vacation saving plans

I am getting ready to take a family vacation, and money is tight right now, so i have been blowing my mind up on where to go cheap, and how to make it cheaper, so here are some suggestions from my experiences in the past and recent vacations

1. Tour the state in which you live, there are more things than you can imagine if you look up stuff to do in your state.

2. Get discounts, for example: AAA, military, discounts for amusement parks at Meijer, and banks sometime have discounts on amusement park tickets also.

3. If you have a friend who travels a lot, see if they get hotel points or air miles, make a deal. For example: my husband travels, he reserved a hotel in his name for my beautician for a day in return i got a cut, style, and dye. Maybe they would even charge 1/2 price or something.
You can do the same with flight also.

4. We are going to disney this year, i bought a lot of disney souveniers for my children at stores around home when i saw sales, i will give them to the kids when we get there (have my hubby leave and come back with them, like he just bought them). I also bought a bunch of disney trading pins online also, so they will get them and then be able to trade for the ones they really want. Bought them for like a dollar a piece instead of $3-10 per pin.

5. Don't be afraid to pack lunch, take in a carry-on, along with sunscreen, cameras, and sunglasses so you don't have to buy them at the parks.

6. Do your research on how much gas is all the way to your destination if driving on your vacation. You can look up lowest gas prices in the town you are in. If you are staying in a hotel, most have internet, use it to look up cheapest gas stations near there.

7. Camping is always fun for the kids. If you can, camping is usually cheaper than a hotel. I have also rented a cabin at a campground for way cheaper than a hotel, it came with free canoe, on a lake, hot tub, etc..

8. If going to amusement parks for more than a few days, take a day off to relax, that will save more money than you can think of, and the kids will have just as much playing in a pool at a hotel, or you can even visit a beach.

9. Travel in off season

10. Some say to make reservations in advance, and it is cheaper, my belief is that there are better "last minute" deals, it's just getting the seats on the plane you want, or seeing if there is still availability when you wait, there are pros and cons on both.

11. I would highly recommend to make a budget before the vacation and only take so much with you, and then a low balance credit card for emergencies.

12. Only use your change you have saved all year, or even garage sale money for spending money, the more you sell the more spending money you have.

13. Take advantage of continental breakfast at hotels.

14. Rent a house for a week instead of hotel, more rooms, and if traveling with others, that is cheaper and also has a kitchen.

15. House Swap, never personally tried it, but have friends who do it every year.

16. The first year my whole family went to Disney, my husband and i tried a timeshare one morning before going to the park, we ate b-fast, they watch the kids and we are only entitled to stay 90 minutes and no longer, easy money "if you don't get caught up in the sale", if so, it could last much longer. We wound up going to 3 timeshares and getting $350 for listening to the sales pitch.

17. Buy a year zoo pass, if you travel, you can visit the zoo in the area you stay in.

18. If going to amusement parks, stay in the next town.

19. If traveling on a plane, try to use less bagage, i believe it averages $15 per bag +/- (try to fit all the childrens stuff in one suitcase instead of having their own). I know they just changed prices on baggage recently. Remember when you buy an all inclusive package, some don't include baggage or taxes. Read what you are signing and commiting to. Same with all inclusive including meals, some don't include drinks, not even soday, or gratuity.

20. Make your own autograph books for characters to sign (example:disney)