For your next family travel destination, plan a trip through Your Town, U.S.A., and discover something new. If rising costs of food and gasoline are stressing your budget, you can still enjoy an affordable, fun-filled cheap family vacation.

You don’t need a airline ticket. Most of the miles can be traveled in your family car, on foot or with available public transit. Reservations for lodging are already in place and your food budget will not suffer irreparable damage and no additional tax and gratuities are necessary. If you can’t afford transportation to an exotic destination, don’t despair. You can turn your home into the perfect base of operations for a happy vacation. Here are a few ideas to help with the essential planning.

Imagine yourself as a tourist in your own hometown. First, prepare an itinerary as you would for any successful journey. A good place to begin is at your town’s website and the public library where you’ll find information on the history of your community. Locate monuments or historical houses and burial sites and prepare some notes to inform your visit. Review town calendars that post notices of special tours and events. This would be a great year to attend a local food festival, garden days or support local theater, concerts or a dance recital of local performers. Many communities promote summer celebrations to commemorate founders, famous citizens or notable occurrences in town history. Research garden clubs for house and garden tours and explore the special place in which you live. No art museum? No problem. My town library has rotating exhibits of area painters and a crafts cooperative displays hand-wrought jewelry, embellished accessories, exquisite quilts and textiles created by local artisans. Take advantage of nearby universities and community colleges offering meaningful lectures, exhibits and musical programs. Find health and wellness workshops presented by healthcare professionals at local hospitals. Many are inexpensive and open to the public.

Never underestimate the power of learning a new skill during vacation. Home supply centers like Lowe’s and Home Depot provide free instruction on faux painting, installing tile and outdoor projects. Craft stores, art suppliers, ceramic shops and bead boutiques schedule classes using their materials. Some people choose to schedule vacation time for volunteerism. Look for opportunities through your town’s recreation program, town-wide cleanup day, charity races or Habitat for Humanity.

Remember to treat yourself to something special. Support cooking schools offering reasonably priced meals prepared by students or learn to make a gourmet meal in a short term course given by a local caterer. For a little personal pampering, investigate training centers that offer low cost makeup and hairstyling services or massage therapy performed by students in training.

Think “green” and make time for nature study. Garden centers offer professional floral displays and landscaping ideas. Year round Christmas shops never put away their beautifully decorated trees and ornaments. Outdoor activities may include a trip to a local farm where you can pick fresh berries or a winery tour that offers free tasting. Use the opportunity to visit a zoo or fisheries operation if one is available in your area. A popular destination for tourists and locals in our town is the butterfly house where visitors can observe hundreds of butterflies in various stages of development.

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