Planning Your Next Inexpensive Family Vacation

The perfect inexpensive family vacations are all about bringing the family unit together for quality time, and refreshing the body and spirit of the family bond.

With so many families in the grip of tightening the financial belt, many family members are unsure if they can even afford the most meager of vacations, and still more will simply put off plans for vacationing altogether. Consider exploring the web for the top 10 most inexpensive family vacations that you and your family are to afford.

With some creative research and planning, ideas for inexpensive family vacations can easily be put together with the help of the internet and exploring different options for lodging and travel.

Creative planning can turn a boring car ride into an exciting sightseeing adventure, by making an itinerary of popular points of interest along the way to your family's vacation designation. Rather than flying to your designation, the cost of airfare can be exchanged for a fun filled road trip, stopping at local museums, wineries, or historical locations; these inexpensive family vacation ideas turn budget travel into memorable family adventures.

If you are a member of any auto clubs, you can stop by and pick up travel guides and maps that already have a planed itinerary you can follow, and even if you are not already a member, the cost of an annual membership will replace the costs of purchasing a road atlas or travel planners.

With the invention of 3G wireless Internet adapters, your laptop can be your online travel guide and map system, and you can take advantage of Google Maps, or other software applications such as Microsoft's Streets and Trips with GPS. Using your laptop or smart phone will give you travel information with road conditions, distance to rest areas, gas stations and restaurants as well as offer points of interest along the way to your final destination.

You can even take advantage of the local chamber of commerce for information on specific upcoming events and attractions in surrounding cities close to your vacation destination, or maybe chose a winter getaway by checking options for the best family Christmas vacations that are the perfect way to celebrate the joyous season of giving.

An extremely popular and inexpensive family vacation idea is taking the Lake Michigan Lake tour, which starts in Benton Harbor Michigan going north along the lake, and ends in Chicago Illinois. You can reduce costs by bring food along with you and limited your stops for restaurants to once a day.

Inexpensive family vacations are about spending quality time with each other while having fun, not saving money at the expense of enjoyment, and with some creativity.