How to have an inexpensive vacation with children at sea?

The sea is the real dream of the vacation season, and one can only envy those who live near the warm southern waves. Russia comes out to many seas, but most of them are not happy with the warmth even in summer. In addition, for many families living in the interior of the continent, a trip to the south can be the adventure of a lifetime, and you really want to show children a real vacation. Let's try to figure out how to take all loved ones to a real sea beach without special expenses.

The best places in Russia

To begin with, let's clarify the situation with the available seas: in terms of logistics, it is always easier to go to the sea that is geographically closer to your place of residence (if only there is a direct flight of some kind of transport), but you should choose your destination carefully. It has already been said about the northern seas - they are not suitable, because they never really warm up, that's why there is no infrastructure here. Of those that warm up normally, we single out four: Black, Azov, Caspian and Japanese.

There are no questions for the first two, but the situation with the remaining two is not very clear. If we talk about the Caspian Sea, then it is not very popular among tourists, since it is a famous oil-producing region, so the water here is not very clean. In addition, the Black Sea coast is relatively close, because The Caspian Sea is simply losing the competition and does not have a decent infrastructure - at least on the Russian part of the coast.

Sea resorts on the Caspian Sea exist in neighboring countries that do not have access to other seas, for example, in Azerbaijan, but you cannot call a budget vacation there.

As for the Sea of Japan, it suffers primarily from a significant distance from the main cities of the country. It would be possible to massively develop the infrastructure here, but for most Russians it is problematic and expensive to get here, and if they already have the appropriate money and desire, then it is easier and wiser to fly somewhere in the tropics.

Within Russia, the Black Sea coast is ideal in terms of infrastructure - everyone knows such resorts as Sochi, Anapa, Gelendzhik or Tuapse. A huge advantage of this region is excellent transport links with other parts of the country - in the summer, dozens of trains and planes arrive here every day from almost any major city in Russia.

Of course, resting with children on the sea in Sochi can be quite expensive, but the general rule here is that the further north the resort is, the cheaper it is to relax here. For this reason, many tourists travel to the north - to Gelendzhik or Tuapse, or even farther - to Novorossiysk or even to Yeisk, located already on the Sea of Azov.

Anapa is a good way to have an inexpensive vacation with children - here the sea has a gentle coastal bottom, so even those who swim uncertainly do not risk anything. Back in Soviet times, Anapa was distinguished by an abundance of summer camps for children, and today this network continues to develop.

In addition, it is worth remembering that the Black Sea coast does not consist of only cities - there are also smaller settlements that do not have an amazing entertainment infrastructure, but the sea is warm and gentle, the bottom is flat, and the prices are not so biting. These include, in particular, Kabardinka, Divnomorskoe and other villages.

If the budget is very limited, and the children have reached at least adolescence and love adventure, you should pay attention to the campsites, which are quite numerous around Anapa and on the Azov coast.

Separately highlight Crimea. The southern coast of the peninsula has been heavily advertised in recent years, but in fact the reviews are generally neutral - a lot of both good and bad. Getting to the peninsula is more difficult than to the Krasnodar Territory, and the prices here, according to popular opinion, are too high for the level of development of the local recreation industry. Relatively large centers are Yalta, Feodosia and Alushta, but even here it is wiser to settle in small villages.

The advantage of the settlement in the vicinity of Yalta is that the mountains are located very close - in Sochi there is the same advantage, but it will be more expensive there.

When determining the date of the trip, you should also be guided by the month for which the vacation is planned. So, in the very south, the swimming season is much longer - it can include May and September as a whole. On the other hand, going to such regions in July is another test, since it will be unbearably stuffy here. That is why for travel in the middle of summer they choose mainly more northern resorts like Yeisk, but even in the first half of June it is not always warm enough here.

Foreign countries

The concept of a budget vacation is relative - you can also relax abroad at an economical rate, although it is often more expensive than inside the country. It should be noted here that in some foreign countries the infrastructure is at least not worse than the domestic one, and the prices are able to please, however, the problem lies in the expensive logistics - a flight can cost several times more than a week or even a month of stay here.

If you are still ready to spend money on a relatively inexpensive flight, you should start with a trip to the Mediterranean Sea - to Turkey. This country is famous for its hospitality and amazing infrastructure, designed, in particular, for tourists with children - many hotels here are focused on families, therefore they hire animators, and are ready to offer a whole amusement park on their own territory.

However, here you have to choose - either exquisite hotels closer to the center of the famous Antalya, but at a higher rate, or very affordable prices, but somewhere in the relative wilderness, where the amusement park will be only public, in the city center.

If the vacation is really long, and the children are quite adults, not too whimsical, and will only be happy with adventure, it makes sense to spend a lot on a flight to visit countries that are still considered exotic among our compatriots. Thus, the beach recreation industry has been developing rapidly in recent years. in Southeast Asia, such as Vietnam and Cambodia. Many would simply be afraid to go there, however, the reviews of those who have been there convince: now it is by no means bad there.

It is indicated that housing prices near the sea here can easily be much lower than in the Russian province, and the unusual local culture, exotic food, and elephant riding will leave an indelible impression.

Interestingly, even the famous Bali and Goa, which are traditionally considered something chic in our country. Life in Bali is relatively inexpensive, the only problem is that the flight will actually cost several times more than the actual vacation. For this reason, it is worth going here for a long time, but then the costs will increase even more.

As for Goa, this resort can simply be conditionally divided into two parts: a very fashionable south with corresponding prices and impressive infrastructure, and the north, where there is no amazing service, but the service is still no worse than Russian, and the prices and impressions are completely different level. Another thing is that it is not advised to go to Goa in the summer, because it becomes unbearably stuffy here, the rainy season begins, and the sea is often restless, however, all these criteria strongly affect the cost of any services, and we are talking about saving.

True, it is advised to go to Goa for at least two weeks - it can be difficult for our citizens to adapt here because of the extremely unusual climate and very spicy food, so the first few days simply fall out.

Search recommendations

It is better to have a vacation in the summer on a budget if you know how to choose the right place and time. Let's try to formulate the basic rules of how to go to the sea with a family without space costs.

First, remember that timely planning of vacations and buying tickets and vouchers significantly helps to save money. The same air tickets for tomorrow are much more expensive than four months in advance, so you should think about a summer vacation even in winter. Having enough time, you can also fruitfully study all the available offers, comparing them not only in price, but also in quality - it often happens that a person passes by a lucrative offer simply because a decision needs to be made in a hurry.

Another point is that for the sake of economy, it is worth abandoning the easy paths. Famous resorts attract tourists, but due to increased demand, they can afford to raise prices significantly higher than the cost price. The fact that there is a massive accumulation of infrastructure here does not mean that there is no such sea and such beaches anymore - it is likely that they also exist in lesser-known villages that big business has not reached.

It is possible that it will take more time and money to get here, however, saving on housing and food will completely cover these costs, so do not be lazy to look for information about alternative, little-known resorts.

Remember also that most seasoned budget travelers rarely buy all-inclusive packages. This rule is still relevant if you are traveling to Turkey, where it really allows you to save money, or to a recreation center where children have a rest without parents and do not organize their own leisure in any way. In other cases, the price of a voucher often includes some services that are simply not useful to you, so read carefully what you pay for and think about what you need.

You can visit exotic countries, gain impressions and relax mentally even for little money. Skyscanner has calculated the cost of a two-week vacation in different parts of the world and has compiled a selection of the cheapest countries for a vacation in 2019.