13 beach escapes that won’t bust the bank
On a budget, but need to get away? Relax at these affordable locales
 | While St. John may be best known for ritzy resorts, it's also home to Cinnamon Bay Campground. No tents required: You can rent one of the 40 14-by-16-foot cottages, each with four twin beds, a fan, picnic table, and grill. |
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With the slumping economy and daily life stresses, wouldn’t it be nice to afford a beach vacation? Good news — the price to become a temporary castaway needn't break the bank. In fact, some of the planet's finest beach-lounging locales are pretty darn affordable. (And you better use up those miles before the airlines expire 'em all.) So join us with a piña colada and paperback—oh, what the hell: With all the money you're saving, spring for a hardcover!
1. Yelapa, Mexico
Many of the world's great hippie hangouts have veered into yuppie yuck: places where people drink $12 appletinis and slumber in four-figure bungalows. Not so Yelapa, where lime-kissed cervezas are still around $2 and coconut pies, sold by strolling locals on the butter-colored beach, are the same price. This fishing village, on the Pacific coast 20 miles southwest of Puerto Vallarta, was once a hideout for Bob Dylan. Today, the roadless landscape—think mountains and waterfalls—preserves the artsy, condo-free vibe. Sleep in crisp white sheets under a thatched roof at Hotel Lagunita, a 32-room resort where even the creature comforts—like an hour-long sea-salt scrub for $55—have hippie pricing.
Fly buy: Check Aeromexico's FareSavers for discounts on last-minute flights from several U.S. cities, including New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles (800-237-6639; www.aeromexico.com).
Hotel Lagunita
Tel: 52 322 209 5055
Double rooms from $70
2. St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands
Splurge on a pedicure—you'll be mostly barefoot on St. John. Cove after perfect cove look as if they were carved by an ice-cream scoop, and the underwater snorkeling trails are as plentiful as the footpaths among crumbling sugar plantations. If the beaches seem familiar, it's because they're among the most photographed in the world, thanks to the condo-free shores and the sailboats bobbing in baby-blue waters. In the town of Coral Bay, buy bikinis from the "store" inside a VW bus, order cheeseburgers off an old windsurfing board, and fall asleep to crashing waves in a breezy beach cottage for as little as $70. (Another plus: These days St. John is one of the only Caribbean islands you can get to sans passport.) And while St. John may be best known for ritzy resorts such as Caneel Bay, it's also home to Cinnamon Bay Campground, part of Virgin Islands National Park, which protects two thirds of the island. No tents required: You can rent one of the 40 14-by-16-foot cottages, each with four twin beds, a fan, picnic table, and grill.
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Fly buy: Check for flight specials to St. Thomas on Spirit Air (800-772-7117; www.spiritair.com) or even US Airways (800-428-4322; www.usairways.com). Reach St. John by ferry—roundtrip is a mere $10 per person.
Cinnamon Bay Campground
Tel: 340 776 6330
$30 per night for a bare site; up to $155 per night for a beachfront cottage
(high season Dec 15-Apr 30; May 1-Dec 14 rates range from $30 for a bare site to $100 for a beachfront cottage)
3. Florida Keys
When you hit Mile Marker 37 on the Overseas Highway, the sugar-soft sand and swaying silver palms might trick you into believing you've cruise-controlled all the way to the Caribbean. No, this is still Florida, specifically Bahia Honda Key, a 524-acre state park with a pristine stretch of coastline. In fact, it's pretty much the best beach in the Keys—and its state-owned status means the cost to stay here is a fraction of what you'll spend elsewhere along the island chain. Book one of the park's six quiet Bayside Cabins: Each bungalow on stilts sleeps you and five friends, and has air-conditioning, heat (as if!), a kitchen and living room, plus a grill on a deck overlooking the lagoon. For those who need more action than just watching the waves, kayaks rentals are $10, and snorkeling trips inside the Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary run less than $30 for three hours. Of the park's three beaches, two-mile-long Sandspur is the longest and it's ideal for swimming, with a gentle drop-off into the turquoise Caribbean, er, Atlantic Ocean.
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Andy Newman / AP file Bahia Honda Key is a 524-acre state park with a pristine stretch of coastline. |
Bahia Honda Key Bayside Cabins
Tel: 305 872 2353
Two-bedroom cabins for six, $136
4. Georgia's Sea Islands
There is Sea Island—the one with the Cloister resort and suites that can run $5,000 a night—and then there are the rest of the sea islands, nuzzled against the Georgia coast and swaddled in soft, windswept beaches. On Tybee Island, just east of Savannah, three miles of sand and dunes see 70-plus-degree days from March through October, and the Crab Shack charges just $6.95 for crab stew and shrimp lunch specials. And who needs the Cloister's full butler service when you can drink in the sunset over the sea from Tybee's Georgianne Inn, a beach house with free bikes and body boards. The seven comfy rooms and suites have wrought-iron headboards, wicker nightstands, and thick quilts; rooms 2 and 3 have the best views of the ocean—a view, incidentally, you can't get from the Cloister.
Fly buy: AirTran offers round-trip fares from the Northeast into Savannah, Georgia, for less than $200 (800-247-8726; www.airtran.com). From there, it's just 20 minutes to Tybee Island.
Georgianne Inn
Tel: 912 786 8710
Double rooms from $75
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5. Los Roques, Venezuela
The isolated islands of Los Roques, in the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Venezuela, contain all the ingredients for a first-class beach vacation: a host of deserted islets to choose from, a comfortable chair, an umbrella, a picnic, and a boat to whisk you around. Oh, and a charming waterfront posada to provide it all for you. We suggest Posada El Botuto, located on the only developed island in the chain, Gran Roque. We use the term "developed" lightly: It has no cars, for one thing, and the entire atoll is actually a large national park, with countless deserted stretches of sand to plop down on. If you're restless, you can also catch bonefish, kiteboard, snorkel, sail, and dive for botuto, or king conch. But leave your cell at home—the other beach bonus is it won't work out here.
Fly buy: Venezuela is mostly a business destination, so a Saturday stay-over helps to keep airfare prices down. Try the Colombian airline, Avianca, for good deals (800-284-2622; www.avianca.com). The 45-minute flight from Caracas, Venezuela, to Los Roques costs about $160 roundtrip; arrange it through Venezuelan Explore Partners (58-212-287-0517; www.explorepartners.com).
Posada El Botuto
Tel: 58 416 621 0381
Double rooms, including breakfast and boat trip from $180
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