Cheap Family Vacations Every parent looks for a cheap family vacation when it comes time to leave school and work behind for a week.  While family vacation packages may seem expensive in advertisements, there are plenty of cheap family vacations awaiting parents who know where to look.  Family Camps In the hustle and bustle of daily life, parents and kids spend very little time outside.  The traditional vacation of driving to an amusement park or resort involves hours of driving in busy traffic instead of relaxing.  Dozens of family camps have emerged in the Southwest and Pacific Northwest to respond to the need for relaxing outdoor resorts that don’t bust household budgets.  The Montecito-Sequoia Lodge© (http://www.mslodge.com/) in the Sierra Nevada range in California offers cheap family vacations to visitors year round.  The staff at Montecito-Sequoia Lodge© offer dozens of activities ranging from summer canoeing and kayaking trips to sledding and snowshoeing during winter snowstorms.  Parents can plan cheap family vacations at the Montecito-Sequoia Lodge© starting at $180 per night for four occupants including breakfast, dinner, and activity fees. Families who are looking for vacation packages that offer enormous benefits for nightly costs can look at camps like the Wind River Ranch© (http://www.windriverranch.com/cms/).  This family ranch is located in Colorado and charges $1,675 per child and $1,275 per child for seven days of outdoor fun.  The initial cost may seem expensive for most families, but Wind River Ranch© accounts for every contingency in the vacation cost.  Visitors to the Wind River Ranch© get three meals each day, including a great dinner after arrival, private bathrooms, daily maid service, and babysitting for adult activities.  High-end camps like Wind River Ranch© offer more value per dollar than other cheap family vacations.  Mexican Resorts The typical family may think of Mexican resorts at Cozumel and Cancun as the refuges of college students during spring break.  Families should not discount Mexico, however, as a source of cheap family vacations during the rest of the year.  Mexican resorts offer all-inclusive trips for families during low-traffic periods like late fall and early summer when they need to fill rooms.  To hit the beaches and have fun in the sun in Mexico, families should look closely at places like the Allegro Resorts that offer family-friendly prices.  The Allegro Resorts© (http://www.occidentalhotels.com/allegro/index.asp) is owned by Occidental Hotels and Resorts© which owns several resorts along the Gulf and Pacific coasts in Mexico.  Parents can often find rooms for $160 per night including drinks, buffet, and some activity fees.  The average family can stretch its travel budget further at Allegro Resorts© because children under 12 stay free from September to early December.  Family Cruises The leading names in family cruises, Carnival Cruise Line© (http://www.carnival.com/) and Disney Cruise Line© (http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/dcl/en_US/home/home?name=HomePage), offer cheap family vacations year round.  A quick search of the Carnival© website shows that basic trips to the West Caribbean start around $169 per person.  Disney’s© cruises start from $799 per person for seven days during slow travel times with some discounts available for small children and seniors.  To find the best value in a cheap family vacation, potential cruisers should look at the amenities and activities on these cruise lines.  Carnival Cruises© has water slides, pools, and play areas on all its vessels to appeal to active children.  Larger Carnival© ships feature concerts, arcades, and a variety of other entertainment venues for the entire family.  Disney© cruise ships travel to Castaway Cay, an island owned by the Walt Disney Corporation© that houses play areas and other amusements for families.  The main attraction of Disney© cruises, however, is the character interactions that take place with kids and adults alike.  Seeing Historical Sites The best source of cheap family vacations in the United States is historical monuments.  These monuments are built by state and federal governments that want to make their contents accessible to the public.  Every family should identify a go-to monument in their region that can be traveled to easily for a cheap family vacation.  Families in the Southwest should look no further than the Grand Canyon National Park (http://www.nps.gov/grca/) if they are looking for cheap family vacations.  The entrance fee is $25 per vehicle or $12 per individual on bicycles which is a small price to pay for one of the nation’s great natural monuments.  Since nearly four million visitors head to the Grand Canyon each year, a series of camping areas have sprung up within an hour’s drive to accommodate travelers.  While parents are amazed by the natural beauty of the Grand Canyon, kids can earn badges and certificates for learning trivia about the park.  The Dayton Aviation Heritage National History Park (http://www.nps.gov/daav/) in Dayton, Ohio celebrates the birth of American aviation.  Families can enter this national park free to see a simulation of the Wright Brothers hangar, the duo’s 1908 Wright Flyer III, and other artifacts of the first sustained flight in the United States.  The park also commemorates aviator Paul Laurence Dunbar by preserving a house and park that can be accessed for $14 per person.  A cheap family vacation for families in the Northeast is a trip to Gettysburg National Military Park (http://www.nps.gov/gett/) in Pennsylvania.  This park commemorates the 1863 battle between North and South in the Civil War including a Soldiers’ Cemetery with thousands of headstones.  Families can get their exercise with one-mile walking tours through the battlefield for $7.50 per adult and $5.50 per child.  Amusement Parks Holiday World© (http://www.holidayworld.com/) in Santa Claus, Indiana is the perfect example of a cheap family vacation built around an amusement park.  This amusement park features two wooden roller coasters (Raven and Legend), the Splashin’ Safari Water Park, and a variety of rides designed for little kids.  Holiday World© charges $39.95 for general admission and $99.95 for a season pass, but families gain access to unlimited free drinks and sunscreen with full admission.  Getting Back To Nature Families can get back to nature without spending time camping, setting up tents, and roasting marshmallows.  The Kentucky Horse Park (http://www.kyhorsepark.com/) in Lexington, Kentucky allows families to celebrate the majesty of purebred horses in the home of American horse racing.  This park charges $15 per adult, $8 per kid 7-12, and free admission to children under six years old.  The cost of admission gives every visitor access to the International Museum of the Horse, a horse-drawn tour of the facilities, and access to horse presentations every hour.