Affordable Vacations Close to Cincinnati

Has the recession canceled your big summer vacation this need? If so, no need to stay home organizing the medicine chest on your week off.

Instead, we've hit the road to show you 6 affordable family vacations....just a few hours from the Cincinnati area.

Many Families Staying Home

Most years, summer means airports....Palm Trees...and ocean. But for Sandra Thomas of Colerain Township and many Tri State families, those destinations are are on hold.

Sandra told me "unfortunately, due the economy, we're not going to ge able to go anywhere this year."

But you don't have to go cold turkey, though, because there are some great summer vacations right in our backyard/

Six Hot Summer Deals

With the help of Cincinnati's AAA travel...we found 6 hot summer deals within a few hours drive.

• Deal number one: the towns along Ohio's Lake Erie shoreline.

You'll find breezy beach towns, just 4 hours from Cincinnati by car.

Put-in-Bay, Middle Bass Island, and Kelley's Island offer ocean-like experiences, for as little as $75 dollars a night. Plus, youre close to the region's biggest theme park --Cedar Point in Sandusky.

• Deal number two: Columbus, Ohio.

Your Columbus weekend can include a day at COSI, one of the country's best science museums, and a night in nearby scenic Hocking Hills....for just over a hundred bucks.

• Deal number three: Indianapolis.

Here, you can spend a day at the country's best Children's Museum, and a night at Caribbean Cove...Indiana's largest indoor waterpark, in the Holiday Inn North, just 20 minutes from downtown Indy.

Want to find a bigger water park? Consider....

• Deal number four: Santa Claus Indiana, near Evansville.

Here, 3 hours from Cincinnati, you'll find something for everyone: Holiday World, Splashin' Safari, and Boone Caverns, discovered by Daniel Boone's father. Lots of inexpensive hotels here.

• Deal number five: The Lexington or Louisville areas.

You'll find summer package deals at many Lexington hotels, for under $100, that include a visit to the Kentucky Horse Park.

Similarly, Louisville features hotel packages with visits to the Louisville Slugger Museum and a Kentucky Bourbon walking tour.

• Deal number six: Bowling Green, Kentucky.

Here, 3 to 4 hours from Cincinnati, you can escape the heat in the huge caverns in the Kentucky Cave Region, with a sidetrip to the Chevy Corvette Museum.

You'll find many cheap hotels in the Bowling Green area.

Or...a "Staycation"

Of course, even $100 dollars a night may be more than you want to spend right now. In that case, consider a "Staycation." Local destinations and ideas include day trips to:

• Kings Island
• The Beach WaterPark
• The Cincinnati Zoo
• Coco Key Indoor Waterpark in Sharonville
• A "road rally" with other drivers of similar cars

And there are dozens of free local events, that won't cost a dime: check the Cincinnati Free Staycation link for those.

You'll also find links above to most of the places mentioned here, so you don't waste your money. I'm John Matarese.