#TRAVEL--SUMMER VACATION DEALS

If you’re in the planning stages for your family’s summer vacation, you’ve probably been searching for hotel and airfare deals. But a huge part of vacation spending is meals and entertainment. A family of four can rack up hundreds of dollars each day just by eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner—not to mention the cost of taking everyone to the local amusement park, aquarium, or museum.

Before you head off on vacation, download the apps for Groupon,com, Restaurant.com, and LivingSocial.com. Add the cities you’ll be visiting to receive daily alerts for food and entertainment discounts. If you haven’t booked your hotel yet, these sites also offer vacation discounts.

If you’re planning to visit any national parks, purchase an annual pass. Each pass covers entrance fees to more than 2,000 national parks and wildlife refuges. The pass covers entrance, standard amenity fees, and day use fees for a driver and all passengers in a personal vehicle at per vehicle fee areas or up to four adults at sites that charge per person. Children fifteen and under are free. There are also a variety of specialty passes for seniors, military personnel, persons with disabilities, and others.

Once you arrive at your destination, make sure you check out the local tourism center. Many offer coupons for everything from parking to local attractions and even some restaurants and gift shops to help defray the cost of all those souvenirs.

TRAVEL WITH SERENA--AMUSEMENT PARK SAVINGS

Do your kids love theme and amusement parks? Okay, what kid doesn’t, right? But have you looked at the price of admission to these places lately? And I’m not just talking Disneyworld. Even local theme and amusement parks can set a family of four back a few hundred dollars for a day of loop-de-loops.

Did you know that most of these parks offer group discounts? So do professional sports teams. Before scheduling a trip to your local theme park or a major league baseball stadium this summer, check out their websites to see the number of people required to qualify for a group discount. By teaming up with a few other families, you could save as much as half the price of admission, depending on the venue.

A little pre-planning and organizing will put money in your pocket to spend on those pricey hot dogs and sodas. Remember, most of these places don’t allow you to bring in your own food, and the food can wind up costing as much as the tickets.

TRAVEL WITH SERENA--BUDGET VACATIONS, PART 2

Last week I talked about booking vacation homes and apartments to cut down on the cost of a vacation. Another big budget buster when traveling is food. Eating three meals a day at a restaurant can be very costly, especially if you’re traveling as a family. Here’s a tip for reducing those meal bills:

Eat where the locals eat. If you’re visiting a large city, check out the local coffee shops for breakfast. At lunch time, head for the food trucks and food carts that have the longest lines. Local residents go where the food is cheap and good.

Want something a little nicer for dinner? Before you go on vacation, visit online deal sites like restaurants.com, Groupon, and Living Social to stock up on discounted meal vouchers for restaurants in the places you’ll be visiting.

TRAVEL WITH SERENA--VACATIONS ON A BUDGET

Vacations are expensive, but we all need to get away every so often to refresh and rejuvenate. One way to cut down on the cost of a trip is to book your stay at a vacation home or apartment rental instead of a hotel. There are options for all budgets. You can book anything from a spare bedroom to a multi-million dollar villa. Although, if you’re looking for a multi-million dollar villa, you’re probably not worrying about your budget! You can find listings for rentals online. Two to check out are airbnb.com and homeaway.com.