Category Archives: Trip

Affordable Road Trips – How to Save Money and Still Have Fun

Summer time is the right time for taking a week off work, packing up your family and heading out on a vacation. Unfortunately, steep airline prices and even steeper hotel costs mean Hawaii, Bali and Tahiti are out of the question. Does that mean you have to settle for a staycation, lounging around on the couch in your finest Tommy Bahama shirt watching reruns of Gilligan’s Island? No way. Instead of flying off to exotic locales, you can hit the highway on an exciting road trip like countless families have done since the first Model Ts rolled out of Detroit.

Although a lot less expensive than air travel, road trips can still end up costing you a fair amount of coin. To keep your interstate trek under budget, follow these penny-pinching tips.

Pack a Tent

Even if you’re willing to brave the germ-infested sheets and crusty comforters at budget motels, they can still end up running $80 a night. That adds up fast. Don’t be lured in by that neon “Vacancy” sign when you can enjoy the great outdoors by camping out. Before you head off, hop online and do a quick survey of your route. Camp grounds are sprinkled all over the place, usually within a few miles of major freeways. You will have to pay a minor fee to use many camp grounds, but the rates are generally under $20 a night and include access to bathrooms and showers (showers are critical…nothing makes for grumpier travels than a car full of gamey passengers).

To enjoy a few creature comforts while you’re roughing it, you can get an SUV tent that connects to your ride’s rear end. Once set up, you can run your heater, watch a movie on your in-cab entertainment system, or just listen to the radio.

Bring Along a Kitchen

If you’re eating out at restaurants three times a day, you’re pouring money down the drain. Even the bountiful selection of cheap fast food found along the way can really take a bite out of your budget…not to mention that all that greasy grub forces you to make more bathroom breaks. Instead of shelling out the bucks for foul food, bring along a cooler full of scrumptious food and a camping stove. Most rest stops have picnic tables that you can use to prepare your feast, and every town along the way has grocery stores for resupplying. If you have a trailer hitch, you can even get a hitch-mounted grill and fire up some serious eats.

Boost Your MPGs

Gas is expensive all year round, but the prices tend to spike in the summer months because more people are out on the roads. But there are a number of tricks you can do to eke out more miles from every gallon in your tank:

  • First, do a quick tune-up before you take off, including changing out your air filter. A clogged air filter limits the amount of air flowing into your motor, so you have to compensate with more fuel.
  • Second, make sure your tires are properly inflated and check them every time you stop for gas.
  • Third, use your air conditioner instead of rolling down your windows. Open windows throw off your ride’s aerodynamics, and the drag this creates is more damaging to your fuel economy than the A/C.

School Trips to Europe and Beyond

This is why school trips are a good idea. They allow students to experience learning in a new environment and see how the skills they are learning in class will benefit them in life. They will also aid the development of life skills and will allows students to become more independent. Classroom teaching is usually aimed towards the least able of the group, so that they do not get left behind. School trips benefit the more able students as it gives them the opportunity to learn independently and take on as much or as little extra information as they wish to.

Every student learns differently. Some learn better by doing, some learn better by watching and listening. School trips allow a different way of learning which may suit some students better than classroom learning does. They are also often very memorable, and when students can make links between the things they learn on a trip and what they have learnt in class it will help them to take in and understand the information.

By allowing students the chance to learn independently outside of the classroom, teachers will also benefit, as they will be able to get to know each student better and find out more about how different students like to learn. They may pick up some ideas from this to use in class, helping all students to learn to the best of their ability in class. Because students have more freedom on trips, they are unlikely to be learning in a way they do not enjoy. This means that teachers can see what students are interested in and mould their lessons to make them enjoyable and interesting for everyone.

There are many opportunities for school trips in Europe and all over the world. Every subject has potential trip destinations, and many places can help educate students about more than one subject. School trips to Italy hold potential for history students to explore the remains of ancient Rome, geography students to visit the active volcanoes, art students to visit some of the galleries and more. France school trips allow students the opportunity to study the architecture of famous buildings such as the Eiffel Tower, witness and find inspiration from some of the most prestigious fashion shows, visit some beautiful galleries and museums… there are so many possibilities offered by each and every destination that not taking a trip away from the norm of the classroom seems crazy!

Whether you want to take a day trip in the UK, spend a couple of days exploring Europe or stay for weeks in a completely unfamiliar country halfway across the world, there all kinds of trips available to suit all your needs. There really aren’t any limits and you can find anything from school trips to Italy, to trips across the globe to China or Australia. Whatever subject you are teaching, whatever topic you are covering, and however long you want to go for, you are guaranteed to find a trip that’s perfect for you and your students.