Step-by-step: Creating a Budget for a Family Vacation

Don't let budget be the thing that stands between you and your dream destination. Instead of getting hung up on how much your ideal vacation might cost, think of the vacation as your goal and then work out how to keep the costs in line with what you can afford.

Think hard about what aspects of the vacation are a priority. Often low budget items like a walk along the Seine and hot chocolate in a Paris café are most important, but we tend to get convinced that we cannot enjoy the trip unless they stay in the fanciest hotels. Will you really remember what brand toiletries they put in the bathroom 10 years from now? Will your kids?

If you're trying to travel within a budget, you'll probably have to compromise on a few items, but you and your family will still enjoy your trip more than you would skipping it entirely.

1. Transportation
   First determine how much transportation will cost since it is your biggest single cost. Use www.farecast.com to get a sense of what you should expect to pay, or eliminate airfare expenses altogether by using airline miles. For a driving trip, calculate the distance and cost of gas.
2. Lodging
   Hotels and other lodging take the biggest chunk out of your budget. Consider cutting this expense almost entirely by arranging a home swap or homestay. You'll get a deeper understanding of a culture by living like locals do, and having a kitchen means reducing meal costs too. If that seems too personal, reduce costs dramatically by staying in a rental apartment, or spending your first or last night in an airport hotel. Make sure that you understand all the fees, taxes and deposits associated with housing. Resort fees, cleaning fees, utility fees, internet charges and parking can all add up quickly.
3. Food
   Meals are typically the next biggest expense. Use a guidebook to get a sense of typical meal costs, and take into account how your family likes to eat. We find it easiest and cheapest to avoid having three sit-down meals a day. We usually budget for one restaurant meal per day, some snacks picked up at a local market, breakfast from a bakery (or a box of cereal), and a takeaway picnic lunch. We also set aside money for one really fantastic restaurant experience. Having lunch (instead of dinner) at a really fancy restaurant is a great way to cut costs while still having a great experience.
4. Experiences
   Set aside a budget for museums and activities. In some destinations, this is essentially nothing as you'll spend your days relaxing on the beach, or visiting London's great (and free) museums. Kids slow down the pace quite a bit, so you can plan on visiting one museum per day or doing one to two activities. Don't forget to include equipment rentals such as snorkel or scuba gear.
5. Local Transportation
   Don't forget transportation to and from the airport and around town. When possible, we plan to use public transportation to avoid rental car fees, parking fees, and the general hassle of trying to remember where we parked the car. Most major European cities (with the notable exception of Rome) have great public transportation, and we love to walk (with the assistance of a stroller and a sling) because it lets us take in more of local life.
6. Packing Essentials
   Don't forget to budget for any items you'll need to purchase for your trip (new luggage, wardrobe necessities, passport, etc)
7. Home Expenses
   You'll need to maintain your home while you are gone (housesitter, petsitter, etc). You'll be able to offset these expenses somewhat by putting cell phones, newspapers, Netflix, cable and other subscription services on hold while you travel.
8. Souvenirs
   While we're not big fans of lugging home a lot of stuff from our trip (after all we have our memories and lots of digital photos to help us remember the experience) we do usually come home with a few things, and the kids seem to always pick up a few new toys along the way.

Filed Under: budget

1 comment | Posted on January 2, 2008 | Save to del.icio.us

Travel Tip: Grocery Delivery

When we return home from any trip longer than a few days, one of the first struggles is to figure out how to get some food in the house before the first mealtime. On this most recent trip, we arrived home at midnight on Christmas Day, so there weren't exactly lots of options. We usually end up giving the kids snack foods and shelf-stable milk boxes until I can get out to the store.

When the solution hit me today, I felt a little bit like a genious, and a little bit like an idiot. Of course! Grocery Delivery is the answer! We don't usually use these services becuse I enjoy going to the store and choosing everything myself, but they're the perfect way to get some milk, fresh fruit, bread and ingredients for a first meal or two into the house after a long trip.

