Travel Help needed

[Kathy B]

My fifth grade Junior Girl Scouts are looking ahead to next summer, and would like to plan a longer trip. (So far we have done 1-2 nights within 3-5 hours of home). I am trying to figure out how we estimate costs to help them choose a feasible destination. Our biggest expense will probably be lodging. I have heard that many colleges and universities will allow travelers to stay in their dorms during the summer at a very reasonable price. Does anyone know how I would find out about that? Who would I contact?

Any other ideas for cheap lodging? I have looked at hostels, but they are not necessarily available everywhere. I know some churches will also allow groups to stay for little or no cost, but if we go for 3 or 4 nights, we would have to have showers available.

We will definitely be doing fundraisers and we expect it will be a more expensive trip. But we need to keep it manageable for this age. Some possible destinations are Colorado, Chicago, Branson or St. Louis, but they are just beginning to plan. Anything is possible!

Any help or suggestions would be apppreciated!

[Peggy]

Kathy,

When I was a Girl Scout Leader (several years ago), there were Girl Scout "houses" where you could stay on trips with your troop. You would bring along sleeping bags and groceries and just make yourselves at home. The expense was very minimal. I don't know if they have them all over the US but they did on the West Coast. Call you council and inquire with them.

Peggy

[kgraham]

Former Girl Scout checking in. :) I have to say Girl Scout trips were some of the best and most memorable trips I took growing up. Looking back, I am amazed at some of the places our leaders arranged for us to stay while on our longer trips. They were very creative!

For university housing over the summer, I would just call the department on campus that handles housing (at the university I attended it was called University Housing Services or something like that) and they should be able to point you in the right direction. Our troop never stayed in this type of accomodation for our summer trips so I'm not sure how inexpensive it would be, but it definitely exists.

Places we did stay on summer trips with my troop included YWCA's, campgrounds (both state parks and KOA-type places), churches, community centers and even the backyard of relatives of members of the troop. Oh and I think some GS councils may have properties they rent out to other troops - I seem to remember the place we stayed in Galveston was owned by the GS Council there. I'm pretty sure we had showers available at most of these places, but not necessarily every day of our trip.

Have fun!

[misskitty100]

I know in Washington state you can reserve furnished housing that was formerly used by the military. They post photos on the web and many are very, very nice. I don't recall exact pricing but I think it was around $100.00 a night and usually slept a ton of people and came with bathrooms/kitchen/bedrooms etc. Most were located in coastal areas so you had lots of beach access too.

If any of the mothers in your group belonged to a sorority, you might be able to contact those houses to see if you could stay there. I think that would be really fun for the girls and it might even be free.

[mbrogier]

As for Chicago, you can stay in Shaumburg, which is a lot less expensive. There are those extended stay places and the Country Inn and Suites type places. There are both of these near the Woodfield Mall (one of the biggest malls in the US). You can drive to O'hare airport in the morning and park in their cheap parking to take the EL downtown. (you will want to make sure you do not take the EL late at night, especially the one out to O'Hare) You can buy cards that allow you to use the EL cheaply. COSTCO sells Citypasses at a discount online. The citypasses www.citypass.com allow you to see the sights for cheap. In Chicago, you get to go up to the top of the Hancock center, go to the Aquarium (and see the show--well worth it!), the planetarium, the Field Museum, the Museum of Science and Industry, and The Art Institute. Each of the museums are around $20 for an adult, but the citypass is $45 on COSTCO's site. I don't know how much it is for kids.

The Entertainment books that are sold for fundraisers usually have a card that gives you discounts on hotels as well. I used one and Stayed at a Springhill Suites for $40. I think there is a Springhill Suites by the mall as well. This mall is really nice and is in a great part of town. My school is in the back of the parking lot.