{"id":274383,"date":"2026-06-22T20:05:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T20:05:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/274383\/"},"modified":"2026-06-22T20:05:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T20:05:12","slug":"summer-camps-have-gotten-so-expensive-that-nyc-parents-are-sending-their-kids-abroad-to-save-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/274383\/","title":{"rendered":"Summer camps have gotten so expensive that NYC parents are sending their kids abroad to save money"},"content":{"rendered":"

Like many New York City parents<\/a>, Marva Babel has willingly paid upwards of $8,000 to send her tween daughter to an upstate sleepaway camp for the past few summers.<\/p>\n

It was a pricey way for the Brooklyn resident\u2019s 12-year-old, Aleim Tucker, to escape the city for a few short months \u2014 but to Babel, it was money well spent.<\/p>\n

A wrench was soon thrown into the family\u2019s summer plans when Babel closed her Crown Heights cocktail bar, which she co-owned with her twin sister. <\/p>\n

As a result, she and her husband no longer had that type of cash to shell out \u2014 but they were still adamant about giving their daughter a rewarding, fun-filled summer \u2014 one, as Babel puts it, off her iPad and outdoors in nature.<\/p>\n

The Brooklyn mom began her quest for more affordable summer camp alternatives and found one \u2014 in Morocco.<\/p>\n

Marva Babel posing with her 12-year-old, Aleim Tucker, as they get ready for international summer camp. Olga Ginzburg for the N.Y. Post<\/p>\n

\u201cI took a look at the numbers and everything, and it was much, much, much cheaper,\u201d a shocked Babel told The Post, noting that the camp came out to about $800 total. \u201cLike, crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Babel\u2019s daughter\u2019s goal is to be a competitive swimmer, but she found herself striking out when searching for a local option.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was looking at swim camps, and it was just so expensive \u2014 like, beyond expensive,\u201d the Brooklyn mom said.\u00a0\u201cI felt like she\u2019s not going to get a substantial amount of practice and support to become a competitive swimmer the way she would like to, because I just can\u2019t afford to give that to her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tucker is a competitive swimmer, so the reasonably priced summer camp in Morocco seemed to be a great idea for the family. Olga Ginzburg for the N.Y. Post<\/p>\n

Then, after learning from a friend who had already enrolled her son in a Moroccan swim camp run by a former Olympian in the capital city of Rabat \u2014 Babel was immediately intrigued.<\/p>\n

Even with flights and lodging for both of them, Babel spent between $4,600 and $5,000 for the entire trip to Morocco, roughly half of her daughter\u2019s previous camp \u2014 plus she\u2019s getting an international vacation and giving her daughter the experience she couldn\u2019t get closer to home.<\/p>\n

This will be Babel\u2019s first time sending her daughter to camp abroad. Olga Ginzburg for the N.Y. Post<\/p>\n

\u201cI went to Morocco, to Marrakesh, once about three years ago and had a great time,\u201d she told The Post.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Babel\u2019s solution may seem extreme to some, but certainly not to parents in the tri-state area<\/a>.<\/p>\n

With costs ballooning for both traditional sleepaway camps and day camps, close to $20,000 for a seven-week session, parents in online groups<\/a> and WhatsApp group chats are scrambling.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even with the costs of flights and accommodations, the 12-year-old\u2019s international swim camp is still cheaper than camp in the US. Olga Ginzburg for the N.Y. Post<\/p>\n

The price of camps \u201chas gone up exponentially in the last number of years,\u201d Patti Roberts, better known as \u201cThe Summer Camp Lady<\/a>,\u201d confirmed to The Post. <\/p>\n

Roberts has been advising parents on the best getaways for their children for more than three decades and said she\u2019s seen tuition fees \u201cjust keep going up and up and up.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

On average, she said, parents can expect to pay between $14,000 and $17,000 for popular sleepaway camps in Maine, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire, where children leave the city and spend the summer swimming, learning sports, connecting with nature and making lifelong friendships. <\/p>\n

For day camps, which function more like a typical school day and feature instruction in everything from math to dance, prices now run between $10,000 and $12,000.<\/p>\n

NYC parents are struggling with how expensive camps in the US have become. rufar \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n

\u201cIt sounds ridiculous, and I shouldn\u2019t be saying it, but for the amount of money that you could send two or three children to camp for the summer, you could go rent a house in Tuscany,\u201d Roberts pointed out.<\/p>\n

And for many families, paying for camp is not optional.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Two-earner households are now the norm nationwide,<\/a> meaning camp is not just an enriching summer experience but also a childcare necessity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSummer camp is incredibly expensive; the cost is rising incredibly quickly, similar to child care costs, and on average, the weekly cost of summer camp is more expensive than the weekly cost of daycare,\u201d Paige Connell, a Boston-based advocate, content creator, and mother of four, told The Post.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Not to completely give up on sending their young ones to camp, NYC parents are exploring their international options. Arthur Mansavage \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n

