How To Plan A Budget Friendly Spring Break

Happy Tuesday everyone! Today is an exciting day for a few reasons: 1. we are about to learn exactly how you can plan the best budget friendly spring break vacay this year EVER (because honestly after as this cold weather who couldn’t use a good relaxing vacation, amiright?) but 2. In a few hours, we are going to learn the gender of BABY MOBLEY! It’s our anatomy scan day and we couldn’t be more excited, honestly. I’m officially 20 weeks pregnant and we can’t wait to see their little sweet face on the ultrasound. But until then – I’ll be planning our budget friendly spring break baby moon using this wallet-friendly guide (because we don’t have cash to burn now that we have baby on the way)! Let’s dive into this.

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How To Plan A Budget Friendly Spring Break

Set your budget now.

Whether this is opening a separate savings account to house only vacation money – or starting a jar to collect extra change. Know exactly how much you are willing to spend on this vacay and make a point NOT to go over that amount. There is not point in stressing yourself out over money when you are supposed to be relaxing. Figure out how much you need to save over the next month or two to meet your goal, and see if there is anything you can cut back on in the meantime to make that goal a reality. Crunch those spring break numbers, baby! Need help solidifying a budget for your fam? Check out my post on that here.

Figure out where to stay – realistically.

Big hotels and luxury villas may not be in the cards this spring break if you wanna make it happen on a budget. And that’s ok! Instead – look towards airbnb’s, vacation rentals, smaller hotel chains, and private rooms for rent. You may be sacrificing on some amenities (like pools, spas, etc) but decide what is a MUST-HAVE for you and work around that. Depending on your location – you may not need a ton of on-location amenities anyways!

Check Groupon or Resort Special Offer Pages for deals!

There may be offers that are totally amazing you don’t want to miss out on. Excursions, activities, restaurants, extra days in your room and more are just some of the offers that are regularly posted. Book things together (like flights, hotels + rental cars) to save money as well. It’s easy to save a little here and there and have it add up BIG time. That just means extra dollars for souvenirs! 

Instead of staying right at a popular location, see if there are less expensive alternatives around it!

There are TONS of coastal beach towns that have gorgeous locations for a WAY cheaper price than their crazy-popular counterparts. Check out this list of the best, budget-friendly destinations in the US to check out this year:

1. Washington DC
2. Sanibel Island, Florida
3. Seattle, Washington
4. Grand Canyon
5. Charleston, SC*
6. Nashville, TN*
7. Atlantic City, New Jersey
8. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania*

These are all fabulous travel destinations right here in the United States and they aren’t super expensive to visit at all. I starred the ones I personally LOVE and 10/10 would visit again. I love Charleston with all my heart (check my vlog about it HERE), Nashville is magical (again – vlog HERE) and Philly was a blast (vlog HERE). I’d actually really like to go back to Philly and explore of the city area. 

Drive vs Fly.

If you aren’t a midwesterner – you will probably roll your eyes at this one. Apparently, those of us who were raised in the midwest don’t bat an eye at driving several hours somewhere while others prefer to fly. My husband and I often to 10-15 hour road trips without any hesitation. If something is less than 10 hours away – I consider it close enough to easily road trip to for SURE. However – even if you AREN’T a huge road tripper – maybe consider it for this trip. Make the drive part of your trip and plan stops along the way! My mom and I just recently went to Charleston, SC and had a whole day we stopped in Nashville! It was one of our favorite parts of the trip. It’s significantly cheaper than flying more often than not, and if the drive isn’t THAT long (I’m not talking a 24 hour drive here), it may just be worth it to save on the fight costs.

Download Hopper if you MUST fly.

If the location you want to go is just too far to drive to – download hopper ASAP. This is the best flight tracker I’ve ever used. It’s the easiest way to find out when you can get the cheapest flights, which airlines have them, and how long you have before flights become more expensive. They can also send you updates when a price has dropped so you can book. It’s a really convenient way to make sure you are getting the very best deal on flights (especially if your dates are flexible). Check out my blog post here more more trick on how to fly for cheap, too!

READ THIS NEXT: How to find cheap airfare so you can vacation for less!

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I hope that this guide helps you figure out the best place to go and spend your money on this year. I know we all get excited to take a break from work, and just relax with our favorite people. Vacationing doesn’t have to be expensive – you can do it on a budget and still have amazing pictures and memories and experiences. 

Where is your best budget friendly spring break spot?!? Let me know in the comments below!!