At the corner of Calle Hama and main street in El Nido, there is a popular pizza restaurant that attracts throes of tourists. Every night there is a queue of sun-kissed island hoppers on the street, waiting to order thin crust pizza cooked over a wood-fired oven. One evening, to satiate a western cuisine craving, I took a glimpse at the menu; the description of their proscuitto pizza made my mouth water.

“You want to eat here?” Daniel asked?

I glanced at the prices. With drinks, a meal would cost around 750 pesos, which is around $22 CAD.

“Okay,” I said, “but let’s get take out. We can get drinks at the grocery store.”

As we waited for our pizza, I went to a grocery store to pick up some beer (50 pesos), 1L of water (30 pesos) and 1L of mango juice (90 pesos). One the way back to pizza restaurant I passed by a shake stand and couldn’t resist buying a fresh fruit shake (70 pesos). In addition to the pizza (420 pesos), our entire dinner (and more than enough liquids to last us till lunch the next day) came out to be 660 pesos ($18 CAD).

We enjoyed dinner in the little courtyard outside our hotel room. The pizza was delicious and hit the spot. Little Sister, who was overtired from a day at the beach, began to fuss. Daniel rocked her to sleep as he sipped his beer.

“Thank goodness we got take-out. She would have been insufferable if we stayed at the restaurant.”

“Yep, and we saved almost 100 pesos!” I said proudly.

9 Tips to Save Money While Travelling with Children

Here are other ways to save money:

1. Budget for it. Do you want to go on a trip? Get real and do some research to see how much it may potentially cost. Then start saving for it now.As soon as I found out I was pregnant with Little Sister, Daniel and I started saving up for a bigger trip to take while on parental leave. We determined how much we were willing to spend and then put aside money each month.

2. Plan ahead. The longer you take to plan, you will come across better deals and discounts. We planned our Philippines trip hastily (long story short, due to career transitions, we decided that Daniel would take parental leave earlier than originally intended); we planned a month-long trip in a week. Not only was it stressful, it also cost us more than we anticipated. We didn’t find any deals and domestic flight fares kept on going up every time we checked. Had we more time to plan for our trip, we could have had better choices for our accommodations and better prices on domestic flights.

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3. Rent an apartment. Every travel and personal finance blog will suggest renting an apartment. We’ve been doing it since before AirBnB existed. For our honeymoon, I rented a studio apartment in Paris to save money. The shower in the studio apartment was situated in the bedroom, separated only by a sheer curtain; not very romantic, but the cost was the affordable option for our two week stay in the city of love.

Renting a place in a desired location is usually cheaper than staying at a hotel in the same neighbourhood. Additionally, apartment rentals include use of its kitchen which allows you to cook, saving you even more money (see Tip #5). With kids, the flexibility of a rented vacation home is great; there is more space for kids to play in and when they’re asleep, you can just close the door to their room and escape them for a little while.

4. Go for comfort. Sometimes it’s worth paying more for sanity sake. You will save on therapy in the long run. With kids, there is inevitably more downtime and you want to be able to relax at your accommodations.

Since we had a week to plan (and we were going during peak season), there was limited accommodation options within our desired price range. For our stay in Puerto Princessa, I debated between two resorts with a $10/night difference. The one we settled on was more expensive but it had a pool and restaurant on the premises. Having a pool is great; it kept Big Brother occupied when Little Sister was napping. Big Brother sometimes preferred the pool and lounging at the hotel over sight seeing because it gave him time to play with his own toys. We also used the restaurant more than expected; after a long day out, it was easier to dine at the hotel then venture to town for dinner with two exhausted kids.

5. Eat in. Eating out is a big expense whether you’re at home or on the road, and a great way to save money is to cut back those restaurant meals. Make breakfasts, at a minimum, and/or pack lunches for outings. If your accommodations do not have a have a kitchen, find hotels that provide free breakfast; one discounted meal is better than none.

When we were in France during our first parental leave, we cooked breakfast and dinner at our apartment every single day and packed lunches depending on what we were doing. France has amazing farmers markets so cooking— even on vacation— was a lot of fun. Ultimately, it saved us a lot of money.We were able to splurge on nicer restaurants and endless supply of pain au chocolat.

