Cruise ships are a family vacation planner’s best friends. Picture a floating, mega-resort with tons to do for everyone in a confined space where you know your kids are supervised and safe.

Many cruise lines offer voyages designed specifically for families, with expanded activity programs and shore excursions for all age groups and waterslides, ice rinks and climbing walls that keep kids and parents happy for days.

Some cruises have even developed on board programs that not only feature family together time, but also arrange crucial alone time for parents. Together, parents and kids can participate in mock game shows, story hours, treasure hunts and other activities. Later, adults can schedule a massage or spend time on the sun deck knowing their kids are enjoying a host of supervised games and activities.

Cruises are much like an all-inclusive vacation with the added benefit of being able to explore new and various places. They are especially good bets if the grandparents are coming.

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Disney World is unarguably the largest family vacation destination in the United States. Super Bowl winners want to go there, kids want to go there, adults want to go there – heck, MY GRANDMA wants to go there! Can the everyday family afford to go to Disney World on a limited budget? YOU BET!

There are many options for you to consider on a Disney vacation. We’ll present as many of them to you as possible.

The obvious first choice is to stay on the property for maximum convenience and fun. At the time of this writing, the theme park is currently offering the following packages for a six night, seven day stay for a family of four:

• $1,500 for a stay at a value category resort
• $1,900 for a stay at a moderate category resort
• $2,500 for a stay at a deluxe category resort

The value category resorts include All-Star Sports and All-Star Music hotels with the entire resort centering around those themes. They are fun for the kids and have themed pools and food courts. The rooms are standard, but comfortable and accommodate four people easily.

When I visited Disney World with my two children, I stayed at the All-Star Music resort and were very satisfied with everything they had to offer us. We were, after all, there to visit the parks, so our room was just a place to lay our heads. However, when the kids wanted to swim, we were happy to sip a tropical drink at the poolside bar while the kids splashed and played just a few feet away.

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I can’t possibly tell you everything you need to know about taking a family vacation on a budget, even if I give you every single money-saving tip I can find, there are still some aspects of the family vacation that should be addressed so that everyone is having fun!

1. Write down your budget, make it detailed, and stick to it!

If you’ve budgeted $1,000 for food, be sure you’re going to be able to feed everyone the entire time for $1,000. It’ll save you a lot of stress and aggravation and you can make adjustments elsewhere if you find you’re close to going over budget.

2. No matter what, ALWAYS ask for discounts.

You won’t ever get them unless you ask for them. If they’re available, you should take advantage – for you and your vacation budget!

3. Remember to be flexible! Be able to change your plans if need be and “go with the flow”.

4. Buy your children journals – cheap notebooks – and give them fun pens so they can record their thoughts and experiences as you go through your travels. They’ll appreciate it later plus it keeps them busy!

5. Once you’ve selected a destination, share copies of your travel brochures with your family. Then watch the excitement skyrocket.

6. Make lists.

Planning a family trip often sparks more questions than answers. Thanks to lists, however, you’ll have the answers at your fingertips. Some “Last-Minute List,” which to use before departing can include: “Don’t Forget,” “To Do,” and “Pack Now.” It’s a great time-saver, and ensures non-replaceable essentials like medications and such aren’t left behind.

7. When traveling in the U.S., contact local tourism departments for free brochures and maps, and any money-saving coupons.

Also contact the local Chambers of Commerce where you will be vacationing to see if they have any resident packets that might include valuable money-saving coupons and tips on where to visit.

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When you’re traveling, it can be difficult to find good food at reasonable prices especially if you happen to be staying in a big city, which has an established food and restaurant culture.

When you’re in a budget, you want to try and maximize your enjoyment per buck. If you want to eat well and sample the local cuisine for a budget price, you’ll need to do a little research to find that perfect restaurant that offers a balance between quality and price.

Obviously, if you’re staying at an All-Inclusive, you won’t need to worry about this part, but many, many people need to consider where they’re going to feed their family and not break the bank.

Following are some my tips in terms of how to eating well on a travel budget.

First, check with your hotel or hostel and inquire whether breakfast is included in your stay.

In Europe many hotels provide breakfast. If you’re hotel does provide breakfast, don’t skip it in favor for paying for food elsewhere. Remember the continental breakfast in my previous post? Never pass up an amenity that’s included in your room rate. Hotel and hostel breakfasts are also a great way to get to know other guests.

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If your plan is to go beyond your place of lodging – which it probably will be – you’ll need to consider outside transportation.

These are a matter of taste and what is most important to you in the area of convenience and price. You may like having your own car to be able to go where you please when you please, but that can be expensive.

