Let me start by saying that I'm a working mother of two boys ages 7 and 4, and my husband and I do not make a huge salary, but we think it's important to do things as a family, therefore we like to take a couple of small vacations a year. Branson is a destination that can be visited by a family with a tight budget. My friends and family call me the “coupon queen” and say I should open my own travel agency to give travel tips. When we decide we are going somewhere in particular, I scour the internet for travel guides and coupons. Review sites such as this one, Tripadvisor, and Virtualtourist are great for getting tips on what activities and accommodations are not expensive and which ones not to wast
...Read More
Let me start by saying that I'm a working mother of two boys ages 7 and 4, and my husband and I do not make a huge salary, but we think it's important to do things as a family, therefore we like to take a couple of small vacations a year. Branson is a destination that can be visited by a family with a tight budget. My friends and family call me the “coupon queen” and say I should open my own travel agency to give travel tips. When we decide we are going somewhere in particular, I scour the internet for travel guides and coupons. Review sites such as this one, Tripadvisor, and Virtualtourist are great for getting tips on what activities and accommodations are not expensive and which ones not to waste your money on. There are several things in Branson that are either free or very inexpensive, such as The Stone Hill Winery Tour (free), the Shepherd of the Hills Hatchery (free), The Dewey Short Visitor Center (free), Predator World, an indoor zoo ($6/adult - $5/child, coupons available), The Tracks Family Fun Parks with the Go-Card (half-price tickets), and if you buy a season pass to Silver Dollar City in Jan. or Feb. you get a Bring a Friend Free Certificate for each pass bought. The cost of one season pass is less than the cost of two 1-day admissions to the park. You can only use the BAF certificates certain times of the year, so plan your trip to accommodate. You also get 10% off meals over $3.50 in the park when you are a season pass holder, this really comes in handy when you have kids wanting everything from cotton candy to popcorn to hamburgers and fries.
As far as accommodations go, a lot of people say that they only will stay in a luxury hotel or a condo resort. Why? If you’re just on a weekend trip, you will only be there to sleep, so why spend all the extra money? A couple places we've stayed on short trips were the Caprice Motor Inn and the Hillbilly Inn. I would recommend either. They have clean rooms and the rates are not too high. The Caprice also has an indoor pool. When we are staying for an extended time, we do like to stay somewhere that has a kitchen so we can cook some meals to save money, but it doesn't have to be a luxury high-priced condo resort. Places like the Tribesman Resort have nice little cottages and apartments that fit the bill.
Speaking of meals, Branson offers a huge variety of restaurants, from fine dining to buffets galore. Buffets are the way to go for families with small children. They can pick what they want to eat and most places either don't charge for children 4 and under or charge very little. Our favorite buffet is the Golden Corral on the Shepherd of the Hills Expressway, but this place gets really packed with tour buses around standard eating times. I would recommend going during off hours, but definitely go at least once - it is wonderful.
Oh yeah, with the Go-Card for the Tracks, you can also get discounts around town, and Golden Corral is one place - I think it's 10% or 15% off breakfast and lunch. Usually for breakfast we just take cereal and donuts and eat in the room, then eat a pretty big lunch, then a small dinner. This saves money too, because dinner prices are usually higher than lunch.
You don’t have to have or spend a lot of money to have a nice vacation and make lasting memories for your family. When I was younger, our family always took vacations or even day trips, and those are some of the best memories I have.
Read Less