We didn't rent a car while in NYC. Why would you? The cost for parking would probably exceed the cost of having the car and who wants to drive in the city anyway? We did however decide to take a side trip to New Hampshire and stay a night with some friends and visit with our publisher of, day trips from salt lake city, Available now at Barns & Noble for pre-orders. 

We had taken a shuttle from the airport to our hotel when we landed, which wasn't the fastest way as we landed at about the same time the evening rush began. The cost after tip was about $40.00 for both of us and we figured it wasn't too bad. We did hear however that once you take the subway and airport train, you'll never use anything else. 

Well our story begins with us believing this is true. Now don't get me wrong, I love the ease of the Subway in New York, but when your not as familiar as you need to be and it is crowded and you have your luggage, I'm just not sure if the savings are worth the cost. Here is the cost... The station was right across the street from our hotel, big bonus. However we soon learned there are two blue trains that go towards the airport. One has a stop for the Airtrain and one forks off and heads in a different direction. We, of course, were on the fork train. We realized this and decided to get off at a mutual stop and catch the correct one to the Airtrain. The trained stopped, We got up and headed out the door, Michelle had a little delay from her luggage and when I got outside, turned around and I saw the doors shutting with Michelle still on the train. She thought she could stop the doors and stuck he foot between them and as the train proceeded to take off I watched Michelle lose her balance and fall back into the train. So I grabbed my cell phone... no service. I then proceeded to the person at the ticket booth, no help at all. I proceeded up out of the subway to get cell reception with the hope that she would get off at the next stop and do the same. After only a few minutes we connected on the phone. She stayed at that stop next to a very helpful policeman and I got on the next train heading in her direction. It so happened to be the one we also needed for the Airtain. 

We met back up, got off at the Airtrain and made it to the car rental place no worse for the adventure. Total cost for both of us to take the train, $4.00 for the subway and $10.00 for the Airtrain, a $25.00 savings but we're not sure it was worth the gray hairs. When we returned for our last night in the city we took a taxi and then a hired car to head home. The shuttle, taxi and hired car are all about the same cost and I haven't decided which I thought was better. 

We specialize in family travel, but sometimes mom and dad need a vacation and our moto changes to No Kids - Will Travel. For valentines I decided to take my sweetheart to New York City for an extended weekend. Even with great airfare of $269.40 RT from SLC to JFK, a five day, four night stay in NYC would cost just under $2000.00. ($538.80-air, $179/night x 4 nights -$800.00 with taxes, $300.00 Broadway tickets and about $250.00 for food. 

Following the techniques in the book, Have Kids - Will Travel, (www.havekids-willtravel.com) we will do this trip for just under $600.00. or about the cost of airfare alone. Tonight we are headed to dinner and then a Jazz club, then tomorrow a day in the city and a night at the Theatre. We will keep you informed as to how well we keep to this budget and all the fun we have in New York for Valentines day. 

We have begun to work out our accommodations for our Prague. We will be in Prague 3 nights and have decided to stay in a beautiful apartment perfectly located near old town and near Charles Bridge. It is reported this is the house where Mozart stayed when he was in Prague and where he wrote the opera Don Giovanni. This is a great place for less than a hotel which sleeps 6, has a kitchen an wifi included in the $95 a night price. That is cheaper than a hostel. (Hostel - $20/night per person times 5) We have also booked our hotel in Vienna. We decided on the Marriott Courtyard. We will stay three nights and the total cost? $0.00. nada, nothing. I love the tips in Have Kids - Will Travel, http://www.havekids-willtravel.com/ on how to get free hotel nights. We are in the final stages for our accommodations in Italy, but it will include a hospitality stay in the Amalfi Coast.

Can families really travel the world?

We hope as you read our blogs you will get a sense of how absolutely possible it is for families to travel the world. We have been traveling like this with our family for over 10 years now and the difference it has made in our children's lives is incredible. Our favorite quote is from St. Augustine - "The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page." It truly is our goal to help families realize how affordable travel can be if you know the right travel secrets and are willing to invest a little bit of time. 

We would like to take you along, by words now, on our next family vacation and explore Prague, Vienna, Milan and the Amalfi Coast of Italy. Right now we are in the middle of planning so check back for the changes we make as we book the trip of a lifetime for the cost of going camping. 

Why Prague? How do we get there?

First of all, I'm the reason we are going to Prague. My wife and kids have pretty much dictated our past vacations to destinations they wanted to go. Our oldest daughter has always been fascinated with France. So much so that her minor in college is French and I believe she has been there every summer since she was 13. Second, why not Prague? It is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Untouched by the wars that ravished Europe and full of so much history, it would take years to take it all in. Un fortunately we have only a few days this time around. My hope is that we get enough of a taste to lure us back many time as other countries have. 

As our children get older it becomes more and more difficult to schedule these family trips. Both of our sons will have to miss this adventure. One will be beginning his MBA at the University and the other is in North Carolina for the next 2 years. So our oldest, married daughter quickly let us know that her and her husband would gladly fill in for them. So there will be five of us traveling. Since there are no gas stations or roads for that matter from the U.S. to Prague, we opted for the quicker more conformist mode of transportation, the airplane. After a few hours with the airline figuring which route would be the best we booked our flight in to Prague and out of Milan Italy for only $98 round trip for each of us. Ok..... wait you are saying.... Did he just make a huge typo? let me spell it out so there is no confusion... ninety-eight dollars and zero cents. Total. Air, taxes, fees. 

Now up to this point you were probably thinking this was going to be a cute family blog on how some rich family flew to some exotic European vacation and how jealous you would be as you lived vicariously through their words. Well, I think I have your attention. We don't travel like a normal family and the thing is, anyone can travel this way too, if you know the secrets. These aren't some weird join some time-share or travel club that you will never use type of secrets. They are time tested, every day, any trip kind of secrets you can use too. Now the point of this blog isn't to go through all the nuts and bolts of how we do this, because that would be way too boring and not everyone is going to do it the same way each time. There are many different ways to get airfare like we mentioned and one might work better for you than for someone else. So the best place I can send you to read all about how this is done is to visit our website, http://www.havekids-willtravel.com. there you will be able to get a copy of our book and read how you too can travel like a King for the price of Disneyland or less. You can also attend one of our one day seminars if you want us to walk you through each step of the process, http://www.learntotravelcheap.com. 

But I digress for a moment, I'm sure that price was just too good to be true and I had to let you know where you can get flights like that too. 

Currently this is where we sit with our trip... Airfare, done. Still looking for a place to stay and as always starting to plan out the adventures. This we do know. My wife found out that Vienna is only 3 hours from Prague and has always wanted to go, so we will spend 4 days in Prague and 3 days in Vienna. We are looking for the best and least expensive mode of transportation now along with accommodations. In our next blog we will fill you in on how those are coming along. We hope you are enjoying this, your mouth is watering and you want to go with us. - May all your travels be Free -