Melinda and Rob Tuck are walking advertisements for family mini-vacations. Months after the fact, the Port Colborne, Ontario, parents are still singing the praises of the trip to Niagara Falls they took with their three children. "It was a great break for the entire family and it only cost us a couple of hundred dollars," Melinda explains. "We discovered that you don’t have to go away for a great length of time to enjoy that ‘getting away from it all’ feeling."
It’s easy to understand the growing appeal of the mini-vacation. Unlike longer holidays, which can be difficult to schedule and even harder to pay for, two- or three-day getaways can be shoehorned into the most jam-packed schedules and the tightest budgets. All you need is a sense of adventure and a willingness to think outside the suitcase.
Here are some ideas to get you started:
The Overnighter
When the Wolst family of Orillia, Ontario, gets the urge to hit the road, more often than not they set their sights on Sudbury, Ontario, home to Science North (a hands-on science museum that’s a popular destination for families with young children). "We discovered Science North a few years ago when we went specifically to see the travelling dinosaurs exhibit," explains Julia Wolst. "There was a ‘dinosaur dig’ set up on the top floor, and the kids were able to make fossil rubbings and cast a raptor claw." It’s a four-hour drive each way, so the Wolsts and their three children, ages five, three and one, turn the outing into a two- or three-day trip. While they end up forking over some cash for the hotel, they’re able to economize in other ways: Their family membership at Science North allows them to save big bucks on parking and admission fees.
If you plan to stay in a hotel, go for one with a pool. It’s a sanity saver for you and an energy burner for the kids - way better than having them bounce around the confines of a single room! (Bring a few water toys for extra fun.)
To minimize the amount of money you spend on meals, either look for a hotel where kids eat free or get in the habit of toting your own food. Pack a picnic cooler with sandwiches, drinks, fruit, cereal, milk, etc. A room with a mini-kitchen is another good idea, especially when you have young children who like their own food and frequent snacks.
