For families looking for a resort that delivers a casual yet active vacation, Club Med delivers a lot of positives: all-inclusive pricing, good food, imaginative kids' programming (including, at some properties, a circus school), and a wide array of family activities.  

Club Med is offering all of that at a substantial discount during its Fall “Wow” Sale,  with rates starting at $399 per person for a three-night stay.  When we test-booked three nights in September at Club Med Cancun Yucatan (see our review) for a family of four, we landed a price of $1,298 for a club two-bedroom suite (the standard lodging option). That's a savings of nearly 60% off the regular price of $3,152.

And that's not all. When you book a deluxe room or suite at Club Med resorts in Mexico or the Dominican Republic, you'll get either a free massage at the resort spa or a local excursion for two.  (A three-night September stay in a deluxe two-bedroom oceanfront room would run $1,578.)

The catch? You have to book by August 30, and travel between September 1 and October 31.  Stays of seven nights or more qualify for the discounted "wow" rates through April 29, 2011, including holidays. Book online or call 888/932-2582 and ask for the "wow" sale.

Ready to commit to your summer vacation plans? Hilton is launching a Great Getaway sale, which is advertised at up to 30% off hotel rooms for stays between May 28 and September 6.  Good at 2,800 hotels around the world—including Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Conrad Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels, Doubletree, Embassy Suites Hotels, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton Hotels, and Homewood Suites—the offer often includes free breakfast, too, for at least two people.

The discount varies a little by brand name: You’ll get a full 30% off at Doubletree hotels; 25%  at Hilton properties;  and 20% at Hampton Inn, Homewood Suites, Hilton Grand Vacations, Hilton Garden Inn, Waldorf Astoria and Conrad. The deal is available at only select Embassy Suites.

Sounds pretty good, right? No so fast. The discount applies to the Bed & Breakfast rate, which is always higher than the lowest regular rate and the regular advance-purchase rate. And the offer comes with some big restrictions: You have to book at least seven days ahead of your arrival and pay in full upfront, with no possible refund.

We shopped at some family-friendly spots to see how the special offer played out. At the Hilton Garden Inn in Williamsburg, the special offer rate was $112 a night, down from the Bed & Breakfast rate of $141. Now comes the comparison pricing: That's 21% off the B&B rate but just 15% off the best regular rate of $129. Meanwhile, the regular advance-purchase, no-refund rate was $105. Think of the special offer as getting a free, cooked-to-order breakfast for each family member for just $7 in total. Rooms at the hotel, less than two miles from the city center, have fridges and microwaves, and the hotel has the obligatory pool.

At the Hilton Los Cabos resort in Mexico's Cabo San Lucas—which has a beach, pool and kids' club—the special offer shaves 25% off this property's B&B rate. The special offer rate for an ocean view room with two queen beds was $194 a night, compared to $259 for the B&B rate, which includes two buffet breakfasts for the grown-ups each morning and free meals for kids 5 and under. When you figure in those free meals, the special offer probably has the edge over the regular advance-purchase rate of $179 a night—but just barely, and only if your kids are very young.

Verdict: This is a great example of how marketing spin can make a just-okay offer sound much better than it is. And it's a good reminder of why you need to follow recession travel rule no. 1 and always do the math. Sometimes this special offer beats all the hotel's other rates—and sometimes you can do better by choosing another rate from the menu. On the upside, this offer usually delivers a free breakfast, so long as you can also stomach the non-refundable risk.

Look for the Great Getaway rates when entering dates online, or mention the deal when calling 800/446-6677. You must book before July 15. Some brands  have their own twists on the rules, such as a three-night minimum and no breakfast at Hilton Grands, or two-night minimum night stay for Wednesday arrivals at Homewoods Suites. As usual, other restrictions may apply.

This winter is turning out to be a great time for a weekend getaway, thanks to big sales at two of the largest hotel chains. Last week we posted about Hilton's mega January sale, which offers winter weekend savings of up to 33% across its chains. 

Now Marriott has stepped up to the plate with a  Global Rate Break promo that lets you save 20% on weekend rates stay at many of its hotels—and claims to up the ante to a 40% discount at a few resorts. The deal applies to various Marriott, JW Marriott, Renaissance, Courtyard, Fairfield, SpringHill, Residence Inn, and TownPlace Suites hotels all over the world. 

We checked rates at several properties and found that, indeed, the deal typically delivers a 20% price cut. At Desert Springs, the JW Marriott in the Palm Springs area with requisite pool, lawn games and kids club, we found rates of $327 a night for a room with two beds and a balcony—down from the desert’s high season rate of $409. In Hawaii, the deal offered up the Kauai Marriott  for just $194 a night, down from $240.

But don’t get your hopes too high on the 40%-off lure that's said to be available at select resorts in the Caribbean, Latin America and Hawaii. When we test-booked a stay at a handful of properties for a February weekend getaway, we couldn’t find any availability at the 40%-off rate.  More commonly, we found that this deal led to a 20% discount.

The sale applies to weekend stays (Thursday to Sunday), and some hotels require a two-night minimum. You must book by January 22 and complete your stay by March 21. Use promo code F5X when booking online.

Compare prices and dates at various properties carefully. Plenty of hotels have blackout dates. At some hotels, this deal is only available through January 18, while other hotels are keeping it on the table for stays as late as April 25.

To get this deal, you must book by November 10. Use the promo code LTNOVN when booking online, or mention the deal when calling 888/625-5144. Rates are pre-paid and non-refundable. 

