How to Have an Affordable (And Fun) Road Trip

Two best tips I can give, if you're in a car:

- AAA
http://www.aaa.com

- Convention hotels (Hilton/Hyatt/ etc.)

While we use AAA occasionally when we're stationary (for the odd "locked out o'me car", or need a jump) where they REALLY come in handy is travel.

When you walk into the office they will give you highway mapbooks and hotel books for each and every state you're going to be in. The "flip the page over" mapbooks are the best/easiest I've ever found... and the hotel books are a necessity.

When we're roadtripping, we never book in advance. We tend to call between 2pm & 4pm day of. We just look at the map, figure out what town/city we're going to be in in however many hours we want to keep driving... flip through the hotel book and phone. The hotel book not only has star ratings (vital, when traveling with kids, don't go lower than 3 star... 3 star means clean... 1 or 2 stars and you can be looking at hourly hotels, or hotels rented out by "professionals"... and they're not in good neighborhoods.), but also has reviews, room rates and the AAA discount. On average, a 3star 4p 2b, runs $59-$79, with the AAA discount.

Once you have the hotel book, you can also get a feel for which chains are on your route. For example, I90 has a gazillion Super8's... and they were uniforming decent/good/nice. AKA clean. (Which is surprising, apparently in some states, cleanliness is optional.) On other major highways you'll find other trends (like Comfort Suites, or Holiday Inns, or Double Tree, or Marriott... all of which tend to be decent, btw). Since many economy hotels have the bonus night/ rewards things... knowing which ones are on your route is pretty key.

Convention hotels are hidden gems. These are the POSH hotels most people don't even consider. But they're frequently cheaper (for the super basic rooms, and what more do you need?) than even the Motel6. I've stayed at hiltons & hyatts in major cities, and paid less than $50 a night... and had the best bed/bath/food of the trip for the least amount of money. I just pretend I'm invisible during the Valet ordeal... or flash a huge grin and say "Road trip!" (traveling with kids doesn't usually leave your car nice and clean). You won't find these in the tripleA books, you need to call day of and ask about specials/promotions.

Few other tricks:

- Motorhomes. (one way or two way rental) If you're going to be on the road awhile, it's worth doing the math that does hotel stays vs gassing "the beast".

- KOA's (campgrounds of America... I'm sorry, I just can't spell campground with a K)
http://www.koa.com/
They do the tent and RV thing, but many also have rooms.

- Drive & fly (or drive and drive)... this is if you go through a "driveaway" program. I don't know the modern ones (last time I did it was 5 years ago)... but it's how many corporations & rental fleets get their cars from a-z, because they don't have to pay thousands in shipping fees & taxes. The last time I did this, I drove from NY to Seattle. Changed cars in Chicago. From NY to Chicago the company that was transporting the car paid for gas. From Chicago to Seattle that wasn't part of the contract, so we paid for our own gas. Anyhow... these are great for either saving mileage on your own car OR driving across the country and flying back. I usually prefer to take my own car, but it's nice to know that the option is out there.

2 moms found this helpful

This may seem off the wall, but a friend bought a family membership to an AZA zoo as they have an 'in kind' (get in free) relationship with many of their member zoos. Since our local one is only $60/year, it paid for itself ten times over. She went online and checked for zoos in the areas she was visiting (from CA to the Midwest). Each zoo was different. All had bathrooms (clean ones!) and some had a snack bar. She would use the zoo breaks to get the wiggles out of her 4 kids. Most of the zoos had parks next to them. It was a great break and her children learned about many different animals.

I don't have any suggestions for hotels etc. But, having that we just took a 12 hour drive with out 18 month old I will suggest this.... take a portable DVD player for the little ones. My son watched 1 episode of Sesame street I recorded and it made a world of a difference. Not really a fan of kids and TV but, this saved all of us. Also, if you are traveling at night, take some type of toys that light up. when a little one is in the dark they get a little confused and upset. I highly recommend glow sticks. they are cheap and give off just enough light where they can see around them. I bought a 10 pack of bracelets at a craft store for $1. we cracked them all and linked them across the car and he loved watching them sway and move. The bracelets have a small connector that should not be given to a little one. Take music that you will all enjoy, sing, clap, good music.... can't suggest that more. Also for little ones that are still in diapers, keep an eye on wet and dirty diapers. We changed my son every stop we made and he still got a diaper rash. Just be prepared for anything and have fun with it. Happy trails!

Will you be staying a long time in each city? Or at least a few days in each place? I really like the residence-style hotels, as they come with a full kitchen. That way, you could cook a lot of your meals and not eat out as much. Hilton's Homewood Suites and Marriott's Residence Inn are both great. Plus, you have a bedroom and living room so you have a little more space.

Embassy Suites are nice because they include a full, hot, cooked breakfast that is really yummy.

As for discounts, sometimes just calling the reservations manager can get you great deals. It never hurts to ask!

Both La Quinta and Ramada both have a rewards "frequent" points systems. We mainly use La Quinta, some what consistent with standards and offers free breakfast,. kids stay free and if you book on line, you can find special deals (over the weekends, or double/triple points.
When I went cross country with three kids (11,5,3) I saved money by NOT using convenience stores for snacks and drinks. It takes some planning but it can be done!!! Hope this helps.

I have membership (free) for Best Westerns travel club. Most towns have a Best Western. While travelling cross country twice, we liked Holiday Inn Express.

