8 ways to save on a summer vacation

For families planning (or not planning) summer vacations this year, it’s still the economy, stupid. According to a TripAdvisor family travel survey released in March, more than two-thirds of respondents anticipated spending the same or less on family trips than they did last year. 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 $2.86, 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 2008. Considering that airfares don’t look like they’re going to drop anytime soon, this is a good year for a summer road trip.

Think all the great destinations are a plane ride away? Check out your state’s official tourism Web site as well as those for neighboring states (start at SeeAmerica, the mother ship for US tourism). Not only will you find travel discounts and getaway packages, but you’ll be surprised at how many terrific getaways 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 you 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 like Florida, Arizona, Mexico, and Caribbean islands like Aruba and Puerto Rico. Sure, it’s gonna 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 pool, and air conditioning, and you’ll have a great time.

Can’t stand the heat? Then head to a swell little mountain town known for its skiing, such as Breckenridge or Aspen, in Colorado, or Stowe, in Vermont. In the summertime, these towns become playgrounds for active families who love mountain biking, alpine sledding, hiking, and horseback riding. Summer lodging costs a fraction of what it does during ski season.

Aim for the fringes. Even at the most popular summer resorts, certain weeks sell out more slowly, or not at all. At family-focused properties, the big-value weeks tend to fall on the fringes of summer, when many schools are still in session. In the northeast, for example, rates at The Tyler Place and Point Sebago Resort are up to 50 percent lower around Memorial Day and after Labor Day. In the west and south, value weeks often fall a few weeks earlier, to coincide with school calendars there. If your kids aren’t in elementary school yet, aiming for the outskirts of summer is a smart way to get a great vacation for much less.

Keep an open mind. Still haven’t picked a destination? Let the destination pick you. Sign up for e-mail deal alerts that let you know where the great deals are, and then let serendipity decide your family’s next vacation spot. Airfarewatchdog will e-mail you when airfares drop on flights from airports near you. For example, when we recently plugged in San Francisco as our departure city, we found out about roundtrip fares of $188 to Albuquerque, $198 to Austin, and $94 to Colorado Springs. If you sign up for Travelzoo’s “Top 20” newsletter, you’ll get a weekly round-up of the hottest deals in hotels, airfares, and vacation packages.