5 Tips for a Less Stressful Vacation (Hint – I Saved Time & Money w/ Walmart+ Grocery Delivery!)
We are sharing five tips to have a more relaxing vacation, including how a Walmart+ grocery delivery saves you TONS of time!
Walmart grocery delivery & my Walmart+ membership comes to the rescue again – this time on vacation! 🙌
Most everyone loves to travel, but sometimes travel can also be stressful. Luckily, a Walmart+ membership can help!
If you’re preparing for a fun summer vacation, I’m here to share a few of our team’s tips for making your trip go off without a hitch. We learned the hard way so you don’t have to!
One of the best pieces of advice repeated by multiple team members, is to snag yourself a Walmart+ membership! Read on for our top 5 tips for a stress-free vacation, and how I used my Walmart+ membership both before AND during my recent vacation.
Not a Walmart+ member yet? Sign up for a FREE 30-day trial today!
1. Have a Walmart+ grocery delivery send food right to your vacation home.
Are you staying in a vacation home? If so, you’ll want to make sure you have plenty of snacks and meals on hand! Instead of spending part of your vacation in the grocery store, why not use your Walmart+ membership to order online and have Walmart grocery delivery bring the food right to your door?
That’s what I recently did when we headed to Tennessee for vacation! Walmart+ grocery delivery, which is free on orders $35 or more (exclusions apply), will deliver EVERYTHING you could need! We forgot conditioner and guess what? I didn’t even have to leave the house to get more.
It’s so easy, so convenient, and I loved that we saved money by not eating out for every single meal. That meant more fun and more pool time!
Plus, if you decide you don’t need something and want to make a return, Walmart will come back and pick up the item for free!
This tip gets our number 1 spot because Walmart grocery delivery truly saves you so much stress and time – our entire team genuinely raves about their Walmart+ memberships on a daily basis. Whether you’re on vacation or having a staycation, you can skip time at the store and get right to making more memories with your loved ones. 📸
HIP TIP: If you do have to shop in-store, use Walmart’s Scan-and-Go app to skip the checkout lines and find special in-store savings! It’s. A. Game. Changer! 🙌
2. Create an itinerary so you don’t miss a thing.
To help you have an unforgettable trip, spend a few weeks prior to your vacation planning out a sample itinerary. You can still leave room for spontaneity, but a little advanced planning can give you time to find the best prices, deals, and coupons. Do your research on the web, or buy a travel guide to help you see the sights.
Knowing some of the following can help cut down stress as you sight-see:
- When and where you can get FREE parking
- The run times, ticket cost, and location of public transportation
- The location of the nearest hospital, post office, firehouse, and police station
- Affordable lodging
- Popular restaurants, local attractions, and free things to do
“I was always annoyed as a kid that my mom made itineraries because I like to wing it LOL….but now that I’m a mom I find myself doing the exact same thing to maximize our trips. 🤣 I like doing a rough itinerary and making a list of fun things to do in the area….best beaches to visit, hikes, water parks, etc., then another list for food….where to grocery shop, best restaurants, where to grab ice cream late on a Tuesday, etc. It takes a lot of stress off of everyone when you have the solid options and depending on the day you can go do them.
Also PARKING! So important to know anywhere you go where parking is. I find that so stressful in cities/beaches/etc. that I don’t know. And this really saved me one year in the Hamptons because I didn’t know the majority of parking was permit parking.” – Sara, Hip teammate
“I am one who makes an itinerary with options. Are they color coded? Yes. Are there clickable links? Yes, 😆 but I always tell my family/friends nothing is set in stone, it just makes decisions that much easier.” – Rachel, Hip teammate
3. Use your Walmart+ membership to save on fuel.
If you’re taking a road trip, you’re going to want to know this tip that my Hip teammate Chelsey shared with me: when you have a Walmart+ membership, you can save up to 10¢ off per gallon at over 14,000 participating fuel stations nationwide – including stations like Mobil and Exxon. The discount varies by location and station (and is subject to change), but any savings can really add up.
Members can save about $75 a year when they take advantage of this benefit! See Walmart+ terms and conditions for all the details!
