Clever Ways to Save Money for Your Next Family Vacation

July 17, 2019 By Anne

Family trips are great ways to bond with your children and take a break from your daily routine. For parents, this includes work and household chores while children get to take a breath from their school and homework routine. It’s a win-win for everyone, however, we all know that family vacations can be pricey!

When planning a trip with the entire family you need to consider the following:

Airfare
Home rental or hotel
Food and supplies
House/pet sitter if necessary

These are only a few of the expenses you’ll face when planning a vacation and as you can see, it all adds up quickly. Fortunately, there are ways you can save money for your trip and have an enjoyable family experience without breaking the bank!

Here are 5 ways you can save money for your next family vacation:

Be Flexible with Dates

If you’re on the hunt for the best rates when it comes down to airplane tickets and hotels in Orlando, stay away from holidays or weekends. Instead, consider mid-week stays. If you’re certain of the destination you want to go to, compare costs throughout the year. Sometimes flying out a day earlier or later makes all the difference.

Stay Outside the City

You’ll be surprised by how much you can save when you decide to stay outside the city center. Because these are tourist attractions you’ll be looking at higher pricing as opposed to staying at a hotel outside this area. The benefits of doing this include saving money but also sleeping in a quieter area. You’ll also be able to see another part of the city that you wouldn’t have visited if it wasn’t because you decided to stay a bit outside the city.

Save Money in Unlikely Places

Did you know that you could save hundreds of dollars if you made simple changes like lowering your electric bill? You can do this by watching less TV and turning off those lights when they’re not needed. Some people also like to unplug appliances like their toaster and microwave to lower electric bills.

Moreover, compare energy rates to see if there is a less expensive provider in your area. There are companies like Power Setter that will do the busy work for you and help you save on your energy bills. You can get more information from the Powersetter website and be on your way to family vacation savings!

Rent Out Your House

If you’re comfortable with this idea, you can rent out your home while you’re away. This is a great way to make some money while you’re out traveling with your family. It will also give you back most of the money you’re already spending on renting out a hotel or home while away.

There are several companies like Airbnb that makes the process of setting your home up for home rental easy. We also recommend you hire a professional cleaning service to clean up before you get back home. It will be as if no one was ever there!

How About a Resort?

Resorts are a lot of fun and make vacationing easy. There are hundreds of family-friendly resorts to choose from that will fit your budget! The reason so many families decide on going to a resort is because they’re usually all-inclusive. You’ll have a place to sleep, eat, swim, lay out and have fun without having to worry about transportation or where to dine out.

Using these 5 tips will help you save money when planning your next family vacation. We wish you the best of luck and happy travels!

Anne

I'm a mother of 2 who likes to get involved in too much! Besides writing here I started a non-profit, I'm on the PTO board, very active in my community and volunteer in the school. I enjoy music, reading, cooking, traveling and spending time with my family. We just adopted our 3rd cat and love them all!

What To Do On A Weekend In London

June 17, 2019 By Anne

When you’re thinking of visiting Europe, you’ll find that there are some locations that you just have to make time for. Like London. And while you may not want to spend an entire week there, you could certainly enjoy a great weekend. Here’s what you had to do while you’re there.

Visit The Attractions

To start with, you’re going to want to make sure that you get to see some of the sights. From Big Ben to Buckingham Palace, there are so many notable sights in London, that’s it’s nice to be able to see as many as you can while you’re there.

Go Shopping

Of course, whenever you’re in London, you are then going to want to make sure that you can hit the shops too. The British capital is known for its shopping, and you’ve certainly got a lot to choose from here. Oxford Street with its copious amounts of stores, Selfridges with its many floors, and even Westfields, the largest mall of them all!

See A Show

And finally, you’re definitely going to want to make sure that you see a show. When it comes to visiting London, there’s always a lot that you can do. But one of the main attractions for a lot of people is the excitement of a West End show. So, make sure this is on your agenda. The only issue is, what should you see? Take a look at the infographic below to decide.

