I agree with Tom -- any vacation time is better than working. However, for me visiting family is not a vacation -- it is time off (and is still better than working), but it kills me when people tell me that they are going on vacation to visit their family (parents, grandparents, siblings, in-laws, etc.)...
A vacation is getting away from everything including your family (except for your spouse and maybe your kids -- they are usually required on a vacation
)