The words "summer" and "travel deals" don't often seem to go together, but by planning in advance and thinking outside of the usual summer destinations, you can stretch your budget further and plan your perfect summer trip.
Just because you're more of an indie traveler doesn't mean you can't take advantage of the often excellent deals on vacation packages to resorts. As Robin Locker explains, it just means you've got to plan on making your resort stay a little different than the usual vacation-goer might.