The number one secret to cheap family vacations is to be opportunistic. If your neighbor or friend offers you the use of their cabin on the lake, there is your family vacation. If you can have just as much fun at the amusement park that is two hours away as at Disneyland, that is where you need to be. If the kids like the idea of cooking dinner over a campfire, pass right on by that reastaurant. Watch for deals, and be sure you know what everyone really enjoys. There is no point in spending more on a trip for less enjoyment.

Examples Of Cheap Family Vacations

Treasure Hunting

A couple metal detectors will cost you less than a few nights with the family in a hotel. Camp near a ghost town or beach, and spend your days hiking, exploring, and hunting buried treasure. We never fail to find some interesting things when we take our metal detector to the beach. The kids will like the adventure, and when they get bored with digging up quarters and pop tops, there is always swimming nearby.

Beachcombing Vacations

This fits in with the last one, is cheap, and the whole family may enjoy it. Did you know you can find all sorts of things washed up on the beaches of the Great Lakes and the Oceans? As kids, in Michigan, we used to find bouys, parts of houses, and light bulbs. The light bulbs worked, a mystery solved years later when a sailor told me that they throw them overboard for target practice, and we were finding the ones that escaped the bullets. We also found chunks of coal that we threw on the campfire to burn. Then there were the balloons with messages attached, the sea shells, the odd-shaped driftwood, pieces of styrofoam big enough to use as rafts, and - you get the point.

In Michigan, and I'm sure in many other places, you can find reasonable motels on the beach. Even cheaper, and usually more scenic, are the numerous campgrounds on the beaches of Lakes Michigan, Superior, and Huron. You'll find these in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and in Ontario, Canada. For more information on Michigan Vacations, go to the page "Michigan Vacations."

Cheap Camping Vacations

If you have a recreational vehicle, or if your family is willing to live in tents for a few days, camping is the cheapest of cheap family vacations. There are even free sites to camp at. When we stayed at Williams Landing in Florida for eight days, we stalked alligators, watched armadillos walk through camp, saw at least ten other forms of wildlife, and sat around the fire trading stories with new friends from England and Texas every night. The cost, including the hot showers: zero. For more information on this opportunity, go to the page "Cheap Florida Vacations." For more information on how to find cheap or free campgrounds, go to the page "Free Camping Catalog."

Other Cheap Family Vacations

Montana Testicle Festivals is a page devoted to festivals around the United States. Festival vacations are a great way to keep the whole family happy. There are usually carnival rides, music, events, contests, and more. And yes, Montanas testicle festivals are billed as family events, but good luck trying to get the kids to eat the "Rocky Mountain Oysters."

RV Boondocking is all about parking your recreational vehicle where you don't have to pay. If you aren't sure that kids will enjoy being in the middle of nowhere, check out this page first. The consider tying it in with the next.

Arrowhead Hunting In Arizona tells how an old Mayan Indian showed us where to look for arrowheads, semi-precious stones, and ancient pottery. The desert is a great place to escape to in the winter, and treasure hunting is cheap vacation as well.

Montana Mountains is about driving, sightseeing and camping in Montana. If you love mountains, you can't beat this state for a great vacation. Kids (and adults) are always impressed by Yellowstone National Park, which is partly in Montana.

Glacier National Park Vacations is a page about another park that will impress both the kids and adults, and won't break the budget.

Keeping Family Vacations Cheap

I'll repeat what I said at the beginning: Be opportunistic. That's how you have cheap family vacations. When you are getting hungry and you pass a grocery store, stop and get some delicious healthy snacks and sandwich makings that everyone will like. It is sure to be cheaper than stopping at he next restaurant. Bring a cooler on your vacations (if you are traveling by car). You can regularly find pop on sale for 25 cents per can, which is better than the machine price of $1.25 that the kids will insist you pay when they are "dying" of thirst.

Visit the other pages that are related to saving money traveling. "Cheap Travel Tips" will give you some new ideas, and "Really Cheap Plane Tickets" will show you how to save when you and your family fly. Other money-saving tips for vacations are scattered throughout the site.