Top 10 Bargain Beach Vacations
The best beach vacation destinations that won't stretch your wallet. 9. Outer Banks, North Carolina 8. Huntington Beach, California 7. Cape Ann, Massachusetts 6. Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica 5. Negril, Jamaica 4. Morro de Sao Paulo, Brazil 3. Placencia, Belize 2. Tulum, Mexico 1. Cannon Beach, Oregon
By Stephen Jermanok
10. Destin, Florida
The Florida Panhandle is a coveted place that Southerners would prefer to keep to themselves. With a 100-mile stretch of sugary sand that fronts the Gulf of Mexico, and a fair share of golf and tennis, who can blame them? In Destin, the heart of the Panhandle, wake up early in the morning and take a stroll with the pelicans and sandpipers on the beach just as the fishing boats head out to sea. Feel free to join them and drop your own line to catch snapper and grouper. Later, discuss your day's adventure at one of Destin's dockside cafés. The blues and country music is always live and the fish and oysters always fresh. Stay at the relatively new Wingate where room prices, with continental breakfast, are in the double digits. Destin Vacation Guide
Lining the North Carolina coast, the Outer Banks consists of barriers of sand 150 miles long and never more than a few miles wide. These islands serve as welcome mats to the Atlantic and all her treasures. Forage the sea for a bounty of bluefish, flounder, and drum, or walk the wild dunes, a naturalist's playground. Close to 400 species of birds, from native Carolina wrens to wintering bald eagles, can be found here, along with otters and sea turtle colonies. Add four lighthouses and you have yourself a seaworthy destination that even a pirate like Blackbeard (a former resident) could call home. Landlubbers will want to visit Kitty Hawk, the site where Orville and Wilbur Wright learned how to fly, and the newly renovated North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island. For clean, affordable lodging close to the beach, you can do no better than the Driftwood Motelon Cedar Island, where rooms start at $65 a night.
Outer Banks Family Vacation Guide
Most folks equate Orange County, California, with chi-chi Laguna Beach and all the celebs and young retirees who reside here. Yet, just a wee bit north of Laguna is the far more affordable Huntington Beach, popular with the surfer crowd. Make the International Surfing Museum your first stop and then see if any hot doggers are doing their stuff over by the pier. It won't be hard to find your own slice of paradise since Huntington Beach boasts eight miles of uninterrupted waterfront. Stay across from the beach, on the Pacific Coast Highway, at the Sun n' Sands Motelwhere rooms start at $129 a night in summer and the restaurants in town are just a short walk away.
Huntington Beach Vacation Guide
Wise-faced fishermen sew their nets in the early hours of the morning on the docks of America's oldest fishing port, Gloucester. In nearby Manchester-by-the-Sea, couples and families stake their claim to exquisite Singing Beach, tucked away in a cove and backed by cliffs and precariously perched mansions. Welcome to Massachusetts' lesser known cape, the one locals don't want you to know about, Cape Ann. Forty miles north of Boston (reachable by commuter rail), Cape Ann beckons sun worshippers to its long stretches of sand. When you tire of the sun, head to the village of Rockport, known for its shops, galleries, and restaurants. Or try a famous lobster-in-the-rough joint, Woodman's in Essex, the seafood shack that created the fried clam on July 3, 1916. Stay at the Wingaersheek Motel, which has discount beach passes to nearby Wingaersheek Beach, a family favorite. Rooms start at $100 a night in summer.
Massachusetts Beach Vacation Guide
Let the affluent spend gobs of money on the Pacific coast at familiar resorts like the Marriott and Four Seasons, while travelers in the know follow the surfers to the Caribbean coast of this Central American country. At Puerto Viejo, you can walk on deserted beaches all the way south to Panama. The town has a laid-back, international appeal, with top-notch South American, Costa Rican, and Italian food. South of town, there are a number of bungalow-laden lodgings within easy walking distance to the beach, where rooms rarely exceed $75 a night. Check out La Costa de Papito or Playa Chiquita Lodge.
Puerto Viejo Vacation Guide
In the height of the day, Negril's glorious seven-mile stretch of sand is strewn with bodies. Chill with a thick book as locals approach you selling their wares-pineapple sliced fresh, ganja, a massage. For happy hour, folks make the trek to Rick's to watch the sun set and the Acapulco-style divers jump off the cliffs. You can have those sunsets to yourself at the nearby Rockhouse, a stylish boutique hotel where bungalows are carved into the rock. Prices start at $125 a night. If you want to stay on the beach, it's hard to beat the price of White Sands, which will run you a low $74 a night, with kitchenette, in high season.
Negril Beach Vacation Guide
You can have the congestion, crime, and poverty of Rio. I'll be heading to Bahia, where a two-hour ferry ride from Salvador takes me over to Tinhare Island, better known as Morro de Sao Paulo. Here, four sublime beaches, named by number simply from First to Fourth, beckon. The summer houses on First Beach are now pousadas(inns) that cater to the international surfing community. The party doesn't stop till sunrise on Second Beach, known for their all night luau and dance parties. Fourth Beach is the more peaceful of the quartet, with good snorkeling opportunities. Romantics will want to check out the relatively new Anima Hotel on quiet Fourth Beach, where a bungalow with outdoor whirlpool costs $167 a night.
Morro de Sao Paulo Vacation Guide
Located at the southern tip of a long, narrow peninsula in the Stan Creek District, Placencia ranks as Belize's favorite beach destination. More than 16 miles of white sand attracts sun worshippers from all over the globe. If you tire of the beach, try the popular half-day kayak trip through the mangroves of Monkey River. Crocodiles, howler monkeys, even manatees can be spotted here. A popular beachfront restaurant is De'Tatch Seafood Beach Bar, where you'll dine on shrimp burritos or fish tacos. If you're lucky enough to snag one of the six beachfront cabanas, some air-conditioned, at Blue Crab ($90 a night in high season), you'll also be treated to some great Asian fare, courtesy of the Taiwanese-born owner.
Stann Creek District Family Vacation Guide
An hour drive south of Cancun, Playa del Carmen was a haven for the backpacking sect back in the '70s and '80s. Then large all-inclusive resorts started gobbling up all the real estate along the pearly white sands of Playacar and the budget traveler was pushed out. In actuality, they only headed south a wee bit to the town of Tulum. Best known for its Mayan ruins, Tulum has that same beachfront view at budget prices. For food, head to Charlie's, an affordable Mexican joint on Main Street. If all you want is a clean room with a shower on the beach, opt for Cabanas Tulum (984.879.7395), which runs as low as $60 a night. Posada Dos Ceibasis more upscale, with its own restaurant and daily yoga on the beach, but prices remain as low as $70 a night.
Tulum Vacation Guide
A mere 90-minute drive from Portland, Cannon Beach commonly gets referred to as the Carmel of Oregon. Yet this Pacific coast hamlet is not nearly as pricey as Carmel. First stop, towering Haystack Rock stands tall in the shallow waters, inspiring awe from all who stroll hand-in-hand on the hard-packed sand. Drive to nearby Ecola State Park and take a hike in the Emerald Forest, where massive 300-year-old Sitka spruce trees have trunks as wide as redwoods. The woods soon recede, replaced by sandstone bluffs, pink-hued beaches, and the great expanse of the Pacific. Make your way south, stopping in the fishing community of Bay City for small, tender Kumamoto oysters on the half shell at Pacific Oyster. For dessert: creamy blackberry ice cream at Tillamook Cheese Factory. Spend the night in affordable Manzanita, where rooms at the Spindrift Inn sell as low as $70 a night during high season.
Cannon Beach Vacation Guide
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