Basically, with kids, these would be my recommendation. Hotels that have an inside pool (because then you can promise them a swim without worry of weather) and, just as important, FREE BREAKFAST. It helps save you time in the morning from getting time to fill all your bellies before hitting the road and saving money each morning. If you have AAA membership, go there and ask them for a book on each state you are travelling. Then en route, you can look up which hotels have what services.

Don't tell anyone I said this (ha), but get the lower level rooms so the kids can bounce on the beds at each stop.

We travelled 3000 miles with my 2 year old (at the time) and just knowing we could swim each day, helped her to let us go an extra hour of driving each night. We ended up getting to our destination 2 days earlier than planned.

AAA can probably give you lots of suggestions. You definitely would want a hotel with a small kitchen so you could make some meals at home.

Check out Gocitykids.com for the various cities you are visiting. They list all the fun kid stuff in each city and many times you can find free things to do with the kids.

Good luck!

I recommend the Priority Club for frequent hotel/motel stays. We usually stay in the Holiday Inn Express, where a decent breakfast is included, with fresh fruit, yogurt, cereal, juice, milk and other beverages, usually hard boiled eggs and some kind of hot food as well. They all have free internet, and most have wireless in the rooms. Many also have a microwave and refrigerator in the room, so you can save on food. You get points for every stay, and then free nights. Other hotels are in this group as well, including Holiday Inn, where you can sometimes stay a little cheaper with no breakfast if you prefer to "picnic" instead. These are not the super "cheapies" for $30 a night, but the beds are super comfortable, which means a lot on the road, and everything is always clean and well-maintained, with good service.

Years ago, I crossed the country by car with four small children and two babies, one just 3 weeks old! I put the four kids in lederhosen (German leather shorts) and t-shirts. We did laundry at laundromats along the way. We had a lot of picnics. Be sure you have simple eating utensils, bowls, etc, a paring knife to use for fruit, and plenty of wipes for cleanup of faces and hands. The top of a big, solid ice chest makes a great make-shift table to prepare food! Also, take a small plastic tub and you can improvise pretty good dishwashing facilities so you can put your utensils away clean for next time. (Hot water is available in service station restrooms and various other places). In 12 days, I became quite an expert on traveling with small children!

Contact AAA and see what deals they can hook you up with for hotels. You may also want to think about renting an RV so that you can have more freedom to paly with the kids on the road and always have a place to stay without incuring extra cost. When I was 3 yrs old my family took a trip cross country in an RV and to this day I still remember what a great time we had. Buying food in bulk is always a good idea or research local stores where you can purchase things at a discount. A portable DVD player that hooks into your vehicle (batteries get really expensive for them) is a great idea. Also get a lap board for your kids so that they can draw and/or color. I would take a bag of small toys that can be played with easily in the car as well and a good stack of books that you can read to them. Also, look online for car games for kids. I would also suggest that you look at the different states websites for the different states that you will be visting and try to find local parks, museums, zoos, etc. that you can visit for cheap or free. While your husband is doing interviews you can have something already planned to keep your girls entertained. I hope that you have a safe fun trip! Traveling around the US is an amazing experience! ENJOY!!

Cool! Just 3 years ago we took a wonderful 10 month road trip from Alberta, Canada, to Montana, Utah, Nevada, California, Mexico, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, and back through Manitoba, Saskatchewan to Alberta. We traveled in our mini van pulling a travel trailer.
There are a lot of variables for your trip,
How long will you be staying in each place?
Are you being reimbursed for any part of it?
What kind of vehicle will you be in?
Where will you be and when? (important for weather conditions and that changes everything!)

If you want chat, I'd LOVE to share with you what I learned about hotels...restaurants... even what questions to ask to get the best "walk up" room rate. You can contact me if you'd like.

B.
Family Success Coach

The zoo idea is great. We get a lot of use out of our membership, which was around $60. We also really get a lot of use out of our children's museum Membership that we can use at a variety of children's museums around the country. Different museums cost different amounts to join, but can be used at all the member museums. Because of that, we joined in Paso Robles, instead of the Zimmer Museum in Los Angeles, though we can still use the Zimmer. This allows our daughter to have somewhere she can stretch her legs and play for a bit while we are on the road.

Hey R.,
I have done an extensive amount of traveling on a budget and a great cost saver are the ones that have breakfast included. I have used the Courtyard and Hampton Inn as well as a few other places and they are both affordable and offer a breakfast bar. I usually stock up on extras to take on the road such as fruit, danishes and hard boiled eggs.
Also, it is helpful to have a cooler. You can easily pop by a store and pick up fixings for sandwiches for lunch, as well as beverages and other snack items for the road. This too saves a lot of money. This would mean that your only meal out would be dinner.
Additionally, many states have visitors centers that have travel books full of coupons. I have used these on meals and lodging.
Finally, AAA offers some small discounts on lodging. Additionally, they can help you develop a travel plan that includes maps, and suggested lodgings tailored or your budget.

I'm sold on Hotwire.com Though they don't tell you the name of the hotel, they tell you the area and how many stars the place is. The two times that I have used it, my savings were significant. When in Chicago, I got a 4-star hotel for $113 a night. My friends stay a couple of blocks away and were paying $275/night. I am going to Santa Barbara at a 3-star for $103/night. The last time I was there, I was at a similar place and paid $175/night. The down-side is that when you make the reservation, you cannot get your money back and you cannot change your mind.