CheapTweet Blog

In this edition of Happy Hatchling, Heather – mom and CheapTweet blogger – shares some of the lessons she learned from a recent family beach vacation with her toddler. Be sure to follow Heather on Twitter!

1. Diaper wipes do not effectively remove sand. The only thing that removes sand from your baby’s bum is a shower. Period.

2. One-piece suits are a pain if you need to change a diaper and you aren’t near a hotel room. I found that the two-piece UV bathing suits are great for a diaper change on the go.

3. Go get a shaved ice and save the cup. It makes for a great pool/beach play item.

4. If you bring your own toys to the kiddy pool, expect them to be communal items and don’t get upset if you lose them.

5. A bucket and shovel set is cheap and will provide many hours of entertainment.

6. Use the kiddie pool to find out the kid friendly restaurants and hang outs from other mom’s.

7. Look for a restaurant with a patio deck on the beach… preferably with your table on the sand, so your little one can play in the sand before and after mealtime, which means you can relax!

8. Also look for spots with live entertainment. This is great for happy hour or restaurants because it again gives your kiddo another source of entertainment, so you can eat and drink in peace.

9. If your tot uses utensils, bring your own kid friendly silverware. Restaurant forks are often larger than normal and too heavy for easy tot use.

10. Umbrellas that come with fruity cocktails or smoothie drinks look like fun to your kid, but are dangerous toys. Ask the waiter to leave them out of your drink to avoid a tantrum or poked-out eye.

11. Ask for a side item other than french fries. Suggest fruit, beans or rice even if it is not routinely offered on the kids’ menu. (Otherwise, fries may be all your tot consumes for the whole vacation.)

12. Enjoy spending time with your baby/tot. Use this time to introduce them to new things and experiences.

Ever taken your kids to the beach? What lessons did you learn? We’d love to hear your thoughts!

I don’t know about you, but one of my favorite parts of summer is travel. It probably stems from childhood, when my family would take long road trips to all kinds of fun (and often educational) destinations. As an adult, I look forward to summer trips to the beach, long weekends driving around the state, and visits to see friends and family.

The only problem with summer travel is that it can be expensive! With transportation, accommodations, entertainment, food, and everything else, vacations can cost a lot of money. So here are a few ways to keep costs lower when traveling this summer.

1. Look for vacation rentals and home swaps.

Instead of going straight for a hotel, see if you can find a more creative and cheaper place to stay. Vacation and home rentals are wonderful deals – they’re usually less expensive than a hotel and give you a lot more space. If you’re traveling to a popular travel desination like a beach or mountain town, there will likely be hundreds of homes and condos for rent. You’ll get a full kitchen, lots more living space, and many rentals have amenities like board games, beach chairs, bikes and other fun stuff. Check out VacationRentals.com.

Or, you might consider participating in a home exchange (also known as home swap) program. Essentially you let someone stay in your home while you’re on vacation and stay in theirs (or someone else’s). You’re not the only one who wants to save money on their summer vacation, and it’s a great way to really experience how locals live. Start with HomeExchange.com or your destination’s Craigslist site.

2. Don’t rule out flying to your destination.

Gas prices tend to rise in the summer, and driving almost always ends up being more expensive than you plan for it to be, after you calculate the cost of repairs, wear and tear, an extra oil change and other pre-travel service. And lately, airlines have been running a lot of fare sales, so you might be able to fly to your destination for less than you could drive. Of course, once you factor in rental cars and transportation to and from the airport, flying is likely to be the more expensive option, but if you’re heading somewhere more than four hours from your house, just check around first for discounts on airfare. You never know what you might find.

Also, check out Yapta.com for tracking price drops in airfares. I personally used it to keep track of flights to Las Vegas this spring and saved almost $100 on my plane ticket (which I promptly lost in slot machines once I got to Vegas!).

3. Get a parks pass.

The United States has numerous national and state parks, and they are definitely worth checking out this summer. Summer is a great time to get outside, and there’s bound to be a park in or near your travel destination.

Most of these parks charge entrance fees, usually per vehicle. However, you can purchase a year-long pass that grants to entrance to all parks in the system for one price. If you’re going to visit more than a few parks in a year, this could be a great deal. The national parks pass is $80. State park passes are cheaper (for example, a Texas parks pass is $60). And most state and national parks also have deal days when entrance fees are reduced or waived (for example, park entrance fees are 75% off in Florida on Father’s Day).

4. Go camping.

Speaking of getting outside this summer, camping can be a lot of fun, especially if you’re vacationing with a group. It’s a great way to get away from your house without spending a fortune on a hotel. If you don’t consider yourself an outdoors person, many campgrounds have cabins for rent and actual indoor showers and toilets. KOA campgrounds in particular have a ton of amenities and some of them even have Airstream trailers and other unique accommodations to rent. Plus, there’s nothing better than s’mores made over a real campfire after a day hiking and swimming outside.

5. Explore locally.

No matter where you live, there’s bound to be fun things to do nearby. Instead of taking one long vacation to a far-flung destination, take day or weekend trips in your area to save on transportation and lodging costs. CheapTweet is headquartered in Austin, Texas and there is so much to do within a few hours of our office. For example, we could take a dip in a swimmin’ hole, go on a wildlife safari, hike through Hill Country, visit art museums, tour wineries, experience the Alamo, see dinosaur tracks, visit the Gulf coast, and so much more. All of this is within three or four hours of our office! If you haven’t spend much time exploring your town or state, summer is a great time to be a tourist in your own home. I bet you’ll find something you never expected.

6. Use coupons.

Before you go, check for coupons or discounts for the attractions you plan to visit. We often see coupons for theme parks like Busch Gardens and Six Flags on CheapTweet, but you should also check the attraction’s website. Or, a month before you leave, sign up for email newsletters from the places you plan to visit; most places send out discounts in their newsletters. Just check for a coupon or sale before you buy. Those savings can add up.

Bonus! Remember that you get what you pay for.

The New York Times has a great article about how to protect yourself from travel scams. If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is. Just make sure you read the fine print, pay attention to deadlines and expiration dates, and get everything in writing. Because, no matter how much money you save, it’s not worth getting ripped off!

Do you have any advice or tips on how to save money on summer travel? We’d love to hear them – leave them in the comments!