Infographic Design By theatre tickets

Anne

Bandung: A Mysterious Palace, Modern Architecture And Earthquake Simulation

June 1, 2019 By Anne

Known for it’s amazing colonial architecture, Bandung is continuously evolving into a modern city right before our eyes. It’s one of the most visited cities in all of Indonesia. It’s trying to rival the cities of the modern Western nations of New Zealand and Australia which are just off to it’s eastern coast. However we see that it’s also trying to be contemporary, and rise above its neighbors in many ways. You get a sense that the lifestyle of the residents is truly being studied and catered for. It’s one of the best places to visit purely for this reason because you get to witness how the city is also trying to adopt a more Western approach to it’s infrastructure. Thankfully however, it’s also not going to forget it’s heritage anytime soon. One of the must-do things is to visit some of the more traditional Indonesian buildings like the temples. But just how is it becoming more modern?

A tectonic simulation

As many of us know, Indonesia is situated in a place on the earth that has many natural challenges. It’s one of the few places on earth that has volcanoes, earthquakes, cyclones and tsunamis. This is a great place to learn if you’re a scientist and hence why the Geology Museum is definitely one thing to keep your list of things to experience in Bandung. Inside you will find a life size skeleton of a mammoth. The huge tusks and even bigger spine is something to behold in person with your own eyes. There’s lots of information about the nature of the islands but one thing you must try is the earthquake simulator. For those that don’t live in a country where you get many tectonic plate movements, this is something you’ll never forget. The first time you can feel the ground beneath you move at a great pace and vibrate, you’ll form a newfound respect for mother nature. It’s not dangerous at all so you can bring along your children if you want to also.

A place to stay

As aforementioned the city is full of colonial architecture. What you see in the heart of the city is really a mixture of post-modern and art deco. It’s a great take on these styles but it has it’s obvious twist to it. However when you have come this far, maybe staying in the epicenter of the city is not really what you want if you’re looking for quiet. Check out rumah dijual di bandung houses which you can buy and or rent. Depending on the size you require for yourself or for your family and friends, you can choose from the different kinds of neighborhoods and home styles. The common kind is that of 2 or 3 bedrooms with 2 bathrooms. Much like you see in amazing cities like London and New York, modern urban block homes are available too. They wouldn’t look out of place in Tokyo, Paris or Madrid because they have adopted the Western style completely.

Exploring the ancient world

Indonesia has been the set for countless movies. It’s a land that mixes exotic landscape with ancient mystery. It’s a good thing then that Ratu Boko is still remaining a focal point for the city. It’s an ancient palace made of a hardened black rock. It was a fortified settlement for the ruling family of the country in the latter part of the 8th century. Some say that the site is even older than that but the mystery remains unsolved. There are three staircases that lead up to a plinth which you can experience as there are no off-limit sections. Some believe that the fortification was used as the main residents of the ruling family as there are around 4 gates in total to which you can exit and enter. This would mean that supply lines were coming from all around the country. All around the site is a large flat terrace which makes this the perfect site to built a stronghold from as you could see any hostile forces approaching. King Boko is now a folklore figure and the locals have many different tales about how he lived and what kind of impact his reign had on the city of Bandung.

Bandung is an incredible city that is in the midst of a transformation. You can see how much the architecture has changed over the years. It’s one of the first cities in the continent to adopt modern Western urbanized architecture and house-building techniques. The museums and shopping malls are pretty much on par with any neighboring nation too. The earthquake simulator is something you have to experience while you’re here.

Anne

Summer is Coming: Holiday Fun the Whole Family Will Enjoy

May 5, 2019 By Anne

Now that May is officially upon us, we can safely start to plan our summer holidays without feeling premature. There are still some great deals out there, after all, and particularly if you plan on vacationing in August rather than the middle of July.

Image via: Pexels

The only problem with these family holidays is, of course, the endless moans about being bored unless you’re constantly keeping your kids entertained.

While it might be tempting to just hand them an iPad each and call it a day, you’d still like them to experience the kind of summer you used to have as a kid; you know, the one where you laid by the river for hours, getting slightly sunburned and eating ice cream all day.

Luckily, there are ways to accomplish this without having to ruin your own hours of relaxation this holiday. Here is a handful of fun family activities that will keep your kids entertained and give you the cookie points you need to enjoy a full afternoon without any nagging.

First: Relaxing the rules a little

A part of leaving work busy work-mind behind means that you should also try to leave your busy parent-mind behind slightly. Of course, you’re still the parent and in charge regardless of any holidays, but it’s good for everyone to feel that the rules are a bit more flexible once in a while.

