It is true that the average age for guests is 18-26, and you’ll run into some places that do enforce an age limit, but people of all ages and budgets stay in them these days.

Their buildings are often in good locations in towns.  They’re easily accessible by public transportation, though there are some in rural areas too.

Some provide private rooms for couples or families as well as the dormitory style rooms.  Still you have to decide if this kind of traveling is for you.

They are not hotels… they are budget accommodations, and they are basic.  If you choose with care though, you may find that they are a destination into themselves.

Check around and you will find some in castles or manor houses, on old ships, in alpine chalets, and lakefront villas.  They may be in interesting or historic building that are worth the visit.

If you want to check the internet, Hostelling International is the name of the biggest group.  They are also known as International Youth Hostel Federation.

Members of this parent organization are called “official hostels”.  According to their website, this brand name covers “more than 90 Youth Hostel Associations in over 80 counties, operating 4,000 plus” facilities.  This is a non-profit organization.  They require their members to meet strict standards in cleanliness and security.

For this particular group, there is a small yearly membership fee, but you can stay with them even if you are not a member… it will just cost you a little more per night.

In the more traditional facilities, there will be single sex dormitory rooms that accommodate four to 10 people.  They will provide lockers for your luggage and valuables, but you will be sleeping with people you don’t know.

Even if you are a couple staying in a “couples room” you may share shower and toilet facilities and food preparation areas.

Some travelers love this… getting to know fellow travelers from all over the world, sharing travel tips and stories of home.

If you decide this type of travel may be for you, be sure to check opening hours for the facility you’ve chosen.  Some are open 24 hours, but smaller and more rural ones close during the day and may have a curfew at night.

Be aware that these are definitely no frills accommodations.  You may have to rent your sheets.  And you might even have to pay for water.  Water?  Yes, some of the most basic places have coin operated shower facilities.

You will need to bring your own towel and soap.  They may provide inexpensive meals in a cafeteria, and there is generally a food preparation area where you can cook your own meals.

There are also several “independent” groups you can check on the internet.  These may not have the strict rules the “official” ones do so check what you’re getting into….  They may be a little more… ah… colorful, but you don’t want it to be too colorful or wild.

If you find your travel budget a little tight, consider this option.  If you don’t need lots of privacy when you travel, a few hostel nights might let you stay a few more travel days.

You want to be trusting, but you also need to protect yourself.  The first thing you need to think about is which exchange club to use.  You need to see what they specialize in, because most do specialize.  Do you need a club that caters to families, or seniors, or people with pets?

Home Exchange clubs are based in countries all over the world; they may list houses mostly their own country, but most have international listings as well.

If you have a certain country in mind to visit, try to get an idea of how many listings they have in your country of choice before you plunk down your money.

Try to look for an exchange club that allows many pictures on their site, or even videos.  You want to know what you’re getting into.

Once you have decided on a club and listed your home, an exchange can happen in a couple of ways…. potential house trading partners may contact you, or you may contact them.

What if someone from Swakupmund, Namibia contacts you…. do you want to go there?  It’s a great choice, in fact.  It could be the chance of a lifetime, or it may be someplace you would never want to visit.

If they contact you, and you don’t want the exchange, politely decline.  Don’t burn any bridges here.  It’s polite to respond, and you never know, you might change your mind in the future if you really like this home exchange way to travel.

If your request for a home exchange is declined, don’t take it personally.  Both of you are in a bargaining process to find the vacation house swap that suits you best.

Start well in advance of your vacation time, and allow plenty of time to arrange the swap.  Once you have found a house you like and arranged in principle to swap, you still need to make sure you are both comfortable with the home exchange details.  This may take several e-mails to decide who feeds the dog or waters the house plants.

You have to decide in advance if your exchange partners can use your ski gear or snorkel equipment.  Can they drive one or both of your cars and how far?  Check all of your insurance policies.  And seriously, if you’re leaving the dog in their care… is that OK with them?

You may feel like a burglar when you first enter someone’s home, and they’re not there.  To make this as comfortable as possible, both of you should agree to leave the names of your neighbors or family to contact and instructions for appliances.  It’s a good idea to leave a letter stating that they are welcome guests in your house even though you aren’t there… and they should do the same for you.  Leave important contact numbers and emergency phone numbers.

Remember, exchangers use each others kitchens.  They sleep in your bed.  Make sure everyone agrees on what should be available in those kitchens.  You need to make sure sheets and towels will be available and come to some sort of agreement on cleaning.

Both parties should have valuables locked away just to be on the safe side.  You’ve both agreed to trust each other, and you’ve hammered out the details, but there is no reason to leave the diamonds and pearls lying around.

If you choose your house swapping club with care and see to the home exchange details with your trading partners, this could be the best vacation ever.

