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.

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 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.

Family Beaches Locations 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

* However, if you have your heart set on taking a theme park vacation, check to see if your your bank or employer provides discounted tickets. Try not to purchase tickets on EBay or Craig’s List, unless it is from a seller or broker that you trust because you run the risk of purchasing invalid tickets. Also, many theme parks now offer child swap. With child swap, one adult can go through the long lines with the older child or children while the other adult goes up the exit ramp with the younger children who cannot get on the ride. When the other adult gets off the ride, you get on. without waiting in line again.

Choose how you will arrive at your destination: fly, ride the train or bus or drive a 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.

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.

Vacation home are perfect when traveling with a large group. Not only do you get a huge home to hang out in for a week, but you also have the company of other adults and hopefully other children to keep your children busy. Vacation homes, generally, need to be book several months in advance and you have to clean up after yourselves daily.

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.

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.

Now all you have to do is decide what is most important for your family; location, transportation, entertainment or accommodations. Whatever you decide, spend the most money on that and skimp on everything else. Happy Travels!