Affordable Smoky Mountain Getaway: Best Ways to Cut Costs on Your Trip

The Smoky Mountains are an incredibly fun vacation destination. The entertainment in the area is next level. Dollywood is famous in the area for fun rides and good times, and Gatlinburg is a blast for families and groups looking for innocent good times. More visitors come to the national park than any other park in the country! Once you visit, you’ll want to return every year. So how do you save money and take more vacations? We'll show you how. Visit during the slow season. The Smoky Mountains have a peak season, mid season, and slow season. If you want to save money on your trip, you can make big savings by booking when there is less competition and owners are eager to secure your stay. Peak season in the Smokies is March-July, mid season is August-November, and the slow season is January and February. If you stay during the slow season, you can save big booking a beautiful property.

1. Spend more time in nature and less at the attractions

   

   While the area is known for man made attractions like Dollywood and downtown Gatlinburg, it’s original appeal was God made. Natural attractions like the Great Smoky Mountain National Park is what made the area popular in the first place. Amazing views, beautiful hikes, and wonderful mountain scenery can make a trip to the smoky mountains unforgettable.

   If you’re looking to save money, avoid the tourist traps that are designed to take it! Focus on natural attractions and you’ll make big cuts in your travel budget! The natural parks offer very cheap parking and oftentimes free access. Many cabins are available on the top of a mountain, or in a secluded area, where you can enjoy nature instead of roller coasters and fancy expensive restaurants. The area was developed because of nature. Focus on that and you'll avoid the tourist traps.

2. Eat in, don’t dine out

   

   Inflation has made everything more expensive, and not much more so than food. Want to save money? Don’t eat out. Your meals will be a huge portion of your budget, and with inflation, they can get out of hand quickly. Making the effort to book a property with a full kitchen (target full size cabins, not novel tiny homes or glamping sites) will afford you the luxury to cook your own meals and save massive money. Many cabins have outdoor grills and gourmet kitchens designed for this very purpose. Even if the cabin costs a little more, it can offer you big savings overall eating in. Consider the memories your family can make with their best friends surrounding them, eating together, a meal that grandma, aunty, and mom helped make. You won't miss out on those expensive restaurants!

3. Travel with bigger parties

   

   More people in the cabin equals less money per person. Consider inviting more people on your stay and booking a bigger property to share. Many hands make light work, and this applies to splitting the bill too! In addition to saving money, more people can equal more fun. More smiles, more laughs, and more jokes to remember. If you vacation every year, traveling with the same group can be a fun way to build a foundation of memories, building a new story of the building with each trip.

   Big parties are the secret to getting a vacation in a big, beautiful cabin that’s cheaper than a hotel but much nicer. Asking other family members, close friends, or even new friends can make a stale vacation more fun. When you travel with more people, you can take more vacations. That means more fun and more experience getting to know the area.

4. Prioritize cabins with more parking space

   

   If you’re going to bring more people, you’re going to need more cars. Not every cabin has sufficient parking! In fact, most won’t. Most cabins today are built as big as possible for as little as possible-this means they’re often built on small lots or on the edges of cliffs. This doesn't leave much room for parking. Many cabins will hide this fact by not showing the driveways in their pictures If it's hidden, it's not good. They may have a high sleep count but that doesn’t mean they’ll have space for a lot vehicles. Be sure to ask the host or property manager about the size of the driveway before auto booking whenever possible. 

   When you bring more vehicles with you, your group can split into more parties and cover more events. Not every member of the party will want to do the same things. With all the places to hike, views to see, and even waterfalls to catch, you’re lucky to find different groups want to explore different areas. Many of our cabins offer fishing ponds, swimming pools, and other nearby perks that some party members will want to enjoy and others won’t. Bringing more vehicles allows more people to have more fun.

5. In-cabin entertainment

One expense you won’t be able to avoid when visiting the smokies is the place you’ll stay. Since you’re already paying for it, so choose cabins with entertainment included in them so you don’t have to pay extra. Some common examples of this involve mini golf or arcades. Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg both offer mini golf courses and full arcades for kids to enjoy. As businesses, they need to turn a profit. This means you’ll spend a significant amount of money on this entertainment. You’ll also be exposed to other people wanting to use the same equipment and you may find yourself rushed or competing with others to use the entertainment. You can save money, but still have the same fun, by booking a cabin that has these same items.

Look for games with above average game rooms where the owners have invested in the cabins entertainment, not just it's decor. You can find billiards, air hockey, foosball, shuffleboard, poker tables, chess tables, and even wall games that will keep everyone entertained. Higher end cabins are now offering arcades with several games and neon lights to make things fun and exciting. If you look hard enough you can even find a place with sit down racing style games and expensive options to really amp up the fun factor! Click there to see our blog about what to look for concerning in-cabin entertainment.

You can also find cabins with pools if the kids like to swim. Some cabins even come with access to a swimming pool (or fishing pond, both included in this one) for added value in the booking.

6. Stay a little further out from the parkway

Part of the magic of visiting the Smokies are the breathtaking views. Well, you can't get those views without a little bit of work. The closer you are to the main attractions ie: the parkway in Pigeon Forge, potentially the more expensive it can be. If you and your guests are willing to travel a little further out even 15 - 20 minutes, you can afford a larger property, with better views, better amenities, and better fun! 

The bottom line is, vacations are amazing, but can be expensive. These tips can help you keep your budget lower for guilt free vacations and hopefully more of them! Your property manager can help you identify fun things to do, and fun cabins to book and help save you money-much more than Airbnb or VRBO! Email us at Info@CoasttoCoastGetaways.com to see which cabin would be best for you and let us know how you found us!