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Passport free affordable family travel inspiration that will get you to actually leave the house with your kids.

Often times, I have parents ask me for advice regarding travel with children and I remind them that international travel is not the only way to expose and share experiences with your kids. I’m well aware that if you search the hashtag #travel or #familytravel, you will come across many staged and photoshopped images of what seems like perfectly behaved jet setting families in Paris, Malasia, Kenya, Greece and every international Disney Park, yet I’m here for the family who’s trying to figure out how to pull off a simple in state road trip, overnight trip or weekend adventure. While we love exploring so many amazing places that are ideal family travel locations, I’m also all about the local and regional travel experiences. Why? It’s more realistic that the average family will be able to plan, afford and actually pull off an overnight trip or weekend getaway, than a safari or two week long trip through Europe. Realistic and affordable family travel is imperative to breaking the obstacles to family travel for most people. 

Family travel is not something we do to simply check off a box, say that we’ve been there and because it’s currently the trendy thing to do. We were those lone black people hiking, camping, skiing and in typically not family orientated travel destinations, before family travel became the “in” thing. It’s been an integral part of our family values and way of life for over nineteen years. This means that we place as much emphasis on the experiences and lessons learned while taking a day trip to Block Island, Rhode Island or a weekend trip to Acadia National Park, Maine, as we do on our trip to Havana, Cuba. Travel is truly as much about the process of getting to the destination, as it is about experiencing said destination with our children. What do I mean? Children who grow up to be adults who love adventure and experiences are born in transit. They are born in their ability to pack their bags, organize the car, plan their trip and live in the moment once they arrive. They’re born in the ability to make the most out of the unexpected or hiccups in their plans, without those challenges completely ruining their trip. 

These lessons can be learned without even owning a passport, a car or the funds to take you on that bucket list trip. You don’t need to have TSA Pre Check, Global Entry or Mobile Passport to raise travel loving and adventure seeking children. You can accomplish these goals by teaching your kids how to explore their own back yard, state, region and country. The United States or your own home country are filled with incredibly beautiful places just waiting for you to experience them. I challenge you to rethink the passport stamp seeking family travel culture that we’re bombarded with daily on social media and you will realize that it’s not as unattainable as you once thought. Even as a family travel blogger, I find myself rolling my eyes at some of the elitists posts that I see on social media these days. I’m here to tell you that it’s perfectly okay if your kids don’t leave the country until they have their first job and can afford to buy their own flight. While we do travel internationally with our four children, I must acknowledge that international travel is not something that is immediately available to most families with two children, much less those with four. I encourage you to start traveling with your kids by choosing trips that meet your personal family budget. Don’t compare yourself to others. It’s paralyzing.

The older I get, the more I appreciate a good long weekend family trip. I don’t have the attention span for most 7-day trips with kids. I love long weekends and 5-night trips because they allow our family to create amazing memories while not completely disrupting our daily flow, routine and wallet. Also, as a large family, lodging, food and transportation costs add up quickly. I’d rather travel more often, than travel longer in one single trip. This is our family’s preference and you will figure out your own family travel flow, the more you get out of the house with your kids. I’ve written previous blog posts about the fact that family travel is not a vacation. It requires a shift in thinking and an acceptance to what your reality is as a parent leaving the house with children. It’s a fact. You will have to put in all of the work required to parent on a daily basis while you are away from home. Travel will only accentuate your troublesome family dynamics. Ugh, sorry I had to say that! It’s reality. I’ve spoken to so many parents who say that they don’t travel with their kids because their kids don’t listen, misbehave and thus damper their travel experience. Those are issues that I highly recommend that you address and deal with before you embark on a week long trip with children. Traveling didn’t cause these issues, but having kids out of their element accentuates all of those things to a degree that will cause you to never leave home again. Thus, be realistic in your travel expectations with children. You may be in a season that requires shorter trips. Embrace that. The season of longer travel will be here before you know it.

