Five Surprisingly Affordable Vacation Destinations

Whether you are planning a family vacation or just a weekend get-away for yourself, we’re all looking for an affordable vacation. Depending on what you consider affordable you may be prepared to spend a little more or less on your vacation. To our way of thinking, a cheap vacation is one that gives you a good time, and doesn’t cost you an arm and a leg to accomplish it. To that end, our first affordable vacation destination may just be a surprise to you.

First up is…

Las Vegas, Nevada

See, I said you’d be shocked. While you certainly can spend an arm and a leg in Las Vegas, the point is that you don’t have to. Hotels on the famed strip are going to cost you a good bit more in the overall scheme of things but some which are just off the Strip area will be clean, comfortable and fun, while costing just about 29-49 dollars per night. The array of free entertainment in Las Vegas for individuals as well as families is simply breath taking. Far from gambling being the only entertainment, Las Vegas has become much more a family friendly city.

Free entertainment ranges from a volcano that spews ash and fire upward several times a day, to a show inside Ceasars Palace hotel that offers you a half hour animated stone statue show telling the story of the rise and fall of Atlantis. The Pirate ships, also on the strip at a well known hotel features Sirens, a show seen several times nightly, while off the strip you will have museums and frontier and history arenas, most of which are free or very low cost.

Check out these Las Vegas Vacation Packages and Deals

The Grand Canyon and Petrified Forest

Located in the South West, in upper Arizona, the Petrified Forest National Park features trees which have literally turned to stone. There are a wide assortment of other kinds of entertainment in the immediate area, including a family water park.

The Grand Canyon is actually pretty close to Las Vegas, so flying into Vegas is probably the quickest way to get there.  Here’s a cool deal: Save $88 on a Grand Canyon Ultimate Helicopter & Ranch Full Day Tour. The entire area features so much to see and do, including the amazing Grand Canyon not too far from the Petrified Forest. The Grand canyon features a steam engine trip, great hotels at reasonable prices, the burro ride down the canyon trails, as well as a superb restaurant and a post office on the rim of the canyon where you can send off those postcards.

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Albuquerque is next on our list of cheap vacation destinations that will give you something for the entire family. Why not spend the day riding up the side of the mountain in the words longest tram? Spend the day on the mountain top having a snowball fight and come back to the earth in the afternoon to go swimming.

Albuquerque is truly a unique area, like nowhere else on earth. The many Native American vendors are the weekly swap meet, one of the largest in the southwest, offer jewelry at very affordable prices, while there are clean and pleasant bed and breakfasts in the old style of the southwest on nearly every block. Your vacation may be inexpensive here, but it certainly isn’t cheap. Come in September to see the largest collection of hot air balloons in the United States as the Hot Air Balloon festival kicks off with more than a thousand hot air balloons rising into the skies over Albuquerque.

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Blue Ridge Mountains

Moving Eastward, why not take your next affordable vacation in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Tennessee has a lot to offer you. Cabins are affordable, the wildlife is amazing and the hiking and other outdoor activities are low cost, and will give you a thrill that you’d be hard pressed to find anywhere else.

The immediate area is also a hotbed of history if you’re into the Civil War. Reenactments of the historical battles take place in Tennessee and in nearby Georgia several times a year and most of them are offered free of charge to the viewers.

Good Hotel Deals in Tennessee

Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park

All the way easterly now, Pennsylvania’s amazing tribute to Yogi Bear is another place to get an affordable vacation that is fun for the entire family. Water slides, perfect summer time weather, picnics, camping or cabin rentals, and cheap vacations with vast numbers of things to do are what you will find at Yogi Bears Jellystone Park. There are JellyStone Parks all over the US.  Check here for locations.

Affordable vacations aren’t a thing of the past. They are very much alive and well, they just take a little planning and a little imagination to accomplish.