With autumn quickly approaching and the kids back in school, your mind might be drifting back to the wonderful vacation you took this past summer. You're remembering the time spent on a relaxing beach, or perhaps visiting your favorite amusement park or hiking in the mountains. Regardless of where you went or what you did, memories are now the only thing you have left.

Unless of course, you paid a high price for your vacation and put it on a credit card. Then you have the monthly bills to remind you until next year's or subsequent vacations.

If this sounds like you, here's a question: are vacation packages worth the cost? In other words, is it possible to get vacation deals more cheaply as an entire package then trying to purchase each individual component separately? The overwhelming answer is "yes."

Vacation Packages Offer Discounts

Regardless of whether your destination is the Bahamas, Europe, or Mexico, vacation packages tend to be less expensive overall because they have built-in discounts. So while that $3,000 price tag may be somewhat of a shock when you first see it roll across your computer screen, a few minutes with a calculator quickly demonstrates its money-saving potential.

Furthermore, if you use a dedicated travel website that specializes in hunting down the best deals you can save even more. Many of these websites work hand-in-hand with hotel chains, airlines, and other travel related businesses to provide lower prices in exchange for bulk sales. That means greater savings for you when you book an all-inclusive package.

Flights, Hotels, and Other Options

If you're traveling overseas or across the country you're obviously going to need plane tickets. Since airline travel tends to be the most expensive portion of a trip this is the place to start. You'll want to find a great deal on round-trip airfare that accommodates your family size, your schedule, and your luggage needs.

Once you have your flight schedule established you can add in the other options such as hotels, car rental, meals, and even tours and entertainment. The point is you can include as many options as you want. And as a general rule, the more you include the less you pay in total.

Start Planning Now for Winter Travel

Perhaps you're already making plans to travel to Hawaii, the Caribbean, or even someplace stateside this winter. Lots of travelers prefer to spend their Christmas and New Year's holidays someplace where it's warm and sunny. If you're one of them, you need to start looking at holiday vacation packages right away.

The Christmas holidays fill up fast in warm weather destinations for obvious reasons. So you certainly don't want to wait until October or November if you want the best deal possible. The best prices will be found now, while there's still plenty of airline tickets and hotel occupancy available.

The long and short of it is that vacation packages are definitely worth the cost. We're confident you'll agree if you'll just try it once.