Amazingly enough, its summertime already and many of us are about to engage in the delusional world of family travel. Taking the kids, the dog, 6 suitcases, and Grandma cross country in a cramped two-door car with no air conditioning – now that’s fun! Or if you’re flying with the team, remember that many Airlines no longer serve meals , newspapers or magazines so that also means bring your own. The key is to plan ahead. Where to kennel the dog. Where to kennel the kids. Just kidding! But if Grandma is available, go for it. 😉

Book your airline tickets as far in advance as possible to get the best overall savings – but there are still some great summer vacation deals available if you know where to look.

If you like FREE and you’re thinking Florida for vacation – Southwest Vacations is offering packages that include airfare, hotel, and FREE 7-day Universal Studios tickets for 2 adults & 2 children aged 3-9. If you’re renting a car, Alamo has exclusive website offerings of last minute specials, savings of 10-15% if you pre-pay your reservation and you can also get discount e-coupons

Or, if you’re looking for something inexpensive and all-inclusive, then taking a cruise is great value for your money! There are so many cruise lines and so many ships, they’re making the prices ridiculously cheap just to get you onboard. Carnival Cruise Lines is offering a 7-day Eastern Caribbean cruise, which includes all of your meals, on-board entertainment, plus the excitement of traveling to different destinations from $599 per 1st/2nd passenger and only $399 for 3rd/4th. And mostly importantly, this also includes complimentary activities for the kids, all day long and some evenings, at Camp Carnival. Can you imagine? Almost like FREE babysitting!!

No matter whether you are at an Airport , on a Plane or out on the Cruise ship a great idea is to take back packs for each of the kids complete with snacks, toys, books, games and a disposable camera (but make sure you keep the extra film – otherwise you’ll end up with 64 pictures of shoes and huge piggy faces like I got once) and an extra change of clothes. Pack any necessary medicines in a carry on or keep somewhere that’s easy to access. No one wants to unload everything in the car to find Grandma’s medications that were actually in her purse all along. Purchase individual pizzas at airport stop-overs, even if they’re not hungry now, they will be later and who doesn’t love cold pizza? Unpack half of the clothes in your suitcases but add 50% more to your budget – now you’re set!

Wherever you go this summer on your family vacation, plan ahead, have your airline tickets reserved, car rental and hotel rooms booked early. You’ll find the best deals that way and you’ll be able to relax and have so much more fun spending time with the family instead of trying to making travel arrangements at the last minute.