Depends on what you do. Airfare from the US to a destination outside of North America probably costs around $1000 round trip (varies by time of year, destination, etc). For a family of 4, you're already half way through your budget just to get somewhere and back. On the other hand if you pack up the car and drive to the next state over to visit Grandma, you've probably only spent a couple hundred on gas/tolls/etc.