Have you heard about it?  Home exchanges have been around for decades, but they’ve really gotten easier to arrange with the internet.  They’ve become popular with families, seniors and boomers.

You basically arrange to trade your house for someone else’s house from another city, state, or country during your vacation.

You get to spend a week or two in… say London… while that London family gets a beach vacation in, oh, San Diego.

With hotel rates in popular areas so high, swapping houses can be a great way to save money, plus you will have a kitchen, multiple bedrooms, and you’ll probably get to know the neighbors and see some things that you wouldn’t have seen from a hotel room.

It can not only help your travel budget; home trades can be rewarding from a cultural standpoint as well.

Several organizations maintain lists of interested exchangers.  You pay a small fee and get to look at their lists as well as listing your own house.  Then you can directly contact the people you might want to exchange with and set up the details.

There are also many helpful web pages to advise you what to check on, things to settle in advance, etc.  Are you going to have to feed the cats?

You won’t want that if you’re allergic to cats!  If you decide on a cute French farmhouse, does that come with having to feed the chickens and ducks?

Do you get the use of the car?  Is there a limit to how far you can drive it?  Is this going to be an exchange just between adults?  Families will be more willing to exchange with families… so choose your home exchange site according to their list.

We don’t advocate any sites.  A few sites you can check are Know Your Trade, Home Exchange, and Home Base Holidays.

Find exchange clubs on the internet, read the reviews by users, and decide which one might work best for you.  Some specialize, so check to see if they are more interested in families or seniors or whatever.

Home exchanges are not for everyone.  If you think you will be overly worried about someone stealing something or not taking care of your house just the way you would, maybe you should forgo the house swap and stay in a hotel.

If you’re the type of traveler who wants to move around every night and not stay in one place for a couple of weeks… forget it.

If you decide to list your home for a swap, you need to be honest about what your home is like…, and you need to hope the exchangers on the other end are honest about theirs.

If both of you just say “near the beach”, both of you need to find out if “near” means 5 blocks or 5 miles so there are no misconceptions.  You should exchange many e-mails, maybe a few phone calls.

If you do this right, you will probably feel like you’re friends before you start this house trading adventure.  Yes, friends, we didn’t want to leave you with negative thoughts about vacation house trades…. just wanted to warn you.

If you browse through the house swapping sites, you will see testimonials that most people who have tried it LOVE it.   House exchangers on both sides of the deal usually think THEY’VE gotten the better end of the exchange.

Give it some consideration.  If you want to save money and still have a great holiday, a home exchange might be for you.

No matter where you’re traveling in the world, the countryside will almost always be cheaper than cities.

To maximize the benefit of this formula, you have to refine it even more, and plan when you’ll be in the city and when you should spend time in the countryside.

If you’re on a driving trip in your home country or one next door, this type of budget travel planing is easy.  You’ve got your car, so you can do both city and countryside. 

Even when you want to spend time in a city, you can save money by just staying on the edge of the city or in a suburb.

Then you can drive in… or better yet, take public transportation in and avoid the frustration of trying to find parking, not to mention the cost.  Parking can be expensive in almost any city in the world.

OK… maybe your time is limited, and you don’t want to waste time getting into town.  If you want to stay in the city rather than on the edge of it, remember that most cities will be cheaper on weekends when the business people are gone.  Hotels sometimes have cheaper weekend prices, and there could be more going on in the way of plays and entertainment.

And if you think about it… the countryside will be cheaper during the week when most people are working…. so if you’re a budget traveler, you want to plan to be in the city on weekends and in the countryside on weekdays.  Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are days that can save you money in the countryside.

And that will be especially true if the countryside you’re visiting is a real get-away destination for those city folks you’re trying to avoid.  In this case you get that equal and opposite effect.  If you’re in a popular get-away destination, it will be more crowded and expensive on the weekends.

If you’re traveling internationally or you’ve flown to your destination, you’ll have to factor in the cost of a rental car or some kind of transportation to get to the countryside.  You can take a bus or a train.  Some European areas popular with tourists have trains and buses that run conveniently.  Some even have train and bus routes that will take you on a circle tour to some of the prettier and smaller towns.

In the United State, public transportation isn’t as good, but it is improving, so check around.  In Asia, public transportation is good in some countries and spotty in others.  In  Australia, it’s probably easiest to drive.  It always pays to ask at the tourist information offices if you’re interested in something like this.

So see, you don’t have to give up the sights you want to see to trim your budget, you just have to plan smart to save.  Lay out a calendar, and work your itinerary so that you spend most of your weekends in those cities and the weekdays in the country.

You’ll be money ahead.  That’s budget travel made easy!

There’s nothing wrong with that…  those magical lands on both coasts of the U.S. are great fun for kids of all ages.

