This past weekend, my family and I took a trip down to St. George, Utah. It is about 4 hours away from our house in Salt Lake City so we like to make it as nice a trip as possible. That means we loaded up the car with lots of snacks, bottles of water, and even packed a few of Parker’s toys just in case he got fussy. He didn’t, by the way. Somehow we lucked out with a first child that is great at travelling. Hopefully our daughter will be the same!
Since we knew we would be staying the whole weekend, we decided to stay with Nate’s grandparents who live there.
We like staying with family for multiple reasons, but mainly because we both grew up doing so. I have stayed with family in all areas of the world, including Canada, Switzerland, and South Korea. For me, it’s just the thing to do. However, I’m well aware that many people aren’t used to it and would prefer to get a hotel room instead of having to be with family. It’s that reason that I want to detail some of the benefits of staying with family or friends.
Especially during this time of Covid-19, the majority of hotels are not opening their doors to tourists, so if you want to travel, it would be much easier to call up your long lost cousin and ask if you can spend a couple days with them.
[You can view more of our trip to St. George in my Instagram Highlights HERE.]
Benefit #1: You Save Money
This is the biggest reason we stay with family rather than a hotel when we can. It can save you hundreds of dollars on hotel fees and having to eat out at restaurants. When we are with family or friends, we know that we will more than likely have home cooked meals, a clean place to sleep, and hot showers.
Just one room at a standard hotel for the weekend would have cost us $400. That’s not even including food!
Of course, we do our part to help out when we are staying for free. It may be in the form of cooking ourselves, washing the dishes and cleaning, or even just giving them some money in return, but we want them to know that we value the effort they’re putting into our visit.
Benefit #2: You Visit Local Spots
This is a fun one. I am the type of traveler who likes to see places from a local’s perspective. When I was with family in Switzerland, they showed me Lake Zurich and how they get to see it daily. It didn’t hurt that my great-uncle is a professional photographer too.
During our most recent trip to St. George, Nate’s grandparents took us out to see Pine Valley. It’s a census-designated place that was settled in 1859 and looks like a town straight out of a Hallmark movie.
We were able to see the Pine Valley Cemetery (Nate’s grandparents have nicknamed it the “Crazy Cemetery”) which had many very interesting headstones, the Pine Valley Chapel that was made out of an upside-down boat, and a local garden that attracts a lot of butterflies. Pine Valley is not something I would have known about even after doing research so we loved seeing what it had to offer.
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Benefit #3: You Visit Local Events
Even as an avid travel planner, it would be impossible for you to know about certain events happening in town. Heck, I don’t even know what’s happening in my own town! Hence, visiting with family, especially on the weekends, means that you have the chance to go to local events and experience them together.
Nate’s grandparents are very involved in their community so they knew about a lunch happening with the local fire department. As soon as we heard about it, we knew we had to go! It was so fun to see the fire trucks. Plus, who doesn’t love a free lunch?
I don’t think there is a better way to learn about a different place than involving yourself into their community. Just like when I lived in Spain as a missionary, my love for the people grew as I worked with them more. Nate’s grandmother also volunteers with a non-profit organization called Big Ocean Women and we were able to help with donations they received for the Navajo tribes.
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Benefit #4: You Have a Free Babysitter
Anytime we speak with any of our family or friends, they always offer to watch Parker for us. And we normally take them up on that offer!
Due to our shorter visit this past weekend, we didn’t need a babysitter for Parker. It was just nice knowing that we didn’t need to have an eye on him the whole time because somebody else was with him.
However, when we stayed with my parents in Germany, we definitely used their babysitting services so Nate and I could go out alone. It’s so important to not neglect your relationship as a couple just because you have kids. Yes, family time is wonderful and necessary, but so is couple time.
Benefit #5: You Make Lasting Bonds
As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we believe that families can be sealed together for all eternity, not just until death. That being said, we also believe that what we know now will be carried with us after we die. Therefore, we want to have the best relationship possible with our family members so that it only continues later.
If we have a weekend to spend with family, we will do it. If not, we will call. I still call my grandparents who live in Maryland just to stay up to date on their lives.
