Most years, my family doesn’t travel during my kids’ spring break because the prices tend to be out of hand. But this year, my husband was really itching to go somewhere. So with the help of a travel agent, he managed to find a week-long cruise leaving from Florida that wasn’t terribly overpriced.
At first, the plan was for all of us to go on the trip. Then we realized that because we’d waited until almost the last minute to set up a vacation, our dog sitters were booked solid. We also realized that if we were to go on a cruise as a family of five, we’d pay a fortune due to not all fitting into the same room onboard.
And so we made the decision that I would stay home with the dog, and my husband and kids would go on the trip. Since I’m not the biggest fan of cruises, I was okay with this. And if I’m being honest, not having to take care of anyone but a dog for a week was a mini vacation in and of itself.
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But while we managed to find a cruise whose price was reasonable, airfare was a different story. Because it was spring break, flights to Florida were coming in at $700 per person from Newark, our local airport. So we made one strategic decision that left us paying half that much for my husband and kids’ flights.
When going out of your way makes sense
You’d think there wouldn’t be a huge price difference in flights leaving from Newark vs. JFK, both of which are huge airports in the New York City area. But for some reason, we were able to find flights for about $350 per person out of JFK vs. twice that much at Newark. So even though Newark is only 30 minutes from our house and JFK is 90 minutes away without traffic, we made the decision that my husband and kids would take the longer trip and save the money.
All told, it was a decision that paid off, since we saved $1,400 on airfare ($350 times four tickets). Now we did have to spend about $175 each way on a ride to and from the airport because as it happened, I wasn’t available at the time of their return flight, and I admittedly did not want to drive to JFK at 4 a.m. for their departing flight. But when you subtract the $350 we spent on ride-hailing, we still shaved $1,050 off of the cost of that trip overall.
With the right strategy, you can save on your next trip
Traveling at off-peak times — such as not during spring break — could be a big source of savings the next time you travel. But if you’re in a similar boat to me, that may not be an option due to your kids actually needing to attend school.
However, there are other steps you can take to save when you’re traveling at a popular time:
- See if it’s possible to drive to your destination. My husband didn’t want to do the drive to Florida without me, but we’ve made the 16-hour trek each way numerous times before to save money.
- See if you can save money on tickets by flying out of a smaller regional airport. Or, see if there’s another major airport you can get to with lower fares.
- Book your itinerary well in advance if you know your travel dates ahead of time. If you’re a parent, you’ll usually get the school calendar ahead of the academic year, which gives you time to plan.
- Apply for a travel rewards credit card before your next trip. With a travel rewards card, you can potentially enjoy money-saving perks like free checked bags and discounts on in-flight purchases. You might also have an easier time racking up points to offset the cost of a future trip.
Although tripling their driving time to and from the airport wasn’t optimal, my husband and kids didn’t mind doing it if it meant saving over $1,000 all in. So if you’re in a similar situation the next time you’re looking to travel, consider the financial upside of inconveniencing yourself.
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