I've written posts in the past with reviews of campgrounds and have several campgrounds I'm going to be reviewing shortly.  In the recent past, I've had several friends ask about affordable vacations for them and their families.  So, this post will have information in it regarding camping with a camper, tent or renting a cabin at a campground; some of the costs associated with camp grounds; and the overall experience.  

For this example, we'll use one of my favorite campgrounds: Hi-Tide Beach and Campground in Leland, Illinois. Please keep in mind that if you choose to get a camper or a tent, that cost is not figured here.  Most tents will run around $150 to $500; and most travel trailer (pull behind) campers will run anywhere from $500 to $30,000 depending on the type, condition and year of camper. If you're new to camping and don't want to tent and don't want to rent a cabin, I would get a pop-up as a starter.  You can find good used pop-ups anywhere from $500 to $5000.  While that might sound pricey, it's still cheaper than a one week disney vacation. Plus, it's a one time expense (unless you upgrade to a bigger camper).

When looking at camping, it truly is the most affordable vacation your family will ever take.  Especially if you go with a camper or tent.  But even if you go with a cabin rental, it will still be a great deal more affordable for the whole family to vacation and make life long, happy family memories.

First, we'll look at transportation to and from the vacation.  You're going to be driving to your vacation, so your only cost is gas.  While gas prices have been on the rise in recent years, it is still much more affordable to drive three or four hours to your vacation, than it would be to fly to a vacation destination.  For this article, we'll assuming you're driving approximately three hours to your campground vacation.  You should be able to make a three hour trip on one tank of gas.  So we'll assume you need $60 in gas to get there and $60 in gas to get back, making your total cost of travel $120.

Next we'll focus on lodging.  Again, using our example of Hi-Tide Campground (2013 summer prices), a tent lot would cost you $33 per night, a full hook up (water, electric, sewer) camper lot will cost you $44, and if you rent a cabin you are looking at $68 per night.  We're going to be camping Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  So for two nights/three days our costs are tent: $66, Camper: $88, Cabin: $136.

Now that we've gotten to the campground and have our lodging squared away.  We want to focus on the food and fun activities.  Remember, you're camping, so you'll be bring your own food to BBQ or roast on a fire.  You'll basically want simple foods such as sandwiches, hot dogs, hamburgers, brats and sausage, pop, water and adult frosty beverages.  And don't forget the marshmallows!  For entertainment, find a campground that offers free pool access or lake access.  Bring games and a football or baseball and golves or a frisbie.  Some campgrounds even have free mini-golf (or a small fee like $2 per person for mini-golf).  The nice thing about camping, is, if you do your research and planning first, you typically do not have to leave the campground once you are there.  Overall, if you're a family of 5 going away for a camping weekend, you should be able to EASILY get away with less than $150 in food and entertainment for the entire weekend!  Just make sure you plan what you'll eat and when and you should be good to go.  I honestly think that $150 is on the high end, but we'll give you the worst case scenario with costs here.

So, we've pretty much covered your entire weekend vacation for a family of 5.  Here is how the trip breaks down.

Transportation: $120

Lodging:
Tent: $66
Camper: $88
Cabin: $136

Food and Entertainment: $150

Total Affordable Camping Vacation weekend for a family of 5:
Tent:  $336
Camper:  $358
Cabin: $406

Memories that will last a lifetime: Priceless.

Just for fun, here are some examples of other non-camping weekend vacations:
(rates as of 4/12/2013 from the website of the venue)

Key Lime Cove (Gurnee, IL)
Lodging: $449.95
Gas: $120
Total:  $569.95 (Plus tax; fees on lodging AND food and drink)

Wisconsin Dells
Lodging: Wilderness Resort:   $499
Gas: $120
Total:  $619.00 (Plus tax and fees on lodging AND water park fees AND food and drink)

Disney Land Resorts
Lodging & Park Entery:  $2,200.00
Flights:  $490 (plus fees, assuming you get lucky with a southwest $49 flight each way)
Total:  $2690 (plus fees, taxes AND food and drink)

If you can do a Disney vacation for this amount, you are better than me. My last Disney vacation cost over $4,000(family of 4).  And when you compare that to the cost of camping, you could take over 10 camping vacations for the cost of one weekend vacation to Disney.

I hope this was helpful for my friends out there that have been asking.  Camping truly is the most affordable vacation you could take, and if you do it right (meaning no video games and no cell phones), then the family time that you and your kids have will create memories that will last a life time!