What are you spending on vacation next year..

This has already changed so much! Updated 2018 trips
1.February- No trip to Universal. We will tack on an extra day to our newly planned DL May trip to visit Universal. Much cheaper than doing two trips to LA area. We might go on a day trip to the Aquarium in Phoenix though in February.
2. March- Dh and I will still go the Las Vegas for basketball tournament. Just tickets, gas an food $1000
3. May- DL over Memorial Weekend with kids. Sat-Wed. Staying in timeshare, driving. Timeshare (free), 2 tickets $400, food paid with Disney reward $$, Gas and minivan rental $450. $800-$1000
4. July- Still going to try and do San Diego. 4 nights, 2 nights with my parents, 2 nights just dh and I and then we'll head home. $600 for 2 nights hotel, food and gas
5. October- not sure but we have been invited to go to San Diego with some friends. Or maybe camping.

Slightly changed again.
Feb- Got 2 nights at inlaws timeshare(Free) in Oceanside, Ca. Might go up to Universal after all. Need one night there in a hotel plus tickets. We drive so no airfares. $100 each for tickets, $200 for hotel, $300 for minivan rental and $150 for gas. $100 for food for Universal. Will buy groceries for the timeshare instead of eating out. $1100+
Rest of the list is still the same.
 
Bumping since I made more purchases...

So, my current update to my 1st trip...
1st trip - Pittsburgh (grandparent visit)/Niagara Falls CA/Columbus, OH (Game Convention) - 10 days/9 nights...
Hotel - we are staying at an Embassy Suites at all 3 locations - we used points for 1/2 the cost, so we are paying $660 total, but even full cost would only be $1320, since we are doing Sun-Wed in Canada (and the difference in June cost between weekends and weekdays was monumental:))...

UPDATE - I rebooked the Embassy Suites in Columbus that I was paying points+cash for (vs all points at the other 2 locales, since I didn't have enough to cover all 3 locations) b/c I found a deal that let me have the same cost and keep the points (which equal about 1 free hotel night in a 1 bedroom), so instead of having no hotel points at the end, I'll have about 30-40K to use for next year's vacation - that was a win (I got a Sunday rate, even though we are checking in on a Wed, b/c we were staying through Sunday and those rates were CHEAP)

Gas/Parking/Tolls - $400 (this is way too high, but it's buffer)

Game Con Badges/Tickets - $250 budget to $325 budget (current)

UPDATE - I bought all our game convention badges - they went up a little this year, so I spent $155 here so far. I think I'm gonna bump this budget $75 to $325 b/c some of my family wants to try True Dungeon, so that's gonna be pricey...so I'll have $170 for tickets/events (that are not free - my spouse runs events, so my kids can play them for free)

Canada Attractions Passes (the 4 attraction ones) - $300ish (we'll see next year)
Canada Dinner Theater - $200 budget to $175 paid in full with tip cost included (final)

Canada Extra (Souvies, Groupons, etc) - $200 - used $65 so far, so $135 left

UPDATE - I bought a Groupon for $43 US today which gives us 6 tickets (which I've reserved and gotten confirmed) to the Greg Frewin show cheap seats and 2 arcade attraction areas with tokens and "attractions". I know I will have a $30 CAD fee (which I'm assuming will be $22.50 US) to use one set of the attractions (which is all I'm planning, although you never know - my kids may want 2 arcades), so I've spent $65 in my extra budget, but I think it's a helluva deal to get the 2nd night show for our trip and some "kid" attractions - We now have all 3 nights set (evening falls fireworks show the 1st night, Oh Canada the 2nd night, and Greg Frewin the 3rd night - my kids will love this b/c they love shows!) I thought about waiting to buy (to see if the exchange rate or Groupon discount code got even better), but I wanted the Bird Kingdom Groupon, and that disappeared this week right as I would have entered the "usable" point for it, so I didn't want the same to happen here, when those magic show tickets are SO cheap compared to their retail price...

