I understand that not everyone is into budget travel. In fact, although I definitely love to travel frugally, I am not necessarily into the kind of extreme frugal travel that others are into. So I can respect people who would choose to pay more for their hotels or flights than I would because I realize that not everyone travels the same. Nevertheless, I have to say that I was a little bit appalled when I found out the price of the new Barbie-themed hotel rooms in Paris.

The Hotel Plaza Athenee in Paris, France has recently transformed two of its rooms into Barbie suites. They are designed with pink decor and special touches to recreate the feeling that you are living in a Barbie dream house. It’s certainly a little girl’s dream. And at approximately $2000 per night for the kids’ room (the parents’ suite is next door and costs even more for the night) you would think it would be a parents’ nightmare. After all, who pays that kind of money to indulge their children with a special hotel room?

This isn’t the first time that expensive hotels have had Barbie theme rooms. Several Hiltons around the world have also hosted short-term theme rooms for the famous doll and there’s a Barbie-themed hotel room at The Palms in Las Vegas. The rooms have such features as a hair-and-makeup bar, unique Barbie furniture and lots of kid-friendly entertainment. I don’t deny that this might be a fun experience for a child. I just can’t imagine spending that type of money on a hotel room for my kids. And although the room is set up to be suitable for teens, it’s really geared towards younger girls including girls as young as 3!

I am willing to spend some money on travel for my kids. I want them to see the world, experience other cultures and get to know types of terrain that aren’t available in our own backyard. However, what I want them to remember is the experience of those new places. I want them to remember the things we discovered on our walks, the local foods we ate, the museums we saw, the people we met. I don’t want them to simply remember the hotels we stayed in. In fact, I don’t want much of our travel time to even be spent in our hotel room!

What do you think of this kind of spending on a hotel room for a child?

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One of the most popular phrases in my personal budget travel handbook is “instead of”. You can use this phrase to make some really great choices that allow you to travel at a lower cost. You aren’t saying that you won’t travel just because you want to save money. You’re saying that you will travel one way “instead of” another way to cut costs.

Here are ten examples of “instead of” options if you want to save money on travel:

1. Choose to stay at economy hotels INSTEAD OF more expensive hotels. Better yet, choose to stay at hostels instead of hotels to save even more money.
2. Opt to visit small local museums INSTEAD OF major museums or costly landmarks.
3. Pack your own food or shop at grocery stores along the way INSTEAD OF spending the extra money to purchase meals at restaurants or fast food chains.
4. Visit local swimming pools, watering holes and small creeks INSTEAD OF going to water parks to cool off with the kids while you are on vacation.
5. Get library books before you leave to read while you’re on the road INSTEAD OF investing in video games, DVDs and other more expensive forms of road trip entertainment.
6. Find out what types of festivals and events you can attend for free at your destination INSTEAD OF going to costly attractions or more expensive events.
7. Look for deals and promotions INSTEAD OF paying full price. It’s always great if you can do exactly the kind of trip that you want to do but pay less for it because you took the time to look for a deal.
8. Always pay cash INSTEAD OF using a credit card so you don’t accrue interest charges for your vacation costs. Better yet, use a cash back rewards credit card INSTEAD OF cash and pay it off immediately before any interest is added.
9. Set a budget for your trip in advance INSTEAD OF trying to figure out after the trip how you’re going to make up for all that money that you spent while you were on vacation.
10. Visit friends and family in smaller destination cities INSTEAD OF traveling to the more expensive hot spots.

These are just a few of the most basic ideas for travel alternatives that will save you money. I’m sure that you could make an entire list of your own. Feel free to share your ideas in the comments!

