Travel on a tight budget
- Nicole Dawe
- Dec 9, 2015
- 3 min read
With winter vacation season fast approaching, thousands of Canadian families are saving their loonies and toonies for the chance to make unforgettable memories with their children, something Tanya Lukovnjak fears she might miss out on.
“There are a lot of places I would love to travel to with my kids. It’s just too expensive to afford with one income,” said the administrative assistant and single mother of two, from Mississauga.
Lukovnjak isn’t alone.
According to a 2013 CIBC poll, the average Canadian family spends $3,000 per vacation. A 2011 Statistics Canada report found the average income of two-parent families at around $93,700 after taxes, while single parents earn a little less than half of that on average.
“My boys come home from school and tell me their classmates’ parents are taking them to Mexico and California, and it hurts because I feel like I can’t offer them the same experiences,” Lukovnjak said.
However, while affording a fun-filled family vacation might seem like a distant dream for some single parents, Kerry Sharpe, the director of communications at iTravel2000, pointed out it doesn’t have to be.
“Most of the big tour operators selling package vacations offer single-parent specials of some variety,” she said. “It’s (an inquiry) that is quite easy to accommodate while also being affordable.”
As an example, Sharpe listed three vacation operators that cater to the needs of single-parent families: Air Canada Vacations, Transat Holidays and Sunwing Vacations. These three companies offer reduced rates, free kids deals and even waive the single parent supplement fee, she said.
Rachel Goldrick, the corporate communications manager at Sunwing Vacations, explained the significance of finding a resort with no single-parent supplement fee.
“The hard and fast rule with hotel rooms is they charge based on two-adult occupancy,” she said.
“Booking in a resort that waives the fee means these single-parents aren’t being charged for an additional adult, which cuts the travel price in half.”
In addition to being supplement-free, all-inclusive resorts, like the ones featured in Sunwing’s “Smile” program, often come with free extra features, she said. These include beach towels in the room upon arrival, a one-litre bottle of water a day and shaded playgrounds.
She recommends that parents on a tight budget look into all-inclusive resorts in places like Cuba, the Pacific coast of Mexico and Panama. She also suggests they think carefully about departure dates and plan the trip in advance.
“You can decrease the overall cost of your vacation by avoiding classic holiday weeks and considering mid-week departures,” she said.
Sharpe agreed with Goldrick and shot down the popular belief that booking last minute results in cheaper travel.
“Many tour operators and hotels offer early booking specials – be it cost savings or value-added extras, like free seat selection or free room upgrades,” she said.
For single parents looking for destination vacations that simulate a Disney-like spectacle at a cheaper price, Goldrick said there are a number of options, such as the Jewel Runaway Bay Beach Resort in Jamaica.
“They can do everything from pirate and princess make-over parties to treasure hunts to reggae dance lessons, snorkelling, archery and obstacle courses.”
Mark Paddison is a single father of two, Nicholas, 23, and Kate, 26, who lives in Scarborough. When he’s not in his shop building furniture or teaching college, he likes to spend his free time travelling.
He has taken his children all over the world, visiting destinations such as Australia, various countries in South America and his favourite, Japan, where they watched traditional sumo wrestling.
“Taking my kids on vacations is my way of giving something to them that they will hopefully remember for the rest of their life,” Paddison said.
He encourages single parents to look outside the scope of all-inclusive resorts and be creative with planning.
“You can stay in hostels anywhere in the world for less than $50 a night, or you can stay in fancy hotels for $500 a night,” Paddison said. “It’s where you place your priorities.”
He also said that while “the cost of airfare can’t always be avoided,” single parents could save money by exploring what commuting options are available at the destination.
“We’ve rented cars overseas, taken trains, the bus and even walked,” Paddison explained, adding that walking is his favourite because “you get to really take in your surroundings.”
As long as families are staying somewhere safe and comfortable, he said, vacations should be about experiencing the place your family is visiting.
“It’s not how nice the hotel or resort was that they remember,” he said.
“It’s the things they did, the people they met and the sights they saw that really stays with them.”
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