Groceries (picked up in Pburgh for Canada and Columbus for CON) - $125 (light lunches in case breakfast is too light, snacks, drinks)
Dinners for 7 nights (grandparents have 1st dinner bought, dinner theater will be 2nd dinner bought) - 1/2 fast food/1/2 casual sit down - $500 (no alcohol, since we'll have it at the hotel each night)
Ohio Extra (Souvies, Random) - $100
Total Budget OOP - $2735 - rounding to $2750
 
For the past several years, we've done stockings for our kids, and 3 gifts each. They get plenty of things from relatives, and don't NEED anything. They're starting to get old enough now that we can give them a trip/something intangible, and they can understand it. Honestly, I'd rather spend my $ on an experience for the entire family rather than junk I have to step over or fuss at them about picking up. We've asked for zoo memberships, etc. from family members before, and when we go, I can remind the kids "Hey, so-and-so gave our zoo passes to us for Christmas, remember? It's like we get to have Christmas all over again!" So they're used to that kind of stuff. I'm definitely not against them getting gifts, but it can quickly get to be too much - especially when a lot of the things they receive aren't necessarily in their "sweet spot" of things they love.

As an update to this, we ended up giving our kids a trip for Christmas, and it was well received. We'd told them that due to other travel, schedules, etc., we likely wouldn't be taking a big family vacation in 2018. Still going the 10 hours to visit grandma, and short trips here and there to tag along with DH for work, but no "real" vacation. So they were SHOCKED when their last gift of Christmas morning was a giant box with clues inside. They had to figure out all the clues and finally came to realize we were taking them to Universal two weeks later. I'd been working deals since July to get the best prices possible, using CC points, etc. We did the entire trip (including flying - we usually drive, kennel for the dog, dining, and all souvenirs) for about $2200. Some of that was money we would've spent on Christmas gifts. The rest was saved specifically for the trip. It was such a great thing, we will definitely try to figure out how to do this again. Maybe not every Christmas, but it was awesome for them and us to know they got an awesome gift and it's not something I have to pick up after. (Although, we brought home a giant Frank the Pug that I step over quite often.) Trips for Christmas = awesome.
 
It's been an odd year vacation-wise for us. Next year will be odd as well.

It's also our 20th anniversary, so DH and I are taking an adults only trip to Disney. We're planning to fly, get a rental car, stay at Contemporary (RO discount, with POFQ or CSR as back ups if the budget just isn't there), UT park hoppers, and will pay transportation for my Mom to come watch the kids. We're saving CC points and Disney CC Rewards, air miles, and rental car points. If we have to pay for everything out of pocket, we're looking at $6500, but I know we'll do better than that.

As an update to our upcoming trip, I've been working the deals like crazy. During our Universal trip in January with the kids, I found out we could upgrade our 3-day tickets to Seasonal Passes for $10 each. So for $20 (plus parking), we'll hit Universal/IoA again. I also bought our Disney tickets before the prices went up, and was able to snag a 5-day PH for the price of a 4-day from UCT. Our flights are booked, and only cost us $50 since we were able to use points. Our rental car for the week will only cost taxes and fees, which will be $50 or less. We're paying my Mom's transportation to come watch the kids, and she decided to fly instead of drive the 10 hours. We weren't able to use CC points for that flight ($430), but I was able to get $300 in gift cards that I'll use for other things, then funnel that cash to the vacation fund. And a $100 Starbucks gift card from CC points that we'll use during travel and while in the parks. So we're whittling away at the trip cost! I also have over $300 in Disney Rewards we'll use toward resort or dining. We are still plugging away, hoping the budget holds up and discounts release that make me more comfortable with paying for The Contemporary. :scared: I'm a frugal girl by nature and I'm really afraid that once we stay Deluxe, we'll never want to go back to Moderate or Value!
 


July 2018, WDW, Polynesian $13,000

July 2019, 1. Arizona (Yes, I know it will be HOT, but we are visiting family.)
2. From AZ to California. We plan to move to Orange County in a few years, so we are exploring the beach towns. We will do the Hollywood tours too.
3. We are going to Disneyland for a couple of days while we are in California.
Estimating $10,000
 
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We were planning on a long weekend Hershey trip this year or maybe a DC/beach trip. So far, we've already done a week in Washington DC, 2 days at Niagara Falls, we're going to Atlanta & then Disney World this summer. Our "cheap vacation" year has left the building.
 


With the approximate +$12,000 for next month's Disney's trip (treating DD's family of 4 with flights and FW Cabin as well as DS in our MH on a fh campsite, plus park tickets, plus Sea World) I don't think there will be any other trips this year except for a long weekend boondocking at a local race track that our SIL races at. Yes, we are generous parents/grandparents but hopefully the last all-paid trip from us lol.
 
