Budget Vacation: Door County

Homeschooling and working from home means we are blessed with each other’s presence 24/7, and also means we can get a little stir crazy sometimes. We have field trips, kids extra curricular activities, and I have my painting parties, but sometimes it’s nice to just get far away from home. It makes us appreciate our home and our lifestyle more, and the kids appreciate their toys more when they’re away from them for awhile. Is it just mine, or does anyone else’s kids seem to not see the gazillions of toys they have until they come home from vacation?

We enjoy traveling often to break up our routine. One reason we can travel often is we do it on a tight budget so we can take more trips. A beautiful place we like to go is Door County, Wisconsin. Here you’ll learn some of my insider tips to save money and take a vacation on a tight budget.

• Check Groupon for deals – This is the first thing I do when I’m looking for a budget vacation. I have found that if you search by location, not all the options show up. So, I end up scrolling through all their available location deals in their Getaway category. Time consuming, but worth it if you’re looking for a specific location. Don’t forget to check Groupon to see if they also have any deals for activities in Door County! If you don’t find a deal going on for a place to stay, my next sites to try are….
• HomeAway.com or Airbnb.com – You can find some very affordable vacation rentals on these sites. We have found that having a house or condo rental is more cost effective and much easier than staying at a hotel with 4 young kids. There’s much more space, usually multiple bathrooms, multiple bedrooms so everyone has their own quiet space, and a full kitchen so we can prepare meals there rather than needing to go out to eat for every meal.
• Find Family Friendly and Budget Friendly Events – To find events in Wisconsin, I like to go to the Travel Wisconsin website. You can find events by date and by location. Many of them are free or very inexpensive.
• Explore State Parks – We could spend our entire vacation just exploring the State Parks in Door County. Door County has 5 State Parks and 19 County Parks! From spending time on the beach, to watching the sunset, there is a ton to do just at the parks. Here are our favorite parks to visit. (Park image credit to DoorCounty.com)

Newport State Park

Peninsula State Park

Rock Island State Park

Whitefish Dunes State Park

Ellison Bluff County Park

Cana Island Lighthouse

Cave Point County Park

 

• Family Friendly Places to Eat – A very fun place to take the kids is PC Junction, where the food is delivered by train.

 

If your family is a big fan of pizza, Wild Tomato has excellent pizza!

And it wouldn’t be a trip to Door County without ice cream at Wilson’s in Ephraim. Their food is great too!

Each year we visit, my family treasures the memories of Door county in their heart. It’s a breathtaking location with so much nature to explore. If you have older kids, there are many beautiful shops to visit and so many activities. Learn more at www.doorcounty.com.

What are your favorite sites to see in Door County? Do you have any tricks or tips for a family friendly and budget friendly trip to Door? I’d love to hear them – post yours in the comments below!