0 comments | Posted on December 29, 2007 | Save to del.icio.us

San Diego Family Travel Guide Posted

I've posted our guide to Traveling with Kids in San Diego It's complete with hotel recommendations, family friendly restaurants, fun kids activities, and tips for visiting the major attractions with kids. It also includes half-day itiniaries, with handy printable maps, perfect to take with you on your vacation.

Traveling with Kids in San Diego

2 comments | Posted on December 27, 2007 | Save to del.icio.us

Back home in Seattle

We flew back from Ontario Airport late Tuesday night. I’m not sure why we flew back so late at night. With the Christmas holiday, those must have been the only reasonably priced tickets.

The kids both slept on the flight, but woke up when we tried to transfer them out of the plane. (We manage that maneuver successfully about 50 percent of the time) After retrieving our luggage we took the car service home (cheaper than a cab & they provide car seats).

When we arrived home, the house was absolutely freezing. We usually turn the heater off when we travel to save money. Of course Tuesday was the first white Christmas in Seattle since 1996, and the house felt colder than outside. We didn’t have the heart to change diapers, let alone put the kids to bed on their own in the cold. So, while we waited for the house heater & the space heaters we keep in the kids rooms to warm things up, the kids rediscovered their toys, drank a little milk, and generally acted tired and crazy. We finally got them in to bed at around 2am, which is making for really “interesting” behavior as we all get back on schedule and back into our normal routines.

Related Links:

0 comments | Posted on December 27, 2007 | Save to del.icio.us

Advantage Rent-A-Car's Unsafe Car Seats

Update 28 July 2008: Despite their promises Advantage Rent A Car continues to rent unsafe car seats please click the link to read what happened to mom Barbara and her 6 month old infant when they visited the Los Angles location

original story follows

You might remember that when we arrived in San Diego and picked up our rental car from Advantage Rent-A-Car, my husband was led into a storage room where a scrapheap of car seats awaited him. A lineup of a few pictured above. Most were disgustingly dirty, with dark stains on them, cracker remains, etc.

Some close-ups:

Several were missing parts and didn't function properly. With few other alternatives after our evening flight, he selected the two newest, healthiest looking car seats, and we brought them out to the car. After installing one, we noticed that the straps didn't tighten enough to secure our toddler. He returned it and brought out another, which turned out to be missing the clip that goes across the chest. Finally, he selected a third (and dirtier) car seat that seemed to be functional and we were on our way. Obviously, we gave the seats a good once-over the next morning (as well as a good cleaning.

More close-ups:

When we returned the cars, we brought the seats inside and staff directed us to put them back into the storage room (without cleaning).

I asked the manager what their policy was regarding car seats. He claimed that Advantage buys new car seats every two months and that the car seats are cleaned thoroughly after each use. I explained that we had to install two car seats for my son before finding a working one, and while he apologized that they "might have missed something" he maintained his claim that the car seats are cleaned and inspected after each use. I then lead him into the storage room and started pointing out car seats that were obviously filthy and car seats that were obviously unsafe. He retreated quickly, offering to refund our car seat rental fee, but pointing to a few newer car seats that had not been available when we rented the car and maintaining that the company rents only safe, clean car seats.

And here is the California State Law regarding car seat rentals:

(b) Every car rental agency in California shall have available for, and shall, upon request, provide for rental to, adults traveling with children under six years of age, child passenger restraint systems that are certified by the manufacturer to meet applicable federal motor vehicle safety standards for use by children weighing 60 pounds or less, are in good and safe condition, with no missing original parts, and are not older than five years.

The fine for non-compliance is negligible, so it's not surprising that an agency wouldn't be too worried about being caught renting unsafe car seats.

(c) A violation of this section is an infraction punishable by a fine of one hundred dollars ($100).

