PARENTING : Getaways for Bonding and a Break : Family vacations can be chance to reconnect, or a time of privacy and rejuvenation.

When Debbie and Ian Garner go on vacation, they have one priority: to spend quality time with their children. When Elisabeth and Jean-Louis Bilbault go on vacation, they too want time with their son. But they also prefer a bit of a break.

Family vacations mean different things to different families, especially now that resorts are catering to the needs of the married- with- kids- who- desperately- need-a- break generation.

For some, getting away is a chance to share adventure, hike or climb a mountain and reconnect the bonds sheared by the stresses of everyday life.

For others, a family vacation is a time of rejuvenation. Parents golf, play tennis or lounge by the pool while their progeny are off swimming, doing arts and crafts, or playing with their peers.

“We feel strongly that, when we take a vacation, this is our time to spend with the children,” says Debbie Garner of Agoura Hills. “We can have our privacy at home.”

Unlike some parents, the Garners don’t mind sharing a hotel room with their sons, Jonathan, 10, and Kevin, 3, although they prefer a large room with an alcove or a suite with connecting bedrooms.

“A child-oriented hotel is very important,” Debbie Garner adds. “We look for places that accommodate the needs of both children. Kevin is happy as a clam with a pool and a beach, Jonathan likes bike riding or renting a boat.”

For most families, accommodating children is a primary consideration. The Bilbaults, of Encino, recently chose Hawaii as a place for rest, relaxation and a break from parenting Matthew, now 6. “We chose the hotel primarily because it had a bedroom and a living room,” Elisabeth Bilbault says. “They had a kids’ program Matthew loved. They’d go to the beach, the pool, do crafts. They also had a great parents’ program,” she adds. “Lying on the beach doing nothing!”

Needless to say, how you spend your vacation will undoubtedly depend on how much money you have to spend.

“Price is the big thing with families,” says Pat Cavlan, head of vacation travel for Studio City Travel. “Before I ask the ages of their children, I ask (travelers) if they have any idea of their budget. Usually they say, ‘No. We just want to get away for 10 days with the kids.’ So I quote them the price of a condo on Maui to put them in touch with reality.”

Once a family gets beyond cost considerations, however, the options seem endless. Planning for summer, some will be looking at those condos on Maui, others will rent a recreational vehicle, still others will load up the car and take in the local sights.

In fact, Southern California vacationers are more likely to take to the roads than the skies, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California.

For many, it is a question of convenience. “With two-income families, it is sometimes difficult for both parents to get the same two weeks off,” says Jeffrey Spring, a spokesman for the Automobile Club. “So families are taking mini-vacations of four or five days. They’ll take three of those a year.”

As a result, many of the “hot vacation spots” are close to home: Las Vegas, San Diego, Yosemite, San Francisco, to name a few. And even for those who live here, Southern California itself is a popular tourist destination. With sun, sand, surf, movie stars, Mickey Mouse and the tar pits, there’s no need for locals to travel for entertainment.

“If you open your eyes to what Southern California has to offer, you don’t have to go far to enjoy many types of scenery and accommodations,” says Mikael Koltai of Calabasas, who often travels the region with his wife, Caroline, and their teen-age daughters, Stacie and Kristina.

“If you drive, you can come and go as you please, you’re paying with American dollars, you’re dealing in your own language,” says Koltai, who favors any vacation that includes tennis courts.

Indeed, a growing number of people want not only the convenience of their car, they want to take along their whole household. Consequently, recreational vehicle rentals are increasingly popular.

“I love them,” says Irma Bagdadi of Woodland Hills. “(They have) all the comforts of home but you can be outdoors. You can go almost anywhere with them.”

Adds her husband, Victor Bagdadi, “I love to take an RV on a trip because I like to be directly where I want to visit.”

In addition to convenience, an RV rental can also offer a relatively low price tag. Gary Smith, marketing service director for the El Monte RV Center, estimates an RV rental could run as little as $80 a day, depending on the vehicle.

Some families, like the Garners, opt for train travel. “We have taken the children to San Diego and Santa Barbara by train,” says Debbie Garner. “It adds a different dimension and it is not all that much more expensive.”

While staying close to home seems the most obvious way to plan an economical vacation, an informal survey of San Fernando Valley travel agents found that renting that condo on Maui or on the Mexican Riviera is still a popular choice.

“Since Hawaii is in the U.S., you don’t have to bother with changing currencies and passports,” says Hanna Paulson, president of American West Tours & Travel in Chatsworth. “Hawaii also has so much to offer children.”

Rather than rent a traditional hotel room, there is a growing trend toward renting condos or suites. It is a money-saving option that gives parents and children space.

Although Koltai generally favors close-to-home vacations, he and his family will rent a condo in Hawaii this summer. “We eat out every night but we eat breakfast and lunch in the room,” Koltai says. “It certainly saves a lot of money.”

Still another increasingly popular option, travel agents say, is to head for the seas.

“We are starting to see more families do some of these three- and four-day party cruises,” says Robert Schubb, president of King Travel in Canoga Park. “It’s all-inclusive. The kids can be on their own; they’re in a captive environment. Parents don’t have to worry about children getting lost.”

Schubb is also high on the Mexican Riviera, despite summer temperatures that are, at the very least, toasty. “It is just a very good, relaxed atmosphere,” Schubb says. “With the devaluation of the peso, it’s even more attractive and it takes three hours to reach your destination.”

Wherever you go on that family vacation, there is one final consideration: time.

“Now is the time to start collecting brochures for all these places,” advises American West’s Paulson. “We start booking tours in the spring.”