This summer our family is taking a trip to Banff. Now that our boys are all grown up a family vacation also includes their spouses and children, so planning this trip takes more effort to stay on budget.
Because we don’t use credit cards to pay for trips, we have been saving for this trip for a little over a year. The first round of this trip will be just getting to Banff. The secret to traveling on a budget is planning, so planning this trip takes time but is worth it in the end.
We have decided to drive. If you have read many of my blogs you know that, while I love to fly, both John and I love to take road trips. There are so many wonderful things to see that driving makes sense.
The first leg of the trip will be taken with our son and daughter-in-law in tow. They will help us share the driving, making the trip so much more doable! Also with us will be our sweet little Carly. Carly is a four-pound Yorkie. Rarely do we travel without her. Boarding a pet can be pretty expensive, especially during peak travel months. There are many ways to cut down on that cost, but we find she is small enough to travel with us and most hotels/AirBNBs are fine with her being in a room overnight.
The first step for planning is deciding what our must-haves for this trip will be. We’ve planned to go with an AirBNB as the cost for a large group is less expensive and we can all be in one large house. We’re paying $388 a night. While this might seem like a great deal of money, we’re getting 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, a hot tub and we’re in a beautiful setting with a small yard.
Having a house also allows us to save money on food. We can also share cooking most meals. We always allow one fancy night out, but most of our budget for this trip will be on activities.
To help plan we consulted local Banff travel pages.
Our Banff trip is part of our next big trip planning section on this blog. If you have popped into this blog on this page you might be missing the whole picture. Check out the entire portfolio at the link below.
Two Budget Travelers 