July 13, 2008
A Vacation Newsletter for Families who want to save time and money.
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I hope you have checked out some of your local areas summer destinations…but if you are still thinking a vacation away is what your family needs, then here are a few ideas.
If you have flexibility in schedule, last minute flight deals
are available most every where you look. Be aware that most airlines now charge for more then one bag and over weight bags.
A way to save on hotel expenses is to consider going with another family and rent a house. You can get a five bedroom house at very reasonable price; additionally renting a condo can also be an option. This option can work if you are traveling by car or airplane to you favorite vacation site at the ocean, Hawaii, California, or Florida. Vacation rentals are becoming quite popular, here is a good site to start with, Vacation Home Rentals
.
Be sure your family is compatible with the other family or this might turn into a nightmare vacation.
Here are a few tips to be sure your two families are compatible:
1) Have you eaten dinner at each others house?
2) When you eat at each others house do you both ask what they and their kids like to eat and adjust your menu to include something your family and their family both like to eat? Or do you show up at their house and you are expected to eat what ever they serve? You are only compatible if you both are considerate of each others likes and dislikes.
3) Do both husband and wives get along? Often times it is only one or the other that truly get along.
4) Are your kids similar in age? If you have older children and they have younger children it isn’t much of a vacation for the older children as they will feel as though they are babysitting the most of the vacation.
5) Do you have similar interests or are you ok splitting up? You need to be ok doing some things separate from each other, especially if this is a long vacation.
Answering these questions honestly can really help make your vacation a success or if necessary help avoid a disastrous week.
Cruise deals seem to still be there if you interested in an all inclusive type family vacation deal. Start here for Family Cruises
.
For our Adventure seeking families with older adventure bound kids and parents, I recently noticed a new type of adventure item being added in several states a “Zipline”. A “Zipline” is essentially a pulley on a cable, the trick, the cable is usually attached to a tree top or mountain top at one end and a lower point at the other end so this is not for those afraid of heights! You start at the high end holding on to the pulley and down you go! You can find these adventure rides in Alaska, Idaho, Colorado, Texas, North Carolina, Ohio and even Mauai and Kuai Hawaii. For additional information on Ziplines we recommend you start here: ZipLines.
If you have decided to stay home and see the sights around town or in near by towns look into a little thing called a “City Pass”. The City Pass allows you to see 5 or 6 things in the area for a significantly reduced adult and child rate. Typically, you have about 9 days to visit all the sites, so this would be a week or two of seeing local sites and attractions. You know your children best, as far as how many days in a row can they keep going and still be happy children. Of course you can spread the 5 or 6 sites over the full 9 days giving you at least 2 or 3 days you can stay home and hang out in the backyard.
I never thought I would suggest this, but with the rising price of gasoline and rising prices in general, you might also consider buying one of those blow up backyard waterslides for younger kids or maybe a season pass for a water park for an older child. While these are luxury items they are definitely cheaper then a 7 day vacation.
We are now posting weekly travel deals to our Blog, you can get them here: The Best Family Vacation Destination Blog.
As our subscribers you get access to the special travel deals below:
Click here to save up to 75% on vacations with 4Vacations.com!
Get our Best Internet Rates Guaranteed, at choicehotels.com
Hot lodging deals - Find the most up to date hotel deals in the top destinations on Expedia.com!
Spectacular "Fun Ship" Cruise Specials
Save up to $325 on Big City Packages!
Save up to 70% off when Hotels Bid on You
We'd love to have your ideas for future newsletter topics feel free to e-mail them to me.
Happy Vacationing!
Kathy Senior Editor of The-Best-Family-Vacation-Destinations.com
E-mail: kathy@the-best-family-vacation-destinations.com
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