In the summer, how do you have fun without spending a lot of money?

Question

Share your tips for a summer vacation that saves you money and doesn’t break the bank.

Answer 1

I don't have alot of money so I often have to find ways to have fun w/out spending alot.
I have a close group of friends and we get together once a month for a potluck cook-out at a state park just a few miles from our town. It is so much fun, we take pics, play game, hike, and of course pig out.
Often I take my kids to different places in town for some fun, the park, the free water fountain, the library, the nature trails. I love spending time with them.
To me just being outdoors with the people I love, even if we are still in town and only at a park, is the best way to spend my summer.

Answer 2

Usually on our days off we just take the Metro down to DC for the day. The National Zoo and Smithsonian Museums are all free, and spending the day downtown is like a vacation. If we go out of town, we usually go to the beach. We find the cheapest hotel on the water that we can, less than $100 a night (usually around $70). We generally go early or late in the summer, or in the middle of the week, to save money and avoid crowds. We bring a cooler with food and limit how much money we spend at restaurants. Skip the junky souvenirs which seem tempting at the time but just collect dust at home. If we plan well, we can take a 3-night vacation for about $350 (gas breaks the bank, grrr).

Answer 3

There are a ton of fun things you can do that are inexpensive.

Look for local events such as festivals, country fairs, etc. There is normally something to do other than buy stuff, and the food is pretty cheap.

Nature is your best friend. There are lots of opportunities to explore that are free. Check out the Local State, County, or City Parks. Often they have hiking trails etc. that are great with a picnic lunch.

Spend the day at a Flea Market. It's interesting to see what's for sale, and fun if you find a special treasure at a bargain price. Don't be afraid to haggle, it's part of the fun.

Camping is a lot of fun. Even if you go with a tent, most camp grounds offer bathrooms and hot showers. They are normally located near some activities or local site seeing hot spots. Being away from the keyboard, and cell phone is a great way to RELAX, make a camp fire, roast marsh mellows, and have some fun.

If camping does not do it for you, look for last minute travel opportunities from timeshare companies. They usually have more openings than users, and you can get pretty fantastic deals on a week in a timeshare, within driving distance, for the price of a one night hotel stay. Many of these are 4 and 5 star properties, so they have pools, tennis courts, game rooms, etc.

Enjoy!!

Answer 4

Fly Skybus!

Or take a vacation to a local state or national park. You can camp in a walk-in area for minimal charge. During the day you can hike around the woods or meadows or streams or rivers or lakes or whatever beautiful scenery is around. You can probably go swimming or fishing. Boating is also relatively cheap, and a nice way to spend the day.

You can spend a few days communing with nature and engaging in healthy activity. That would probably be much more restful than a touring vacation where you are just jetting from landmark to landmark, and you will save money by not staying in a hotel or eating out at restaurants. Plus, the weather is beautiful, so why not enjoy summer while it lasts?

Answer 5

If you have teach them something useful like getting a back pack ready w/ some drinks ,snacks, camera (a Disposable one) and a light jacket. And approximately 5-6 dollars in ones for each person going. Go to the nearest busstop and wait for the bus get on and enjoy the tour of your area and the different people you will see. Go into the city or surrounding area and don't forget to get a bus schedule off of the bus. Teach your children to read a schedule and where the bus stops are.
Get a transfer and let them see how that works too. Then find an area to sit and have a little picnic somewhere together. Take some pictures. Maybe have an ice cream and just be together. I did this when my son was 4 and you know he still remembers that day and the laughs we had and things we saw. We also rod e the incline down mt washington and the subway in the city and a bus home. "You know mummy now I rode everthing in the City, that was fun."

Answer 6

We get up in the early a.m and go out until about lunch, come back, eat and then go swimming awhile. Then we either head back out for more fishing or take a hike through the woods, or simply lounge around the fire awhile. The only thing besides the cost to stay there is the cost of food in the cooler, worms (bait) for fishing and good cold drinks. Another thing we like to do is get together with the family and have BBQs, where we sit around, eat, play games, etc. Other times we might hit the road for a nice summer drive or see what deals we can find at yardsales. Sometimes a nice picnic on the beach is a nice alternative. We are always active during the summer and we never miss an opportunity to learn something new by learning a bit of history of the places we go. Taking vacation doesn't mean you have to get that bungalow on a tropical beach where you spend too much on drinks and break the bank by eating out at fancy restaurants. Just enjoy the simple things in life and focus on spending time with each other. You just might learn something new. Happy Vacationing!