Our recommendation: Thoroughly inspect any car seat and installation before leaving a rental car agency. If you're on site at the airport, it is easy to walk to another agency and ask whether they'll honor the rate for your reservation (if they have extra cars they're likely to). If you're off site, it's harder to walk away, but never take the risk of putting your child in a car without a properly functioning car seat.

We've never had any issues when renting from Avis or Hertz (including our international rentals).

I have more information on the Fisher Price car seat shown in the pictures above. After receiving reader tip saying that her 15 year old son had used a similar car seat, I did some more research on that model. The Fisher Price 9100 & 9101 T-Shield convertible seats were manufactured between 1985 and 1995 (meaning that the car seat pictured is between 12 years and 22 years old!) Wow! No wonder it looks so worn out.

Most manufacturers suggest replacing a seat 5 to 8 years after the date of manufacture, because current safety seats may have better safety features than older seats, but in no case should a car seat be used after 10 years.

Furthermore, this car seat model has been subject to a eight different recalls (though the one pictured might have missed all of them) Do you think anyone at advantage has taken the time to check the car seats for recalls when they didn't take the time to clean them after use or remove damaged seats?

Now that I've learned more, I'd like to update our recommendations to parents:

• Call ahead to the specific office you will be renting a car seat from and verify that they have new, well maintained car seats available for your date of travel.
• Make sure that the seat is installed snugly and that the latch or seatbelt is threaded through the proper channels
• Find the individual "birth date" of the seat. It should be on a computer printed label stuck to the side or back of the seat. Don't use a seat that is older than 5 years.
• Check the seat carefully for evidence of cracking, twisting, worn harness webbing or broken buckles. Once you have latched the buckles, pull hard to make sure that they do not detach. If there is any visible damage, do not use the seat

If you are on site at the airport, it is easy to walk to another agency and ask them whether they'll honor the rate for your reservation (if they have extra cars, they are likely to). If you're off site, it's harder to walk away, but never take the risk of putting your child in a car without a properly functioning car seat.

Local ABC news affiliates in San Diego and Seattle have picked up the story. They did their own "under cover" investigations, and are airing the story this week!

A reporter even came out to the house to interview me and take video of the kids. I've held off on blogging about how the story unfolded until it airs, so watch the report at 10News or KOMO and check back here next week for the behind-the-scenes story.

Schedule
3 Feb 10 News in San Diego breaks the story at 11pm PST
4 Feb Komo News in Seattle airs the story at 11pm PST
5 Feb Komo News in Seattle airs the story at 6pm PST

Here are a couple teasers from the San Diego affiliate:
Video Teaser: "Bad Car Seats"
"Behind the Scenes" Investigation Blog

Here's the teaser from the Seattle affiliate:
KOMO News: Dirty and Dangerous

A lot has happened in the past few weeks, so here is a brief update.

In late January I received a very nice letter from the director of customer experience at Advantage apologizing for the experience I had. As a result of this story and the news investigations, Advantage has performed a company-wide inspection of all their car seats and destroyed any that did not meet the appropriate standards for safe operation. They've also institued a new corporate policy regarding child safety seats, including a requirement that seats be removed from service after two years of use and that parents be given a manual with each seat. Way to go Advantage!

10News aired the story based on their undercover investigation as their lead story on Superbowl Sunday. Here's a link: Video: Bad Car Seats

References and Related Links:
Update 28 July 2008: Advantage Rent A Car continues to rent unsafe car seats
CarSeat.org
Car Seat.org's listing of T-Shield car seats
Listing of Eight Recalls for the Fisher Price 9100 Car Seat
Advantage Rent-A-Car: Link
California Car Seat Law: Link
DeliciousBaby: Reserving Rental Cars, Flights, and More
DeliciousBaby: Watching Myself on the News
DeliciousBaby: Car Seats and Air Travel
Safety Tips for Renting a Carseat

Filed Under: car-seat carseat popular

30 comments | Posted on December 22, 2007 | Save to del.icio.us

A day at Balboa Park San Diego

We woke up to on of San Diego's rare rainy days. . . not the day to hang out on the beach. It might also seem like a strange day to choose to go to a park, but Balboa Park has enough indoor activities that we knew we'd be able to make do.