And there are plenty of things to do nearby to both, but what about something different….maybe getting back to basics and a camping family vacation?  Ah-oh.  Camping?  Where do you go?  What do you do?

If you’ve never camped before, you might want to start close to home… so you can bail out if you have to!  You can save the beautiful park far from home for another time, once you know you’re all going to like the camping experience.

Almost everyone lives within an hour or two of some public forest or park, no matter what part of the world you live in.  It’s a great place to give a camping family vacation a try.

Think about practicing at home.  A week or two before you load up the car, set up the tent in your backyard (or even the living room if your tent doesn’t require stakes).

If you’ve set up the tent once or twice, you won’t be as apt to fumble and get frustrated once you get to the camp ground.  Let the kids sleep in their sleeping bags and get used to the idea… though they may be even more receptive to it than you are.

Plan simple meals and make the food fun.  Complicated meals will only make more work for you, and the kids will be whining — wanting to know when dinner will be ready.  On the other hand, the kids will love roasting marshmallows or better yet making that traditional campfire treat… s’mores!

Barbecue burgers, roast hot dogs, or make “hobo stew” in aluminum wraps over the campfire… a couple of beers or a bottle of wine will make those good for parents too.

Maybe bring two coolers and keep one for snacks and soft drinks so the kids can grab something when then need it.  It’ll keep them from getting hungry and cranky between meals.

Get the kids involved right from the start.  Let them help set up the tent… roll out the sleeping bags.  And let them help with the meals.  Cooking around the campfire can be a great bonding experience.

Enjoy the “nature” part of that camping family vacation.  Take walks together, see if you can identify wildflowers, trees, and birds.  Swim in that lake, wade in that river.

Some kids have never been in the water unless it was a bathtub or swimming pool.  It’s fun to know there might be fish in there!

Use your imagination.  If you make it enough of an adventure, your kids will be glad you all decided on that camping family vacation and they won’t miss Disneyland or Disney World at all — this year!

Maybe you think, why not?  You get together a couple of times a month for barbecues.  You’ve caught a few ball games together, spent days together getting those house projects done.  Why not enjoy a trip together?

A trip together can be a really good thing, but you have to make sure you think things through… You really need to have an idea about who likes what before you start traveling with friends and family.  You want them to be your friends when you come home too!

Prior to planning a long dream trip with your sister and brother-in-law or your best friends… you might want to take a couple of weekend trips… see if your travel styles are compatible.

You might discover a few personality quirks that never showed up on those afternoons together or disabilities that you never gave a thought to when you were just sitting around at dinner.

Here are a few things to think about.

If you’re the type who likes to walk and explore cities all day, but your brother-in-law has arthritis, you’re going to be having some rocky times unless you’ve planned time apart for individual activities or you’ve planned for some bus or car tours.

You want to grab a snack and keep on exploring, but your sister likes long leisurely lunches… one of you is going to be unhappy unless you plan for this.  Maybe you can tell her this is your new diet plan.  Just kidding, but you see what I mean.

You’ve enjoyed beer and wine together at your barbecues, but find out if your buddy wants to stop often for a beer or stop early in the day for a nice cocktail hour.

You can still take a trip together if you have different styles and physical limitations, you just have to plan for it.  Maybe taking a cruise together would be better.  Or a tour instead of independent travel.

Without a tour, you might have more time to enjoy each other, but when you’re planning your itinerary, decide together how fast the pace should be for the slowest member of your group.  Don’t plan to cram activities in.  Choose one or two that you can do together each day… allow time apart.  You can go off on your own, and they can take a nap in their hotel room or sit in a sidewalk cafe and recover or shop or whatever grabs their fancy.

You can prowl that museum while they take that river sightseeing tour that would bore you do death.  Traveling together doesn’t have to mean spending every waking hour together.  In fact, your trip will probably be much more pleasant if you plan for time apart…. You will come home still speaking to each other and have great memories because of it!

If you’re not an American or a native English speaker, this grand old city still is a great place to visit.  So if you want to go to London what can you expect to see?  What should you do?

One of the most iconic things to see is Big Ben…. but you won’t really SEE Big Ben.  That is the nickname for the Great Bell, as it’s officially known.  The smaller bells chime “Westminster Quarters” on the quarter hours… a little tune you’re probably familiar with.  Big Ben chimes the hour.

Most tourists are referring to the tower and clock when they say Big Ben, and of course, that’s what you want to see.  The tower is at the corner of the Palace of Westminster — the Parliament building — right next to the Westminster Bridge.

Walk the Westminster Bridge over the River Thames to get a photo back at the Parliament Building and clock tower from that angle.  That could be the cheapest thing you do in all of London.  It’s an expensive city.

Most “must see” places have fees to visit….

Tour the Houses of Parliament.  Have you ever watched BBC news and seen the Members of Parliament banging on that podium?  You can see it on the tour.

