Worries about job losses and the soaring cost of living have prompted parents to slash the amount they spend entertaining their children this summer.

Figures from Abbey show that families are planning to spend £600m less this year than last — cutting the average household's summer holiday budget from £749 to £576.

As they shun overseas holidays in a bid to keep costs down, many people intend to keep their children happy by spending more on day trips and family outings in the UK, Abbey said.

Even these can blow the budget, though, with a trip to theme park Alton Towers costing almost £100 for a family of four before lunch, snacks and travel.

Fortunately, there are lots of special offers and discounts available to help you slash the price of family fun — if you know where to look.

We hunted down the best deals on five fantastic days out to save you up to 75% — and keep the kids entertained.

THEME PARKS

Whether your children are thrill-seeking rollercoaster lovers or happier in an amusement arcade, theme parks are a firm favourite with youngsters of all ages.

Many of them are covered by the Tesco Clubcard voucher scheme, which offers a £26.50 discount on an adult ticket to Alton Towers — although the same voucher would only get you £8.50 off your shopping if you redeemed it in store.

Thomas Land, at Drayton Manor in Staffordshire, which boasts attractions such as the Troublesome Trucks rollercoaster and Cranky the Crane’s drop tower, cost £23 for adults and £19 for four to 11 year olds on the gate.

Sainsbury’s 2-for-1 vouchers, which you can claim each time you spend £40 at the supermarket chain, could halve the cost for a family of four, but exchanging Tesco Clubcard points still offers the cheapest route at only £5.75 for adults, or £4.75 for kids.

You can get into Legoland in Windsor, which usually costs £35 for adults and £26 for children, for £8.50 with Tesco Clubcard, which also offers Lego enthusiasts living in the area the chance to buy an annual pass for £16.75 per person.

It is also worth checking Lastminute.com : it is currently offering 50% off Legoland entry and has a variety of offers on theme park admission and hotel rooms should you be planning an overnight stay.

VISITING THE CAPITAL

If you live in London or are planning a visit there, check out National Rail’s “Days Out” scheme.

You can halve the cost of entry to attractions such as the London Dungeon and Madame Tussauds by printing off a National Rail 2-for-1 voucher.

You need a valid train ticket for the day of your visit, but this does not have to be a long or expensive journey.

Londoners and those visiting the capital for more than a day can, therefore, save by buying a cheap train ticket and presenting this at the door.

For example, a one-way train ticket from Streatham Hill in south London to a central London station costs just £2, but could save you £25 off the price of two adults’ entry to Madame Tussauds.

Lastminute.com offers a 10% discount on London Eye and river cruise packages, while Tesco Clubcard holders can cut the cost of Madame Tussauds entry from £25 for an adult and £21 for a child to £6.25 per person.

ANIMAL ENCOUNTERS

The animal kingdom is a source of constant wonder to children and adults alike and the Sainsbury’s voucher scheme covers a range of zoos and similar attractions.

Drusillas Park in Alfriston, East Sussex, is one of these. For £11.20 a day for adults and £10.20 for under-13s (or £5.60 and £5.10 if you claim the 2-for-1 discount), it gives children the chance to meet animals such as mongooses and parrots before heading to activity areas that ape the animals’ natural habitats.

Other qualifying attractions include Chester Zoo, which houses more than 7,000 animals and usually costs £14.95 for adults and £10.95 for kids, and Blair Drummond Safari and Adventure Park (less than an hour’s drive from Glasgow or Edinburgh), at £10.50 for adults, £7 for children and nothing for the under threes.

If you are a Tesco shopper, check its list of zoo discounts for further offers.

OUT OF THE ORDINARY

For chocoholics, Cadbury World is the perfect day-trip destination. Family tickets to the attraction, where you can watch chocolate being made, cost up to £48.50 (for two adults and three children), but you can get 20% off through discountbritain.net.

Or how about tiring the kids out at an adventure park, such as Go Ape? Located across the UK, and open to children aged 10 and over, it costs £25 for adults and £20 for 10 to 17-year-olds.

However, students and Youth Hostel Association members get discounts, while websites such as retailmenot.com offer access to voucher codes that could cut the price by 20%.

HISTORICAL BUILDINGS

Castles and stately homes are not just for history buffs. Many of the biggest and best now offer fun-filled activities for children.

Warwick Castle, for example, has falconry, archery and mediaeval combat displays.Adult entry is £17.95, while over-fives cost £10.95. However, you can get entry with a Tesco voucher worth £4.75. It also qualifies for the Sainsbury’s 2-for-1 scheme.

If you plan to visit historical monuments in London, another way to slash admission prices to the Tower of London and other famous buildings is to go for National Rail’s Days Out deals.

GETTING THERE

One of the best ways to save on family day trips is to book your train tickets early. Reserving your seats just a couple of days before travelling can make a huge difference to the price, while buying two singles rather than a return can also slash the cost.

On a return trip from London to Manchester, for example, a standard open return will cost you £230. However, you can buy two advance singles for just £46.50.

If you plan to travel a great deal by train, it is also worth considering buying a “family and friends” railcard for £24, as this offers one third off adult fares and 60% off the price of children’s tickets.

If you plan to drive, you can also help to ease the pain of soaring petrol prices by using discount cards. The Asda credit card, for example, offers 2p off every litre of fuel when filling up at the supermarket’s forecourt, while Shell has a discount card offering 3% cashback on fuel.

Look for the cheapest petrol in your area at petrolprices.com.

Fun days out for the family

Katie Leveckis, six, and her sister Georgina, two, from Old Whittington in Derbyshire, have lots of family fun to look forward to this summer.

Their parents, Sue, an emergency medicine consultant, and John, 50, a consultant surgeon, have been planning trips including a day at nearby theme park, Alton Towers.

If the family paid at the gate, they would be charged £35 per person for John and Sue and £26 for Katie (with Georgina going free). By using the Tesco Clubcard voucher scheme, they could cut the cost to just £25.50 for the whole family.

Sue Leveckis, 42, said: ‘That’s a brilliant saving. I don’t shop at Tesco, so I couldn’t really use the Clubcard scheme. However, it is very interesting to learn that Sainsbury’s does a 2-for-1 offer. I would definitely use that to bring the cost down.’

She was even more impressed by the savings on a day out in London, which we cut from £489.50 to £176.83 — just one third of the original cost.

The biggest of these was on rail travel. A standard open-return bought on the day of travel would cost the family £355. However, using a “family and friends” railcard (£24) can bring that down to £214.40, while the combination of railcard and advance booking of single rather than return tickets slashes the cost to just £75.50.

The other savings were made up of discounts on admission to Madame Tussauds, the London Eye and a City Cruises river cruise.

‘I have been thinking recently that it would be really nice to take the girls up to London,’ she said. ‘Katie especially would really enjoy some of the attractions in the capital, but I think anyone would balk at almost £500 for the day. It’s fantastic to learn that you can cut that by almost £350.’