Answer 7

This is an excellent question. I would say beach, beach and beach but you have to like the beach. Road trips are ever so expensive now a days. Maybe for the whole summer plan one or two small road trips/vacations and save up for them.
Go to the library to take out summer reading books. I like to read so this works for me.
Buy summer clothes at the end of the season last year, to have new clothes without spending a lot of money. If not last year wait until the end of summer this year. Maybe look for a job as a camp counselor in some interesting area so you get to travel, make friends and money. Good luck!

Answer 8

Like others, I'm also always looking for cheap ways to have a great memoriable time. I think that playing frisbee-golf is a great and free game. Here, theres iron rings set up permanetely around the lake. Plus, you get a beautiful scene why you play the enjoyable game! Another one of my favorite things to do is slap on some sunscreen and soak up the sun with a few friends. Although this doesn't sound like the ideal time, one would be surprised how relaxing and refreshing it is. Another great thing to do is take out an old bike that you haven't gotten on in years and just start peddling. It's relaxing, fun, economical friendly, safe on the bank, and boosts your health... what more can you get out of something? For a different idea of summer fun, take a vacation in your town. Do things that you wouldn't normally do, like go to a theme park, swimming at a public pool, or even going to a museum. No matter what you do in the summer, try keeping it near by and have some friends along, and you are guarenteed to have a blast.

Answer 9

Any time off, summer or whenever, can be fun with simple things. Price does not make something special. It is who you are with and how relaxed you feel.

A wall in the wood, sitting and listening to the breeze in the trees or the running brook or the birds singing. Add a picnic with no TV, Ipod, cell phone, etc., and you commune with nature for only the charge of the park.

Sitting on the back porch in the morning with a cup of joe, enjoying a leisurely breakfast, and then reading the paper. There is no charge for the beauty of the birds singing or the clouds running on the wind.

At night laying on the front lawn or at a local park and watching the stars if great. And if there is a planatarium even the more special. Where I live in one mountain region there are plays in the park where you can bring your blanket and enjoy a picnic before, for a very nominal price.

You don't have to go to a professional baseball game to enjoy yourself. Look up on the local parks and recreation department and go enjoy a junior softball game or soccer game. Take along a picnic you keep in the car until after the game for a fun meal in the "wild."

And a silly and cost-free activity I enjoy is going to a cemetary and reading the headstones, looking for who lived the longest, oldest headstone, or even finding (as I did once) a lost family member.

Answer 10

Go for a walk in the park and if you have kids, let them climb the trees.

Find a huge community playground and let the kids run wild for a few hours.

Hook up the hose to a sprinkler and let the kids run through it. Or water the plants with them and let it grow into a water fight. This works well with washing the car, too.

Have a picnic. Pack all your favorite, not necessarily nutritious foods, and find a picnic bench and just relax and talk and play. If it rains, move the picnic to the living room with the same rules of having fun and relaxing.

Instead of getting out of the house right away in the morning to get all the chores done, stay in your pajamas and have a popcorn and a movie party. Don't put a time limit on it.

Get out the paints and newspaper or other craft items. Spend a few hours making some primitive art that everyone can look back on and remember the fun.

Answer 11

We always have liked to enjoy the simpler things in life. Even if we had the money to do more things like go to the movies or out to dinner, we have opted not to because there isn't much pleasure in wasting money that could be spent on a lot more fun with a lot more satisfaction. We like to go camping in State Forest campgrounds where in only cost ya $10-$15 for a night. Pitch the tent, make a fire and sit around and make smores and tell stories. We like to camp at the ones with a lake and we take our boat (simple aluminum fishing boat with a trolling motor) and go fishing. We get up in the early a.m and go out until about lunch, come back, eat and then go swimming awhile. Then we either head back out for more fishing or take a hike through the woods, or simply lounge around the fire awhile. The only thing besides the cost to stay there is the cost of food in the cooler, worms (bait) for fishing and good cold drinks. Another thing we like to do is get together with the family and have BBQs, where we sit around, eat, play games, etc. Other times we might hit the road for a nice summer drive or see what deals we can find at yardsales. Sometimes a nice picnic on the beach is a nice alternative. We are always active during the summer and we never miss an opportunity to learn something new by learning a bit of history of the places we go. Taking vacation doesn't mean you have to get that bungalow on a tropical beach where you spend too much on drinks and break the bank by eating out at fancy restaurants. Just enjoy the simple things in life and focus on spending time with each other. You just might learn something new. Happy Vacationing!