Best 50 Cheap Family Vacations for Memorable Adventures

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Why you’ll love it: This beautiful seaside town in South Carolina is a water-sports playground for all ages and heaven for golf aficionados, whether your family members love playing a full 18 holes or prefer a friendly mini-golf competition with decorative windmills.

Budget tip: At most golf courses along the Grand Strand, kids under 16 can golf for free with a paying adult, which will help you save a bundle. Need more convincing? Myrtle Beach consistently ranks as one of the top cheap beach destinations in the country, and if you plan your trip right, you can enjoy one of the many free arts and music festivals it hosts throughout the year, making Myrtle Beach a budget family travel goldmine!

How to get there: The closest airport is Myrtle Beach International Airport, but for more flight (and pricing) options, look at flying into Charleston, South Carolina (about 2.5 hours away), as well as Wilmington, North Carolina, for short domestic flights.

Where to stay: There are cheap beach hotels, but the Homewood Suites by Hilton at the Grand Mall is the perfect headquarters for affordable family fun in Myrtle Beach. With five golf courses within a 15-minute drive, beaches just three miles away and a cornucopia of restaurants and shopping a short walk from the lobby, it is ideally situated for anything you and your family want to do. Plus, there’s an outdoor pool for the kiddos.

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Why you’ll love it: This is the rare chance to disconnect in a thoroughly unique place. Set in the woods (but still so close to so much to do), the surprising destination of Glenmont, Ohio, has a lot of unique family fun, whether you fancy a three-hour zip-lining adventure, a nine-mile canoe trip down the Mohican River, a horseback ride through the countryside, a mountain biking jaunt or a less strenuous visit to Amish Country near Millersburg, Ohio, for craft and furniture shopping and lots of baked goods. It’s all pretty darn perfect and Instagram-worthy, if you ask us.

Budget tip: Plan to spend your time unplugged and in nature, which famously, doesn’t cost a dime. From biking to hiking, burning calories to indulging in delicious Amish baked goods, this is the cheap family vacation you need.

How to get there: The Columbus airport is just an hour and 20 minutes away. Or, consider making this a part of an ultimate family road trip or a quick weekend getaway.

Where to stay: There’s one specific place you should stay in central Ohio: The Mohicans Treehouse Resort in Glenmont. The cabins, gorgeous farmhouses and—you guessed it—epic treehouse hotels, including an Airstream trailer high in the trees, are truly one of a kind.

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Why you’ll love it: Because it’s New York City! It’s time to stop believing that the Big Apple is a big expense. Rush tickets for Broadway and off-Broadway shows will get you in the door for a fraction of the face-value cost, and there are plenty of affordable hotels all across the city, if you know what to look for and where to go. If you have teens in tow, a visit to music venues like Irving Plaza or Webster Hall is a must. And the bookstores in that part of the city, the impossibly cool East Village, once the home of punks and poets, are world famous (The Strand’s used-book racks on the sidewalk are the stuff of legend).

Budget tip: What other affordable things can you do with the family while in the city? Walking the High Line doesn’t cost a penny, and neither does visiting Central Park, Tompkins Square Park, Union Square Park or Bryant Park. You’ll find a surprising number of lush and fun green spaces that feature farmers markets, free live music and dog parks. Add some time to explore these hidden gems in NYC even locals don’t know about. When you get hungry, grab a slice of pizza or take advantage of the many great lunch special deals and happy hour specials on drinks and food.

How to get there: Three airports and a rail service will easily get you and your family into and out of Manhattan and its surrounding boroughs, including LaGuardia Airport (the closest to Manhattan), JFK International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport.

Where to stay: Voco Times Square South won’t break the bank, but it will have you close to all the theaters and shopping in midtown Manhattan. Then you can take a short walk, bus or subway ride to the East Village, Lower East Side and Financial District to pay your respects at the 9/11 Memorial.