Our first stop was the Puppet Theatre. The theatre features performances five days a week staffed by professionals and students. Performances are geared towards kids of all ages. Unfortunately, the performance running this week was a little... off. It was a one woman show with jokes geared towards older kids, not much action and creepy looking puppets. Our kids were sort of interested, but not delighted, and we wish we'd done something else with the time. The fact that it was a "holiday" show probably didn't help matters (we don't celebrate the one holiday featured in the show)

Next stop, the trolley. The trolley wouldn't exactly be considered a tourist attraction for most people, but as I've said before, it's impossible to overstate how much E loves to ride on busses, trains, and now trolleys. P and my parents took him for a ride while I walked D around in the sling to get her to sleep. When I met him at the train museum, he was all a-twitter with news of the trolley (and delighted to see a model trolley in the model railroad museum)

The San Diego Model Railroad Museum was an interesting experience. The museum is huge, and has four different model railroad tracks, all in different stages of completion. Clubs meet in the evening (and sometimes work during the day) to build the intricate scale models. Everything is at a height that makes it convenient for adults to work, which means that kids need to be lifted up or stand on the special platforms around the museum. There is a play area for toddlers with three Thomas Train setups and some blocks. E had fun (D slept through the whole thing) and it was a nice way to get out of the rain.

We grabbed lunch to go from In-n-Out Burger and took it back to my brother's house where he played happily with his cousins and took an afternoon nap.

The big bummer was that E came down with a stomach virus in the evening. I'll spare you the gory details from Wednesday and Thursday, but I think it's sufficient to say that it's just not fun being away from home with a sick kid (especially for the kid). Luckily he was in good spirits, but it definitely put a crimp in his style.

0 comments | Posted on December 21, 2007 | Save to del.icio.us

Step By Step: Babyproofing a Hotel Room

One of our challenges on each trip is keeping the kids safe while we're staying in hotels or a vacation rental. Most guidebooks recommend bringing bulky baby proofing items from home… meaning that you either need a second set for travel, or you need to undo your home babyproofing just before leaving & remember to redo it when you return home.

You'll probably never take the time, resources or desire to baby-proof a hotel room as completely as you would your own home. However, each the room needs to be safe enough that your child can play with supervision while you get ready in the morning or wind down in the evenings. Using my step-by-step guide all you'll need to bring with you is some duct tape, blue painters tape, and twist-ties or pipe cleaners.

1. Call or email the hotel before the trip and ask about baby proofing (some offer this service or have special baby proofed rooms).
2. Request a crib. Even if your child won't sleep in a strange crib, it's useful to have a safe place to put them for a few minutes.
3. Remove anything dangerous that is within baby's reach. Look for floor lamps, lamps with dangling electrical cords, anything that can be pulled off a table or desk, and any plants. Don't forget to look for small items inside drawers, closets and under beds. Check to make sure that all the furniture in the room is stable. Once you’ve collected everything that is unsafe, call housekeeping to remove the items from your room or hide them in a closet or wardrobe.
4. Secure any loose cords or wires with twist-ties and duct tape.
5. Twist-ties or pipe cleaners can be used to secure drape cords up high where toddlers cannot reach them.

6. Duct tape over any electrical outlets. If the outlets are painted or wall-papered, use blue painters tape instead. It's not as secure, but it won't damage the surface. (Thanks Parent Hacks!)
7. Use painter's tape to secure dresser drawers so that they cannot be opened.
8. Look for exposed light bulbs on bedside reading lights or in other spots where a small child might reach them. Remove the lamp or use duct tape to secure the switch in the off position.