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Here are some of the hotel safety rules that I do think are very important for families to follow:

• Always go to the pool with the kids and make sure to watch them carefully. If you take a look at the signs around a hotel pool you will almost always immediately see one that says “no lifeguard on duty”. This should be a reminder that nobody is watching your kids carefully at a hotel pool. It may seem safe since so many people are around but kids can drown quickly so never let your eyes off of them when playing at a hotel pool.
• Don’t let the kids stay in the hotel room alone. Hotel rooms are generally very safe. However, that doesn’t mean that you should leave your kids in them alone. If you don’t leave the children at home alone then don’t leave them alone in hotels either.
• Don’t let the kids run around the hotel alone. Use the same common sense that you use at home when it comes to letting your children out of your sight for too long.
• Bring a first aid kit. Most hotels are going to have everything that you need if your children do get hurt at a hotel. However, you shouldn’t count on someone else to have the supplies that you need in case of an emergency. Always bring a first aid kit with you just in case.
• Learn the fire safety plan when you arrive. You don’t want to find yourself lost in a hotel during an emergency. It only takes a minute to study the fire safety plan (which is generally posted on the inside of your hotel room door). Take the time to do that so that you feel confident in taking care of your family in case something happens.

You don’t need to be excessively vigilant about children’s safety on vacation. However, you shouldn’t be excessively lax either. Use common sense to protect your family.

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One of the things that is easy to let go of during family travel is healthy eating. Here are some of the reasons why that is:

• You aren’t cooking. It’s easy to know how healthy a dish is when you’ve cooked it yourself. It’s not as easy when someone else is making it for you.
• Finding good food on the road is tough. It’s not easy to find healthy eating choices at airports, train stations or on road trips. You don’t want to take time out of your trip to hunt down healthy food so you sacrifice and get the junk.
• Local foods may not be healthy. You want to get the chance to taste new local foods when you are on vacation. Unfortunately, they may not be healthy.
• Schedule is thrown off. Your normal schedule is thrown off when you’re on vacation. You eat at different times and get cravings during odd hours of the day. You may eat more often than usual, too.
• Many other rules have changed. A lot of family rules, such as strict bedtimes, get relaxed during travel. It’s easy to relax the rules about eating healthy as well.

Luckily, there are some things that we can do to eat healthier when we travel. The following tips might help:

• Pack some snacks. Prepare healthy snacks ahead of time and take them with you on the trip. This will reduce the amount of junk that you buy when traveling.
• Get familiar with making smart fast food choices. People often eat fast food when traveling. Do some research into the nutrition content at your favorite fast food places. It will help you make smarter choices when faced with these menu boards.
• Research good local food in advance. You’ll know where to go to find it and what type of nutrition to expect when you get there.
• Limit how much you relax your rules and schedule. Vacation is a great time to relax and bend the rules a bit. However, it’s best for the whole family if you stick to a somewhat normal schedule. This includes a normal eating routine.
• Choose hotels that have a mini-kitchen. A microwave and refrigerator will allow you to make some foods yourself during the trip.

What do you do to maintain healthy eating habits when traveling?

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After I wrote my recent post about ghost towns, I started thinking a little bit about ghosts. There are a lot of places in the country that are supposed to be haunted. There are also a lot of people who choose to visit these haunted locations. In fact, a lot of people like to stay at hotels that are supposed to be haunted.

I did some research and discovered the top ten haunted hotels according to Haunted America. They are as follows:

1. Hotel Provincial in New Orleans. New Orleans is a destination that many people believe is filled with ghostly spirits. This isn’t the only hotel in the city that is supposedly haunted.
2. Le Pavilion in New Orleans. That’s right; this creepy city has more than one haunted hotel on the list!
3. Hotel Del Coronado near San Diego. This one sounds spooky. I’ll stick to my favorite San Diego budget hotels instead, thanks!
4. Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, CO. This hotel was creepy enough to inspire Stephen King to write The Shining.
5. Heathman Hotel in Portland. I don’t usually think of Portland as a place where ghosts might be present but apparently I might be wrong.
6. Carolina Inn in North Carolina. All of Chapel Hill is said to be haunted so why should this hotel there be any exception?
7. Sagamore Hotel, NY. This seems like a beautiful historic hotel but if it’s true that there’s a little boy’s ghost haunting the place then I want no part of visiting it.
8. Crescent Hotel in Eureka Springs, AR. I can’t think of too many reasons I’d visit Eureka Springs. A haunted hotel isn’t one of them.
9. Ramada Plaza Hotel in Fond du Lac, WI. A long time ago, gangsters used underground tunnels to conduct illegal business. One of those tunnels ended in the basement of this hotel. The gangsters may be gone but spirits supposedly linger on.
10. Queen Mary Hotel in Long Beach, CA. This is probably one of the most famous haunted hotels. You can tour it if you’re interested.

