Family Vacation on a Budget

When I planned my family's vacation I knew I had to be organized and that every detail was crucial. We were after all traveling with four kids 9 and under. We had a budget that was important to stick with. I did not want the rising gas prices to affect our trip.

First we booked the hotel about a month prior to our trip. I knew for sure I did not want to stay in any cheap hotel but we also could not afford a four star hotel. We searched for "economical" hotels. After searching on Expedia, and Priceline, we found the best prices on hotels.com. Prior to actually booking a hotel we scoped out hotels that were in our price range, had good reviews posted by previous guest, had free parking and a continental breakfast. We decided on the Howard Johnson. I contacted Days Inn by phone to see if they were able to beat the hotels.com price and learned something new. Websites such as Priceline, Expedia and Hotels.com purchased rooms in blocks at a discounted price then in return passes those saving on to us. We booked the hotel and also used a coupon code I found by googling "hotels.com coupon codes" and received an additional 15% off of our stay. Two nights were $167 with tax. The hotel had been recently renovated and was nice for the money. The only problems we had was a stain on the carpet and chair. The bathrooms were newly remodeled. The continental breakfast was good for free and included a make your own waffle station.

Next, we needed Sea World tickets. I found great prices on Craigslist but I was wary that the tickets might be fake. I ended up purchasing the tickets from my employer. They were offered at even deeper discount because they were due to expire the month after we were going. I paid $39 for each two day child pass and $43 for each adult two day pass.