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3 places to see Mt. Fuji (save + share this post): 3 places to see Mt. Fuji (save + share this post):

If you don’t have enough time to spend days in Hakone visiting Mt. Fuji it’s easy to take a day trip here from Tokyo. It’s only about 90 minutes by car and we spent the day exploring the area. There is a swing at the top for an additional fee where you literally swing into Mt. Fuji and they have a souvenir shop and small food vendor to purchase snacks.

Location 1: Mt. Fuji Panorama Ropeway which cost ¥900 for adults and ¥450 for children for a roundtrip ride on the cable car. They do sell one way cable car tickets if you want to hike down the mountain.

Location 2: Kawaguchi Asama Shrine, there is a small fee of ¥100 per person but children are free. This place is really only for pictures besides the view there isn’t anything else to do. They have it set up with a line to capture photos in front of the tori gate and each group has 3 minutes to take pictures, yes they actually time you, to make sure the line keeps moving.

Location 3: Arakurayama Sengen Park where you’ll need to climb 398 stairs or take the curved paved path to the top for views of the mountain and Chuerito Pagoda. The stairs are a straight shot but the path makes it accessible for strollers and wheelchairs.

We were truly blessed to be able to see Mt. Fuji as it’s often not visible. When I visited in 2015 we made the trip here and it was gloomy and cloudy and we couldn’t see anything. We did go to the base of the mountain on that trip and do the ice cave exploration so all wasn’t lost but I am so happy Jordyn and I got to see the full mountain with our own two eyes on this trip!

There are lots of other places you can view Mt. Fuji but with only one day we couldn’t visit them all. The other 7 best places to see Mt. Fuji are on a boat tour on any of the 5 lakes that surround the mountain (Kawaguchi, Yamanakako, Saiko, Shojiko, or Motosuko), Koyo-Dai Lookout Platform, Sanko-Dai Lookout Platform, Oshino Hakkai Springs, Fuji Q Highland Amusement Park, Rooftop of Fujisan Station, Shin-Fuji Station Platform and in Hakone.

Have you ever seen Mt. Fuji’s beauty? Would you add this to your Japan itinerary if you haven’t?

#mtfuji #lakekawaguchiko
How we spent 48 hours in Kyoto (save + share this How we spent 48 hours in Kyoto (save + share this post):

1. Start your day at Arashiyama Bamboo Grove. We arrived here at 7:30am and there were quite a few people here already. We didn’t visit but in Arshiyama you can also visit the Monkey Park to see the Japanese Macaques (snow monkeys).

2. Head to Kinkaku-ji to see this stunning Temple of the Golden Pavilion. They open at 9am and we arrived at 8:45am and by time the opened the door at 9am the line was extremely long.

3. Walk through the gorgeous Tori Gates at Fushimi Inari Taisha. Before or after your visit be sure to walk through the street vendors for some amazing food. We tried noodles, mochi and just enjoyed learning more about the local foods. We visited here around 11am and even though it was so crowded if you want photos without people wait until you’re walking through the gates to exit and there are often moments where the area is empty, just be a little patient. 

4. Book a session at @kyoto_samurai_experience to learn about the history of the Samurai, watch a demonstration and get to try your hand at using the samurai sword yourself.

5. Eat your way through Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka. You will be able to walk through these narrow streets (with some hills) and try ice cream flavors such a matcha, green tea, white peach, Sakura (if in season), Black sesame, caramel and more and yes, we tried them all! There’s also tons of mochi and other treats. You’ll find the Starbucks with a traditional Japanese home interior here as well as Yasaka Pagoda and Kiyomizu-dera Temple, be sure to visit.

6. Walk around Gion and catch a Kabuki show at Minamiza Theatre.

7. Visit Daigo-ji temple, it’s not frequented by a lot of tourists so it’s rarely crowded and you can have a moment on zen here!

While we didn’t have time this visit as the weather altered some of our plans on my last visit to Kyoto in 2015 I also visited Ginkaku-ji (the Silver Pavilion), Nijo Castle which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Ryoanji Temple and highly recommend going. 

Some other things we were interested in but just didn’t have time for were a calligraphy class and if you are into manga you can visit the Kyoto International Manga Museum.
This is your sign to rent a kimono in Kyoto! It wa This is your sign to rent a kimono in Kyoto! It was an honor to be dressed by Japanese women & taught about the Kimono. Here’s everything you need to know about renting a kimono & a tiny history lesson on them(save + share this post):

1. Originally kimono was the Japanese word for clothing but is now used to refer specifically to traditional Japanese clothing. Kimono’s date back to the Heian period of 794-1185 and were every day wear until western culture was brought to Japan.