See Westminster Abby.  It’s across the street and through Parliament Square from the Palace of Westminster.  This historic church is the place where England’s Kings and Queens have been crowned and buried for centuries.  There are tombs of some of those Kings and Queens, and also about 3000 tombs of famous people in history.  Wander around and find their names along the walls and under stone slabs in the floor.

Visit the Tower of London….  Castle Fortress, Palace and prison.  Find where Henry the VIII did away with a couple of his wives.  See the crown jewels.  The Beefeaters who give the tours make history come alive.  Learn why they love the ravens in the Tower of London.

Look at the London Eye — the giant ferris wheel across from Big Ben.  You can be sealed in one of its gondolas and take an hour or so to slowly rise over the city for a sky-high view, but it’s expensive.  You’ll get a bigger dose of English reality if you walk the streets and find a cute little pub to have a pint and some pub grub…. and for less money at that!

Another palace that calls to most tourists is Buckingham Palace.  You can watch the changing of the guard for free, but buy a ticket when the Queen isn’t in residence, and you can tour the palace.  Who wouldn’t want to see where the Queen lives?

Take a cruise on the Thames down to Greenwich and see the Prime Meridian… You know GMT… Greenwich Mean Time…. Time schedules always say you’re so much before or behind GMT.  Well, this is what you’re before or behind!

If you want to cut your expenses, head for the museums.  Most of those are free, but we’ll save that for another article. There is just no shortage of things to see in London.

Well, there is no shortage of sights.  And because of the combination of tourist attractions, food, and romance, it is one of the most popular destinations in the world.

So what do you want to do in this grand city?  The museums?  The Monuments?  The  markets?  The bookstalls along the Seine?  Is it the food that attracts you at world class restaurants, or do you just want to sit in a sidewalk cafe and watch the world go by?

There are so many “must sees” that you really will have to choose what is most important to you.  Monuments?  How about the Eiffel Tower.  The Place de la Concorde with it’s Egyptian obelisk.  Think of the line up of the Arc du Triomphe du Carrousel through the Tuileries to the Arc de Triomphe, and the grand Grande Arche in La Defense district. Or how about Invalides where Napoleon is buried.

Landmark churches?  Start with Notre Dame de Paris.  The Basilique du Sacre-Coeur… dramatic and white on the hill in Montmartre.  The churches of La Madeleine, Sainte-Chapelle, and the Pantheon.  Or just landmark buildings like the Palais Garnier.

There are so many world class museums that it would take your entire vacation to see them.  The Louvre, the Musee d’Orsay, the Musee Rodin and the Musee Picasso to name some of the most obvious.  Museums can make your head spin after a few hours.  To avoid being overwhelmed by them, get a museum card.  They are available for 1, 3 and 5 days.

The card will allow you can go in and out of the museums over the period of your stay and not get “museum head”.  The museums are fantastic, but you want to get a feel for all of Paris don’t you?

Take time to stroll in a garden or two.  The Tuileries stretches in front of the Louvre.  The Luxembourg Garden is a great place to watch children of all ages sail small boats on the ponds.  Sit in one of the cafes and have a glass of wine.

Wander in some of the neighborhoods.  See Montparnasse with it’s artists and cafes.  See the delectable food displays in stores around La Madeleine.  Explore the Latin Quarter… see the Sorbonne and visit a bistro or two.  Or just wander along the Seine and see what the booksellers have in those green metal boxes.

The food is… well so French and wonderful.  You can certainly eat expensive meals at restaurants with who knows how many Michelin stars, but the food will be good almost everywhere.  Pop into any bistro or neighborhood restaurant and order a “prix fixe” menu and you are sure to have a great meal.  You have to try the favorite street food of Parisians…. crepes… try one with Nutella, or sugar and butter.

Food, wine, lots of action….. If we haven’t got you packing your bags for Paris, we hope we at least have you dreaming of the City of Lights.

This article is going to give you some important tips to help.

1. Plan ahead – It is imperative to plan ahead if the family will be taking a vacation on a budget. This is the only way to save the most money possible while still allowing your family to have fun.
2. Go on vacation during the non-peak period. This will help to save money on everything because it will be much cheaper. Plus, it might be possible to find special discounts available only during this time.
3. Check with hotels, airlines, car rental services and anywhere else that is needed to find the best deal possible. This will take time, but there are many times that a good deal will be available, especially for families. Always take time to look because this can provide a way to save money and stay in your budget.
4. Food on vacation can get expensive so it is a smart idea to pack a cooler with food to take with you. This will help to cut down on eating out because this is something your family can enjoy once you arrive at the vacation destination.

These are not all the tips that need to be known, but they are the ones that are most important for helping keep the family in the budget. Family budget vacations are definitely possible, but will take time to plan. Get started now so your family can start having fun.