Thousands of people know and embrace the amazing relaxation and fun you can have on a camping vacation.  This is probably the most affordable type of family vacation – especially if you take advantage of the country’s various state parks and campgrounds.

It costs around $12-$25 to spend a night at these campgrounds, which is much less than the cost of a motel room these days. The parks are typically run by park rangers, who also provide security at the campgrounds.
Each campsite will likely have a fire-pit, charcoal grill, and a picnic table. There will be an area to set up your tent and a place to pull your car off the road. These parks usually have buildings that enclose bathrooms and showers. You’ll also find drinking water available, places to do your dishes, and trash containers
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You can choose to camp the old-fashioned way with tents, or you can rent an RV for added convenience.  A typical RV motor home will rent for $90-$200 per day.

Some people feel that camping with an RV isn’t truly camping, but we think the point of a vacation is to spend time together doing things as a family.  Whether you sleep under the stars or in a bed inside an RV makes little difference.  A camping vacation is all about what you make it!

Most public parks have hiking trails, and many parks have lakes for fishing, boating, and swimming. Imagine the sight of your kids seeing a deer cross the path or a raccoon snooping through the campsite at night. There may also be a playground with swings, basketball courts, and other amenities.

Also remember to bring along bikes, balls and gloves, board games, Frisbees, or any other favorite game or toy. There will be plenty of opportunities for the family to play together.
Many state parks and other public parks offer nature programs for the kids, and some even show outside movies on weekends. Since most of these parks are located in remote areas away from city lights, they make great places to watch sunsets and to gaze at the stars at night.

In Europe, London is a top pick for affordable vacation destinations, for these exact reasons. Not only do you have more flights to choose from, they are cheaper than if you flew to a more remote location.

On average, staying in London may be a bit more expensive than other European destinations, but the seemingly endless choices in hotels, restaurants, transportation, tours, and other travel essentials gives travelers opportunities to mold their vacation to fit their budgets. And you can use London as your home base to set out on day trips to other more exotic locations or buy a Eurorail pass and see those more remote countries without the expense of flying there.

A note about Eurorail passes needs to be made here.  You cannot buy a Euroail pass in Europe. These types of passes must be purchased outside of Europe. Also you must purchase it before your trip, and have it validated at a train station in Europe before boarding a train in your selected European destination.

You can purchase different types of Eurorail passes depending on how and where you’ll be using it.  Prices vary according to the type of pass you buy.  These can seem expensive at first glance, but they can be well worth the money when you consider the places you can go armed with this small card.

The greatest part about a European vacation is that the American dollar has massive spending power abroad.  With the exchange rate, you can expect to get more bang for your buck when spending overseas.

For lodging, you should look at staying in hostels which are abundant in Europe.  It’s best to make reservations so you don’t have to worry where you’ll be sleeping for any given night.

In general, hostels are quite inexpensive – in many places, you can expect to stay for under $20 a night.  In a hostel you will have a bed, shared bathroom, and sometimes breakfast. Remember that you are going to Europe for the sites and people, not the hotel rooms.