2. There are 8 layers in a kimono in addition to the Tabi (white socks) which are specifically made to wear with Jori (traditional Japanese shoes). Even though there are 8 layers it doesn’t take long to be dressed.

3. Today kimonos are mostly worn for special occasions such as NYE, weddings, gradations, tea ceremonies & summer festivals. But geishas, maikos, kabuki actors and a few traditional professions wear them every day.

4. We rented our Kimono’s from this shop https://kyoto-kimonorental.com/kimono/. It’s less than a 5 minute walk from Hokan-ji. We made a reservation in advance but you will find kimono rental shops all over Kyoto. They open at 9 and you have to return the Kimono’s by 5.

5. They offer multiple packages which vary in the type of material the kimono is. The package I got was the ¥4,900 ($37.50) one and Jordyn’s child price was ¥3,900 ($29.87). You can get your hair and makeup done for an additional ¥1,200. The value of the yen is down now so be sure to check exchange rates whenever you make it to Japan for accuracy.

6. This shop offers photo packages directly through them or you can take your own or hire a separate photographer.

7. If you’re worried about renting a kimono and wearing it in Japan being seen as cultural appropriation, don’t be. I obviously can’t speak for every Japanese person but from hearing it first hand from Japanese people in Japan and the large amount of Kimono rental shops all over Japan encouraging visitors to try kimonos, the Japanese are so excited to see foreigners embracing their culture and wearing kimonos respectfully! We received so many compliments from the local community as we explored Kyoto this day.

📍Daigo-ji temple & Hokan-ji
After spending 48 hours in Osaka we went to Kyoto. After spending 48 hours in Osaka we went to Kyoto. Here’s how to get here and where we stayed (save + share this post):

1. You can take the Shinkansen (bullet) train from Shin-Osaka Station to Kyoto Station if you have the JR Pass and it will only take you 15 minutes. If you don’t have a JR Pass the Shinkansen ticket costs about 1,420 yen (right now that’s about $11). 

2. If you don’t have the JR Pass you can take the Hankyu Kyoto Line or Keihan Main Line. These are regular non express trains and will increase your travel time to from 15 minutes to 45-55 minutes but they only cost 400 yen (about $3) so you can save money, especially for a large group.

3. There is also a bus that leaves picks up at Hotel Keihan Universal Tower, Universal Studios Japan and Namba and goes to Kyoto Station. I’m not sure of the costs.

4. If you flew into Osaka you can also take the Haruka Express train from the airport to Kyoto Station. 

In Kyoto we stayed at The Chaper Kyoto which is a Marriott property. The rooms are on the small side but the hotel is clean and modern. There is a bus stop down the block which we could take to get to Gion in 9 minutes. The room was about $240/night since it’s busy season.

The weather this time of year is pretty sporadic. Some days it was hot and sunny and some days cool and gloomy so definitely pack a variety of attire and bring some layers and the weather changes throughout the day. Will be sharing our itinerary soon.

Have you been to Kyoto? If you have other accommodation recommendations please share them below to help others!

📍Fushimi Inari Taisha
Want to visit Super Nintendo World at Universal St Want to visit Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan? You need to know this (save + share this post):

1. Just because you have tickets to the park doesn’t mean you’ll get into Super Nintendo World, it requires a timed entry ticket. These do run out so it’s not a guarantee you’ll be able to enter! If you get your park tickets in advance you might be able to grab an advanced booking in the app but if these are all gone by time you get your tickets you’ll need an area timed entry ticket. These are only available the day you’re visiting & you can only attempt to get it once you’re actually in the park! We got to the park when they opened at 8am & there were only two entry times left so arrive early! You can get them on the app (you must grant the app permission to see your location so they know you’re inside) or you can go to one of the ticket kiosks.

2. To really enjoy you’ll need a power band which are sold for about $35. If you don’t have one you can walk around & go on the 2 rides but you can’t play the games & collect coins.

3. The wait times for both rides are usually 1-3 hours! To avoid this you can purchase an Express Pass (most people said this reduces wait times to a mere 15 minutes). Express Passes were sold out the day we went so we only got to ride Mario Kart: Koopa’s Challenge but not Yoshi’s Adventure. To avoid the 2 hour wait for Mario Kart we actually went through the singles line. We did end up in two different karts but we only waited 20 minutes to ride instead of 2 hours. Yo Shi’a Adventure doesn’t have a singles line or we would have done that too!