6. Pack Less. Not only is more stuff bulky and inconvenient, extra luggage can be costly during flights. Most budget airlines charge for a fee for check-in luggage.

We try to travel only with carry-on luggage as much as possible. Excluding backpacks, one which belonged to Big Brother, we had three pieces of luggage: a 24 L backpack, a carry-on suitcase with wheels, and the Lotus travel crib. The suitcase did exceed carry-one the weight limit when it was full with diapers and baby food, so we did pay to check it in on domestic flights.

7. Skip the organized tours and excursions. They can cost a lot of money. When we went on cruise with Big Brother a couple years ago, the ship advertised organized tours around town or to a beach for a hefty fee. We chose to the same thing DIY fashion. In Belize, we rented a van for a city tour; advertised cost was $35/person and we paid $30 for the three of us. In Mexico, a beach trip would have cost $50/person; we grabbed a taxi and went to a beach resort for less than the cost of one person, even with the cost of pina coladas and lunch. Sure there was the convenience of having the tour organized for you, but unless you really don’t want to plan, tours are not worth the price. Ultimately, travelling with kids is all about spending time as a family; you don’t need a fancy excursion to do that.

8. Travel slowly. We took it pretty slow in the Philippines, staying about a week at each city. We spent 9 days in Bohol and it was the least stressful segment of our trip. We took a couple of day trips, but most of the time we wandered around the streets surrounding the resort or the extensive resort grounds. We reserved “activity” for mornings; on some days the activity was a walk into the nearby town for lunch. In the afternoons we would take a family nap and swim in the pool. As dusk approached, we would sit by the river and people watch.

There is so much to take in when travelling slowly. Big Brother loved playing with with other kids. In El Nido, he and some local kid spent an hour burying jellyfish that had washed up the beach. In Puerto Princesa, he became enamored by an older kid also at the resort and followed her around. When he wasn’t around kids, he chased rooster and dogs around or collected rocks, leaves and shells. Being in a different environment is more than enough to entertain and stimulate a child. Taking it slow teaches children about the world around them and teaches you the simplicity of play. Also, play is free.

Last Word

Daniel laughed when I told him we had saved 100 pesos. “You know that is only $4, right?”

I was aware.

I also saved another $4 for using the same tricycle driver two days in a row, and $7 for each day our hotel provided breakfast and $30 for organizing our own Honda Bay island hopping tour instead of booking one with an agency. It all adds up.

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My family didn’t travel when I was growing up. At 16, my parents took my siblings and me on a cruise vacation in the Caribbean. It took my parents years to save for the trip. Travelling, for the sake of seeing the world, wasn’t high on the lists of things to accomplish given their financial circumstances in their twenties and thirties.

During my last year of university, Daniel’s parents invited me to visit them in the Middle East.I began saving diligently for a post-graduation trip. I spent as little as possible and even passed on my grad Sci-Formal, the culmination of achievement for engineering students at my university. A couple weeks after the last final exam, Daniel and I flew to Lebanon.

In Lebanon, traffic signs are merely decorations, roads are shared with animals, mopeds carry families of five, and drivers weave in and out of oncoming traffic. I thought I just might die.

I thought I would die within minutes of leaving the airport in Beirut. It was the first time I experienced driving outside the western world: traffic signs are merely decorations, roads are shared with animals, mopeds carry families of five, and drivers weave in and out of oncoming traffic. After surviving Middle Eastern driving, the experience was worth the daily diet of buttered bagels for two semesters.

That trip to Lebanon shifted my perspective on travel and opened the door to a whole new world. The proverbial lightbulb turned on over my head; travel wasn’t only accessible by the wealthy. I, a new university graduate, was not considered rich and had gone on a trip! After that, I traveled as much as I could. I viewed travel as a necessity in my life, working hard to save for multiple trips every year and learning secrets to stretch my dollar.

“You have come to my country; I really hope I can one day go to yours.” Travel for the sake of seeing the world is experienced by relatively small group of people.

Budget travel. That is the term I use to describe the way I travel as if it gives me street cred. Please don’t lump me in with the type of traveler who taxis to the Marriott or Four Seasons— don’t you know, I sleep in rented apartments and hostels?!

