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reduced rates. Look for home/condo rentals to reduce price of hotels
Approximate cost: $200-300/day per person

5. City trips
Visit museums, eat in fine restaurants, explore neighborhoods, and attend theater and musical events. Cities hold a variety of entertainment. Whether it's theater hopping in NYC, gambling in Las Vegas, celeb sighting in LA, or jazz in New Orleans, American cities provide great vacation options. And don't forget great cities around the world: Paris, Amsterdam, Prague, Sydney, Tokyo, etc.

You can even pick a town and have family members stay in different lodgings. (Our family did this on Nantucket and it was great fun. Everyone went their way by day and we met nightly for dinner.)
Pros: Variety of price ranges, lots to do
Cons: Jet lag, or sore feet
Approximate cost: $100-300 day per person

6. Stay home
Visit your hometown as a tourist would. Go to restaurants, museums, and parks. With the current cost of gas, this option has more and more people investigating their own neighborhoods.
Pros: no travel or hotel rooms or gas tanks to fill
Cons: You have to promise not to fix the leaky faucet
Approximate cost: $50/day per person

7.Spa Vacation
Spas are great for couples and individuals seeking body/mind/spirit refreshing.
Available in many price ranges, spas indulge and invigorate. They can be an intimate respite for a romance.
Pros: Rest and rehabilitation
Cons: Can be pricey and not many offer services for young children
Approximate cost: $500/day per person and up

8. Dude ranches
Dude ranches provide hours of fun. Some are geared to horse riding, at some you can even pan for gold.
Pros: Educational, exercise, a change of pace and a slowing of pace
Cons: Saddle sores
Approximate cost: $200/day per person

9. House trades
Many organizations offer house trades. Instead of being a traveler, you become a neighbor, and see the city as the residents do.
Pros: great learning experience, inexpensive
Cons: Someone else lives in your home
Approximate cost: Varies

10. Call in sick
Take a sick day when you're not sick. Rent a movie, eat a pint of ice cream, sit back and watch the clouds or rain or snow or rainbows.
Pros: inexpensive, fun, spontaneous
Cons: Don't tell your boss
Approximate cost: One pint of ice cream and a video rental

With a little planning and research, you can find the right vacation - one that will return you to your workaday life refreshed and revigorated.

Learn more about this author, Melanie Grimes.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

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