Little more than a decade ago, taking a Disney vacation meant heading to a theme park in Orlando, Anaheim or Paris. But nowadays, the company that Walt built can show you the world. You can sail with Disney Cruise Line to Alaska, the Bahamas, Europe or even the Panama Canal. Or take a VIP-style guided tour of the American Southwest, Europe, China, or Costa Rica with  Adventures by Disney, all-inclusive vacations known for delivering one-of-a-kind experiences such as zipling through a Costa Rican jungle, pizza-making at a family-owned farm in Italy, or going backstage at Disney's The Lion King in London. 

Right now, families have an exceptional opportunity to snag two premium Disney vacations for the price of one. Book a tour to one of Adventures by Disney's most popular destinations and you'll receive a free three-night Disney Cruise to the Bahamas in an oceanview cabin. To take advantage of the offer, you need to book by January 15, 2010, and take your Adventures by Disney tour by October 2, 2010. You can take your cruise between January, 2010, and December 15, 2011.

More on Disney Cruise Line:
Disney 3-night Cruise to the Bahamas

It’s scary enough to think about getting separated from your child at a crowded theme park or beach—and terrifying to consider that your young child might not be able to offer your contact information to a police officer or helpful stranger.

Safety Tats offers a solution: Not so much a tattoo as a super-strong band-aid-style sticker on which you can write on before applying to your child's arm or leg. A mom of three came up with the idea while shepherding her own kids through an amusement park, writing (and then re-writing, when it smeared) her phone number on their arms in case anyone should get lost.

The brightly colored stickers  feature a classic line—for instance, “If Lost Please Call” with space for your cell phone number. They are decorated with gender-friendly icons such as flowers or lizards, and there's a skull-and-crossbones sticker for aesthetically-finicky tweens. Another series specifies allergies or special needs.

We tried out Safety Tats on our 4-year-old, who wears her band-aids with the same pride that bikers show off real tattoos. She particularly liked the "If Lost" flowers. And, for better or worse, that “tat” stuck on her skin well. It may have elicited a brief ow-ee moment when it came off, but we were glad that it didn’t shrivel away on its own—you probably wouldn’t need to apply a new one every day of a trip. We even soaked a written-on sticker in the sink for a few hours, and its ink never smeared.

Best for: ages 1 to 9

Retail price: A box of 30 tats costs $19.85. The stickers are available at some retail stores and in many AAA branches—and you can also buy them online.

Exclusive offer: Safety Tat is offering WeJustGotBack.com readers a 15% discount on any online order of $15 or more. Use promo code WeJustGotBack (which is case sensitive and must be typed exactly as seen). The code will expire on July 31.

Got a kid who's potty training? Got a vacation coming up? Then it's safe to say you're a wee bit stressed. We know, because we were sure as hell stressed when we were in your shoes.

Of course you should follow the same commonsense cardinal rules we all did.  Time your bathroom breaks, monitor beverage intake, and always, ALWAYS, know where the closest bathroom is. Yadda yadda. The only difference between us and you? You get to thank your lucky stars because the great Mother of Invention (cue trumpets) has smiled down upon your plight.

Designed for children 12 months to 5 years old, the Pottyflip is a portable, disposable, hygienic, biodegradable, paper pop-up potty that's small enough to carry in your purse. The manufacturer says it can support a child up to 75 pounds. After Junior has done his business (applause!), you just fold the potty up, tie the interior bag, and throw the whole thing out. We're so stinking jealous that this wasn't around when our little angels were in this beloved phase.

You can order them online for $24 a dozen, plus $5.99 shipping and handling. They're pricey enough that you'll want to save them for emergencies. But, then again, it seems a small price to pay for peace of mind. Each order comes with an assortment of 3 designs.

Travelers who want to avoid nasty airline fees should fly Southwest. That's the bottom line from an article in the November issue of Consumer Reports’ ShopSmart that takes a hard look at which airlines are nickel and diming us to death with new fees. (Warning: If you haven't flown in a while, prepare to be appalled.) Here are five key strategies to take away from the article:

• Think twice about that second suitcase.
  All airlines except Southwest charge for a second checked bag. 
• Ask for electronic ticketing.
  Print out your electronic ticket, as the cost of choosing a paper ticket is skyrocketing—up to a whopping $75 at United.
• Bring your own food, drinks, and pillows.
  Continental is the only major U.S. carrier that serves free meals on domestic flights, though some airlines offer free snacks.  US Airways and Spirit charge for soft drinks, and United charges for coffee and tea.  JetBlue will hit you for pillows and blankets. 
• When in doubt, call the airline.
  Fees can change fast and airline web sites don’t always reveal complete listings of fees, so contact the airlines directly.
• Watch out for unavoidable fees.
  The biggest fee of all is fuel surcharges.  Most airlines impose these fees in the higher cost of your ticket, but not all airlines do, which makes comparison shopping more important than ever.

• US Airways:  Charges $25-$50 to redeem “free” trips from your frequent flyer program.
• Northwest, United, US Airways:  Charge $2 or so per bag at some airports for a curbside bag check.
• American:  Charges $100 for a ticket change and $15 for the first checked bag.
• Spirit:  Charges for the first checked bag, booking by phone, seat confirmation, soft drinks, and snacks.
• AirTran and Spirit: Charge extra for calling to confirm a seat assignment or to request a seat location.