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Eight Last-Minute Spring Break 2012 Travel Ideas

Locations in this article:  Denver, CO Miami, FL Minneapolis, MN Paris, France Santa Barbara, CA

Across the country, schools are releasing hoards of cooped-up kids, but it’s not too late to turn this year’s spring break into an educational and affordable family experience. Mom of three and Poshbrood founder Elizabeth Thorp shares her spring break tips and deals.

Spring break is here. If you haven’t made your plans yet — no fear — the price may be right for procrastinators.

Paris? Mais, Oui!

When countries have fiscal woes, it means that country’s tourism office will offer incredible deals to attract visitors and revenue. Hotels and resorts in Greece, Italy and Portugal are extremely affordable through late May. The euro is at a three-week low versus the dollar due to concerns over the Greek crisis so other European destinations are also more affordable now. In addition, many domestic and international airlines such as Lufthansa, Air France, American Airlines and OpenSkies are having Spring Sales to Europe. Or take Iceland Air. They offer low fares to Europe and you can add a stop over in Reykjavik for no additional charge.

Poshbrood Tip: Check out Airfare Watchdog where you can track best flight deals from your city and sign up for city-to-city fare alerts or anywhere cheap alerts. Who needs Santorini in July, anyway?

Explore Your America

On a budget? A extraordinary way to enjoy a family vacation while keeping costs in check is to visit a national park or a state park. From Palm Springs to Yellowstone to the Shenandoah Valley, our national and state parks offer economical lodgings like cabins and lodges in breathtaking settings. Some are very rustic but others offer full-service cabins with heat, air conditioning, bathroom and shower and full kitchens. You can search online for your location or type of park experience you want: hiking, horseback riding, skiing, boating, historic sites. We recently rented a large, full-service cabin in New Germany State Park in Maryland (not to far from Camp David) for $80 a night and it included our firewood and all utilities and taxes.

Spontaneous Travel = Big Savings

Are you nimble and adventurous? If so, have your bags packed and passports ready and you can cash in on some fabulous last-minute family getaways. Some resources that I use and recommend are:

Poshbrood Tip: Be sure to check the websites for the airlines that fly in and out of your local airport for their weekend and last-minute fares. Note that American Airlines, US Airways, JetBlue are especially strong for travel to Florida, Caribbean and Mexico. I recommend Virgin America for flights from the East Coast to California.

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