Daniel and I backpacked through Southeast Asia a few years ago on a budget of $10k, $5000 per person. Our flights around Asia alone cost over 20% of the budget. In order to keep costs down, we chose to forgo some comforts as backpackers tend to do. In Thailand, we stayed in hut by the beach for $7 a night. The most basic of accommodations, the hut contained a bed with a sheet and nothing else. It also included a private washroom, though I did share with geckos and giant cockroaches.

We traveled through northern India by rail. We shared a berth with six others and pull down bunk beds. Despite 12+ hour trips through the night, I barely slept, horror stricken at the rats and cockroaches roaming freely in the dark beneath my bed. I survived 3 overnight train rides. Though I am a bit scarred and have vowed never to ride an overnight train through India ever again, I patted myself for seeing the world on a dime.

On a bus in Brazil, I met a man eager to practice his English. His dream was to one day visit Canada- Saskatchewan, of all places. “You have come to my country; I really hope I can one day go to yours.” he told me with excitement. The average monthly wage in Brazil is barely $800; the cost of a round trip ticket to Canada from Brazil is $1600. The average Brazilian would have to fork over more than two months income for just the flight. That’s nearly 20% of their annual income- for endless cornfields!

That’s when I had a moment of clarity- nothing profound or novel- just a moment where I grasped a concept that escaped my attention thus far. Travel- any travel– is a luxury. When using the word luxury to describe travel, it conjures images of beautiful and clean resorts like in Bora Bora or something. Luxury travel is for gorgeous people who enjoy sunsets from their balcony while sipping champagne and hors d’oeuvres. Luxurious indeed, but so is riding a cockroach infested train with a backpack. Every opportunity to leave home is should be considered as luxury travel. Travel for the sake of seeing the world is experienced by relatively small group of people.

I wrote this while sitting on the patio of a hotel in Cebu. The $33/night hotel was like a shining beacon, relatively clean and well-maintained, in the middle of a grey and dirty street The kids sat across from me eating breakfast and people watching; Big Brother exclaimed every time he saw a tricycle pass by.. I was overwhelmed by gratitude, at the opportunity to see the Philippines, to bring my children—one of whom won’t even remember a single thing—to a foreign across the world for leisure, to travel for the sake of seeing the world. Yes, I budget travel but it is a luxury I am extremely grateful for.

In the next few weeks, Daniel and I will be sharing our experience here in the Philippines and tips for travelling with young ones here. Hope you enjoy!

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For as long as Daniel and I have been married, travel has always been a priority. Even when Big Brother was born, we didn’t let a child stop us from seeing the world. Instead, we shared our passion with the kid, taking him along with us. Every year, we have the privilege of travelling abroad for a few weeks as well as spending a week at a locally rented vacation home. Even with a lower annual income (from being on parental leave) and career transitions, this year will be no different. The wanderlust is strong in us, and when distant lands calls, we answer.

Philippines

Daniel and I will be spending a month of parental leave in the Philippines with the kids. We leave at the end of this week! For the longest time, we couldn’t decide where to go and entertained practically every country in South America, Asia and Europe before settling on the sunny Philippines during the cold and dreary Canadian February. There are four weeks of island-hopping planned, jumping from Bohol to Palawan. An itinerary isn’t set; our only goal is to spend quality time together and soak up as much vitamin D as possible.

Camping

The first time I went camping, not having gone in over a decade, was last year- with a baby. Despite not being the outdoorsy type, I thought it would be great fun to spend a couple nights in the great outdoors with a then two-month old infant (who know’s what I was thinking; I was sleep deprived). With borrowed gear and a cooler filled with hot dogs, the family drove to Provincial park two hours east of Toronto where we slept in a tent for two nights. Surprisingly, the baby did well. More surprisingly, I survived and enjoyed roughing it. Wanting my children to appreciate nature and not squirm at dirt and insects like I do, we are making camping an annual family tradition. Oh, the things I do for my kids.

Last Word

With the weak Canadian dollar, it is definitely isn’t the best time to travel. The same can be said about our timing, being on parental leave with a reduced income and all. But, we see things a little differently: we both have the month off and we only have to pay for one kid. Why not now? Yes, travel is luxury, but one we save up for and are willing to pay for. According to a Capital One study, 85% of Canadians would rather have experiences over a luxury vehicle. It would appear we are in good company. We drive a used 15 year-old Toyota, so I’ll see you abroad!

What are your travel plans for the year?

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