Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Don't Skip The Family Vacation - Travel Cheap

By Meghan Orton

When the school year ends, many families begin planning their summer activities, including beach days, pool days, movie days, barbeques, baseball games, and of course the much anticipated summer vacation. This summer, because of the economy, very few kids are getting to take that vacation with their families. Everyone seems to say they will take a vacation next year when the economy gets better, however, it does not have to be all or nothing. In fact, because of the economic situation, there are more travel deals and the ability for your family to travel affordably is possible.

A cheap family vacation is not going to happen tomorrow - sorry. However, if you have the energy and willingness to do a little bit of extra work and research, you will find the travel deals you are looking for and you will also be able to plan you trip in no time.

The first thing you will want to do to find great deals on travel is get on a list - there are a lot out there so subscribe to as many as you want! There are services and programs for travel, frequent fliers, frequent guests, various reward programs, and other deals that you can find on the many travel sites online today. Usually you have to sign up for their email alerts or belong to their customer rewards program or customer loyalty program. Whatever the method, it's a great way to get notified of the best deals.

The date of your trip is one of the most important details because it not only has to work with everyone in your family's schedule, but it also has to work with your budget. Although tomorrow might work for everyone, it is probably not the cheapest way to go. Try planning in advance to find the best deals for travel. Additionally, usually when you schedule your trip on dates during the middle of the week, the price drops.

Depending on the flexibility with your destination you might have a better chance at getting a better deal. Higher populated areas, cities, and resorts tend to offer the better deals because they have more hotels and places to stay which ultimately translates into more vacancies. A hotel would rather give you a great deal then leave the room vacant, so if you can plan your trip to a more populated area, do so - you will save money on your accommodation.

Once you have determined where to go and when, it can still be somewhat difficult to finalize the beginning stages of the planning process because they involve such a large amount of money. Before you even get to your destination, you have to pay for so many things and it is almost enough to convince you out of going on vacation. Before you back out, try being your own travel agent and looking for the package deals that many companies offer online. Most of the time you can book your hotel, airfare, even a rental car, and save money doing it because you pay for everything at once.

Once you arrive to your destination, you will definitely need to make sure you have budgeted for food - you have to eat and chances are you won't be close to a kitchen. To avoid unnecessary food costs, ask the hotel to look the mini bar and request for a mini fridge where you can store food to snack on. Eat this food before you go out and at night when you are hungry. Also, if possible, before you visit attractions eat so that you avoid paying for high-priced food items.

The thing that makes every vacation memorable is the time you spend together with your family participating in fun activities that you do not usually do on an everyday basis. However, if you want to go to the local theme park for a day or two the cost can easily rise, making your vacation more expensive than desirable. Luckily, there are a lot of discounts available, including coupons, special passes, and even deals that you might get from your hotel. And, even though everyone loves the extravagant activities, there is also something to be said about spending time together as a family and that can be done walking around site seeing, visiting a museum, or even going to the park.

Affordable family vacations are actually possible in this economy if you are willing to put in a little bit of effort and find that great deal. If you are ready to go on your vacation, start looking for deals now. The faster you find the deal, the faster your family can begin their vacation!

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