The Best Summer Camp Hack for Parents

For those who can, there is a way around the horrible rat race of local summer camps: enroll your kids in summer camps abroad! Picture this: you travel as a family for a few weeks exploring new countries and cultures, working remotely when you need to (if this applies), vacationing some, and putting the kids in amazing camps where they make friends from around the world while having the experience of a lifetime.

Here’s the kicker: most camps in other countries are way cheaper than the ones in the US (not all camps, but many of them). For example: one day camp my kids are planning to attend in Portugal this year is €140/week (roughly equivalent to $160 at the time of this writing). Compare that to about $500/week (the average of a week of day camp in Boulder, Colorado where we live). That’s 68% cheaper for a week of camp!

And, the Portuguese camp runs from 9:30am to 5pm (longer than most Colorado day camps), and you can choose to include a delicious lunch every day for an extra €25/week ($29).

Amazing, right?!

Another camp we’re eyeing in Spain is a bit more expensive (roughly $500/week), but so worth it for the language learning and amazing extra family activity & community-building support they provide (this is super rare, not many camps go out of their way to provide this service to the whole family).

Be sure to plan some family time between remote working and kids’ summer camps. This is summer vacation after all! Find some great things to do as a family near where you are staying, so you and the kids will have time to connect and bond as a family while exploring new places and cultures.

Near Olé summer camp in Valencia, we’re planning to check out this underground cave boat tour, and also discover the home of paella (the famous Spanish rice dish) at this amazing park.

Around Porto, where the first summer camp is, we’ve got our eye on experiencing life as an 20th century explorer, checking out one of the best zoos in the country that’s renowned for its conservation programs, and exploring the beautiful nearby beaches, maybe even taking a surf lesson or two. (And they also have a kids summer camp for those who want even more surfing!)

So, this summer our plan is to hop around to a couple of countries, working remotely, while the kids go to a few amazing international summer camps. We will either rent our house in Colorado to make some $, or swap homes with people in other countries via HomeExchange to make lodging even more affordable and authentic-feeling. (Side note: HomeExchange has been totally amazing for us so far—post coming soon about how it works, pros & cons, etc.).