The holidays are here again. What an exciting time. What a stressful time as well. There are presents to buy and cards to send out. Parties to attend and perhaps a party to host. The tree is up and the lights are hung on the house. Now it is time to plan for this year's trip. If your budget is tight here are 5 travel tips to get to where you are going without breaking the bank this holiday season. Maybe these tips can even make your travel less stressful.

1. If you are flying and have presents to take ship them in advance. They will be there when you arrive and you do not have to mess with taking them on the plane. If you do take them on the plane do not wrap them. With the heightened security at airports they will probably just be unwrapped and checked anyway.

Is it time to get away, kick up your heels, and relax a bit? Don't want to spend and arm and a leg to do so? Here are the top ten cheap vacations for under $1000.

Cheap Vacation 1: A week of camping with the Family

Staying at a resort for your next vacation can be a great way to pamper yourself and enjoy all the amenities that a fine resort has to offer. But did you know that you can also save money with all inclusive resort vacations? You can find these special deals by visiting your travel agent, but you can also find them fairly easily right online if you just look for them.

- Plan your vacations on off seasons, Hotel rates, even airline and car rental rates are lower during this time due to lower demand. You can get as much as a 50% discount if you book a room during off season, so try and call the hotel if they have off season discounts and ask them when the discounts will be effective.

- Some hotels give discounts to certain people like students, military contingents, Senior citizens, honeymooners etc. Ask for these discounts and what their details, you can save a lot with these.

- Ask if your kids can stay for free, if you're with your family, sometimes hotels can allow up to two kids for a two bed room provided that the kids are within the age limit.

You need to ASK if you want a discount. Here are ways to do it:

*Search the internet, look for great deals. There are various types of hotels that offer great discounts on the web for online customers. Be sure to check these out.

*Plan your trip during the off season months. These are the times when big discounts are given.

*Call the hotel of your choice. Ask them about offers and discounts that they can give. List all promotions.

*Certain hotels can give discounts to credit card holders of certain card establishments. Ask for the manager and ask him about it. The manager is the best person to ask, since if you can make negotiations, he has the authority to make negotiations with you.

Here's a tip that the airlines don't tell you: You can often get great savings on airfares--especially international airfares--when you use more than one airline ticket for the same trip.

But there is technique to it. Some challenges can arise when you use two tickets--but don't worry, I'm going to tell you how to avoid them right here.

Hotel and rental car owners don't just offer you discounts at random, you have to ask for it work for it, and sometimes, these discounts aren't even worth it, well unless you're looking to traveling during off peak season where there is at most a 50% discount. But let's face it, we travel during peak season because this is the season when we actually have time to travel. So aside from waiting for your favorite hotel's tirade of discounts during off peak season, when you can't really travel and then end up not traveling at all, why not take the initiative and find your own ways to cheap travel, make your own discount.

All people need a break, to reconnect with the spouse, to reward the kids, to recharge the soul. But planning a vacation getaway can quickly turn into a stressful project when the subject of expenses comes up. Airfare alone can kill the fantasy. And when people already factor in accommodations, food, and shopping, any budget-conscious mother would just give up and stay home.

Thankfully, there are now more options for quick and fun vacations without having the costly air fares.

Cheap Airfare

So, how does low-cost or cheap air fare work exactly? Simple: Budget air travel gets you to your destination in the shortest time and at the cheapest possible price.

How would you like to visit Paris in the spring? Sample local wines in Tuscany in September? Enjoy the English countryside in the summer? Sound like a dream? It doesn't have to be.

Vacation rentals are something that most of us associate with large sums of money. But, you don't have to pay unreasonable rental rates. You can easily stay in quality rentals without paying every last dime to your name. Next time you go on a vacation, don't assume that you have to pay top dollar for your rental.