4. If you want to eat at Kinopio’s Cafe you also need a timed entry ticket so be sure to grab this as soon as you get inside Super Nintendo World. It’s usually a 1-2 hour wait once you get your timed entry ticket.

5. Once you leave you cannot reenter (if timed entry tickets are required at the time) so be sure to do everything you want before leaving.

Universal Studio Japan is extremely popular & tickets do sell out often so buy in advance. The most popular sites to buy them are Klook (where we bought ours) & KKDay.

Hope this helps! Who has Super Nintendo World on their list?
How We Spent 48 Hours in Osaka (save + share this How We Spent 48 Hours in Osaka (save + share this post):

1. Kicked off the day trying soufflé pancakes, you’ll find restaurants all over the city that sell these. We personally had them at Belle-ville Pancakes.

2. Visit the Cup of Noodles Museum where you can make your own Cup of Noodles logo and then customize the flavor and toppings for your noodles. They also offer a ramen making class here in addition to the museum where you can learn the history of the company.

3. If you’re visiting in March check to see if the March Sumo Wrestling Tournament is taking place at Edion Arena Osaka. If so def try to get tickets in advance (they go on sale a month prior) or arrive early to get same day tickets. It’s a fun afternoon.

4. We also did a Tea Ceremony class but photos/videos weren’t allowed.

5. End the first day getting cheesecake at the infamous Rikuro’s for their jiggly Cheesecake.

6. The other day spend at Universal Studios Japan for thrilling rides, shows and to relive your childhood at Super Nintendo World.

Where to stay in Osaka? The W Osaka is gorgeous but a little pricey and the Fairfield by Marriott is more budget friendly with nice, modern clean rooms just less amenities and smaller rooms (will post stories of both so you can see).

How to get to Osaka from Tokyo: We took the Shinkansen bullet train which takes 3 hours but is such an experience as it goes up to 199mph. Be sure to sit of the right side of the train for views of Mt. Fuji. You can also take a quick flight!

Other things to do in Osaka we didn’t travel time for:

1. Visit the Osaka Castle

2. Go to the top of the Umeda Sky Building

3. Go out in the Dotonbori

4. Walk around Kuromon Market

5. Watch a show at the National Bunraku Theater

6. Explore the Sumiyoshi Shrine

Which activity would you most want to do? If you’ve been to Osaka before what other recommendations do you have?

#osakajapan #travellingwithkids #cupofnoodles #universalstudiosjapan
6 Ways to Earn Delta Skymiles without flying! (SAV 6 Ways to Earn Delta Skymiles without flying! (SAVE + SHARE this post):

1. Link your Lyft and Skymiles accounts to earn 1 mile per $1 on US rides and 2miles per $1 on airport rides.

2. When booking Airbnb stays go to delta.com/Airbnb instead and you’ll earn 1 mile per $1 spent on airbnbs.

3. Order groceries online with instacart? Go to instacart.com/delta to link your accounts and earn 1.5 miles per $1 spent. If you’re new to instacart you can also get 3 months free.

4. Link your Starbucks account with your Skymiles account at delta Starbucks.com and you’ll earn 1 mile per $1 spent at Starbucks. Plus on days your flying with Delta, you’ll earn DOUBLE stars at Starbucks.

5. Sign up for SkyMiles dining at  Skymilesdining.com and is link your credit or debit card. Every time you use your card at a participating bar or restaurant, you’ll earn between 1-5 miles per $1 spent.

6. And nope you don’t have to use a Delta credit card to get miles for any of the above, no matter how you pay you’ll earn BUT is you do pay for them with a Delta co-branded credit card (there are several and depending on which one you have) you can earn anywhere from a additional 1-5 miles per dollar spent on purchases, even if they aren’t Delta airline tickets.

The cash price for the flight we took to Tokyo was $2,600pp so it would have cost me over $5,000 for this since it’s peak travel to Japan (never in my life would I pay that, we would have went somewhere else). Instead I only paid $118 total by using all of these ways to earn Delta miles over the past few years which gave me enough miles to redeem even though we don’t get to fly Delta on a regular since they don’t have the strongest presence at MIA airport as it’s American’s hub.

Do you use travel credit cards and/or points and miles from loyalty programs to offset the cost of travel? If so what are your favorite ones? Let’s all travel for less!

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12 Ways to Earn Miles Towards Free Flights

July 18, 2017      Affording Travel

This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small commission at no cost to you. Please see our disclosure policy for more information. All opinions are my own.

