Combination family summer vacations

With summer already scratching at our doors, many families are beginning to think of ways to manage their next vacation. It seems that the major issues that surface during these times concern both time and financial constraints. A valuable way to address these concerns, I’ve found, is to combine a vacation with other family projects.a small blue bird Some of the best trips I’ve ever taken with my family have been themed around separate, unrelated things that we had been wanting or needing to do and we simply took the opportunity to turn these things into a full-on adventure. Contact www.familytravelguides.com to find some wonderful family orientated places to stay on your way.

Oftentimes, visits to family and friends can easily become part of a larger trip. You can also take advantage of journeys to areas of academic or work interest to see what they would be like to live in and to take a few days to explore the surrounding areas. While planning a vacation, you don’t always have to search for faraway, exotic destinations. Sometimes, those more local (or at least nearby) attractions, like sites of cultural interest and natural beauty, make for the perfect affordable family travel vacation and are usually the attractions that you had always set aside, just waiting for the time when you couldn’t think of anything better to do, but why not make them the main attraction!
a scenic panorama of the ozark mountains and valleys


I can think of one special family travel vacation to the Ozarks in Missouri that didn’t sound all that thrilling initially. All it took was a little bit of research on www.familytravelguides.com and we discovered an exciting world filled with Native American history, incredible mineral caves, lakes, springs, and crafts and cultural festivals; all within a few hours drive from home! Not surprisingly, this family travel vacation became one of our best ever. a beautiful waterfall nestled within the ozarksIt was a road trip that involved lots of careful packing, a big picnic basket, and many stops along the way. For example, we pulled off the highway to hit features such as the ancient site of Cahokia Mounds, many quaint villages (think Mark Twain), and the Missouri State University campus in Springfield Missouri (thinking ahead of those tweens in the car and college coming up). While in Springfield, we just couldn’t resist a stop at the Bass outlet store. Eureka! Lots of wonderful fishing gear for our lake adventures to come. Finally, we ended with a long week at a cabin very near Lake of the Ozarks, which not only turned out to be quite economical but also a whole lot of fun.

Pamela