On her TikTok<\/a> and Instagram<\/a> accounts, where she has more than 700,000 followers combined, Connell focuses on advocating for working mothers and for policies, including paid leave and universal childcare, and says that summer camp is part of the puzzle that often gets overlooked.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe look at summer camp as a \u2018nice to have,\u2019 and not a necessity \u2014 and it absolutely is,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Faced with paying for a used car to send their kids to summer camp, though, some parents are getting creative.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For the past several summers, Maddy Novich<\/a>\u2019s three children have been signed up for every sort of camp imaginable, from LEGO engineering camp to nature camp, and at an affordable price.\u00a0<\/p>\n

None of those camps, however, has been in the US.<\/p>\n

Jeff (L) and Maddy Novich are happily sending their children to summer camp outside the US for various reasons. Olga Ginzburg for the N.Y. Post<\/p>\n

Novich, a college professor<\/a>, lives in Harlem with her family during the school year, but in the summer, they hit the road.<\/p>\n

Her kids have now done camps in Edinburgh, Amsterdam, and Krakow, Poland. This summer, they are headed to sleepaway camp in Switzerland.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce you\u2019re in Europe, you have access to a wide range of camps at different price points,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Novich and her husband first got the idea to check out camps abroad on a family vacation to Amsterdam.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Novich helping her two youngsters, Salone (R) and Marlow (L), pack for their 11-week camp in Europe. Olga Ginzburg for the N.Y. Post<\/p>\n

\u201cI turned to my husband and said, \u2018You know, if we were in New York, our kids would be in a summer camp right now. Maybe they have that experience here in Amsterdam,\u2019\u201d she recalled. \u201cI did a very quick search, and lo and behold, Amsterdam is one of those cities that has a ton of summer camp options.\u201d<\/p>\n

And while a week of day camp back home could run close to $1,000 per week, Novich was surprised to find options abroad to be much more affordable \u2014 more like 350 Euros, or about $401 per week, equaling a little over $4,000 for an entire 11-week itinerary. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just about the money, though \u2014 it\u2019s about what the whole family is getting out of the experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we did it for the first time, we were, like, wow,\u201d she said. \u201cMy husband and I went to this fancy lunch, we went to the art museum, and we read the plaques \u2014 you know, we really enjoyed our time. We had a vacation, our kids had a vacation, and then we had time together.\u201d<\/p>\n

The three siblings excited for their summer abroad. Olga Ginzburg for the N.Y. Post<\/p>\n

\u201cI think once people try it, they will really realize how amazing it is for everybody,\u201d said the Harlem resident of her family\u2019s experience. \u201cEverybody wins.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, Novich acknowledges that her family\u2019s ability to spend multiple weeks abroad may not be attainable for some.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Novich loves the fact that she can give her kids a little dose of culture each summer. <\/p>\n

Her husband can work his tech job remotely while they are abroad, and as a professor, she has summers off. She also relies on savvy strategies to make the summer even more affordable, like home swaps.<\/p>\n

\u201cHome exchange is a very interesting way to travel with children, because you swap your house with other families wherever you go,\u201d she said. \u201cSo, housing is free, essentially.\u201d<\/p>\n

And by spending their summers with children from other countries \u2014 they ensure the staff at each camp speaks English \u2014 Novich\u2019s kids get a little extra dose of culture.<\/p>\n

From a previous summer, the three tots abroad.<\/p>\n

\u201cKids don\u2019t need to speak the same language to have a great time,\u201d she said. \u201cThe other kids didn\u2019t speak English, but it didn\u2019t matter because they had this universal language of play. The kids would have a great time, whether they spoke the same language or not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roberts, the camp advisor, said that she hates to see parents opt out of camp because of high costs, because sleepaway camps in particular provide so much for kids.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re giving your child a gift,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd that gift is independence, but with people who are like parents running it. That\u2019s where they learn how to make new friends and try new things, but without mom and dad controlling the narrative.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roberts said she\u2019s watched as camps she\u2019s worked with struggle to absorb rising inflation in recent years and work to offer creative solutions to ensure kids can afford to attend.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Many camps are offering shorter sessions, two or three weeks instead of seven, at proportionally lower costs; some \u201calso offer scholarships because they want kids to experience camp,\u201d she noted.<\/p>\n

Connell also sees parents pooling resources to cobble together a summer that doesn\u2019t break the bank.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI know that in my mom group chat, we all will text each other the different camps we\u2019re looking at, how much they cost, what the hours are, what weeks we think we\u2019re going to go, like we as a collective research and share information,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She also advises parents, who are tempted to take out loans or go into debt to pay for high-rated camps, not to compare their situation to other families.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026my advice is to kind of relieve yourself of that pressure, if you can, and figure out what is the best version for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

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