Gas prices in the US have gone nuts in the last year and are creating concern among families wanting to take vacations. I for one know that our family vacation plans for this year have changed considerably as I’m sure they have for many. To avoid the high cost of traveling on vacation this year we are going to stay close to home to take our family vacation. Actually we might just take two or three small weekend vacations and stay relatively close to home. A couple of the family vacation ideas we came up with this year included renting a lake cottage in Michigan, taking a weekend trip to Chicago, going to Cedar Point for the weekend.

There are many really nice lakes in Northern Indiana and Southern Michigan that would make great places for our family vacation this year. While it might cost more to rent a cottage or lake front house for a week, in the long run staying close to home for vacation instead of traveling out west or to the east coast we can save a bundle on gas money. The savings would more than cover the added cost of renting a vacation home, cottage or cabin for the week. My kids love to spend time on the beach at the lake, enjoy fishing, swimming and all the other outdoor activities associated with a vacation on the lake so the might be the option we go with.

Traveling to Chicago for the weekend and visiting the many wonderful museums was also an Idea that my wife and I came up with. I for one love the Museum of Science and Industry. There are so many things to do in Chicago on vacation that a weekend might not be long enough. The kids love the zoo, spending time hitting all the museums and are getting old enough to enjoy a night a the theatre. Our thoughts on going to Chicago for Vacation were that we could take the train into the city, stay at a downtown hotel and utilize the public transportation to save money on gas. If you’ve never taken your family to Chicago for vacation you might be surprised at how much fun it can be. Every time we have taken a weekend trip or week long vacation in Chicago we discover something new to enjoy.

Cedar Point for us is a relatively short drive and the gas prices should be much of an impact. Every family enjoys a weekend vacation at an amusement park, so you can’t go wrong here. I’ve heard rumors that the parks are starting to offer discounts do to lower than normal attendance by travelers. This would be a great time to take advantage of the savings and spend your vacation at the water park, riding roller coasters or just walking the beaches of Northern Ohio. The nice thing about the high gas prices and lower number of vacationers is that even the hotels around most tourist attractions are going to feel the pain and start offering deep discounts.

I hope you find some of these family vacation ideas useful and can save money on gas by utilizing the travel opportunities in your local area. While you may not live near the places I’ve mentioned hopefully you can find somewhere close to home to spend your vacation.

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