Soaring gas prices, rising hotel rates, and creeping menu prices. You may need a spending vacation after your summer vacation this year.
The American Automobile Association’s annual vacation costs survey shows travelers will pay 5 percent more for rooms and food this year.
A family of two adults and two children can expect to pay an average of $247 per day for food and lodging, according to the AAA survey. Lodging rates will average $129 a night, up 3.9 percent from last year. Meals will cost $118, up 6.5 percent. That doesn’t even account for gas prices. Depending on your destination, fuel bills will be 25 percent higher than a year ago.
Frugal travelers can still find ways to save with these three ideas from Steve Economides, “chief economising officer” for the money-saving Website MoneySmartFamily.com:
• Clipping coupons: You’ve probably seen those thick Entertainment books stuffed with money-saving coupons for restaurants, retailers and event admissions. You can buy one of those books for whichever city you’re traveling to. Go online to www.Entertainment.com to preview the coupons.
• Bed down in a dorm: During the summer, Christmas break and spring break, some private colleges and boarding schools will rent out dorm rooms. You’ll get what you pay for; accommodations in many cases are Spartan. “There’s stuff everywhere,” he says. “It’s just a matter of how hard you dig.” When we chatted, he had just found rooms in Washington, D.C., for $25 a night at a small Bible college. In general, he says, you’ll have better luck finding rooms at smaller schools. Start your research here with a list and links to all U.S. Colleges and Universities.
• Hawaii on a budget: AAA ranks Hawaii as the most expensive vacation spot in the country, at $518 a day for a family of four. Economides has tracked down what might be the most affordable accommodations on the Big Island, short of sleeping on the beach. The Hawaii Mission Academy offers rooms for $40 a night for 2 people. He cautions that he has not tried it out, so it’s buyer beware.
Brahm Resnik is a news anchor and business reporter for 12 News.