How to Travel After Summer Vacation with HomeExchange

Working around school schedules and low vacation funds

Jennifer Allen is a special needs mom and disability travel blogger who shares her experience on her blog, Wonders Within Reach.

Anyone one else mourn the end of travel freedom that comes with the start of a new school year? The fun is over, the travel budget is empty, and the mundane has returned. 

What if you didn’t have to throw in the travel towel for the school year? What if you could find a way to keep traveling - extending your time connecting as a family and refueling on adventure, even when you have little left to cover the cost? 

You don’t need to put your travel plans on hold until next summer. In fact, thanks to HomeExchange and shoulder season flights, traveling during the school year can be one of the most rewarding (and surprisingly affordable) ways to plan a getaway. Here’s how we do it:

1. Planning Around the School Calendar

Start here. As soon as the kids’ school calendar is released, I make a note of any holidays, three-day weekends, and random days off. Many schools offer fall and winter breaks, teacher in-service days, or long weekends that can easily turn into mini-vacations. If you know when those days off are coming, you can start planning months in advance.

We only get five educational excursion days per year, so we need to make the most of all we have. The best way to do this is adding one (or more) of those days to an already long weekend. We typically don’t use too many at a time, because we like to have more little trips throughout the year. That said, we’re already looking at a longer ski trip to Utah this winter and we may use all five the week before Thanksgiving next year to score over two weeks in Japan.

It’s not usually about these long-haul trips, though. The school year can also be great for exploring all of the wonders close to home that you’ve always taken for granted and never actually explored. 

2. Prioritize Proximity

Speaking of local gems, fall and winter are perfect seasons for discovering spots closer to home. You don’t need to travel halfway across the world to have a meaningful vacation. Some of our favorite trips during the school year have been within driving distance — a new city, a state park, or even a small mountain town we haven’t explored yet. These short getaways offer a chance to recharge without the stress of long travel times or jet lag. Plus, the kids can be back at school Monday morning without missing a beat.

Even within your county, a HomeExchange can be a great way to mix things up. It’s an instant change of scenery, throwing you into vacation mode without a long flight. If you don’t see any homes with open dates, but there are some who are open to being contacted, they may even be on the same school schedule as you. They may get excited about this idea of a mini vacation, too!

3. HomeExchange: A Budget-Friendly Solution

After a full summer of travel, we find our vacation budget is a bit stretched. Enter HomeExchange — the ultimate way to keep traveling without draining your wallet. If you’ve never tried it before, HomeExchange lets you exchange homes with someone in a different location (anywhere from a neighboring town to a far-flung country), essentially offering a no-cost accommodation option (there is an annual membership fee). We’ve stayed in some incredible places this way, and our total cost comes out to about $3 per night.

You don’t need an accommodation budget. If you’re open to eating in, you don’t need a vacation food budget. Spend what you would at home, and make your meals in someone else’s fully stocked kitchen. If you’re staying close to home, you don’t need a transportation budget. If you do want to make a bigger adventure, shoulder season flights are significantly cheaper than traveling over the summer. You may not even need an attraction budget. Consider a home with beach access, state park passes, a pool, or other in-home entertainment options. Look for free or discounted activities.. Many museums and zoos offer free days, and outdoor activities like hiking and beachcombing don’t cost a thing. Traveling in the fall or winter often means lower prices for attractions.

If you’re worried about logistics, HomeExchange has a great platform that makes it easy to connect with potential hosts and plan your exchange. 

5. Don’t Forget the Little Things

Lastly, remember that a trip during the school year doesn’t have to be a grand adventure. Sometimes, the best memories are made during smaller, slower-paced moments. A quick weekend getaway to a cabin or a staycation in a new home are still great ways to disconnect from the chaos and reconnect as a family. Even just a change of scenery can feel like a big adventure to kids. The important thing is spending time together, making new memories, and breaking up the routine.

Don’t let the school year hold you back from traveling! The price is right, and, with a little bit of planning, the schedule is, too. Pack up, hit the road, and enjoy a new season of adventure!