Following are some other options you may can consider in terms of how to chose your own suitable transportation.

Rental Cars

If you do want to rent a car, then here are a couple of things to keep in mind.

When procuring a rental car, get the smallest one that your family can fit into comfortably. There’s no need to spend extra money on luxury when an economy car will still get you to where you need to go.

You’ll have to decide on whether or not you want to buy the rental insurance offered by the company. I won’t tell you one way or another because there are advantages and disadvantages either way.

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In my previous post, I’ve addressed each of the most important aspects in your family vacation plan, but there still something missing, which is I need to address a HUGE money saver to you now – especially if you’re taking along children. Almost all resorts will offer you an all-inclusive package, which can mean big bucks in the saving department!

These packages may just be while you’re at their hotel, or they could include airfare and transfers as well. To get the best deal, you’ll have to do your own research and find out what is the best for you.

An all-inclusive package at a resort means that all your meals, drinks, and gratuities are included in the price of your room. So you’ll have a place to stay, a place to eat, and a place to party if you so choose – all for one price! You do not need to worry about budgeting for dinner or a night out! It’s all included!

With these types of plans, however, you’ll need to get to your destination at your own expense for which I refer you to one of my previous post “How To Get Your Travel Destination”.

However, there also have other all-inclusive plans as well, which includes airfare and transportation - from the airport to the hotel, and then they throw in the meals, drinks and so forth with the price as well. I think this would be the best type of all-inclusive because you don’t have to worry about budgeting for anything except for excursions, admission fees and souvenirs.

All-inclusives are a great way to save money on vacation. With an all-inclusive, you know up-front of what you’re paying for and there are no surprises occur. When you go someplace else, everything adds up.

It can have some drawbacks regards to all-inclusive packages, one of these is that they may only offer a flight out of Miami but you live in Albany, New York. So you’ll have to get to Miami to catch your flight and then can use the all-inclusive packages.

You may think it is such wasting, but you probably realize that you will get some huge savings in the long run.

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There are all kinds of questions to ask where to looking for suitable lodging on your vacation. What type of hotel do you want to stay in? Does it have to have a pool? What about courtesy vans? Does it have to be a hotel? There are many, many options out there to keep your vacation budget in line and still have a place to lay your head!

Most savvy budget travelers recommend a hotel that offers up a kitchen or kitchenette. This can save you a huge amount of money on meals. Having a kitchen when you’re vacationing with kids can be invaluable. Often the cost on a per person basis can be well worth the time it takes to cook up some of your own meals.

Families should consider condominium-style accommodations as these are often comparable in price to a fine hotel (and even less than the cost of two rooms), and give you the luxury of a spacious apartment with a full-kitchen and amenities like laundry machines - a nice feature when you have young children. Other “non-traditional” lodgings include furnished apartments, house swaps or renting a villa.

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When vacation season approaches, many families plan to take to the road in order to escape the stress of the daily grind. But more than you realized, many families actually don’t know a poor planned family road-trip can be a greater source of frustration.

Unfortunately, these families tend to encounter this frustration halfway into the vacation, at a time when little can be done to remedy it. The level of stress during the trip is directly related to the quality of planning before pulling out of the driveway.

It can be disappointing if a family plan is just to promote family ‘togetherness’. It will not be a happy ending if get to the destination with parents and children at each other’s throats.

However, once parents discover how simple planning can make the trip fun and memorable, the difference in the quality of the actual vacation is measurable. Having the right tools on the road can make all your vacation different.

Following are some of my tips toward how to plan and conduct an effective faily road trip.

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There are many ways to arrive at your vacation destination. Once upon a time, the only way a family could afford a vacation was to load up the car and head out on the road. How many of you remember these long trips? I certainly do! There are all kinds of options today that are affordable and much more enjoyable!

Driving

If you like to drive to your vacation destination, gas prices will be a huge consideration. If you’re going to be driving more than 300 miles, depending on the gas mileage of your vehicle, it will probably be cheaper to fly. I suggest that you drive only if you are going to a location that isn’t too very far from your home.

Here are some huge advantages by driving. You won’t have to worry as much about dates and times. You can just pack up and go. There’s something to be said for seeing the country out the windows of a car.

It can be a learning experience for your children as they get to see the beautiful nation they live in. And this is a good time to foster conversation with your family as well. When there’s not much else to do along the way, tell each other stories, share your thoughts and memories with them. You’ll all learn so much if you do!

The next section explores specific ways to make car travel on vacation not only bearable, but enjoyable!

Flying

With airlines competing for business today, air travel is more affordable than it once was. Booking early for airfare will save you a lot of money. Booking ahead is important to getting a fair rate.

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