When my children were young, I drove a VW station wagon with a multicolored bumper sticker that read, "Where have all the hippies gone?" It took me a while but I finally have the answer: The hippies have gone cruising.
21.07.2023 - 08:40 / roughguides.com / Hayley Spurway
The first few years of having children takes its toll on your finances, but that doesn’t mean you have to ditch dreams of travelling. Following a family road trip through Europe with her pre-school boys, Hayley Spurway shares some experiences and tips on budget family travel.
Many families put off a ‘big trip’ before their children start school, because they haven’t been able to muster the time or money. But while the first few years of having children can be expensive and demanding, travel can be affordable and rewarding with toddlers in tow. There’s little point crossing the globe or going on safari before they’re old enough to remember it, but any adventure encompassing new languages and landscapes can be a valuable, educational experience for the whole family.
There aren’t many times during family life when you can put work on hold (or take it with you), the kids aren’t bound by school holidays and are still young enough to bed down on the front seat of a van. So, with two tots fast growing up, we seized the opportunity for a family road trip from Cornwall to Portugal before our eldest boy hit school age. Having stalled on many other trips we’d dreamt up – Oz, Cape Verde and Thailand – due to money worries, it finally dawned that we didn’t need to set our sights on such faraway places to travel. So we packed up the van and hopped on the ferry to Roscoff, from where Europe was our oyster.
With its rugged coastline, balmy climes and inexpensive sand-between-your-toes lifestyle, the west coast of Portugal turned out to be an ideal family destination: sand and surf summed up most of our days, while we also felt a little intrepid finding wild coves off the beaten track, pockets of culture in the towns and free-camping at enviable beachside locations. The children needed little in the form of toys and spoon-fed entertainment, preferring to build sand-boats, do stick-drawings on deserted beaches and hunt for treasure washed up by the sea. As well as following the map through different countries, they learnt a few words of French and Portuguese that they used on the locals in cafés and shops. By the time we were plummeted back into winter temperatures and the humdrum of the nursery routine, there was no doubt that they were happy, confident and alert little boys who’d thrived on their adventures abroad.
Here's my 10 top tips for keeping costs low on family travels:
The most effective tip is perhaps the most obvious — set limits and stick to them! Once you’ve forked out for getting there, try to keep living costs on a par with what you’d usually spend at home.
Eating out can be one of the biggest travel expenses. If you’re camping or self-catering stock up on ingredients at local markets and save your pennies
When my children were young, I drove a VW station wagon with a multicolored bumper sticker that read, "Where have all the hippies gone?" It took me a while but I finally have the answer: The hippies have gone cruising.
This series of articles about credit cards, points and miles, and budgeting for travel is brought to you in partnership with The Points Guy.
Laird Hamilton is best known as an American big-wave surfer and pioneer in the world of action water sports. In addition to his affinity for the water, Laird is labeled as an inventor, author, stunt man, model, producer, TV host, fitness and nutrition expert, husband, father, and adrenaline junkie. At 6’3” and 215 pounds, Laird is unique in the way that he balances flexibility and strength. A renowned innovator and guiding genius of crossover board sports including tow-in-surfing, stand-up paddle boarding and hydrofoil boarding, Laird is the essential Water Man, continuously pushing the limits and expanding all possibilities. Over the last decade, Laird has transcended from surfing to becoming an international fitness icon and nutrition expert. As co-founder and Chief Innovator of Laird Superfood, he has been able to take his nutrition expertise and create delicious, plant-based better-for-you food products that are accessible to all. Partnering with his wife, professional volleyball player and TV personality, Gabrielle Reece, Laird created Extreme Performance Training (XPT). XPT is a unique and powerful fitness training and lifestyle program featuring unique water workouts, performance breathing, recovery methods, high-intensity and endurance training for people of all fitness levels and backgrounds.
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