4. Bring activities to keep the kiddos busy…
Every parent knows that kids can get restless on car trips and airplane rides. Chelsey also suggested that one way to encourage a smooth trip is to have snacks, travel games and activity books on hand.
If your kids aren’t fans of games, bring along a laptop or tablet and you can pop on a movie or show for them to enjoy.
“When we fly or go on a roadtrip, I always have a ton of snacks and fun items for the kiddos. It’s so much easier to bring stuff you know your kids will eat with you rather than paying $20 for a stick of gum at the airport. Plus, if you get stuck somewhere or have a long wait, snacks always help pass the time.” – Chelsey, Hip teammate
5. Tidy up before leaving so you can return home to a clean house.
Let’s face it, you’re going to be tired after traveling. The last thing anyone wants to do is return home to a messy house that needs to be cleaned, on top of unpacking and doing vacation laundry. If you clean up before you head out the door, that’s one less chore you’ll have waiting for you.
“I find vacation to be less stressful for myself if I know I’m coming home to a clean house when we get back. So I’m usually stressing much before, in order to get as much cleaning done as possible. 😆 It is an end of vacation gift to myself and then we can all just relax as a family and settle back into our daily routines easier.” – Amber, Hip teammate
So many of us are huge fans of Walmart grocery delivery & our Walmart+ membership!
Whether you are on vacation or you’re at home, there are so many fantastic benefits to having a Walmart+ membership. You can see Walmart+ terms and conditions for more, but here are a few that stand out to us the most:
- Fast and free shipping on $35+ orders of groceries and household essentials (restrictions apply)
- The ability to have your delivery go to a different address than your home address
- Fuel savings at over 14,000 gas stations nationwide including Mobil and Exxon (fuel discount varies by location & station, subject to change)
- The Scan and Go app which offers in-store savings and lets you skip the long checkout lines
- Early access to special deals, sales, & offers throughout the year
- Walmart picks up your returns right from your home
Unsure if this membership is right for you? There is a FREE 30-day trial!
If you decide you love it as much as we do, you’ll pay just $12.95/month after the trial ends.
Been a member about two years. It started when my BIL could no longer drive. He lives alone 7 hours away with no friends or family nearby. He tells me his grocery list and usually in less than 24 hours it’s sitting on his porch. I also send things to my 80+ parents who live on a farm. I use the gas discount, scan & go, price check and yesterday I ordered pet RX’s not to mention having my groceries delivered.
Oh wow! SO awesome that you’ve been able to help out your family by having their groceries delivered! Thanks for letting us know how helpful it has been for you! ❤️🎉🙌
Groceries get delivered at 10 PM or later here. That is a no for us. We don’t want to have some stranger at our door after dark nor do we want to put away groceries after we have gone to bed some nights.
Oh bummer! Sorry to hear that the deliveries are so late in your area. 😔
Don’t you pick the time for delivery?
You can have them delivered earlier during the day can’t you!
How does tipping work with Walmart+?
Hey Jess! I found this info on driver feedback and tipping on Walmart’s site for you –
“For items delivered from your local store with Walmart’s delivery service, you can tip your delivery driver and provide feedback on your delivery experience.
Keep in mind:
• Tips are optional and 100% go to the driver.
• You can choose to tip before or after placing your order or after delivery.
• You’re free to edit your tip amount for up to 24 hours after delivery.
• You have up to 14 days to add a tip for your delivery driver if you choose to leave a tip.”
Hoping this is helpful! 🤗💓
I use delivery because I hate shopping…worked in a grocery or retail store for 42 years. My issue is only with frozen foods especially in the Summer ..I have many times gotten ice cream that is completely thawed!! And tv dinners only 1/2 frozen. ..
Walmart is very prompt to fix issues though ..it’s just kind of a pain…but something I deal with for the service
Thanks for sharing about your experience, Lindah! 💗 I enjoy grocery delivery for the same reason! 🙌 Sorry to hear about some of your frozen items being thawed out when delivered, but glad to hear Walmart’s customer service has always been helpful with correcting the issue.
Instacart offers Walmart delivery in my area. Instacart prices are same as in-store prices.