Using points and miles is one of the most affordable ways to travel. So how do you earn miles towards free flights? Well honestly you can earn them by doing things I’m sure you do everyday. Wait, I don’t fly everyday, that’s the best part you don’t have to. Here are 12 ways to earn miles towards free flights.

Open Frequent Flier Accounts

If you don’t have a frequent flier accounts for the airlines you travel with, sign up now! Instead of getting one for every single airline you fly use Airline Alliances to your advantage and have all your points from partner airlines go to the airline you think you will fly most often. For instance, Delta Airlines is a part of SkyTeam and includes 20 other airlines. If Delta is the airline you’d most often fly but happen to be flying one of the other airlines in the Alliance you can have your miles earned from those flights added to your Delta Skymiles account instead of the individual airlines frequent flier program that you don’t fly with as often. There are three major alliances: Star Alliance (27 airlines), Oneworld (15 airlines) and SkyTeam (20 airlines). Here you can find the airlines in each alliance.

You May Be Interested in Reading: How We Afford to Travel So Much

Earn Miles through Travel Credit Cards

There are a few ways to earn miles through credit cards: the sign-up bonuses, making traditional purchases, and shopping online through your credit cards shopping portal.

Using Credit Card Sign-Up Bonuses to Travel for Free

Credit Card sign-up bonuses can be huge! The sign up bonus for my Chase Sapphire Reserve was 100,000 points which equals to $1,500 towards travel when booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards. We used this bonus to cover our flights for our trip to Thailand. Sign-up bonuses don’t come without a catch, you have to charge a minimum amount to the card within a specific time frame. For most cards this ranges from $1,000 to $4,000 in the first 90 days.

You can meet the minimum spend by charging all of your normal monthly charges to your credit card and paying it off by your due date. For most families if you add up your monthly expenses for gas, phone, internet, cable, groceries, tolls, car insurance, etc., you can easily charge $1,000/month which would have you meet the minimum charge on most cards.

Another way is to time your application when you know you have a big purchase to make. Need to buy a new laptop, camera, etc., wait to charge it on your new card. Already going on a trip? Pay for your flights, hotel, and tours with your new credit card. If your trip falls within the first 90 days also charge all your expenses while at your destination and come back with enough points to get the flights for your next trip paid for. There is no point in earning all these points if you’re going to end up paying interest so only charge what you can pay in full by your due date.

How Charging Everyday Purchases Allows You to Earn Miles

We literally charge everything we purchase with our credit card. Travel credits cards earn you a minimum 1 mile or point per dollar spent. For many cards you earn 2-3 miles/points per dollar spent on travel and dining and then 1 mile/point on all other purchases. Each year we earn at least one round-trip domestic flight for each member of our family based on things we would buy on a normal basis.

Use Online Shopping Portals to Fly for Free

Most travel credit cards have a shopping portal that allows you to shop online and earn additional points. My Chase Sapphire earns me 1 point per dollar for shopping at Target. However, if I shop at target.com through Chase’s portal I’d earn the 1 point per dollar and an additional point per dollar for doing it through their portal. Other stores offer a lot more points such as Macy’s at 3 points per dollar, Sephora at 5 points per dollar and Buy Buy Baby at 2 points per dollar. Chase alone partners with 285 online stores so there are plenty of opportunities to earn points/miles.

These websites provide great information on various travel credit cards and provide comparison tools to find which card would be best for you.

  • www.nerdwallet.com                      
  • www.creditcards.com               
  • www.comparecards.com
  • www.wallethub.com

Shop Online to Earn Miles through Airline Shopping Portals

Credit cards aren’t the only place you can earn miles through online shopping. Many frequent flier programs have their own shopping portal as well. Here are the ones I am familiar with:

  • Alaska Airlines- Mileage Plan Shopping
  • Jetblue- Shop True
  • United- Mileage Plus Shopping
  • Southwest- Rapid Rewards Shopping

You May Be Interested in Reading: 6 Tips on Planning Affordable Vacations

Link Your Credit Card to an Airlines Dining Out Program

Not only do airlines offer shopping portals to earn extra mile, many have dining programs. In addition to earning miles from the purchase on your credit card you can earn miles directly with the airline when dining at participating restaurants and having your credit card linked to your frequent flier mileage account. Each card can only be registered for ONE program but you can register multiple cards.

