It’s great to have days out, embark on adventures and make lots of memories. The better weather brings out the feel good factor and makes us want to get out and about. Days out can be so expensive now with ever rising cost of entry fees as well as fuel and food costs. Having young children or even children of any age can mean a day out is a military operation to plan and organise. Planning ahead can actually help to save you money and I want to share with you my 7 tips for saving money on days out.
Take a picnic
Eating out on days out can be really costly, especially if you have a large family or fussy eaters. The answer is simple just take a picnic and plenty of snacks. We always take a picnic and the kids will now always ask if we have ‘the food bag’. A picnic will save you a good chunk of money aswell as being more in control of what you are eating. Picnics are also a benefit as some places you visit might have a limited menu that may not cater for all your family. Another benefit to picnics are that you can eat them at what ever time you like. We have been known to arrive at a destination at 11.30 and eat our picnic before even getting out the car. Picnics make your day far more flexible and give you one less thing to stress about.
Buy tickets online in advance
If you have somewhere in mind that you would like to visit check out their website. Some places will offer an on online discount if you book your tickets in advance. This might only be a couple of pounds, but pounds add up. Especially if it’s a couple of pounds per person.
The other thing to look at is buying a family ticket. Family tickets often offer a discount on the entry fee and could save you more money. Most family tickets are for a family of 3, 4, or 5. If like us you don’t fit into that category a family ticket might still be a good option. We have often bought a family ticket for 5 people and then just bought 2 children tickets separate. This has often worked out cheaper than buying 7 individual tickets.
Also children might even get free entry as some places only charge for children over 3 or 5. Again this would depend on where you were visiting. Don’t forget to take this into account when pricing up family tickets.
Find places to eat where children eat free
At some well know food chains kids will often eat free or for £1 with a full paying adult. Doing a quick search on the internet beforehand could save you money during your day out. Something to else to bear in mind is some places allow kids to eat free up to a certain time which is normally 6pm. So bringing your meal time forward to being a little bit earlier could help save you a bit of money. Booking in advanced at a restaurant will save you stress knowing you have a suitable place to eat at a time that fits in with your day.
Eat out rather than eat in
Sometimes eating out is quite a bit cheaper than eating in. We have a favourite chip shop we like to eat at when we visit Bridlington but for 7 of us the cost can be really quite high. We are talking over £70 for food and drinks. It is nice to sit down and take the weight off your feet sometimes and get out the cold or sun. Having a bit of space to eat and a table to eat at is lovely and a much more enjoyable experience. However if we walk for another 5 minutes to the harbour we could get fish and chips considerable cheaper. The only difference is we have to brave the weather and the cheeky seagulls. Price up the difference between eating in and eating out as this could save you quite a bit of money for almost the same meal.
Join the National trust or English Heritage
Signing up for a member ship with the National Trust or English Heritage can be a big money saver. You pay your annual fee and away you go. At the time of writing a family membership for a family with 2 adults for the National trust is £146.40 per year or £12.20 per month. This membership includes 2 adults living at the same address along with their children and grandchildren. Membership for a single adult along with their children or grandchildren is £91.20 per year or £7.60 a month. Now I don’t know about you but I don’t know of anywhere that you could get entry for multiple days out for the whole family for that price. For more information visit nationaltrust.org.uk
English Heritage membership is currently £69 for the whole year or £5.75 per month. This is for 1 adult and up to 6 children. For a family with 2 adults and up to 12 children (6 children per adult) the price is £120 per year or £10 per month. Again this is a really great price. For more information visit english-hertitage.org.uk
I think if you were to buy either of these memberships you would see the value straight away. There are so many amazing places that you can visit. I’m sure you will soon find suitable places to visit to make some amazing memories.
Find free museums
If you do a quick search on the internet for free museums you will see that they are located all over the country. I really do love a day out at a museum and I love all the history they hold. Museums are fantastic for all ages not just children and they are really educational. Museums are not all the same either as they cover a wide range of topics such as planes, trains, science, local history, war, mining and textiles to name just a few. I love nothing more than a free museum especially when the weather is not so great outside.
Whilst searching you might also find museums local to you that offer extra activities during the holidays that are a small cost or even free to take part in.
Take a look at moneysavingexpert.com to find a free museum near you.
Annual Passes
Annual passes are a great idea if you like to visit the same place multiple times a year. As the boys have been growing up we have bought annual passes to multiple places like aquariums, farms and family theme parks. Be sure to check on line to see what they offer in terms of annual passes. We used to visit the deep and once you pay to get in the tickets are then valid for the year. This can be a massive saving over the year. It’s great to have these options as something to fall back onto for great days out especially for the colder wetter months of the year.
Merlin offer annual passes to their family theme parks. To check out the website to find more information on annual passes and offers visit merlinannualpass.co.uk
If you are a fan of Merlin Attractions then you can get a free adult ticket when you purchase a child or adult ticket. Look out for the vouchers that are on the side of cereal boxes. These can provide a huge saving on entry fees. All you need to do is present your voucher at the time of buying your tickets to get your free entry ticket. They do advise that you pre book especially during busy times. In order to do this you should find a 10 digit unique code inside the cereal box that you will need to enter. Be sure to still save the free ticket voucher as you will need to present this when you arrive.
Hope you enjoyed my 7 tips for saving money on days out. If you did please check out my other blogs:
