This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Hampton by Hilton. The opinions and text are all mine. Growing up my family traveled quite a bit and my fondest memories as a child are related to travel experiences. As a teenager and during my college years I subscribed to travel magazines and dreamed of exotic destinations and thought: someday I will be able to travel. I thought that travel was unattainable for me: I didn’t think I made enough money and then when kids came along travel seemed even harder, it just felt like it was never the right time. Two years ago I decided to follow my heart and give my travel dreams a real chance and what I discovered is that all you need to make travel a reality is to embrace travel far and near as a form to discover new things, explore new experiences and share special memories with those you love.
Hampton by Hilton understands what it means to be a Seekender: those people like me that see weekends as a travel opportunity, taking advantage of every opportunity to explore and discover new places and new experiences. They also conducted a survey that found that 65% of Latinos value experiences vs. materials when it comes to their bucket lists. So we wanted to share how this Latino family makes travel possible even with a full time job, kids and a limited budget. Here are our best tips:
- Take advantage of every weekend, holiday and vacation. A weekend can be enough for you and your family to travel to a new destination or discover something new in your own back yard. We try to go somewhere new at least once a month and we have discovered so many amazing destinations and great experiences on short trips.
- Travel does not have to involve passports or plane tickets. You do not have to go far to explore a new place and enjoy unforgettable first time experiences. 61% of Hispanics say traveling somewhere they’ve never been before best describes their idea of an escape and sometimes there are wonderful things to discover just a short road trip away or even in your own back yard, so an escape does not have to be expensive or far! Start by checking out tourist destinations and activities in your own city or town. I have lived in Southwest Florida for over 6 years and recently we took a historic walking tour of downtown Fort Myers: it was so much fun and we learned so much history about the place we call home.
- Find options that fit your schedule and budget instead of waiting for the right moment to start traveling. We love to take small road trips and staycations and our monthly budget already includes travel, all we had to do was cut down on eating out and other small things. I also sign up for travel deals and am flexible so when a good last minute flight offer comes around I take the plunge and book it. Last minute travel can be really exciting and really cheap! And no matter if we are traveling far or near staying at an affordable, family friendly hotel that provides lots of value for your money like Hampton by Hilton makes a huge difference.
- Focus on experiences and find ways to save. When we travel we research and find free and cheap things to do in the area we are visiting. We look at websites like Groupon and restaurants.com to save and we minimize what we spend on restaurants by buying sandwiches at supermarkets or local delis and enjoying a picnic at a local park or beach. We also plan to prepare at least some simple meals in the hotel and buy drinks at the supermarket so we look for hotels with a refrigerator and microwave or a kitchenette like Hampton by Hilton.
- Focus on creating family memories. I have found that there is nothing more rewarding than sharing travel memories as a family and it seems I am not alone. 90% of Hispanics feel that WHO they go on a trip with is more important than where they’re going and for our family traveling together has made us bond, has drawn us together and helped us learn so much about each other by sharing what each one of loves about travel.
Thanks to Hampton by Hilton we got the opportunity to explore Venice Beach Florida. Just an hour away from us Venice has so much to offer for Seekender families like ours!
Exploring Venice Beach
Known as the shark tooth capital of the world, Venice’s beaches are filled with fossil shark teeth. Since my son’s favorite animal is the shark and because both him and I are huge fans of fossils looking for shark teeth was at the top of our list. We discovered that finding shark teeth is quite a science but also a lot of fun and getting there early is key. That is why we took advantage of Hampton’s On the Run™ Breakfast Bags so we got to the beach before anyone else and also got to enjoy a picnic breakfast and our coffee on the beach for the first time!
There is a lot more than fossil shark teeth in Venice and after a morning of beach fun and fossil hunting we decided to try our luck fishing on the Venice Fishing Pier. You don’t need a fishing license to fish from the pier and you can rent a fishing pole for the day. Neither of the kids had ever fished and we all had a lot of fun sharing this new experience together and even caught a fish!
After fishing we enjoyed the sunset while eating fresh seafood at Sharky’s, a local favorite restraurant right on the beach. The next day we headed north to Sarasota where we visited Sarasota Jungle Gardens where we all had the opportunity to feed the flamingos: another first!
There is such a great feeling about doing something for the first time or checking something off your bucket list and according to Hampton by Hilton’s survey 72% of (working) Hispanic Boomers agree: they think that checking all the activities off their ‘bucket list’ would make them feel more accomplished than getting promoted to an executive level position. I can relate to that!
What we loved about our experience at Hampton Inn by Hilton
- The best hot free breakfast! When we travel I usually look for hotels that include free breakfast as saving on breakfast is a huge help for a family of four. The Hampton Inn by Hilton we stayed at in Venice had by far the best free breakfast I’ve had in any hotel: there was a great variety from waffles which the kids enjoyed making themselves, to scrambled eggs, sausage and french toast to warm oatmeal with dried fruit, cereal, yogurt and fresh fruit. The service during breakfast was also impecable and everything was so clean! I also loved that you can take your breakfast to go so you don’t have to waste time sitting down and waiting for the kids to finish eating, which sometimes takes forever.
- Their clean and fresh Hampton bed® guarantee makes me feel comfortable about where my kids sleep. Hampton by Hilton duvet covers & sheets are cleaned for the next guest after every stay a a yellow post-it note on the headboard of each bed reminds you everything is clean and fresh.
- Great service and attention to details. From the front desk to the staff serving the breakfast everyone was so nice and friendly. I also loved that if you forget any of your toiletries you can get them for free at the front desk. We always forget something and it was great to know that at the Hampton by Hilton you don’t have to worry about having to spend on those little things you might have forgotten.
- Free WiFi. When traveling we need to stay connected, not only so we can share with you all about our Seekender adventures but it’s also important for us because we can research destinations, look for coupons and book reservations.
- Refrigerator and microwave. Hampton by Hilton hotels have regular rooms as well as suites and even the regular room we stayed in included a small refrigerator (not a tiny one but a refrigerator that has lots of room) and a microwave. This means you can bring your drinks, snacks and even reheat a soup or restaurant leftovers in your room which is so convenient and saves you money and lets Seektender families take advantage of their weekends to the maximum.
- Hilton HHonors rewards are a great way to save, we are members and with each stay in a Hilton hotel including Hampton by Hilton we earn points that we can later redeem for free night stays. Hilton HHonors members can log into their accounts and choose their exact room from a digital floor plan, as well as customize their room prior to arrival with amenity requests. I love being able to choose my room before we leave for our adventure.
Are you a Seekender? How do you take advantage of your weekends? Make sure to visit the Seekender.com website and share your weekend travel adventures using #WeGoTogether and #Sweepstakesenntry hashtags for a chance to win a weekend getaway with Hampton by Hilton!
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Hampton by Hilton. The opinions and text are all mine.
Paula studied architecture and now makes a living as a freelance writer,traveler and amateur photographer.She started her writing & publishing career as the editor of Bebé y Mamá, the first parenting magazine in Guatemala.She is the founder of www.GrowingUpBilingual.com and www.365thingsswfl.com and writes articles in Spanish and English for both magazines and the web on travel,food and bicultural and bilingual parenting .
When she is not on a plane or road trip she likes to create recipes inspired in the flavors of her native Guatemala.
- Guatemalan Dulce de Chilacayote Recipe (Crystalized Chilacayote Candy) - February 26, 2024
- Guatemalan Naranjas en Miel Recipe (Candied Oranges Recipe) - February 25, 2024
- Traditional Guatemalan Candy - February 25, 2024
Tienes mucha razón, no siempre tenemos que ir lejos para disfrutar de unas vacaciones y buen tiempo en familia. Se ve que lo disfrutaron mucho.
looks like a you and your family had a lovely stay at the hilton 🙂 i don’t tihnk i have ever stayed at their hotel.
Muchas gracias por los tips me encantaron, sin duda no es necesario sacar el pasaporte para comenzar a viajar y conocer nuevos lugares. Preciosas las fotos!
Que bellos momentos en familia!!
Paula you don’t know how much you just inspired me! I need to make a plan to make it possible ya! I love your tip: Find options that fit your schedule and budget instead of waiting for the right moment to start traveling. We stayed at a Hampton in Las Vegas, close to Red Rock and we really enjoyed it. We went with for Pablo’s baseball team and the breakfast were perfect to feed them before the games. In my case I love the complimentary coffee.
Yes, my best memories from my childhood were doing “turismo interno” in Puerto Rico. Love it!
Gracias por darnos tan buenisimos tips y lo que resumo es que la verdad no debemos poner pretextos hay que viajar y ya =)
These are great tips that are relevant to families with varying economic situations. Thank you!
Paula sigo tus viajes, gracias por compartir tus consejos y también la idea de que seguir nuestros sueños es posible! Saludos!
Los niños reciben un montón de conocimiento en los viajes, creo que es la mejor manera de darles a conocer muchas cosas (historia/geografía/ciencias/sociales/arte/) son solo algunas de las materias que podemos reforzar en nuestros hijos con cada viaje… y creo también que comenzar con el lugar donde vivimos es lo mejor… gracias por los datos que ayudan hacer más fácil unas vacaciones.
Woow se ve espectacular!
A mi me encanta viajar y veo que mi hija también lo disfruta mucho. Tenemos la suerte de que en California hay centenares de lugares maravillosos y tratamos de visitar lo que más podamos.
El hotel se ve muy bueno, ideal para las familias.