  • Alaska- Mileage Plan Dining
  • American– The AAdvantage Dining Program by Rewards Network
  • Delta– SkyMiles Dining
  • Hawaiian– Mogl Dining Rewards
  • JetBlue- JetBlue Dining
  • Southwes- Rapid Rewards Dining
  • Spirit– Free Spirit Dining
  • United- MileagePlus Dining

Book Car Rentals/Ride Shares through an Airlines Portal

Many airlines partner with car rental companies or ride shares such as Lyft. If you book a rental car through your frequent flier mileage account you can earn additional miles on that purchase.

    • American Airlines Advantage Members can save on car rentals and earn miles.
    • ​British Airways partners with car rental companies.
    • Delta Airlines partners with car rental companies and ride shares like Lyft.
    • JetBlue offers a special 35% discount by using code AWD # H798506 and 600 bonus TrueBlue points on Avis car rentals of 3 days or more. You can also earn double TrueBlue points on rentals of at least one day at participating Budget locations and earn special discounts by providing your JetBlue TrueBlue/Budget Customer Discount (BCD) number R344900. All you have to do is make your reservation through your TrueBlue account or provide your TrueBlue number at checkout.
    • Southwest partners with car rental companies.
    • United partners with car rental companies.

You May Be Interested in Reading: The Best Websites for Flight Deals

​Book Hotels and Airbnb Stays through an Airlines Portal

If you aren’t loyal to any particular hotel chain earning miles through an airlines frequent flier mileage program might be more beneficial. Instead of having your points for staying at any major hotel chain sit and expire have your point turn into miles with your airline.

  • American Airlines partners with 21 hotel brands
  • Delta Airlines hotel partners.
  • JetBlue allows you to link your Hilton Honors, Marriott Rewards and IHG Hotel Group awards program and instead have your points automatically sent to your JetBlue account.  
  • Southwest hotel partners
  • United hotel hotel partners


Delta Airlines also has an exclusive partnership with Airbnb and you can earn 1 mile per dollar spent on all Airbnb stays when booking through www.deltaairbnb.com. Don’t already use Airbnb? Sign-up here and get a $40 credit towards your first stay. Nervous about staying in an Airbnb, read this: 8 Tips to Guarantee a Great Airbnb Experience.

Book Cruises Through Your Airline

Going on a cruise? We had the best time cruising on Royal Caribbean going to their Perfect Day at Cococay. Instead of booking directly with the cruise line or a traditional 3rd party company book through your most used frequent flier mileage programs Cruise Portal. JetBlue, Delta, American Airlines, and United all have one. Remember the extra miles you earn through booking through their websites are in addition to the miles you would earn if also booking with a travel credit card. They will typically match any other promotion you find online and a quick “I’ll just book directly with the cruise line will surely have them waive whatever minimal fee (typically $25) they charge to book with them.

Sign Up for JetBlue Badges

JetBlue is our go-to airline for domestic and Caribbean travel. In addition to earning traditional miles by flying, JetBlue has a badges program where you can earn extra miles for your loyalty. For instance by flying to any one airport 3 times you can earn a bonus of 100 miles with additional mile bonuses at 6 (500 miles) and 10 (1,000 miles) flight milestones. These are all in addition to the miles you would already earn on the flight. There are various ways you can earn badges and they are vary in miles earned. I’ve earned 5,550 miles through the badges program, which is enough for a one-way ticket.

Pool Your Airline Miles

One of the most annoying things about frequent flier mileage programs is many don’t allow you to combine miles with cash. This means when you’re short a mere 100 miles to earn a free flight your only choice is to buy miles, which can be extremely expensive and not worth it and you end up just paying for the ticket in cash.

There are a few frequent flier accounts that let you pool points with your family, earning you free flights faster. When we fly somewhere on one of the airlines below all of our earned miles go to my account and then I can book for anyone using those miles. Airlines that offer family pooling include:

ANA                    Asiana Airlines                    British Airways                    EGYPTAIR

                                          Emirates                    Etihad                             Hawaiian Airlines                       JAL

JetBlue               Korean Airlines                      Qantas                                 Virgin Australia

For details on the program from each airline check out this post by rewardsexpert.

Share Your Travel Stories to Earn Miles

The Barclay Travel Community allows you to earn miles by writing stories about the destinations you’ve been. You can write up to 5 stories per city earning 150 miles for 100 words and at least one picture. You will earn 10 extra miles for each detail you add or for any likes you receive on the post. If you have a Barclay Arrival MasterCard you can link your online credit card account for your miles to go directly there. If you don’t, you can redeem your miles earned for Amazon gift cards. People write about anything here, you can literally take a picture of your local grocery store and write your experience shopping there and earn 150 miles.