In addition, we think it’s very important that our kids have a relationship with their grandparents and other family members. Nate’s grandfather in St. George is sick and nobody knows how much longer he may be around, so we want him to see Parker as much as possible. And when our daughter arrives, everyone will know her too.
As Lilo and Stitch teaches us, “Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten.”
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I agree! Staying with family on vacation can be a wonderful experience.
Definitely! There can be so many more memories made!
There are some advantages for sure to staying with family. I don’t usually get the free babysitting so much though! But some of it is fun–I always like the home cooked meals.
Home cooked meals are a big plus for me since I don’t like cooking!
I love saving that money! Plus you get to visit and go on vacation. So many pluses!
I completely agree! I’m always money-conscious.
These are some great advantages to staying with family. Especially being able to see local events & spots.
Yep! I love seeing places that only the locals know about!
Staying with family when possible is a great idea. Usually we only stay for a few nights and then will stay elsewhere for the remainder so that we don’t overstay our welcome.
That’s also an option. Normally our family visits are just for a weekend or so.
I love staying with family when I travel, not only does it save money but it really helps me to connect with family that I dont see that much!!
For sure! It’s fun when they all live in different places too!
Great tips! I’ll keep in mind next family vacay 🙂
Thank you!
I always stay with family! My parents and I live on opposite coasts so I’ve always stayed with them when I visit, but now my daughters live out of state too, so I stay with them when I visit. No better way than to spend time with my grandsons.
I’m sure they love having you around too!
Now I just need to have family in all the places I want to go. : )
Haha you never know what can happen! My parents didn’t move to Germany until recently 🙂
That’s a great idea!
Thanks!
Saving money is a GIANT plus. Just stayed with my friend’s mom during my last trip and it saved me hundreds of dollars
Of course! Parents of friends can also be super beneficial!
I wish my family lived in cooler places. When we visit family we do stay with them but Oklahoma isn’t as exciting as Germany!
Haha where I grew up in Maryland wasn’t as exciting as Germany either!
This is great advice for anyone. I often like to stay in a hotel missing out on some of these benefits. I do meet up with them but we enjoy our alone time too.
I understand that. My husband and I are typically blunt with our plans for the trip so we can have our alone time if we want.
Saving money is enough reason on it’s own! Unfortunately we don’t have any family far away except my brother in law in the Army. It would be nice not to have to pay for a hotel!
I understand that. Most of my husband’s family lives close by.
I love Benefit 5 the most! We try to stay with family whenever we can
Thanks! It makes the trip a lot more fun!
Oh my gosh this is so true! I love the affordability of staying with family. Plus, I love seeing my kids build strong relationships with the people we stay with while we’re there.
Definitely! Even a short time can build a strong relationship!
Love this! It’s nice knowing that I can go pretty much anywhere in New England without ever needing a hotel because of family! Traveling west is another story… no one in the vast area between Chicago, Houston, and San Francisco.
Haha sometimes it can be hit or miss with family, but it’s always great when you can stay with them!
We are actually doing this right now!
That’s awesome!
The “free babysitter” reason is my favorite 😉
Me too 🙂
We try to stay with family when we can just because it saves money. We were able to do it for 3 of the 9 nights we were in Florida recently and it worked out great.
That sounds like it was super fun!
I love getting the local experience when we stay with friends and family.
I’m the same way!
I love to stay with family when I have the option. Unfortunately, I have a very small family, so I usually need to get a hotel or airbnb. Everything you say about staying with family is true, though, and I would much prefer it! It’s so neat that you got to stay with family in all parts of the world!
Maybe your family will expand one day! That’s the lucky thing about my family being so international.
Love this. We love staying with family whenever possible. We have some great memories of getting to know family better this way.
I’m glad you agree!
Those are some great benefits…if only I had a bigger family!
Haha luckily you don’t need a big family to travel!
I agree! I love staying with family when I can. Now if I could just convince family members to move to the places I love visiting the most! 🙂
Haha that’s always the hard part 🙂