Eight Surefire Ways to Save on a Summer Vacation

April 27, 2010— -- For families planning (or not planning) summer vacations this year, it's still all about the economy, stupid. More than two-thirds of respondents anticipated spending the same or less on family trips than they did last year, according to a TripAdvisor family travel survey released in March.

Almost a third, 30 percent of respondents, said they'd spend between $1,000 and $3,000 on family trips in the coming year, while nearly one in five respondents predicted spending less than $1,000. Anyone who thinks it's easy to take a family on vacation for under a grand has never tried it.

Yet savvy families can always find ways to chip pennies, dollars and even hundreds of dollars off their travel spending. Here are eight tried-and-true strategies to help you get more bang from your summer vacation buck:

Stay Closer to Home: A gallon of regular gas now costs $2.85, on average, according to the AAA's fuel gauge report. That's about 40 cents per gallon less than it was around this time in 2009. Considering that airfares don't look like they're going to drop anytime soon, this is a good year for a summer road trip.

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Think all the great destinations are a plane ride away? Check out your state's official tourism website as well as those for neighboring states (start at SeeAmerica, the mother ship for U.S. tourism). Not only will you find travel discounts and getaway packages, but you'll be surprised at how many terrific getaway spots are right in your backyard. Your kids probably don't give a toss how far you travel, as long as they have fun when they get there.

Think Off-Season: It's one of the truisms of the travel industry: If it's high season somewhere, it's low season somewhere else. In the summertime, you'll find deals in destinations such as Florida, Arizona, Mexico and Caribbean islands such as Aruba and Puerto Rico.

Sure, it's going to be pretty darn hot -- that's why it's low season -- but so what? Choose a family-friendly hotel with an unbeatable promo package, a nice poolvand air conditioning, and you'll have a great time.