommodation but it is very important to do your research.

You will find that a lot of the large international holiday accommodation websites (those that generally come up at the top of your google search) have enormous commissions. Quite often you will pay up to 15 or 20 per cent commission on top of what it would cost if you went direct to a holiday real estate agent or holiday rental professional. 

Make sure once you know your destination that you check the local real estate agent to see if they have holiday rentals managed by qualified agents.

Alternatively, www.SearchandStay.com has only professionally managed properties for safety, security and peace of mind. 

All www.SearchandStay.com listed properties are expertly looked after by holiday real estate agents and holiday rental professionals. Guests won’t pay large commissions on top of the price of their accommodation www.SearchandStay.com is a trustworthy source of holiday accommodation managed and maintained by specialists in holiday rental accommodation, regardless of where you're travelling to.

Using these budget tips for family holidays will help when planning your holiday with kids that won't break the bank. And by visiting www.SearchandStay.com you can search and stay anywhere with your family with a new level of confidence.