Detroit to Orlando 2017: 2 adults + 4 kids = $1475.06

2 Adults + 4 kids +  Detroit, MI to Orlando, FL for 5 days = $1,475.06

Now I will preface the prices and deals we found with a few things. When we eat out we go the bare minimum route. Meaning our kids drink water, we split chicken nuggets, and we look for coupons. Could we afford to give them their own “kids” meal, yes. But we choose to spend our money on what we find more valuable like tickets to parks like Legoland and Disney. We also only do personal items when traveling with Spirit Airlines(article coming soon on the tricks to flying Spirit Airlines without getting gouged). So in other words we look for every way to save a dollar and it adds up to big savings and lots of memories with your kids :)

I’ve put information about each line item below.

Flights	$131.00
Van Rental	$257.69
Magic Kingdom	$539.00
Lego Land	$96.00
Eating Out	$127.00
Breakfast/Dinner	$172.49
Souvenirs	$36.00
Gas	$29.50
Parking	$37.00
Hotel Tax/Resort fee	$49.38
TOTAL	$1,475.06

Flights:

Spirit Airlines has a points system like most airlines. Spirit Airlines is known for being the rock bottom type of airlines. No cushy seats, upgrades, or snacks(we pack our own). But if you know the tricks of avoiding fees it can be a great airline to fly with kids.

We were able to get our flights using our points. With taxes + I opted to pay $30 for a cancellation, we paid $131 for all 5 tickets(youngest is under 2). We avoid checked baggage which will run approximately $40-50 per suitcase, carry-on is even more.

If you look for flights in October, January and early February you can find flights for $65-$120 per ticket. Still a good deal!

This is how we travel. By the way this stroller is amazing for navigating airports! City Select Rules!

LUGGAGE:

I’ll be posting an article soon on how I pack using only backpacks and if I get adventurous maybe I’ll even make a video.  Spirit will allow a backpack per ticket, plus they will check your carseats and stroller for free.  I packed two outfits, swimsuits and pjs for the kids since we would have laundry at our condo. We had plenty of space left over! They wore a pair of pants, short sleeve shirt with a sweatshirt in case it was cold. They wore the tennis shoes they would wear all week. My husband and I packed flip flops for ourselves...have to spoil ourselves a bit.

CONCLUSION:

If you don’t mind spending some time learning how Spirit Airlines works it’s great. Just realize you are getting what you pay for...and you’re not paying much :) If you pick your seat, carry-on luggage, wait to check-in at the airport you may find you’re paying more than you would for a deluxe airline

Accommodations:

Holiday Inn Orange Lake Resort contacted us with a great deal to spend 4 nights and 5 days at their resort as long as we were willing to listen to their timeshare deal.

As long as you don’t mind spending 3 hours with a salesperson trying to convince you that this is the deal of a lifetime and have them walk away in a huff if you tell them no, it was a great way to experience their resort. The resort was gorgeous. Lots of pools in the various villages, lazy river, water slides, arcades, golfing, playgrounds, and much more. We upgraded to the two bedroom condo because my mother-in-law and brother-in-law were coming with us, a total of 8 people. They didn’t give us a way for people to contact them in case they wanted to experience the resort. We thought it was very strange since we thought as a company they would want as many people as possible to experience their resort and see if it might work for them. I would recommend contacting the resort and see what kind of deal they can offer you.

We had to pay the taxes and the resort fee, total came to around $50.

Disney:

I couldn’t find a way around this one. We just bought tickets at the gate. Total for 2 adults, 3 kids(youngest was free) = $539

Fun at Magic Kingdom: Love this City Select stroller best investment ever!

A few tips:

We decided to feed our kids a big breakfast and snacks before we walked in. We brought our empty water bottles and filled them at the water fountains. We opted to get soft pretzels and fresh fruit  for lunch still came to $41. If you want a basic hot dog lunch, chips and a drink, plan to spend $15-$20 per person. You are allowed to bring in snacks, etc.

LegoLand:

LegoLand was by far the most fun the kids and my husband and I had. My kids even said it was better than Magic Kingdom(so I’m not sure why we spent over $500 to get into MK, LOL!).  The park was fabulous, clean and well laid out. They really put a lot of thought into what a family needs at a park. The wait lines often had lego centers for kids to play at while they waited. Roller Coasters had toddler centers across from them. We utilized these a lot since we have multiple ages. My husband could take some of the kids and I could take the younger ones into the toddler area, and then we could rotate.