SO awesome that they are priced the same on Instacart at your location, Jen2020! Thanks for sharing! 🥰
Just one word to the wise if you use express delivery keep it under 20 items. I’ve had two times I’ve had to call the Walmart hotline the next day because it times out. The ppl at corporate claim that express orders are shopped by the driver and are timed.
Oh wow! Thanks for mentioning this, Samantha! Good to know that express delivery is a good option for smaller orders. 💞
That’s super helpful info. I always have HUGE Walmart orders each week ($300+), so I now know not to try the express delivery (and instead opt for the regular options where the Walmart staff are doing the picking). I feel bad enough that the delivery drivers have to drive over 15 minutes away from the store with a trunk full of my groceries. I would hate for the driver to have to shop for it all, too! (I do always tip our drivers $15-$20 –though it’s not always a big percentage of the order total because my orders are so much.)
I have used grocery delivery for times when we stayed at vacation rentals. Great tip for H2S to point out! It was so wonderful to have groceries delivered on the evening we arrived, without having to go out and shop ourselves.
I get Walmart items delivered to my door anyway with certain orders for free (and always over $35), wondering how Walmart plus is a benefit to that. In that case is the only benefit gas and scan and go?
Hey Melissa! There are special offers that pop up as a Walmart+ member, such as freebies, and exclusive discounts for members (i.e. free trial to Sirius radio, free one-year membership to Pawp pet protection, etc.) Also, orders that ship have no delivery minimum, so it’s super nice to score online clearance with! The gas discounts and scan & go are great perks too. Walmart+ also includes a Paramount streaming subscription. Hoping this is helpful! 🥰
What!?! These are your travel tips??? Here are a few from a traveler-With kids:
1-Put all daily outfits in Hefty 2.5 gal bags, with child’s name and day of the week on the bag. No getting dressed questions! And you always have enough underwear/socks because they are all together!
2-Do not vacation house! Who wants to spend their vacation cleaning up someone else’s home? Get a spring hill suites if you are strapped for cash. So much cleaner and no psycho rules!
3-The best deal going is a cruise-Travel, food, entertainment and all in one! We find carnival has the best kids programs (hits more ages than Disney!) so we get free time and even a dinner or two alone!!!
4-Bring ziploc bags sandwich size with you always. Grab snacks from a breakfast buffet so you don’t need to buy these!
5-Don’t cheap out on experiences! (This is a no brainer!)
Thanks for sharing these tips with us, Dawn! 🥰 Putting outfits into individual bags for the trip sounds like a great idea to stay organized and minimize issues with getting kiddos dressed each day. ❤️
Is anyone else getting spammed like crazy when trying to read these posts?
I can’t read anything until I get rid of a bunch of ads.
So sorry about all the ads, Ana. 💓 Are you on a mobile device? For reference, I’m on Google Chrome on a laptop and while there are some ads in the sidebar, there don’t seem to be any covering the posts. Although we understand how ads can sometimes be annoying, they are an unnecessary evil as they help support the costs associated with keeping Hip2Save free to all readers. 🤗
I prefer Target Shipt because all of the shoppers have been really good, texting me any questions about substitutions while shopping (and being pretty smart about them, not random like some WM shoppers). They check to see if I want to add anything before they leave the store, and pick out the best produce (like they’re shopping for themselves). There’s even a way to pick “preferred shoppers” through Shipt.
Thanks for letting us know what delivery service you prefer, Maggie! 💖 Glad to hear how helpful and thoughtful your shoppers have been! 🥰
Another tip I just remembered from my cousin is to remember to pack your water filter pitcher (like a Clearly Filtered pitcher, Zero Water, etc.), or a portable countertop filtration unit (like a Travel Berkey etc.), and bring refillable water bottles. That way everybody can drink filtered tap water, just like at home….without ingesting a bunch of microplastics from single-use bottles. My cousin brought her awesome high-end fancy pitcher at a fam vacation rental, and everybody in fam kept refilling from it because it was so convenient (and tasted great).
Great tip! Thanks for sharing what has worked well to stay hydrated on your family vacations! 💓