Monday, August 3, 2026

Cost for a family trip to the Oregon coast

We've been trying to get back to the Oregon coast with my family since we sold our place. It's taken a while, and it was definitely hard to get all of the cousins together. We ended up with a great group, and finished it off with a family party at my parents house over the weekend. We were there for 5 nights & 6 days, total. 

As we left the airport yesterday, Sam said it was one of his favorite family trips, which was so nice to hear. My dad said something similar. All of the boys/cousins are at an age where they are adults & very enjoyable to spend time with, plus they all get along great. 


The Oregon coast, on a stunner of a day (Wednesday, I think)


Flights: $301.72, for four flights

All of the flights were broken up a bit, to use some United credits. Why were they all different costs? No idea. Mine is slightly lower likely due to a company discount I can use for personal travel.

  • My flight ($556), completely covered by a United credit, from the time United stranded me overnight in London, and then dropped me from business class to a middle economy seat. Good times. ;-) Bonus, I got upgraded to first class on the flight from SFO to Portland, which was an unexpected treat!
  • Sam's flight ($566), completely covered by a United credit, because Sam had originally planned to go to family weekend in Boulder last year & then couldn't make it due to work.
  • M's flight  ($611), completely covered by a United credit, leftover from my London debacle. 
  • Nick's flight to Seattle ($264), used Alaska miles. Paid $5.60 for taxes. Nick flew to Seattle on Friday, hung out with friends & then his friend drove him to my parents house. 
  • Nick's flight home ($353), covered partially by a United credit. Outstanding amount we paid = $296.12 

Transit: $434.88

  • Pre-paid parking at SFO airport - $96. Unfortunately, we had to fly in & out of SFO to use our United credits (United doesn't fly that route from our closer/preferred airport), and the cost to get to & from the airport is higher. I did research, and this is the cheapest option, by quite a stretch. This is also the "far away" parking, that requires 20-30 minutes of transit. Our flights were at reasonable times of the day vs late at night or super early, which made the less convenient parking more appealing. 
  • Car rental in Oregon - $228
  • Gas - $38.91 + $71.97

Food: $362.60
  • Groceries = $102.59 + 97.01+ 1.50 + 4.29 
  • Pizza = $120
  • Airport meal for the boys - $16.51
  • Beer - $13.05
  • Ice cream - $7.65

Lodging: $2443.32
I paid for a very large house on the Oregon coast, & covered the cost for everyone (family, plus my BFF + her daughter). This was much cheaper than finding hotels, which are in limited supplies on the Oregon coast, or finding several smaller, separate houses. We had a total of 11 people & spent 3 nights at the beach. 

Activities:
  • Walks on the beach
  • Meals out (largely covered by other folks)
  • Family party
  • Poker games
  • Happy hour on the back patio
Total spent for the trip = $3,542.52

Considering how many people we had, I think it was a pretty great deal! Of course, not captured here are the food costs everyone else spent, lest you think anyone went hungry. ;-)