Cheap family holidays: how to save on your next getaway

Taking your kids on holiday can be one of life's great pleasures and it doesn't have to break the bank. There are plenty of travel deals and ways to cut holiday costs.

I've tried all sorts of strategies. I've swapped homes and rented apartments instead of staying in hotels to save on food bills. My kids have slept on plenty of fold-down beds. I swap frequent flyer points for fares. I've joined clubs that offer accommodation discounts and meal deals. I scour websites for early bird discounts.

I haven't always been lucky with my travel arrangements but I'm getting better at sussing out deals that sound good but are loaded with conditions. It is important to research and shop around. The web makes it easy. I don't take the accommodation at face value (after a few disasters).

Photos are deceptive. I always put the name of the resorts, hotels, motels and apartments into a review website such as Trip Advisor to see what other travellers say. It's always an eye-opener.

Do your homework on car hire, meals, transport and tours. You can save real money, rather than pay the standard rate.

A promise in some advertisements is that kids (usually under 12 but some under 15) stay and eat for free. Look at the fine print to see exactly what you get. This usually means there is no charge for children sharing a room with parents, using existing bedding. How many kids can fit in the same room? Some hotels allow two children as long as there are paying adults as well. Some specify two paying adults.

"Kids can eat for free" usually means free as long as they order from the kids' menu while their parents eat with them. Resorts usually specify the restaurants for kids. If you like hotels with kids' clubs, check that the club is free.

Sometimes early bird deals can be a great way for families to save money. There are plenty of discounts of 20% or 30% if you book and pay well in advance.

Many snow holidays offer free kids' deals, but check if these deals are available in the school hols. Typically some of the ski deals are not available then.

Consider joining your child up for a frequent flyer program with an airline if they fly from time to time. One friend flies to Queensland to visit her parents and takes the kids. She signed them up for Virgin's Velocity program, which is free for everyone. She has recently been able to use accumulated points and claim a free flight.

Qantas has a frequent flyer program but with a one-off joining fee of $82.50 you would have to fly a lot and accumulate huge numbers of points to get real benefits.

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