We often went on budget holidays before Pixie was born. But now there are some additional factors we need to keep in mind, these usually raise the price of the trip but still, with paying attention it is possible to have a budget vacation.
So, first of all, choose the destination.
We love exploring exotic locations but with Pixie, we want to go somewhere where even the budget version is safe and hygienic. And if you want to keep a low budget, long-haul flights are out. So we stay in Europe.
Think about the offseason, when the prices are much better. So why not a beach destination during winter. So the Mediterranean is a great option. Check your low-cost carrier options from your nearest airport. For us, it gave 3 options: South of Portugal, South of Italy and Morocco.
Don’t forget to stay flexible. There can be a big price difference between the flights depending on your dates. On low-cost carriers, you usually have to pay for infants as well. Check the price, sometimes if the base far is very low it is cheaper to buy a separate seat for a baby than paying the infant rate. It also varies by carriers. Sometimes it is a fixed rate with others you either pay the same ticket price as for adults or if the adult price is high just the infant rate. Often you can have an extra carry on bag when travelling with kids. This time we only checked in one bag, the car seat for free, had 2 normal big carry-ons and a small carry on bag for Pixie. Some airlines like Easyjet do not have weight limitations on the carry on so pack wisely. I managed to put 12 kilos of clothes into one of our small bags, saving us from buying a second checked in bag.
We checked the accommodation prices, car hire options and Portugal seemed the best. So let’s plan a vacation in Algarve.
Car rental was crazy cheap this time of the year. If your pick up and drop off points are the same the daily rate is around 5 euros for an economic car, even for one where a baby car seat would fit comfortably. Since we were flying home from Lisbon it slightly raised the price for us, also there was an option to rent a Mercedes or a BMW for 12 euros a day. And of course, after presenting this option to my husband he was hooked and our choice was given. To keep the costs low we never rent a car seat whit a car. You can check in 2 baby items like travel crib and car seat when travelling with kids. Since Pixie is still very small she fits in the small car seat which is very easy to transport. We’ll see what we’ll do when she will use a bigger one. Also, we never ask for a GPS with the car. There are very good free applications for your phone you can use for navigation.
The most complicated choice is always the accommodation. We use different booking engines to find the best price like hotels.com, booking.com, trivago etc…
Here are our criteria:
We always search for something where reviews are good, at least 3.5/5 or 7/10.
This time we needed something with free parking.
We always book a room with private bathroom. It wouldn’t be necessarily a problem for me to have a shared bathroom but with Pixie, it is a must. For us, it doesn’t matter if the room has a shower or a bath, but if you’d prefer a bath for your baby don’t forget that you can bring your foldable/blow up bath with you.
Room and bed size is also important. We always bring Pixie’s pop up cot so we need space for it in the room (a few time we had to rearrange the furniture to be able to put it up). Sometimes Pixie ends up in our bed during the night so the 120x190 bed is not an option for the 3 of us. Bringing your own travel cot can also reduce the price. Some hotels charge extra for the crib, around 5 or 10 euros a day, which is a lot according to me.
You also have to check if kids/babies are allowed and stay for free in the hotel. Sometimes this information is wrong at the booking sites, you can always check directly with the hotel.
Location of the hotel I like to stay in the centre, but since it was a road trip and we rented a car we could choose something in the middle of nowhere. We just wanted to stay sort of in the middle of the region and with easy access to the highway. Don’t forget to check how much time you need to get to the sites you want to visit. You could always stay at multiple hotels if it saves you time. Since Algarve is not that big we had to drive a maximum of 2 hours to get to our furthest destination. If you plan to use public transportation check the price to the centre from the hotel. It is not always a good option to book farther away if a single ticket is not enough to get into town.
Check the prices with or without breakfast. Sometimes you can save some money if it is included, but keep your budget in mind. If you go into a bakery or a shop and buy your breakfast you probably won’t spend more than 5 euros per person.
Once you found something you like, check the prices for the same hotel with other booking engines and directly with the hotel. This time our winner hotel was the cheapest when booked directly and only 3.5 euros more expansive per person per night if booked with buffet dinner (free. For Pixie). Which was great, Portugal is cheap but you wouldn’t find dinner for this price. We ended up paying only 36 euros per night for the 3 of us with buffet breakfast and dinner in a small apartment, nice big bedroom, living room area with a small kitchen and a big bathroom. It wasn’t luxury but it was perfect for us. The hotel also had an indoor heated swimming pool but unfortunately, it closed every day at 6 pm and we never got back that early to the hotel.
I prefer the search function at hotels.com, you can filter the results based on your criteria, go to the map and see where your available hotels located. You can also just move the map further, you don’t need to make a new search for a new town, which saves you time. And there can be a huge price difference between different cities. This way you don’t need to know which city would be the cheapest, you’ll see it on the map.
Pixie is almost never sick but with kids, you never know so we prefer to book with free cancellation. But sometimes you can save some money if you pay in advance.
Also, don’t forget, if you have free cancellation you don’t have to choose the perfect hotel right away. You can book more options and decide later. Or book something with free cancellation and check later when your travel date is closer if it is still cheaper to cancel and rebook the same without free cancellation. Just keep your cancellation dates in mind!
Just because you have a kid you can still take budget travels just keep in mind a few extra criteria and take your time with your research.