Step By Step Guide To Planning A Vacation On A Budget

Summer time is here, cabin fever has set in and the entire family is ready to take a vacation. However, if you are one of many families who cannot splurge on a fancy family vacation, don't get discouraged. In this article, I will list several budget-friendly vacation ideas that are great for all families.

If you are like me, you are faced with the task of planning a fun and exciting vacation that everyone will love and that is economical. When we were only a family of four, this process was much easier because it seems like the whole country is based on your family size not exceeding FOUR! We are now a family of 7 and the standard hotel room with 2 double beds is just not an option; at least not for stays longer than 2 nights. Airfare for larger families will completely break the budget, food will cost us a small fortune, which leaves us no money for theme park tickets, or maybe enough for just 1 day. So what is a family to do?

Choose what type of vacation you want 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 offer economical outdoor activities such as fishing, hiking, bike riding, and camping. This vacation theme is perfect 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. Siesta Key, Fla. Duck, N.C. Hilton Head, S.C. Myrtle Beach, S.C. South Padre Island, Texas

* However, if you are committed to taking a theme park vacation, check with your bank or employer to see if they offer discounted tickets. Do not purchase tickets from EBay or Craig's List, unless it is from a reliable seller or broker because the last thing you want on your vacation is to find out, at the gate, that you purchased invalid tickets. What's great is that theme parks are offering child swap, where one parent can wait in line with the older children while the other parent goes up the handicap ramp with the younger children who isn't old enough to get on the ride. When the ride is over, you get right on the ride and avoid waiting in line again.

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

Driving your own car would save you the most money. Many people don't want to add miles to their car and decide to rent a car and that is fine too, but it will add additional costs. Even if you find cheap train, bus or airline tickets, consider the fact that you might still need to rent a car once you arrive at your destination, so get rid of the middle man and drive. If driving is not an option, check out www.priceline.com where you can 'Name your Price' on airfare and car rentals and save a significant amount of money.

Choose when to travel: peak or off peak.

Of course you will get the best deals during the off peak season. Orlando's busy season begins around May/June and ends August 10th. I use that as a guide to plan may vacations. Avoid holiday weekends; take the day off the following week and keep that extra money in your pocket.

Accommodations: vacation home, hotel, or condo.

If you are traveling with a large group, I would consider a vacation home. You get a huge home to hang out in for several days and you can laugh and enjoy your vacation with other adults and maybe other children to keep your children occupied. Because of the low inventory of vacation homes, they need to be booked several months in advance and you have to clean up after yourselves daily.

Standard hotel rooms are great for small families, there is a larger inventory of standard rooms, and they provide housekeeping. However, with hotel rooms there is no privacy for the parents and you have to eat at restaurants every day, which can total up to over $500 for food alone. If you are looking for a standard room, Hotwire or Priceline (Name your Price) are your best options. Caution: with these two sites you don't know where you will stay until you have purchased the room. I have used Priceline on several occasions and have always been pleased with my accommodations and have been upgraded to a higher star hotel on many occasions.

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.

To keep the cost of the condo affordable, I would consider taking a time share tour. I know no one wants to spend 2-3 hours of your day on the tour, but you can get a great 1 or 2 bedroom condo at an incredible rate. To find time share deals, simply call the reservations department of the hotel you are interested in and ask them if you would receive a discounted rate for taking a time share tour. Another option is www.wyndham-vacations.com. This site rents out 1-3 bedroom condos on time share properties that are available without having to take 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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