Frugal Road Trips

**C@rol** · 01-17-2008, 03:16 PM

Have any of you planned or taken any frugal road
trips for vacations?

We usually do one or two a year. We visit family
or a specific place we want to go. Sometimes
just riding the highways upstate or out of the
state can be so much fun. You find lots of
interesting things to do and see. And it's way
cheaper than most other vacations.

**perSue** · 01-17-2008, 03:21 PM

i'd like to take more road trips than we already do, but we usually get a few during the year, not including a regular vacation.
when things start to seem a bit stressful for us, i try to come up with a few little ideas... "let's take a trip maybe 4-10 hours away for the weekend."

we'll leave on friday, get there the same day, have dinner & go to bed... then it's an adventure, we explore the places we're at, do a little shopping/browsing (mostly browsing), enjoying life & taking it slow.

we could be a few states away, but it makes all the difference, and puts a little pep in your step to get ya through when life seems slow.

**Libby** · 01-17-2008, 06:28 PM

Frugal Trips? We used to drive to Orlando, FL and Las Vegas annually. We would pack the car full of non perishable groceries (cup of noodles, cup of soup and oatmeal, canned soup/raviloi, crackers, pb etc) and every night we'd stop at the motel and make our dinner. We'd also stop at the local grocery store and pick up fresh fruit and veggies and milk to supplement. Better then eating out every meal and frugal no? At rest stops you can plug in your own kettle to boil water for soup or tea

the looks we'd get!

My roadtrips would be more frugal if I lost the leadfoot!

**C@rol** · 01-17-2008, 06:30 PM

Originally Posted by shorty

Frugal Trips? We used to drive to Orlando, FL and Las Vegas annually. We would pack the car full of non perishable groceries (cup of noodles, cup of soup and oatmeal, canned soup/raviloi, crackers, pb etc) and every night we'd stop at the motel and make our dinner. We'd also stop at the local grocery store and pick up fresh fruit and veggies and milk to supplement. Better then eating out every meal and frugal no? At rest stops you can plug in your own kettle to boil water for soup or tea

the looks we'd get!

My roadtrips would be more frugal if I lost the leadfoot!

Now that's my kind of frugal road trip!!!
My parents did this also when we were children
and we do it now.

**TheRootedNomad** · 01-18-2008, 07:32 AM

We almost always drive to see family as it works out much better price wise (and then we have a means to "escape" whatever relatives house we're staying at when we're ready...I know that sounds awful but at times that was definately what it felt like we were doing LOL)

At least once a year we take the kids to see DH's parents in Tampa Fl., and we use to have to trek to Long Island at least once a year with them to see my parents. My brothers are both in the Airforce so there's been some roadtrips there as well.

Not very long ago we could drive the 12-14 hour drive to Long Island round trip on $80.00. Now it's like $240. (still better then 4 plane tickets). Anyway we always pack crackers, pretzels, carrots, and the like. The kids get a big bottle of something along the way at a gas station and then refill it at the water fountains for the rest of the trip. We've stopped a couple of times to stay over but mostly DH and I just switch off sleeping and driving.

I remember driving down from Long Island one time to Kentucky for my grandfather's funeral (in the 70's). There was Dad, Mom, cousin Debbie, Aunt Doris, (4 adults) me, my 2 brothers, and my infant cousin all in a Buick Skylark. Now it was a big, older car but us kids were fighting over the floorboards in the back and the window cause it just wasn't that big!

**FreesiaE** · 01-18-2008, 10:37 AM

Ick, sadly at $3 a gallon with no sign of backing off I fear the days of cheap road trips may well be done for me. I would say a way to keep it frugal is to not speed on the interstate as that lowers gas mileage, and pack snacks, meals, and drinks that will not go bad.

**stinkbug** · 01-18-2008, 12:12 PM

We jump on the motorcycle, load up the saddle bags with snacks and change of clothes and hit the road! 45 miles per gallon gets you pretty far for cheap fuel. We find a cheap hotel, eat a huge breakfast and snack the rest of the time. It's great fun and the sights and smells are so much better on a bike!!
(note: we paid cash for the new bike when dh got his bonus. He sold his old bike and that paid for all the road/safety gear, so we are well equiped. Complete with intercom system so we can chat back and forth

This is our favorite perk of being empty nesters!!!

