Staying in a vacation rental home is becoming increasingly popular for family vacations, especially because vacation rentals can be a fantastic value. With the growth of the popularity and availability of vacation rentals, there are some important things you can do to insure your visit will be everything you hoped for and more.

There’s more road trip news than we can fit into our regular features. The Friday News Roundup gives families the stories we think are the most important every week, all in one place. Your family road trip just got a little bit easier, week-by-week.

It doesn’t really matter whether you think the recession is over or not. The kids still want to see Grandma for the holidays. Heck, you probably want to see family or friends for the holidays too. But, airline tickets and rental cars might not be in the budget. The perfect solution could be a multi-family road trip. Just rent a condo, pack everyone in, and celebrate like you live there.

From June 1 to August 30, families staying at San Francisco’s Fisheman’s Wharf can take advantage of a special package that pairs a stay at the Hyatt Fisherman’s Wharf with a tour from Ride The Ducks San Francisco. Ride The Ducks offers 1 1/2 hour land and water tours of popular cities on amphibious vehicles.