By Terry Hudson
Have you been thinking it would be nice to treat your family to a fun and affordable family vacation? Question for you. What steps have you taken to determine your family's preferences? Is everyone together on a destination? Have you set a budget? What is it that all family members can be flexible on? Do you have to fly... or, can you drive?
Before leaving on any trip, it's best to sit down and make notes of the top 5 vacation ideas that might be suitable for everyone in your family. Is it going to be a ski trip, a river rafting trip, a cruise, a trip to the Caribbean or Mexico? Do you want to save money this coming year and maybe try camping? Whatever you decide on, the next step is to determine what your budget will be. Once you have those two steps completed, you can spend a little time poking around on the Internet.
Not many people know this, but you can save a significant amount of time researching affordable family vacations by using quotes (" ") in your search. For instance, if you were searching for river rafting vacation... without quotes you would get around 670,000 pages of information, lots of them duplicated. On the other hand, if you were to type "river rafting vacation" in quotes, you would get 9870 relevant results. In fact, I do almost all of my Internet searches using quotes as it saves a lot of time. Go ahead and spend an hour or two looking around on the Internet. Now discuss what you find with other family members and attempt to hone in on three destinations or, if everyone is in agreement, it's time to do some serious research.
Every family has its own level of affordability. Determine if you want to fly or drive. If your destination is within 500 hundred miles, it might make a lot more sense to drive. But before you plan a trip in your family vehicle, consider a rental. It may be cheaper to rent than put a thousand hard miles on your own car. Wear and tear on your car is something to keep in mind. Besides, current model SUV's or vans offer a lot of creature comfort and could possibly add an additional bit of excitement to your family vacation pleasure.
Another consideration is lodging. Have you every considered a vacation rental? Affordable vacation rentals offer several alternatives to traditional hotels. If you have a mid-size family of five, you can spend a lot of money on meals. Vacation rentals not only give you more privacy, but almost all of them have kitchens where you can prepare healthy meals for a fraction of what it costs to eat out. Many vacation rentals have pools or spas and are located a short distance from major attractions. There are thousands of great rental properties available for your next family vacation or quick getaway. Visit my travel site, 5 Day Trips.com for more information on Vacation Home Rentals
I'm for saving time on the Internet. In the past I've spent needless hours doing research on vacation planning. One way I've cut hours off my online research is using this great link I found for easy vacation comparisons. The people at Vacation Compare can literally shave hours of research time and give you some great options too. It's a great way to save time and most importantly, money. Visit the link in the bio box for more information
Planning a fun and affordable vacation is not easy, but it's completely fulfilling when you return and everyone has had a good time, you didn't stray too far from your original budget and you feel good about getting started on your next affordable family vacation. Just remember the steps outlined above and prepare for a little flexibility.
Terry Hudson is a freelance travel writer and webmaster. His popular travel site is a welcome destination for travelers looking for tips on affordable family vacations and destination ideas.
Go to http://www.5daytrips.com/newsletter.html for creative thoughts and articles about planning fun and affordable vacations, short all- inclusive vacations, beach weddings and the pros and cons of short term vacation rentals.
