Frugal Vacations

Frugal vacations seems to be one of those things that never happens. We travel to some spot, and we don't know where anything is located. So we end up spending more money then we planned on.

Our best frugal vacation tips are to use the internet to plan ahead, and find out the cost of things. We also look for hotels with internet hook ups. In case we need to make alternative plans. That way we don't blow the trip budget.

Plan ahead, as far in advance as you can that would be the biggest money saver we could give others.

Camping is a wonderful frugal vacation. No need to dress up or worry about anything. Whether you rent a motorhome, rent a cabin or use a tent its a great way to spend quality time together. You don't have to worry about seeing the sites as you will already be outdoors seeing the worlds sites.

Another way to use the internet is to look for great deals on holiday travel. Plane tickets are expensive and it doesn't look like they will be going down anytime soon, with the price of oil up so high.

We have to be creative when traveling right now. You could check out amtrak.com for train vacations as an alternative. Its less expensive than a plane ride.

We have read that people vacation at home. But we did not think it was one of those great things... that is until we had coffee with friends and they started talking about their vacation. We could tell they had fun and asked so where did you go? They said oh we stayed home.

They rented a big moonwalk - bouncing house thing for their kids, had cook outs, played games and they said it was the by far the best vacation they ever had. Lets see they went roller skating, put on a talent show, did crafts and the list went on and on. They vacationed for 2 weeks.

They said something at the end of our talk on vacations that really made me question my own vacation plans. They said: This year our vacation felt like a vacation. It revived us and we were relaxed and ready to go back to regular life. We had no regrets and the kids are already planning for next year. So don't nix vacation at home....just think outside the box and it can be real fun!

One of the best vacations we have been on is to Kaw Lake in Oklahoma. The kids had a blast! They have these wonderful little coves you camp in. Our cove had several camp sites in it. I don't know what the rest of the coves had but ours had a stage in it.

These musicians came up and played blue grass music and old time gospel music. The way they had the stage positioned you sat watching them play music, and to the right was a playground for the children, and you looked out over the lake.

So we listened to good music, and watched the children play as the sun set on Kaw Lake. If you have not seen the sunset on Kaw lake, then you are missing one of the most beautiful sites in the United States!

We were there for their Christmas in July celebration and it was gorgeous! Houseboats lit up with Christmas lights on parade, and fireworks.

One day we took a break and went to the Fun n Sun water park, and the kids had the best time. We did too ,and we slid down the slides with them.

We also went to Chaplain Nature Center where we saw an eagle up close and personal. We did several other things but those were the highlights of our trip. If you want more information on Kaw Lake you can go to kawlake.com The other places we talked about can be found under area attractions on that page.

We want to hear about your frugal vacations, and/or your frugal vacation tips.