Don’t be paralyzed by all of the family travel posts to expensive travel destinations, that leave you feeling inadequate, despondent and slightly depressed. Start somewhere. Start Local. Start now. You won’t regret it and in the meantime, you’ll be planting those seeds that you will surely sow at the right time in your family’s lifetime. These are some of our favorite family travel destinations that hopefully will get your wanderlust juices flowing. I bet some of these are close enough to you that you can make a long weekend out of them.

-          The Grand Canyon, Flagstaff Arizona, U.S.A.

-          The Monterrey Peninsula, California, U.S.A.

-          The Pacific Coast Highway, California, U.S.A.

-          Coronado Beach, San Diego, California, U.S.A.

-          San Francisco’s Cable Cars, San Francisco, California, U.S.A.

-          Sequoia National Park, California, U.S.A.

-          Yosemite National Park, California, U.S.A.

-          Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.

-          Essex, Connecticut, U.S.A.

-          Mystic Seaport, Mystic, Connecticut, U.S.A.

-          Litchfield Hills in Connecticut, U.S.A.

-          Amelia Island, Florida, U.S.A.

-          Everglades National Park, U.S.A.

-          Key West, Florida, U.S.A.

-          Marco Island, Florida, U.S.A.

-          South Beach, Miami Beach, Florida, U.S.A.

-          Savannah, Georgia, U.S.A.

-          Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.

-          Acadia National Park, Maine, U.S.A.

-          Kennebunkport, Maine, U.S.A.

-          Ocean City, Maryland, U.S.A.

-          Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

-          Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

-          Cape Cod National Seashore, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

-          The Lakes Region, New Hampshire, U.S.A.

-          Mount Washington, North Conway, New Hampshire, U.S.A.

-          The Adirondacks, New York, U.S.A.

-          The Catskills, New York, U.S.A.

-          Lake Placid, New York, U.S.A.

-          Lake George, New York, U.S.A.

-          Finger Lakes, New York, U.S.A.

-          Hudson Valley, New York, U.S.A.

-          New York City, U.S.A.

-          Saratoga Springs, New York, U.S.A.

-          The Biltmore Estate, Asheville, North Carolina, U.S.A.

-          Gettysburg National Military Park and Cemetery, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

-          Pennsylvania Dutch Country, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

-          Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A

-          Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

-          Block Island, Rhode Island, U.S.A.

-          Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.A.

-          Manchester Village, Vermont, U.S.A.

-          Stowe, Vermont, U.S.A.

-          Killington, Vermont, U.S.A.

-          Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, U.S.A.

-          Williamsburg, Virginia, U.S.A.

-          Washington, District of Columbia, U.S.A.

-          Nova Scotia, Canada

-          Niagara Falls, Canada

-          Quebec, Canada

-          Montreal, Canada

-          Exploring any Chinatown, Koreatown or little Italy in any major city.

 What are some of your favorite affordable family travel destinations? What are some of the obstacles that you face in starting to travel with your kids?

Pro tips for affordable local family travel:

- Travel off season. Island destinations like Block Island and Martha’s Vineyard are just as stunning, more affordable and less crowded in the off season. Ski resorts make amazing Spring, Summer and Fall destinations. Off season travel also mean that you won’t face minimum night requirements and thus allow you to take a weekend trip rather than a full week. 

- If you have young children and don’t need to work around a school schedule, hotels are cheaper on Sunday nights and mid week. Avoid Friday and Saturday nights unless traveling to business destinations and then weekends are actually less expensive at some of the really nice business hotels.

- Brand loyalty does pay off. If you do stay in hotels, follow the deals and not the destinations. Also, stick to one brand and sign up immediately for their rewards programs. Many of our annual hotel stays are free nights using rewards.

- Don’t be afraid to book Airbnb’s. As a large family, we often book condos and full houses at a significantly cheaper rate than a hotel stay.

- I use Costco often for car rentals. They offer the best deals for vehicles that can accommodate our family. 

- Be flexible and creative in your lodging options. We’ve stayed outside of beach towns for 1/4 of the cost of staying on the beach. Flexibility in family travel is key to actually going anywhere. 

- Be willing to try new things. We’ve stayed in cabins, RVs and tent camped. I honestly never pictured myself having some of the amazing experiences that we’ve shared with our children. To think that I may have missed these memories if I stuck to that which I was comfortable with. 

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