Take Surveys to Earn Miles

While tedious, taking surveys online is another way to earn miles without flying. The below airlines all have ways you can do so. Most surveys earn anywhere from 10-100 miles and take 5-30 minutes to complete. I’ve done some surveys while binge watching Netflix when I’m only a few miles short of hitting an award flight.

  • Frontier offers miles through e-Rewards.
  • Jetblue offers points through Points For Surveys.
  • Southwest is partnered with e-Rewards and Valued Opinions.
  • Spirit has Miles for Thoughts.
  • United offers miles for taking surveys through its Opinion Miles Club, e-Rewards, and My Points partners.
  • US Airways offers miles through e-Rewards.
  • Virgin America is partnered with e-Rewards.


There are so many ways to make travel more affordable. From only buying flight deals like our $200 flights to Amsterdam or making small sacrifices to me able to afford to travel frequently. Did you find this article helpful? Please share it to help a fellow traveler!

Disclosure: “Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. The commissions earned helps me offset the costs of running this blog so please support if you choose to purchase, it is much appreciated.”

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Comments

  1. Anecia O. says

    July 25, 2017 at 8:23 am

    I will look into all of this whenever I start traveling.

  2. April Kitchens says

    July 25, 2017 at 4:34 pm

    Why have I not gotten a flyer mile credit card?! Partially because I’m scared of the debt, but If I pay the card off every month, there won’t be debt! I’m always living through your IG though!

  3. Patrice says

    July 26, 2017 at 12:37 pm

    I definitely didn’t know about the last two! I’m definitely going to look into the surveys option, especially since it doesn’t require a credit card

  4. Bryanne says

    July 27, 2017 at 3:55 pm

    Very insightful! I needed the tips especially in this summer season haha. xx

  5. Felicia says

    October 5, 2017 at 5:05 pm

    This is a great post! Very detailed and helpful. I was not aware of the Barclay Travel Community. I’ll be looking into that ASAP.

  6. Kristin says

    October 10, 2017 at 9:42 pm

    This is a great list! I definitely plan to utilize the credit card shopping portal. Thanks for sharing!

  7. Vanessa Grover says

    January 3, 2018 at 4:21 pm

    Thank you SO much for this helpful information. I now have a family of 4 and was wonderfing how can we travel more without paying an arm and a leg for tickets

    • Monet says

      January 8, 2018 at 2:58 pm

      You are welcome Vanessa, there are so many tricks to making travel affordable. I literally never go to Target anyone and buy everything online so I get the points on my CC plus the extra miles by shopping through the portal. Better yet I never buy more than I plan to since I’m not walking down the aisles browsing, I swear Target gets you every time!

  8. Gloria says

    January 7, 2018 at 12:10 am

    Thank you very much for all the awesome tips you provided!! We are a family of 4 as well, we want to travel but just taking a look at tickets give us headache! But I’m sure we’ll be traveling more often with this amazing tips ❤️ Thank you!!!!!!!!!

    • Monet says

      January 8, 2018 at 3:00 pm

      You’re welcome, yes so many ways to make it more affordable. Flight deals will be your savior as a family of 4, we never pay “retail” price for flights with a little flexibility.

  9. Kiran says

    January 9, 2018 at 10:24 am

    So much great info. My husband gets a lot of miles from his work travel. Our bigger issue is the cost of hotels. I like using Airbnb also. But like the convenience of having the amenities that a hotel offers. Like a restaurant downstairs for odd hour meals with the kids. Or a provisions for quick coffee and snacks, and a shuttle service. Do you have any tricks and tips on finding great deals on hotels? Thanks for such an awesome blog. My kids are the same age as yours, and I find it so inspiring!

    • Monet says

      January 22, 2018 at 3:04 pm

      Hi Kiran,
      Since we mostly use Airbnb I don’t have many tips except signing up for hotels frequent visitor rewards or getting a hotel branded credit card. When we do book hotels I use hotels.com and momando.com to see if they have any special rate offers. There are definitely amenities you give up when staying in an Airbnb. Thank you so much for reading, glad you found it helpful!!
      Monet

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Hi! We’re The Hambricks

Hi! We’re The Hambricks

If kids live there, kids can visit! That's our motto and you'll often find us exploring destinations most don't find "kid friendly". We've traveled to 35 countries on 6 continents with our children since they were 10 weeks old and share tips to make it easier and affordable. But mom and dad are people too so we also write about solo travel, baecations and girlfriend getaways.

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