Proponents of budget-friendly and hassle-free travel, Road Trips for Families suggests condo vacations as an option for large groups and lengthy stays. Ideal for family reunions, retreats, and even the occasional girlfriend/guy-weekend getaway, vacation rentals, villas, and condos offer the comforts of home when you need them the most.

With 101 ways to electronically entertain kids on a road trip, Road Trips for Families suggests re-introducing the window as an alternate “low tech” way to unplug, engage, and even bond.

Great Lakes Road Trips: Michigan Kismet Moments. Following the tug of the steering wheel to places we normally wouldn’t have time or patience to go.

Visiting garage and thrift sales on a road trip is a fun way to save money, find hidden treasures, and keep kids looking for signs. From geocaching trinkets to clothing and toys, your next vacation souvenir may be off on an adventure of its own.

Yellowstone National Park is the oldest national park. For those quick with logic, that means that Yellowstone is our first national park. The park is huge, and a map doesn’t truly convey how much geography is really encompassed. Housed in three states (Wyoming, Idaho and Montana), first-time visitors to Yellowstone often attempt to “see the whole park” in a few days. That’s a sure recipe for disaster.

Our friends at ReserveAmerica have just released their list of the Top 100 Family Campgrounds for 2010. Looking at the list and comparing to those we’ve crossed off our personal “To Do” list, it’s apparent …

A new trend in family vacation planning is iPhone travel apps, or virtual travel guide books. Authored by area gurus, travel apps offer an in-depth look at a particular region or vacation destination. Apps are more content rich and interactive than traditional guide books, and bring the itinerary planning right along in the car with you.

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.

According to AAA, automobile travel will be up 5.4 percent this Memorial Day. It’s always a road trip holiday, and with gas prices this year expected to stay under $3/gallon, it is affordable for families to hit the road, especially if you do a one-tank trip. Before you leave, browse this list of safety tips. Especially with kids in the car, there’s no good time to be stranded by the side of the road.

Our road tripping family gets asked all the time for suggestions on destinations, attractions and restaurants. And, honestly, it can be hard to remember details about each road trip. Family Rambling has solved that with their handy Travel Journal.

List everything you really want in a spring vacation. The destination should be easy to get to, have something for everyone to enjoy (even if your kids range in age from 2-15), sun and affordable prices. A road trip to Paso Robles, California, is the perfect solution.

All the rumors about a new movie starring the Griswold family are apparently true. Vacation (1983) featured the cross-country drive to Walley World, and the new movie will be from the perspective of Rusty Griswold (the son in the original movies), and his quest to take his family to Walley World before it shuts its doors forever.

When going fast on the snow using traditional things like skis, snowboards and snowmobiles gets old, apparently one takes water sports and applies them to frozen water. According to Randy Ericksen, one of the writers of the Black Hills Travel Blog, the latest trend is snow kayaking.

This year’s extra-cold winter weather had us thinking about what road tripping families need to really enjoy some of the scenery that such weather creates. It’s also a lot more enjoyable to burn off some of that energy by hiking, and there are some spectacular winter hikes right now.

Summer is almost officially over, and it may seem like you can’t afford to get away for Labor Day. But, with a little bit of planning, some online research and a few tips, you can enjoy the perfect vacation and not break the bank.

When your family travels, how much thought do you give to the animals you will see on your trip? Have you been looking for a way to do more than just enjoy the tourist attractions and leave? Consider Compassionate Travel.

School may be back in session, but the beach is still calling your name. An ideal destination for your family’s beach road trip is Florida’s Northwest Gulf Coast. Known as “THE Beach”, it stretches 227 miles from Pensacola to Apalachicola in the Florida Panhandle and features miles of georgeous white sand beaches and charming seaside villages.

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.

No doubt it’s been a tough year, and your vacation budget has seen better days. But, the holidays are meant to be spent with family. So, I talked with Carol White, co-author of the award-winning book “Live Your Road Trip Dream”, the ultimate road trip planning guide for extended road trips, about how to save money for your holiday road trip this year.

Let’s face it. There’s not a parent on the planet that doesn’t get a little panicked at the thought of 20 hours in the car with their offspring. So, how do you plan for a more successful road trip? I talked to Dr. Scott Haltzman, author of “Secrets of Happy Families” for some expert advice.