Yay the thread is back!

After hinting (whining) I got a trip planned. Don’t be jealous, we are tent camping lol My vacation cash got eaten up by our new sunroom. Our old back patio had original 1964 screens and cedar. We did a big DIY thing and put in 25 feet of windows and some solid walls. It will be $2100-2200 in the end. But better than the 8k quoted by professionals.

$161.40 Tent site at Anastasia
$140 gas money (estimate)
$100 estimate for fishing license
$0 food, I will bring food from home out of our grocery budget
$80 eating out a couple of times for dinner

$481.40 We plan to fish, bike, and plant our rear ends in the sand for five days.
 
July 2018, WDW, Polynesian $13,000

July 2019, 1. Arizona (Yes, I know it will be HOT, but we are visiting family.)
2. From AZ to California. We plan to move to Orange County in a few years, so we are exploring the beach towns. We will do the Hollywood tours too.
3. We are going to Disneyland for a couple of days while we are in California.
Estimating $10,000

Don't hear of too many people moving TO Orange County but rather OUT! Don't get me wrong, we LOVE it here but waiting a couple of years is smart as the prices of homes is RIDICULOUS right now hence why many are moving out.

Let me know if you have any questions regarding the area!
 
We did Disney and Universal twice in 2017.
Next year is one big trip, but will be cheaper. We are using all of dh's vacation time for a 3 week cross country trip. We are driving out west to the Alberta Badlands, Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper and Yoho, and driving back through the U.S. On the return trip we will be stopping in Glacier National Park and driving the Going to the Sun road. We are camping almost exclusively with plans to stay in a hotel every 5th night to do laundry and sleep in a real bed.
Our son is 13 and we think this is the perfect age for an epic road trip. He's really excited.

That will be the only trip for 2018 (other than cottage weekends) so the budget is around 3500-4000 including all food and activities.

The idea being thrown around for 2019 is a trip to the UK for 10-12 nights with a concentration on London.
Well this changed a great deal. Here’s the update..

My parents and my sister(she lives with them) booked a 12 night cruise in the British Isles/Ireland/Scotland. For my birthday they asked if I would like to join them (they have a two bedroom suite). My mom offered to pay airfare as well. So I’m going on a two week trip to the UK In September and my only cost is spending money. I was included in most of their excursions as well, but there are two or three I am interested in doing that they have already done, so I will pay for those. I’m budgeting about $600-$800 all in for this trip. Unbelievably excited!!!:cool1:

Dh and ds14 and I are still wanting to do our big trip out west. It was more time off than I could get, and Dh had the time but is too busy to take it all at once, so we amended that trip. We are now doing 16 days and concentrating on Banff and Jasper National Parks. We are staying in hotels on the way out and camping for 8 nights while we are out there.
That looks like $750 for fuel
Accommodation $1180
Food and Activites $1000
Dog boarding- $720

So $3650 for our epic summer adventure. Not too bad. I’ve already booked and paid for the camping and booked some of the activites (whitewater rafting was a birthday gift to Dh and my son), but I need to get moving on getting some other things booked.
 
Feb 2018 5 nights to Honolulu, $3200 for 4 air and hotel, plus food
May 2018 5 night cruise $4K, one way airfare to LA for 4 $700, one way car rental $40, one night hotel in SD $140
August 2018 One week at Dreams Los Cabo, free for adults (using our premier nights with our UVC membership), $700 to add our two kids, $2600 for roundtrip airfare for 4
October 2018 3 nights at AKL 50DVC points, car rental ($100??), food, park tickets ($500??), 7 night Fantasy cruise, $5500, roundtrip airfare (two one way flights booked) for 4 $1700.

Grand total: $15K-$20K
 
Neatokimmo...sounds awesome! Our summer vacations growing up was two weeks every year camping on the ocean in Maine. Best memories ever! Your kids will remember these trips forever...and maybe even more than the Disney ones because they are probably a little more relaxed. Have a wonderful time!
 
We have a huge cross country adventure planned for this summer. Our kids are 21,18 and 16. Two out of three are begging to do a cross country trip and I figured...how much longer will they want to take mom along? So we are going!

We mapped out a route and it looks like we will be gone for about 4 weeks. Leaving Massachusetts we will drive to Denver, Utah, Nevada, California, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, etc. Will be touring a lot of the National Parks and hitting a few cities along the way. My husband and son will fly in for two weeks and get to do California and Yellowstone with us.