Allow your children to go to bed a little bit later, for example, let them have that extra ice cream if they want it, and try to wake up in the morning without having an agenda for the day. It gives you that sense of freedom you crave in your everyday-lives and makes the whole holiday-vibe a lot nicer.

Wake up a bit later, spend the entire day by the pool and go to bed a few hours later than usual – it will make it feel a lot more like a holiday.

Next: Spending the afternoon in a boat

It’s summer, after all, and you’re not going to feel like you experienced it fully if you spend every waking hour in the hammock with a book – however tempting it may be. Try to find some family fun that you will enjoy just as much as the kids; being out in the water is definitely one of those and it’s something your kids will remember as they grow up.

You can start by checking out some local boat rentals or even a yacht Miami rental site if you have some extra money to burn. That way, you might be able to make a proper boat trip out of it and the kids will definitely have something to tell their friends about when they’re back home.

Try to think about everything that you enjoy doing that the kids will also enjoy – and that will get them to spend some of that energy they’ve got bundled up. Go on a hike, for example, see the scenery and give them a sense of adventure at the same time.

While watching movies and browsing the web are great activities for when you’d like to unwind, your children will definitely get restless and rowdy with time; get out there, experience the surroundings together, and they’ll be soundly asleep so that you can enjoy the evening a bit.

Anne

Australian Ambitions – A Guide to Getting the True Down Under Experience

January 21, 2019 By Anne

It only takes travelling abroad to understand that most non-Australians? Don’t have much of a clue what the deal is Down Under. But it’s not totally uncommon to meet people from another state who have no idea of the wonder and excitement to be found in your state. If you’re weighing up which country to hop to this holidays, pause those plans and look in your backyard for inspiration. Here’s our guide on what the true Down Under experience should be.

Road trips

Australia is a huge country, which means it takes a while to discover it all on the road. This presents a great opportunity to take out a few weeks driving to all destinations and checking out each unique Australian state. There are many roads and recommended paths you can take, but many start in South Australia by visiting the wineries and enjoying the high life in serviced apartments in Adelaide CBD. From there you can take Nullabor Plain and head to Western Australia, and then on to the rest of this Great Southern Land.

Diving

Diving in Australia needs to be seen to be believed, and Finding Nemo was only a hint of what is waiting out there. Cairns (Queensland) is the logical place to dive in Australia, but you may be surprised to learn that other pockets in Australia also have great clarity and unique sea life beneath the water. Byron Bay (New South Wales) is another great place to explore on the diving front. If you wanted to make a trip of it, you can hire a charter boat and visit a few hot spots in a weekend or week. If you are unqualified, you may need to have a dive master on board to make sure the dive is safe and above board.

Beach hopping

So many people think all Australians spend their weekends surfing, like something out of Summer Bay. For many this is true, and it can be for you if you spend a couple of weeks beach hopping along the coastal line. Each state in Australia will claim they have the most pristine beaches, and the truth? They are all unique and perfect in their own way. Perth (Western Australia) is quite renowned for their beaches, and Melbourne and Sydney have beaches that are built into the city hotspots (Bondi and St Kilda).

Landmarks

It wouldn’t be a true Down Under experience without a visit to those quintessential Aussies landmarks. If you think they are too touristy for you, remember that they are famous for a reason, and quite breathtaking when you are standing in front of them. To name just a few, the obvious callouts have to be:

Adelaide: Adelaide Central Market, Glenelg and Adelaide Botanic Gardens

Sydney: Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge and Bondi Beach

Melbourne: Queen Victoria Markets, the Laneways, Federation Square and the MCG

Brisbane: South Bank and GOMA (Gallery of Modern Art)

National and animal parks

The wildlife and natural beauty of Australia makes up the full picture of Down Under. Whether you live in Australia or not, chances are you have not visited and seen all the famous Aussie animals. We’re not just talking about koalas and kangaroos either. There is also Quokkas (Western Australia) and Tasmanian Devils (Tasmania) to be seen. If an active holiday sounds right up your alley, you’ll find a stunning collection of National Parks like Kakadu, Uluru and Litchfield (Northern Territory).

There is so much to be discovered in the Great Southern Land, and can be accessed and enjoyed all year around. Adelaide is a great destination to kick off your adventures, before setting off to see it all.