Traveling with Kids on a Budget: A Parent Survival Guide

My daughter was three years old when she threw a 45-minute tantrum on a bus in Costa Rica because I would not let her eat a banana she had found on the floor. The other passengers, mostly locals, watched with a mixture of amusement and pity. One elderly woman reached into her bag and handed my daughter a clean banana, which ended the tantrum immediately. I wanted to disappear. Instead, I smiled, said "gracias" about twenty times, and learned the first of many lessons about traveling with young children on a budget: you cannot control everything, and sometimes the kindness of strangers is the only thing that saves you.

My husband and I have traveled internationally with our two kids, now ages 5 and 8, four times in the past three years. We have been to Costa Rica, Portugal, Thailand, and Mexico. Our average trip cost for a family of four is $3,200 for 10 days, which works out to $80 per person per day including flights. This is not a luxury number, but it is not a deprivation number either. Here is how we make it work.

Accommodation: Apartments Over Hotels

Hotels for a family of four are expensive. A standard hotel room has two beds, which works, but there is no kitchen, no living area, and no space for the kids to play. We book Airbnb apartments with at least one bedroom, a kitchen, and a washing machine. In Lisbon, we rented a two-bedroom apartment in the Alcântara neighborhood for 75 euros ($81) per night. The apartment had a full kitchen, a balcony with river views, and a washing machine. A hotel room for four in the same area would have cost 120 to 150 euros per night with no kitchen.

The kitchen is the budget game-changer. We eat breakfast at the apartment every morning, which costs about 5 euros for bread, cheese, fruit, and yogurt for four people. We pack sandwiches and snacks for lunch, which costs another 5 euros. Dinner is our one restaurant meal per day, and we spend 30 to 40 euros for the family. Our daily food cost is 40 to 50 euros, compared to the 80 to 100 euros we would spend if we ate every meal at restaurants.

For destinations where Airbnb is expensive, we look for apartment hotels. In Bangkok, we stayed at the Citadines Sukhumvit 23, a serviced apartment hotel with a pool, gym, and daily housekeeping. The one-bedroom apartment cost 2,200 baht ($62) per night, and the kitchen allowed us to cook breakfast and simple dinners. The pool kept the kids entertained for hours every afternoon, which was worth more than any paid activity.

Activities and Transport

Kids do not need expensive activities. In fact, some of the best family travel experiences are free or nearly free. In Portugal, our kids' favorite activity was riding the iconic Tram 28 through the hills of Lisbon. The tram costs 3 euros per person, and we rode it four times. In Costa Rica, they spent hours on the beach building sandcastles and collecting shells. In Thailand, they were fascinated by the tuk-tuks and street food stalls, which cost nothing to observe and very little to sample.

Museums and attractions in many countries offer free or discounted entry for children. In London, most major museums are free for everyone, including kids. In Paris, children under 18 get free entry to all national museums. In Mexico, children under 13 often enter archaeological sites for free. I always check the admission policy before visiting, and I have saved hundreds of dollars over the years by taking advantage of child discounts.

Transportation with kids requires planning. We avoid multiple flight connections because layovers with tired children are miserable for everyone involved. We book direct flights whenever possible, even if they cost more, because the time and sanity saved are worth the premium. For ground transport, we use Uber or Grab instead of public buses in developing countries, because the safety and convenience are worth the extra cost when you are managing two children and luggage. In Bangkok, a Grab ride cost 150 baht ($4.20) compared to 40 baht ($1.10) for a local bus, but the air conditioning, door-to-door service, and child seat availability made it an easy choice.

Traveling with kids on a budget is harder than traveling solo, but it is also more rewarding in many ways. Watching my children experience new cultures, taste new foods, and meet people from different backgrounds has been the most meaningful part of my traveling life. The budget constraints force us to be creative, to cook together, to seek out free activities, and to spend time as a family rather than scattering to different tours and attractions. My kids do not remember the fancy resorts. They remember the banana the old woman gave them on the bus in Costa Rica, and so do I.