**Edna_E** · 01-18-2008, 11:17 PM

You'll laugh! We've been known to go for a nice scenic (local) drive and come back home to spend the night in a tent in our own back yard or in a cheap cabin at a campsite just out of town. It makes you feel like you got away, but doesn't tend to cost a whole lot. I also am of the "take your own food with you" mentality, but often tried to make something special like cinnamon rolls to take for breakfast. Somehow, that activity is not much fun living by myself - so I need to make friends with someone else who likes tripping like that!

**MVS0122** · 01-19-2008, 08:28 AM

We are going to an indoor waterpark at the Wisconsin Dells today for the weekend. I'm not sure but I think it is a 3-4 hour drive. It is bitterly cold out today so we're packing extra blankets and warm clothes and a portable jumper.

The hotel itself is sooo expensive so we are bringing a cooler with all of our drinks, some meat/cheese/crackers, oatmeal and muffins for breakfast and a few snacks. Hopefully we'll only need to go out for dinners then and that'll cut back on a lot of the expense.

**PrairieRose** · 01-19-2008, 10:28 AM

Gripey and I often make the drive to New Mexico from here (Texas). My brother lives there and we sometimes visit and stay with them but mostly we just go to spend time in the mountains and to gamble (not always the most frugal of activities....lol, but we don't take more than we can afford to leave there). We love that drive and take our own water and snacks. We usually eat a meal at a sit down place to stretch our legs and drink water with any meals we eat. I like to take fruits that we can eat without having to peel (like you have to oranges or something) so grapes are great when in season. Gripey loves jerky and he's found his fave. brand at a little quick stop that we always stop at (the cleanest public bathrooms I've ever seen!). Not frugal but really good and it keeps that clean bathroom up and running

.

**mcphlips** · 01-26-2008, 08:30 AM

My parent took me on a road trip one year when I was like 7 or 8.
We started in Boston and went down the east coast to FLoriday stopping in Philly, DC and then Orlando. We took in all the historical sights.. a lot of them free at the time, and then spent our money in Disney. I remember my parents packing coolers, and my mom making a lot of books on tape etc. for me for the car trip.

**Buc-O-Mama** · 02-04-2008, 08:26 PM

We did a fairly frugal road trip to Washington DC. We packed food, stayed in a camping cabin on the way then stayed in a really nice trailer/cabin at a campground near the metro line. We were able to cook our own breakfast and dinner and pack snacks/drinks to take for during the day. It was much less expensive than a hotel, slept 6 comfortably. It had a pool for the kids and it really felt like a vacation.

**carlitasway** · 02-04-2008, 08:35 PM

We will be making one spring break from TX to KY. 16 hr trip! We got a dvd player for the car from my inlaws.

**reginawessells** · 02-05-2008, 08:15 PM

I don't know if this constitutes as 'frugal', but my girlfriends and I take a 4 hour road trip every Friday night. We fill up my gas tank (it can go 425 miles on a full tank... and it's an 11 gallon tank!) and drive 2 hours in any direction.

We use the time to chat (aka "Spill Sessions"), listen to one another, offer advice, cry, laugh, and do outrageous things we'd never do otherwise with our families. We share things that we would not with anyone else--sometimes even our boyfriends/spouses--and what is said in that vehicle STAYS in the vehicle.

We are all very different, but when we get in that car, we are all the same and love one another like sisters. It's definitely worth the $30 in gas, $25 in food, and $8 in tolls...

**C@rol** · 02-17-2008, 11:28 AM

Originally Posted by reginawessells

I don't know if this constitutes as 'frugal', but my girlfriends and I take a 4 hour road trip every Friday night. We fill up my gas tank (it can go 425 miles on a full tank... and it's an 11 gallon tank!) and drive 2 hours in any direction.

We use the time to chat (aka "Spill Sessions"), listen to one another, offer advice, cry, laugh, and do outrageous things we'd never do otherwise with our families. We share things that we would not with anyone else--sometimes even our boyfriends/spouses--and what is said in that vehicle STAYS in the vehicle.

We are all very different, but when we get in that car, we are all the same and love one another like sisters. It's definitely worth the $30 in gas, $25 in food, and $8 in tolls...

I think this is awesome and something I
will try. What a great time of sharing for
you and your friends.
Thanks