9. Look for furniture with sharp corners. Use paper (usually available in a hotel stationary kit) and duct tape to make a cushion for each corner.
10. Water in hotels can be very hot. Make sure that your child cannot reach the bathroom tap. (If they can, you'll need to keep the bathroom door closed and supervise them carefully.) If there's a bidet in the room, it likely has a faucet handle that is very low to the ground. Turn the water off at the wall or call engineering to turn the water off.
11. Check the crib for safety. Remove any loose bedding and make sure that the mattress fits snugly. Hotels will often add a thick mattress to a pack-and-play, thinking that they're ensuring a more comfortable night for baby, but because the sides of the pack and play are stretchy, baby's head can become trapped between the mattress and the side of the crib. Finally, place the crib where baby will not be able to reach anything dangerous or anything that might enable them to climb out and be mindful of whether heating and cooling vents are blowing on the crib.
12. Bathroom doors need to be babyproofed too… To prevent pinched fingers from an open door, throw a washcloth over the top of the door to prevent it from closing fully. Tape over the lock to prevent a toddler from locking themselves in the bathroom. Try to keep the bathroom door closed to keep babies out.
13. Close and lock all windows and balconies, even those with screens and move furniture away from windows and balconies.
14. Put the trashcan (with it's germs, plastic bags, and soon your trash) out of reach.

You'll need to take a quick survey of the electrical outlets and your other baby proofing "hacks" after every housekeeping visit to ensure that your babyproofing measures are still in place.

No matter what you do, you'll still need to keep an eye on your child, as you'll never be as aware of the dangers in a strange place as you are at home.

Filed Under: babyproofing safety

6 comments | Posted on December 19, 2007 | Save to del.icio.us

Pacific Beach and San Diego Zoo

While our children didn't necessarily appreciate being lulled to sleep by the sound of the ocean last night, they sure loved waking up and looking out at the beach this morning!

Breakfast in the room is the way to go with kids. Usually I pick up some muffins and fruit the day before so that we don't need to run out in the morning, but we arrived too late last night. Luckily, the hotel has a free continental breakfast, so P took E down to pick up food while D and I slept in & then everyone snacked while we got ready. Perfect! Everyone was happy and well fed by the time we stepped out.

I had a slight headache from dehydration this morning that I worked all day to combat. Between the dehydrating air flight, the air conditioning in the hotel, and nursing D more than usual on the flight, I've used more water than usual. With the liquid restrictions on the flight I didn't do as good a job as I usually do of drinking water. The same happened to me on the trip to Spain, so I'm doing my best to drink a lot today.

The one thing we absolutely need good weather for while we're here is a trip to San Diego's famous zoo. It's supposed to rain in the evening, and possibly tomorrow, so we decided to get this in first. My dad bought us some discounted tickets on Ebay (Thanks Dad!) and we showed up just as the zoo was opening.

It's been a while since I've been here, and I'd forgotton what an outstanding zoo San Diego has. It's absolutely huge!! In a (successful) attempt to avoid the crowds, we took a gondola from the entrance to the far end of the park and slowly worked our way back. The kids loved the ride and were absolutely thrilled to see all the animals. Hilights of this trip was the baby gorilla (born in March) and the frisky zebras chasing eachother around their enclosure (E says they were cuddling eachother).

Food was a little bit of a challenge. E was picky, as usual, and refused to eat anything but bread. The meal options for us weren't great either, and everything was super expensive (I spent $7.50 in the morning for a bagel and bottle of water). If I had it to do again, I would have picked up food on the way in and had a picnic somewhere in the Zoo.

By afternoon the kids were getting tired of seeing animals and we returned to the hotel where one of the staff members gave us a stack of buckets and shovels to take to the beach. Wow! The kids could not have been more delighted. E's cousins joined us and all four kids had a blast scooping and pouring the sand until they were all covered in it. It was good, simple fun, and we could not have asked for a better afternoon at the beach.

Everyone is exhausted this evening and sleeping heavily while I type up my notes from the day. E fell asleep on the way back from dinner saving us from going through the process of our nighttime routine. D, of course, tried desparately to wake him up before she too fell into a deep sleep. Tomorrow we'll visit Balboa Park and, if we get a little bit of clear weather, spend some more time at the beach.