Originally we planned on camping some nights. But I am finding that a lot of campsites are almost as much money as a basic motel and we get a bed and shower at the end of the day that we don't have to set up. We are also using Marriott points for a bunch of nights as well to keep costs down.

With gas and hotels, etc we are right around $4,000 but I keep researching and have been able to make adjustments to keep costs down. We are budgeted for $6000 just in case. We NEVER spend this much on a vacation, but it really is a once in a lifetime bucket list trip so we are making it happen! Knowing myself, however, once we go I am sure I will want to go back to places like Yellowstone and Bryce Canyon, etc.
 
Our plans are very loose right now but we have been given the opportunity to stay with my MIL family in coastal Croatia for two weeks in late Spring 2019. We would just need to get ourselves there so tickets would be our biggest expense and of course our expenses for day trips but we wouldn't have to spend for lodging which would be a huge savings. With flights for 4 of us and potential out of pocket while there, we're looking at $6K. We will likely put off our planned Nov 2018 WDW Trip. I will still likely try to get free dining anyway for the Nov 2018 trip and keep it on the back burner should Croatia not gel. We will likely know by summer time if we are going. We will still do our spring break trip in 2019 which is a mountain house rental that we always do, that's about $1,500 for the week with food and we also usually squeeze in a few beach weekends over summer but those are just usually 3 or 4 day weekends and we don't really budget for those as vacations since the expenses are much less.
 
We have a huge cross country adventure planned for this summer. Our kids are 21,18 and 16. Two out of three are begging to do a cross country trip and I figured...how much longer will they want to take mom along? So we are going!

We mapped out a route and it looks like we will be gone for about 4 weeks. Leaving Massachusetts we will drive to Denver, Utah, Nevada, California, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, etc. Will be touring a lot of the National Parks and hitting a few cities along the way. My husband and son will fly in for two weeks and get to do California and Yellowstone with us.

Originally we planned on camping some nights. But I am finding that a lot of campsites are almost as much money as a basic motel and we get a bed and shower at the end of the day that we don't have to set up. We are also using Marriott points for a bunch of nights as well to keep costs down.

With gas and hotels, etc we are right around $4,000 but I keep researching and have been able to make adjustments to keep costs down. We are budgeted for $6000 just in case. We NEVER spend this much on a vacation, but it really is a once in a lifetime bucket list trip so we are making it happen! Knowing myself, however, once we go I am sure I will want to go back to places like Yellowstone and Bryce Canyon, etc.

This is awesome!! I love this idea, how cool. We did a very mini version of this, we flew into Denver and rented a small camper van that we could park on tent campsites and sleep in and drive around CO for 9 days. It was AMAZING! Our girls were only 7 and 9 during the trip but we had a blast. I would second your choice on motels. We winged it and were there in early June and were lucky to get some of the camp sites we did, had we gone a few weeks later, there were no camp sites to be had. Once mid June hits, the parks are more crowded. You will have so much fun, I wish we had seen all those states and National Parks. That will be a blast!!
 
NYC for five nights in August, so far we’re at $3019 for hotel, air for 3, airport to hotel transportation and WTC and 9/11 museum tour. Still need US Open tickets for one day, a few Broadway show tickets, and meal budget.
 
So as much as I wanted to see us return to Disney this year, I’m thinking it’s not the smartest budget move AND I need to just have a little patience (easier said than done! Ahaha)

Instead we’re heading for Old Orchard Beach for a Thursday-Monday Trip! The kids have been itching to swim and be on the beach, it’s only 4.5ish hours from home and it’ll cost a whole lot less.

I booked an AirBNB apartment for $329 (which is amazing! Thank you start of the off season)

Gas should cost around $150.

That leaves food basically! (And probably a trip back to York Zoo because the kids loved it so much! $53.75 gets us admissions and unlimited rides for the kids)
 
I just booked a week near OC MD so lodging is $1900 for that. I don't have a budget for anything else, so I'll guess another $1500 for gas, food, bar tab, and recreation. For a family vacation that isn't too bad.
I was hoping to get back to WDW this fall with dh for F&W but not sure it will happen. If I can find a great deal on airfare and resort maybe we could swing a long weekend.
 

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