If you are like most Americans, you are on a strict budget this year. One glance at your checking account and it may seem impossible to take that yearly family trip. Stop right now! Get that thought out of your head! Despite what you might believe, you can still have a great family vacation, even when traveling on a strict budget. How?

Vacation close to home: When we think of family vacations, we often envision days in the car or hours on an airplane. Yes, this might have been your vacations in the past, but now you are closely monitoring your finances. Why don’t you look closer to home? We bet you haven’t given local vacation hot spots much consideration in the past. When you look, you should like your options. Many areas are home to theme parks,museums, campgrounds, state parks, and more.

Make a vacation out of mini trips: As previously stated, we often think of long, extended trips when it comes to trips with the family. If you need to stay local, create a series of mini-vacations. These can be done throughout the year or crunched into one week. By staying at a cheap hotel, your family will still get that “normal” vacation feel. Most importantly, you save money especially if some of your activities are free or come with low admission fees.

Cut your vacation short: If you don’t like the idea of staying close to home, look at your budget. If you have some money to spend, why not shorten the length of your traditional family trip? You can still get your time at the beach or Disneyland, but your trip will only be 3-nights instead of 5 or 7. Since you still get a good vacation at a popular destination, you are less likely to feel as if you are shortchanging yourself or your family.

Travel during the off-season: It is fact that most families vacation during the summertime. It is easier to get time off from work and the kids are on summer break. However, this is peak travel season, meaning you will automatically spend more money. In the United States, most school children get holiday, winter, and spring breaks. These week-offs vary around the country, meaning it won’t necessarily be peak travel season.

In short, there are many ways to not only plan a family vacation on a budget, but a good one at that. Family vacations on a budget can be planned within hours if you know where to look, and the budget getaway can save a dreary weekend during the vacation months. Plan ahead and you will share a memory that will last a lifetime.