The traveling bug has bitten you and this time your sights are set on the land of the Rocky Mountains, Colorado. You want to visit her and enjoy her world-famous attractions to quench and feed your spirit of adventure. But there is something else, this time you have to bring your little one for the trip.
If this is you, then this article will break down for you the expected expenses for the trip and offer a few tips on how to have a successful Colorado vacation with a small child. To calculate and easily estimate the expected expenses let’s break them down to:
- Accommodation
- Transportation costs
- Food and Drinks
- Entertainment
Accommodation
Accommodation costs contribute to a major chunk of any vacation costs. This is because it’s a daily cost that you can’t do without. There are different forms of accommodation ranging from hotels to apartments, Airbnbs, and even hostels. The choice will ultimately depend on you. But because you are bringing a kid along, hotels, furnished apartments, or Airbnbs will be a great choice.
The average rate for a hotel room in Colorado is around $150 per day depending on the type of room and star rating of the hotel. This includes the daily rate inclusive of taxes. Home rentals or Airbnb’s cost a little lower than this depending on the size. If you find one in a good location and a good host it always is the best choice. A good Airbnb in Colorado can cost anywhere between $100 to $200 a day depending on size and location.
If you choose either a hotel room or Airbnb both have an average cost of $150. This will translate to $1050 for a week of vacation. If you didn’t carry your own baby cot, hotels, and some Airbnb may provide one at an extra cost.
Transportation
Transport costs too contribute to a big part of the costs for a vacation. The amount will, however, vary depending on the means of transport you choose. Using a flight contributes the highest to transportation costs while going by road contributes the least among the different transportation modes.
The ideal means to use for a vacation is a car. You can either choose to use yours or rent one. There are many cheap car rentals you can choose from and get yourself a good deal. With the topography of Colorado, a 4×4 like a Jeep would be a great choice of car. Jeep rentals range from $75 a day to $200 a day depending on the model.
If you decide to go with a Jeep, you can get in touch with your preferred rental agency and find out how much it is to rent a Jeep for a week. With an average price of $150 per day, this will set you back $1050 for the whole week. This is just a rough estimate as the price may vary depending on the particular model you settle for.
Food and drinks
What other way to sample Colorado’s hospitality than to sample its food? Apart from visiting attractions, having a taste of the local food is always on the bucket list of every visitor. You can either decide to eat out or cook your food which will highly depend on your form of accommodation.
For furnished apartments and Airbnb, you get the freedom to source your food from local markets and cook for yourself. This greatly reduces food costs as opposed to eating out, especially with a kid in tow.
The average food costs for an adult in a day are around $75. This can be broken down to $15 for breakfast, $25 for lunch, $30 for dinner, and $5 for snacks. This will translate to $525 for a week for one adult. If you decide to cook for yourself, the cost will greatly come down. The more you indulge in your drink, the higher the cost of your dinner will rise.
Entertainment
Entertainment entails the costs you will incur visiting places like museums, amusement parks, and national parks. This cost will greatly depend on your itinerary. A great way to reduce entertainment costs is to plan early and make bookings. If you are traveling as a family you can always request group rates which are always cheaper.
Depending on your plans, on average, entertainment costs can start from $100 per person per day. This will translate to $700 a week.
Conclusion
A vacation does not necessarily have to be that expensive. Planning well in advance and opting for cheaper options of accommodation, transport, and food can greatly reduce the cost and save you money. Bringing a kid along adds a little complexity but hey, the little ones also need some time for a vacation even though they will sleep through most of it.
The figures discussed above are rough estimates and will help you have a rough idea of how much you can spend on a vacation in Colorado. With the figures in mind make arrangements and visit Colorado with your little one. Just don’t forget them in Colorado.