0 comments | Posted on December 18, 2007 | Save to del.icio.us

Arrived In San Diego

This afternoon we picked E up from school, rushed him through a snack at home, and then we were off to the airport. Not suprisingly (in retrospect) he had a huge amount of anxiety about leaving today. We hadn't given him enough time at home, and we didn't let him mentally change gears by having him pack a little carry-on bag like we usually do. He was super attached to daddy, not willing to let him out of his sight, wanted to ride in mommy's car instead of the car service, and halfway to the airport he asked to go back home. We worried that things might get worse at the airport.

Luckily, E switched into full travel mode once we arrived at the airport, and the fact that we'd been on a plane just a month and a half ago meant that he knew exactly what to do at each stage in the game. Things went about as smoothly as we could hope for, but with two laptops, eight pair of shoes, two photo ids, and one bag of liquids, there's a certain amount of insane juggling that's unavoidable. Still, E knew to take off his shoes and put his blanket in a bin, an achievement in itself.

We arrived early enough to grab a quick bite and let the kids play in the cool playground inside the Seattle Airport (SEA-TAC), and then we were off for our flight. It's been a while since we've flown on Alaska, and I was disappointed to learn that with their changeover to no meal service they've also discontinued milk as a drink option. Add one more thing to pick up after security from now on. After all the excitement of getting through the airport, both kids drifted off during takeoff and woke up just before landing! Woohoo!

We had an interesting experience with our rental car. We usually stick to the major rental car companies, not wanting to hassle with off-airport agencies However, at San Diego Airport, all rental car agencies are off-airport, so we decided to try one of the more reputable discounters, Advantage, which turned out to be about ½ the cost of Avis. Indeed, the service was great: the van showed up quickly, service was super friendly, and they offered us a car that was only a couple months old. The car seat situation, however, was utterly insane. With Avis and Hertz, we've generally arrived to find a clean, newish car seat installed by a trained employee that's ready to go. In contrast, at Advantage, my husband was led into a storage room where a scrapheap of car seats awaited him. Most were disgustingly dirty, with dark stains on them, cracker remains, etc. Several were missing parts and didn't function properly. Where did they get these car seats? The land fill? He selected two of the better looking seats, and we brought them out to the car. After installing one, we noticed it was broken and had to swap it out. Tomorrow, we'll give them another once-over, but I doubt we'll chance a discounter again.

Next stop: The Pacific Terrace Hotel. It's a waterfront hotel in Pacific Beach. We had booked a standard (read cheap and smallish) room. When we booked, the next category of room (ocean view) was about $80/night more than the standard room. As we always do, we asked about upgrades when we checked in. The price of the upgrade had dropped to $30/night, so we took it. The room is great, newly renovated, there's lots of space, and it overlooks a beautiful pool and the Pacific Ocean. We did a little bit of remedial baby proofing before putting the kids to bed, and we'll do a little more tomorrow so that the kids can play without us having to watch them likes hawks.

1 comment | Posted on December 17, 2007 | Save to del.icio.us

Leaving for San Diego

We're headed to San Diego today! I want to thank everyone who emailed me with suggestions for things to do and places to eat. We got some really great tips, and I cannot wait to get there.

Things are fairly loosely organized for this trip. We've been to San Diego before, and we know we'll go again, so there's no rush to see it all. We'll stay by the beach for a few days, spend some time with family, visit the zoo, check out the train museum in Balboa Park, and eat some really great seafood and Mexican food.

My bags are extra heavy this trip, which is a source of frustration. We have lots of gifts to give and extra outfits for parties we'll attend. I probably should have sent a few things ahead. On the upside, we'll rent car seats in San Diego, and we keep toys, sippies, and some other essentials at Grandma's house, so at least we're not lugging along a lot of baby gear.

1 comment | Posted on December 17, 2007 | Save to del.icio.us