You can also take a picnic lunch as long as you take small lunch boxes and not coolers = A HUGE HELP AND SAVINGS! THANK YOU LEGOLAND!

We used their homeschool discount program since we homeschool. They only offer these on certain days and you have to book the tickets in advance. We paid a total of $96 for all of us. Definitely well worth it!

If you don’t homeschool you can pick up discount coupons in their lego magazine, lego kits and even on ebay. Most of them have a “pay for an adult and child is free” coupon. This still adds up to a great discount.

MEALS:

Food is always where you can spend more money than you realize. We splurged and ate out more than we planned which we budget for when we go but always try to be under our budget.

I made two dinners to feed 8 people, snacks,dessert, drinks, breakfast, snacks for the plane ride and packed some lunches. I also had to buy some medicine while we were there and some extra toiletries we didn’t have, and whatever else I forgot.  Total: $299.49

I also included money the kids spent on treats in my total food budget. We have a policy with our kids that they earn extra money for doing jobs and that gives them the choice to spend on drinks(something we don’t buy for our kids unless it’s a special occasion), desserts, souvenirs, etc. We like our kids learning at a young age that vacationing is not a need, it is a pleasure. So many people today think that vacationing is a necessity. IT IS NOT. If you work hard and save your money and budget for vacations you can take them. NEVER, NEVER, go into debt to take a vacation.

We want our kids to know that the “extras” in life cost money. We want them to know the value of a dollar and how long it takes to earn that dollar. Do we buy our kids fun things, yes but only because we budget and plan. It has been neat to see our kids understand and appreciate the things we save for and the creative ideas we’ve come up with to pay for trips.

RENTAL CAR:

We needed an 8 passenger vehicle. The only company I could find that would guarantee it was 8 seats was Alamo Rental. Obviously a smaller family could get away with a much cheaper deal. Our total was $257.69

FINAL TIPS:

1. Make a budget. Stick to your budget. Keep track of everything you spend.
2. Take quarters. There are tolls roads :)
3. You don’t have to do every park to make it a great trip. Just because you can’t do everything don’t believe the philosophy that you shouldn’t do it at all. Take your budget and do the best trip you can with what you have. You’ll never regret the memories you’ll make.

Detroit to St. Thomas: What it actually cost us to go

Detroit to St. Thomas U.S.V.I.

September 2016

4 days and 3 nights = $764.89

Here is a brief breakdown of our costs for 4 days and 3 nights. Where we found the deals, things I would recommend and improvements and ways to save even more money depending on what you want to do on the Island.

Flights: We each applied for the Spirit Airlines Credit Card earlier this year which enabled us to get 15,000miles free on each of our credit cards. We were able to find flights for 7,500 miles one way(= 15,000 round trip). If you are interested in getting the credit card I have a referral link that will give you the 15,000 for applying*.  Just email me at wvchanger@gmail.com and I’ll send it to you.  We flew off season and looked for the best deals. When you find a low mile flight, book RIGHT AWAY. We put a cancellation insurance on our flight, a checked bag, plus taxes and fees. Total came to $130 for both flights. Next time we would just take a personal item and back a swimsuit and an extra change of clothes, toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush and tennis shoes(our Airbnb rental had shampoo, soap, hair dryers, towels). On an Island you’re spending the majority of your time near water so all you need is a suit. We didn’t hit any fancy restaurants so we didn’t need nice clothes. LOOK FOR FLIGHTS DURING THE OFF SEASON. AUGUST, SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER.

Accomodations: We stayed at this Airbnb https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/8001224?sug=50 Always look for places that have been reviewed.I ALSO ASKED AIRBNB HOSTS IF THEY HAD ANY SPECIAL DEALS. MANY OF THEM OFFERED A DISCOUNT SINCE IT WAS THE OFF SEASON.  This referal link will give you $35 off your first Airbnb rental www.airbnb.com/c/ambera355.

Positives:

• The pool was private overlooking the mountains.
• Walking to the Marriott was definitely a good workout. I think I lost weight on this trip.
• The Morning Star beach was very quiet!
• It was off season there so there were very few people there.  
• The Marriott as an Adventure Center booth where you can sign up for different outings, dinner cruises, ferry rides, etc.
• The host responded immediately to any questions we had. Great place if you want to sit at the beach, pool or do dinner cruise, snorkeling boat tour, etc.

