Step By Step Guide To Planning A Vacation On A Budget

Summer has arrived, the children are suffering from cabin fever, and everybody is ready to take a family vacation. But money is low and you are thinking that a family vacation is not an option or you have to take a stay-cation. Guess what, that is not the case! In this article, I will list several vacation ideas that will save you time and moneyand give you a step-by-step guide towards planning your perfect vacation.

When our family was smaller, this process was a little easier because it seems like the whole world is based on your family size not exceeding FOUR! Well, we are now a family of 6 and the standard hotel room with 2 double beds is just not an option; at least not for stays longer than 2 nights. Airfare would eat up more than of our budget, food would take up the other , and I will not even start on the theme park tickets. So what is a family to do?

Decide what type of vacation your family wants to take: adventure, relaxation, beaches and sun, theme parks, or history and culture.

Adventure vacations and sandy beach vacations are the most cost-effective vacations.

Adventure vacations include low-cost outdoor activities such as fishing, hiking, bike riding, and camping. This type of vacation is ideal for older children.

Top Adventurous Destinations Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee Park City, Utah Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona Yosemite National Park, California Moab, Utah Glacier National Park, Montana Olympic National Park, Washington, Acadia National Park, Maine

Sandy beach vacations are also economical and include surfable waves, sandcastle building, great dining, and mile long boardwalks. This type of vacation is ideal for all ages especially babies and toddlers.

Best Family Beaches in US Coronado Beach, Calif. Nantucket Island, Mass. Newport Beach, Calif. Santa Barbara, Calif. Siesta Key, Fla. Duck, N.C. Hilton Head, S.C. Myrtle Beach, S.C. South Padre Island, Texas

* If you decide to take a theme park vacation, find out if your bank or employer offers discounted tickets. Avoid purchasing tickets on EBay or Craig’s List, unless it is from a reliable seller or broker. Also, many theme parks now offer the convenience of child swap. With child swap, one parent can wait in line with the older children while the other parent goes up the handicap ramp with the smaller children. When the other parent gets off the ride, you swap and get right on the ride without waiting in line again. GENIUS!

Decide how you will get there: fly, train, bus or car.

Your most affordable option would be to drive. Even if you find a great deal on air fare, chances are you will still need to rent a car once you land, so cut out the middle man and drive. However, if you do decide the fly and rent a car, rent your car or purchase your airfare from www.priceline.com where you can ‘Name your Price’ and save money, many times more than the regular price.

Choose the best time for your family to travel: peak or off peak.

You will find cheaper deals if you travel during the off peak seasons. This season depends on the location. Orlando’s peak season begins around May/June and ends August 10th. I use that as a guide to plan my vacations. Try to steer clear of traveling on holiday weekends; you would save more money by taking the day off the following week.

Accommodations: vacation home, hotel, or condo.

Vacation homes are great when traveling with a big group of people. You live a large home for a week and you also have the company of other adults and hopefully other children to keep your children busy. If you are considering a vacation homes, you will need to book your home several months in advance and you have to tidy up after yourselves everyday.

I would consider a standard hotel room if you have a small family and are looking for last-minute travel because they are more readily available. A couple problems with standard hotel rooms include the lack of privacy for the adults and the need to go out for food every day, which can add up to several hundreds of dollars on food alone. Hotwire or Priceline (Name your Price) have the best deals for stand hotel rooms. Hotwire, will also list suite options. Caution: with these two sites you pick your location, star rating required, and price you are willing pay. After the purchase is made, you will find out which hotel was chosen for your accommodations. I have used Priceline many, many times and have never been disappointed and have been upgraded to a higher star hotel the majority of the time.

My absolute favorite accommodation is a condo because it encompasses the best of all worlds. Parents and children have their own living and sleeping areas, housekeeping is available and they are equipped with full kitchens. You can save hundreds of dollars using the kitchen to prepare easy meals for breakfast and dinner. Most condos will also have a washer and dryer in your room. You can use the washer and dryer to wash all your clothes before returning home making it so much easier to unpack.

Another option is to take a time share tour; I know it sucks spending 2-3 hours of your day on the tour, but you can get a 1 or 2 bedroom condo at an unbelievable rate. To find time share deals, simply call the reservations department of the hotel you are considering and ask if you would receive a discounted rate for taking a time share tour. Another option is www.wyndham-vacations.com. This site rents out available 1-3 bedroom condos on time share properties without taking a time share tour.

Every family is different and must decide what is most important for them, location, transportation, entertainment or accommodations. Whatever you choose, spend the most money on what is most important and skimp on everything else. So if you want to go to Hawaii, you will spend the most money on airfare and you will have to skimp on entertainment and accommodations, but at least you made it to Hawaii.

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