These days, it appears everyone is looking for a great deal, even when traveling and on vacations. If you’re planning a trip to Yellowstone or Island Park Idaho this year, and are wondering how to cut costs on your vacation, these pointers could help you keep a lot of cash in your pocket.
First and foremost, consider an off-season trip. You will definitely save on lodging expenses. Most lodging in the area offers off-season rates. If off-season rates aren’t posted, ask anyway. Many times, availability in the off-season is high, and your offer may be accepted.
Autmumn is a great time of year in Yellowstone anyway, as the crowds have dispersed and the animals are again active. It is easier sometimes to get away when school is out for the summer, but many districts have state-wide training days in the fall where school is out of session. This just might buy you enough time to sneak away.
The second point to consider is on what side of the Yellowstone National Park you stay. The west entrance to the park offers less expensive acccommodations and is actually the most convenient, with the shortest daily drive times. There are plenty of hotels in West Yellowstone, but just 20 minutes away, in Island Park ID, are numerous vacation rentals , which rent for much less than Jackson area cabins.
There are may instances where a vacation cabin can save you money. First, if your group is bigger than 5 or need more privacy than one hotel room offers, cabins allow everyone to stay together yet have private bedrooms. Renting a cabin is usually much less expensive than renting several hotel rooms.
For example in Island Park Idaho there are cabins as low as $200 per night that can accommodate 8-10 people. If 4 couples came, they could each have their own private bedroom for $50 per night, and have access to great cabin amenities such as comfortable lounging areas, large flat-screen TV’s, private decks, seclusion in the forest, and even hot tubs.
Having fully-equipped kitchens in all the cabins adds even more to travel savings. One of the biggest and most underestimated expenses in vacation planning is the true cost of eating out for meals. Being able to have home-cooked meals reduces costs greatly over dining out every meal. Picnics for lunches in the park are inexpensive and can easily be prepared, and having access to a kitchen allows for gourmet picnics, instead of the generic sandwiches you might have to prepare from a hotel room.
Although staying in a cabin can cut costs on your vacation any time of year, if you are really after a summertime discount, you really need a game plan, and here are a couple to consider. Most of the cabins in the Yellowstone area have 3-night minimums. But if a cabin happens to only have 2 nights available, they might accept a discount for those 2 nights. Many of the cabins fill up quickly for summer, so it’s easy to see which cabins may have 2-nighters pretty early on in spring. If you are staying more than 2 nights, you may have to pick up and move to another cabin, but this could actually be fun! You could check out a new place every 2 days! Especially helpful if the first cabin was less than desirable…
Another trick for obtaining summer savings for Island Park Idaho rentals involves a little risk-taking. If a cabin is not booked solid, they will usually accept discount offers if you call last-minute to book. The philosophy “something is better than nothing” definitely applies here. Cabin owners are looking to book as many days as possible over the busy summer season to offset winter expenses in this cold region. So have your eye on few possibilities, check back often, and then make the call a few days before your arrival. Be sure to have a few alternatives in place in case your favorite vacation rental books up before you’re able to book.
With a bit of careful planning, you really could save hundreds off your Yellowstone National Park vacation by staying in Island Park, ID.
P.S.: It’s tempting to buy the cute little souvenirs in the park, but West Yellowstone has most of these same items for a lot less money, so plan a day to shop in West Yellowstone!