Here are some ways to save money on your trip:

[naviga:font face="ZapfDingbats"]4[/naviga:font] Combine a number of college tours into one visit to a region.

[naviga:font face="ZapfDingbats"]4[/naviga:font] Ask the admissions office about discounts at local hotels and other travel-related deals. Hotels might offer discounts of as much as 10 percent, Franek said. Also, CampusVisit.com points to hotel deals in some Northeast regions. Go to the site www.campusvisit.com/

[naviga:font face="ZapfDingbats"]4[/naviga:font] Consider the two-for-the-price-of-one Amtrak ticket offer available for families visiting colleges in certain locales. See the CampusVisit site for more information.

[naviga:font face="ZapfDingbats"]4[/naviga:font] Turn family vacations into college visit trips, or tack on an extra vacation day to visit a school. Bring your student on a business trip if there are colleges in the region. Also, check out colleges close to home, even if you're not interested in them, to compare large schools to small schools, for instance. "You learn what you don't want," Cohen said.

[naviga:font face="ZapfDingbats"]4[/naviga:font] If you'll need a hotel room, avoid busy college weekends, Connolly said. "Don't go on parents' weekend — the rates will go up. The same thing with move-in weekend," he said.

[naviga:font face="ZapfDingbats"]4[/naviga:font] Ask if your child's high school organizes college tours, which may be more affordable.

[naviga:font face="ZapfDingbats"]4[/naviga:font] Narrow your college list by checking out CampusTours.com, which offers free video presentations of about 1,000 colleges. Some of the videos include a narrated tour, with questions and answers very similar to an in-person tour. Visit the site www.campustours.com/

[naviga:font face="ZapfDingbats"]4[/naviga:font] Another way to narrow your list: Cappex.com matches student profiles with schools. The service is free for students. Visit the site www.cappex.com/

[naviga:font face="ZapfDingbats"]4[/naviga:font] Consider a company that provides campus tours, which can save you time organizing trips. An Internet search for "college tours" yields many providers.