It is the time of the year when Mardi Gras is in the air and college kids and teenagers are dreaming of days on the beach. Whether or not you believe your kids should be enjoying spring break this year at home working or in a resort town is Mexico is up to you. However, this is the perfect time to talk to your kids about traveling and the costs that go with it. I find myself wondering if my children actually realize just how expensive it can be to travel, especially at spring break.

It is because of this lack of understanding of the costs that I sat my children down and looked at some of the costs associated with traveling during spring break this year. We worked on creating a basic list of expenses and estimated the costs for each of them. I wrote out a list I thought was accurate while they worked on a list of their own, estimating the costs along the way.

Here is what the two lists looked like. First, look at my own.

• Airfare costs: between $250 and $300 a person
• Hotel and lodging: $90 to $200 per night, depending on where they stay
• Meals for a week: $400 on up, depending on the types of meals they were eating
• Travel throughout the city: $100 to $300
• Shopping and spending money: $200 on up

Now, look at my college kid’s estimates:

• Food: $350 (not too bad!)
• Flying: $89 (she thought she saw a sale on air travel, but after looking into it, we found out these were one way tickets only)
• Hotel: $40 a night
• Shopping: $400

As you can see, there is some difference in what my kids thought it would cost to take a week off and spend it lying on the beach. So, this got me to thinking a bit more about spring break and what options our kids have for affordable, but fun travel.

Consider Less Expensive Options

As I sat with my kids going over these costs, I asked them if they could find a few ways to save money and they immediately suggested different types of travel that would be less expensive however, just as fun for them.

Here are some ideas that we came up with along the way.

• Rather than going out of the country (we didn’t even figure on the cost of passports and extended travel), stay in the United States. This in itself will save half the cost of travel. Instead of Cancun, try Fort Lauderdale.
• Even better, consider less expensive beach cities if you are heading to the beach. For example, it would cost $200 approximately to fly to Miami for spring break, but if my kids drove a few hours instead to Myrtle Beach, they would save considerably. Not only is the city less expensive, but they do not have to fly to get there.
• Go camping. Camping, especially if you have the equipment already from family trips, can be a very inexpensive option for teens for spring break. It allows them to get the experience they need of being on their own, but it keeps things far more affordable.
• Choose charity work locally. Our family does a great deal for charity right now, but when my son heard that we were talking about ways to spend your spring break, he mentioned that he hoped to help with another Habitat for Humanity home building project. It may not be the typical type of spring break activity, but it does offer some key rewards including a feeling of helping someone in need.
• Indoor water parks are another great choice. At this time of the year, most amusement parks near us are closed for the winter months. However, there are a few affordable indoor water parks nearby which make for a lot of fun during the cooler spring months.
• Check out local national parks and their offerings. Depending on where you live, you may be able to go skiing and stay at a cabin. You might be able to go on a backpacking trip through the mountains or even spend some time whitewater rafting.

After a good deal of time talking about these options, it dawned on my kids that they could do much more if they choose one of these activities rather than spending all of their savings on the traditional spring break. Even more importantly, one of my children mentioned that it would make them just as happy to stay home and work rather than taking the time off.