Things to keep in mind:

• On the Island, nothing is air tight :) Meaning windows, doors, etc have cracks.
• You’ll find small bugs sometimes and lots of moisture.
• We had an A/C unit definitely look for one with A/C unless you want to die while sleeping.

Negatives:

• This place is more secluded(that part of the Island is owned by Marriott) so the only way there is by taxi. Taxis run about $10 per person one way. So to get to other beaches other than the Marriott Morning Star beach will cost you about $20 round trip per person.
• We thought about snorkeling in Coki beach but it would have been $40-$50 round trip for us to go, plus renting snorkeling gear for both of us would be $20. Just going to another beach would have been $70.
• If you like to do your own adventures and tour more things I would probably try the place below since you would possibly have access to more things.

If we went again we would probably try this place. https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/2855411?sug=50 It was a little more but I think you can take the Safari Bus(open air truck that locals use) for $1 per person. He also had more info on how to pick up groceries, how to take the Safari bus, etc. He also had snorkeling gear, cooler, and beach chairs. But it is in a more busy area of the Island near Red Hook(east side). Just depends on how much you want to do on the Island.

Other places: My sister stayed in a place closer to Charlotte Amalie and it was even cheaper than the place close to the Marriott. She had a great experience at this place.

Food: We are not high rent dining people. So our goal was to eat one meal a day at a resturant. We picked up groceries at Pueblos near the apartment. We had meat, cheese lettuce wraps with hummus, carrots, apples, bananas, pepsi, instant oatmeal pkgs(breakfast), coffee, creamer, crackers, and popcorn. Our total bill was $54. We figured it came out to be about $3.50 per meal. When we eat out we are not huge eaters. We split a large plate of Nachos at the restaurant at the beach for $12, plus a pepsi for Dan. Total $19. Visited GreenGo’s in town and spend $18. All of our food from the time we left until we arrived home(including airport meals) came to $125.89.  The DeSano’s pizza place at the Ft. Lauderdale Airport is amazing :)

Things to Do: We did the night kayaking. There is a coupon in the tour magazine at the Adventure Center. Total was $88 for both of us. We went to town and took the ferry from the hotel to Charlotte Amalie. Total was $28 round trip for both of us. We wanted to do St. John for a day but didn’t have time. With taxis and ferry we figure it would run about $80-100 round for two people to visit St. John.

Car Parking:  We found this Holiday Inn will keep your car parked for $6 a day instead of the $10 that the rest of the parking places charge in Detroit. They had a shuttle service that runs every 30 mins to the airport and they will pick you up whenever you arrive back. https://www.ihg.com/holidayinnexpress/hotels/us/en/belleville/bevmi/hoteldetail

$131.00	Flights, bags, taxes, fees
$10.68	Mcdonalds
$20.00	Pizza Airport
$20.00	Taxi from airport to apartment
$12.00	Taxi to grocery store
$54.00	groceries
$24.00	parking at airport
$300.00	Airbnb Apartment
$88.00	Night Kayaking
$34.00	Ferry and Safari Bus
$18.29	Lunch in Town
$10.00	snacks
$20.00	Taxi to airport
$22.92	Meals airport
$764.89	TOTAL

WAYS TO SAVE EVEN MORE:  

• Spirit Airlines charges for carry ons and checked bags. I think it is possible to do a tropics trip with just your personal item if you are very selective on what you take. Just a suit, change of clothes and bare basics. I didn’t use much of what I took. We pretty much were in our suits most of the time. Plus I could have washed a shirt/shorts in the sink and dried it on the deck. That would have saved $42 by not checking a bag(carry ons cost even more on Spirit).

• We put insurance on our flight just in case we needed to cancel. Not putting that on would save another $30.

• If we could have found a way to use the Safari busses more instead of the taxis we could have saved about another $40.
• We could have also packed more protein bars, meal shakes, snacks in our checked bag and that would have saved having to buy them there.
• I think we could saved $100 by not doing the things above. Which would have taken our total closer to $650.
• If we had packed more snacks and protein bars in our checked bag we could have saved a few more dollars on our grocery bill too.

* we are not huge supporters of credit cards. So we only encourage applying for a credit if you are absolutely sure you won’t struggle with getting into debt. We have never had any debt and we are major budgeters so credit cards have not been a struggle for us. We highly encourage people to use great caution when using credit cards. For those interested, we bought our groceries using our spirit card and we’ll have enough miles to take the kids to Orlando(2 adults and 4 kids).