Do you believe in haunted hotels? Would you stay in one? I think I’ll pass!

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Here is a look at the top five San Diego beaches:

1. Mission Beach. This is one of the best San Diego beaches for kids. It has an old amusement park. It has a boardwalk that you can walk along. It is full of life and activity and fun things to do. It’s pretty and clean. And it’s even got places where older kids can play volleyball.

2. Imperial Beach. I know about this beach because I love sandcastles. It happens to be a place where there is a big annual sandcastle competition. I’d love to see that in person. And even if that’s not going on, the beach has a special place in my heart because it’s home to such a cool event.

3. La Jolla Cove and Beach. You can take the kids here to check out tide pools. This is also a good place to launch a family water adventure such as kayaking through the La Jolla coves. What a fun place to spend your San Diego vacation! There’s also a children’s swimming pool in this area.

4. Moonlight Beach. This beach in nearby Encinitas tricks a lot of people with its name. You would think it’s a place for romantic couples to spend a San Diego vacation. Actually, there are a bunch of fire pits and picnic tables here so it’s an ideal place to take the whole family for an afternoon at the beach.

5. Coronado Silver Strand. A lot of people like this beach because of the fact that it is a shallow beach with an easy slope to the sand. This makes it very safe for children compared to some of the other beaches in San Diego. Hotels in this area are expensive, though, so unless you can find good San Diego hotel deals in the area, you might want to stick to one of the other four beaches.

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There are many tips out there about how to save money on hotels. These tips are varied in how applicable they might be to you. If you happen to be someone with a family who really enjoys family travel then you’ll want to look specifically for ways to save money on hotels when you’ve got the whole brood with you.

Here are five tips for saving money on hotels when you bring the kids along:

1. Look for “kids stay free” deals. One of the best hotel deals that you’ll frequently see offered is that kids can stay free. Often this also means that they can eat for free as well. Pay attention to the details of the deal to make sure that you’ll be saving money.
2. Stay in a place that has complimentary breakfast. Yes, you’ll all get breakfast for free, of course. However, if you’re smart then you can also get the kids snacks and lunch out of the deal. Choose an economy hotel that has a full breakfast and take muffins, cereal, juice boxes and other extras to go. You’ll save money on meals out during the day while you’re trekking around.
3. Choose hotels that have entertainment for kids. If there is a lot for your kids to do at the hotel then you won’t need to pay to take them out for entertainment as much. Of course, you’ll still enjoy your trip but you can also just spend some time in the hotel’s pool or bowling alley and spend less money.
4. Find a hotel that offers affordable daycare. There might be a few fancy things that you want to do with your spouse during your vacation. Sure, you could take the kids along to a nice restaurant, a Cirque du Soleil show or some other event but you’d be spending a lot of money for the extra bodies. If your hotel has a childcare service that’s safe and affordable then you can enjoy an adults-only part of your trip for less.
5. Stay at hotels that advertise being kid-friendly. The best thing about these hotels is that local businesses often network with them. You can get deals and discounts on kids’ activities in the area when you’re staying at one of these places. Ask about this when making reservations.

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I love paying attention to travel news, don’t you? Unfortunately, that news has been a little bit depressing ever since the recession started. Sure, there have been a lot of great articles about how to save money on travel and which destinations are cheapest but those are mostly coming from blogs. The real media headlines seem to keep reporting that people just can’t afford to travel. I’m happy to say that this trend seems to be changing.

