Too often, we think a family vacation means traveling to some exotic place, making lots of travel bookings with hotels, resorts, theme parks and travel such as airlines or boat or train. With the current price of gas, that is all very important if you want to research the best deals, and especially, packages, based on your sized family.

Too often, we feel we need to go somewhere exotic for those vacation times and forget to look into the scenic and fun places that are a driving distance away. Yes, the cost of gas is always a factor in any decision, but when you compare a car full of two adults and 1 to 3 children, the average cost per person is far less than plane, train or bus tickets for the family to wherever you are going. You also need to consider the distance and time you have for the vacation. If you are going to see your Grandmother for a week, you would not want to take the driving time unless you can do it in one day there and one day back. It is important to evaluate where you are going and how long you want to spend to weigh the time of travel more than the cost. And, of course, if you drive it, you have motel and restaurant costs to factor in, verses the plane trip that gets you there and gets you back at the appropriate time.

If you are planning a vacation that does not include visiting friends and family, it is nice to treat your children to the beautiful USA. How about picking a National Park you have not gone to and plan a drive there and camping. You bring all the food, a tent, sleeping bags and you enjoy our beautiful wilderness areas and show your children how beautiful and pristine the USA is away from large cities. The adventure of camping is wonderful to children as they are not locked in to TV, computers, or their everyday way of life. They get to eat outside at a camp stove and picnic table, look at mountains, rivers, wildlife and maybe make new friends at the next camp sight.

If you are only going for a weekend or even a long day trip, the cost of gas is still reasonable when you factor in the number of people going. I remember lots of trips when my children were Young where we would stop at a rest stop, pull out the Coleman stove, the box of paper plates, plastic silver, glasses, etc, a couple pans and I would cook a picnic meal on the road while the kids ran around getting fresh air and exercise after a long drive in the car. They were always ready for a meal on the road and the fun of being in some place new. While I cleaned up, they got some more exercise, plus had the benefit of the bathrooms at the rest stop before we continued on our journey.

We have all been there, traveling with children, with all the following quotes "Chuck hit me", "stop it", "When are we going to get there?" and the normal, "I have to go to the bathroom" right after you passed the last rest stop. But, If you plan a driving trip to stop at certain times and let the kids use the facilities, have their lunch, dinner or snacks picnic style, they have learned a whole new way of travel and you have also given them a chance to get fresh air and visit areas they may not ever see, otherwise.

Another thing that is a very nice thing to do is pack a lunch and take them on a picnic then head home after they have waded, played on the beach or whatever the particular area has to offer. You have gotten the kids out of the house into fresh air, away from the TV and computer and have given them a chance to learn again about our great out doors.

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