4 Cheap Travel Activities for Kids

You're on a strict budget and you have little kids who easily get bored. What do you do?

Plan ahead and use some creativity - and the trip won't be as bad as you think. Here is a list I compiled based upon some of what works for my son when we travel. These don't always work all the time, but usually they're helpful.

1. Buy them an inexpensive digital camera and have them practice using it before you leave so they don't get frustrated when they get there. When you get to the destination, let them take their own pictures. This doubles as a souvenir and an activity to keep them busy. Also, it's amazing to see the world through the eyes of a child. They usually see what we as adults miss. 

2. Let them read books about your destination before you leave. This way they get interested in the place and might enjoy some of the mainstream attractions more if they saw them in a book and got excited about them first.

3. Let them draw a picture of whatever you just saw or toured.

4. Let them write about what they just saw - if they're old enough. 

"Remember that happiness is a way of travel - not a destination." -Roy M. Goodman

Life is a Picnic...in Europe!

Here's another tip to save money on food:

Make picnic lunches. They're fast, easy, cheap - and more importantly, they're fun! You wouldn't believe how much fun Alex has when we have a picnic. He gets involved in the whole process of shopping for the food, making it, and of course choosing the spot and eating it. It's exciting to him! And I will honestly admit: it's exciting for us, too! 

Picnics are a wonderful way to save money while still mixing up the typical meals where you sit at a table and stare at the wall. 

Also, it doesn't always have to be a sandwich. Bill finds sandwiches to be very boring and I do too sometimes. Plus, Alex isn't fond of cheese. With that said, we rarely eat sandwiches. Usually we have things such as pita wraps, cold baked chicken from the night before, a salad, or soup in a thermos. We also often have the traditional (non-American) Asian foods that Bill makes: ginger chicken, shrimp/chicken/vegetable fried rice, and others. 

You're probably thinking, "Yuck. Cold fried rice..." If we need to warm something up, sometimes we'll go to a nearby coffee shop or restaurant and buy a small dessert or drink so that we can ask to warm up our food. Usually they say yes. If we're nearby where we're staying or where a friend lives, we warm it up there. Those friends sure are nice.  

"All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware." -Martin Buber