Two different news articles caught my attention that both seem to indicate that travel is ramping up again:

1. 21% Increase in Travel Searches on Google. This means that quite a lot more people are at least thinking about traveling this year than last year. The most frequent searches were for car rental and hotels. Interestingly, people aren’t just looking for budget travel anymore; the number of people looking into luxury travel options is also on the rise. I’d say it’s smarter to stick with looking for budget travel information, though, wouldn’t you? It’s not as though the recession is over yet!
2. Asia’s Budget Airlines Prospering. This article indicates that growth in travel isn’t just a Western thing. Things are getting back on track in Asia, too, although the emphasis there seems to still be on budget travel. Specifically, there is expected to be a lot of growth in the budget airline sector in Asia. The one concern is that high fuel prices may limit this growth.

These news headlines seem to say something important which is that we’re not in the clear yet as far as this recession goes but we can start thinking about doing more fun stuff again. Travel isn’t just fun; it’s also important. Travel helps us to expand our experiences and to better understand the world around us. We may need to stick with looking into budget travel for now but we can certainly be looking. With good planning and a keen eye for deals it’s definitely possible for us to do some traveling this year!

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One of the New Years goals I have for 2010 is to try to take my family out of the country this year. I would really love to go to Buenos Aires but I just don’t know if it’s going to be financially feasible. Right now what I’m working on doing is learning everything that I can about how to make international travel affordable for us.

The main thing that I’m learning about right now is how to save money on hotels. When I first started looking at traveling to Buenos Aires I was trying to find economy hotels that would be affordable for my family. However I couldn’t seem to find anything that I was happy about.

I was complaining about this to a friend who reminded me about the possibility of doing a home stay in Buenos Aires. This is where you actually stay in the home of someone who is a resident of the city. They may rent the home to you at a really low cost or they may even rent the room to you for free depending on the way that you set up the home stay.

To get a free stay in Buenos Aires I would probably need to actually pay to join a site that is designed to connect people who are interested in traveling this way. Since I don’t plan to use this method of travel often, I don’t think that it would be worth the cost to travel this way. Instead, I think I will look at using free sites to set up an affordable home stay.

There are two choices with home stays: staying with the resident or staying in their home when they are not there. I think it would be best to stay with the resident because then he or she could provide us with additional information about how to make our trip more affordable while we are there. Plus this would allow us better insight into the culture of the area.

Has anyone else tried home stays in the past? Do you have any tips on how to use them effectively in order to save money? Are there any safety issues that I should be concerned about when traveling with my family this way?

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One of the options that we have as people who want to travel frugally is to participate in volunteer travel. This refers to the kind of travel where you do volunteer work at the destination in exchange for your room and board. You may do anything from teaching a local family’s children in English to building homes for people who don’t have them. You can do volunteer travel for almost any length of time in almost any destination that you want to visit.

I have mixed feelings about volunteer travel as a way to save money. Here’s what I see as the pros and cons of volunteer travel:

Pros

• You do save a lot of money. You don’t have to pay for your accommodations at all plus you typically get free meals. That saves a lot of money especially on trips where you want to stay awhile.
• You can safely visit exotic destinations. You might feel safer traveling to some countries if you are doing so with a group of other volunteers.
• You meet a lot of great people including locals. You really get to see the inside of the culture that you are visiting.
• You get to help others. That’s always a good thing. It’s also great for family travel since it teaches your children that they can have a great worldly experience while also aiding others who need their help.

Cons

• Volunteering takes up most of your time. My experience with volunteer travel is that you don’t actually have a lot of time to explore landmarks and other destinations because you are busy with your volunteer work.
• Some volunteer experiences are inevitably negative. You do jobs that you don’t want to do with people you don’t like too much and the result can be a negative travel experience. Of course this isn’t always the case but it’s a risk that you take.
• You miss out on staying at cool local hotels. I’d actually rather get great hotel specials and stay in a unique local spot than stay at a volunteer location. ( Sometimes you can find great rooms on special like these cheap hotels in NYC.

So I think that there are pros and cons to volunteer travel. I definitely think that it’s something that you should try at least once in your life. I just think that it shouldn’t replace other kinds of travel because it does have its drawbacks.

Have you ever done volunteer travel? Did you have a good experience with it?

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