A trip to the West Coast's sunny paradise doesn’t have to break the bank. Visit these popular destinations on a reasonable budget.
Anaheim
Known mostly for its theme parks, Anaheim also offers arts and culture and outdoor recreation. Check the tourism board's website for special deals on hotels and Disneyland tickets, rent a bike or hike a trail, or head to one of Orange County’s nearby beaches.
Opening today at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, “Hot Pink Flamingos: Stories of Hope in a Changing Sea” is a new exhibit that seeks to tell the story of climate change and the world’s oceans. The new special exhibition explores how climate change affects some remarkable ocean wildlife—including scarlet and white ibis, Chilean flamingos, cattle egrets, and Magellanic penguins—on exhibit for the first time at the aquarium. Permanent exhibits at the world-famous Monterey Bay Aquarium showcase the marine life and habitats of Monterey Bay and beyond. Look through the Outer Bay exhibit's 34-foot-tall, one-million-gallon tank and come eyeball-to-eyeball with green sea turtles, toothy barracudas, flat ocean sunfish, blue sharks, and stingrays. Splash Zone, the family gallery, features 60 species with 30 interactive exhibits specially designed for ages nine and younger. Kids can climb inside a giant clam, crawl through a coral tunnel to discover seahorses, and pop up in a bubble window next to black-footed penguins.
Take a trip to the sunset coast on a shoestring budget with these ideas:
San Francisco
The City by the Bay isn’t exactly known for its wallet-friendliness, but a trip here doesn’t have to break the bank. Take plenty of free walking tours, gaze at the Golden Gate Bridge (or walk across it!), enjoy free admission to Alcatraz (though you’ll have to pay for the ferry ride there), try the area’s abundant—and excellent—ethnic food, and ride a cable car for just $3.
San Diego
San Diego’s best asset is its scenery, and it’s free—so take advantage of it! Visit one of the city’s many beaches or parks, and buy discounted admission tickets to attractions like the San Diego Zoo at the San Diego Visitor Information Center.
Seattle
Visit the famous Pike Place Market—you can stay all afternoon without spending a cent, except perhaps on some tantalizingly fresh food. Score a CityPass for discounted entry into the Space Needle, boat tours on the Puget Sound, and other attractions.
Portland
Try a hostel or boutique hotel for cheaper digs, rent a bike (the area is very cyclist-friendly), check out Mount Hood and Mount St. Helens from a bird’s-eye vantage point on a $4 aerial tram ride, and check out the famous Powell’s Books flagship store.
-- Text by Meagan Francis
Photo credit: Alcatraz, San Francisco (John A. Martini/Alcatraz Cruises)
Spring is in the air, which means it's time to get outside! Scenery and back-to-basics family fun take center stage on these cheap, outdoorsy family road trips:
Skyline Drive, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia Amid the backdrop of the breathtaking Blue Ridge Mountains, this 105-mile stretch of highway (itself a section of the 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway) is dotted with exits to kid-friendly hiking trails. Inexpensive campgrounds and cabin-style resorts make for a budget-friendly family vacation.
Asheville, North Carolina, to Gatlinburg, Tennessee This beautiful two-hour drive passes right through Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Campgrounds are plentiful in the area, as are laid-back lodging options like cabin rentals and motels.
California’s American River is one of the state’s most popular stretches of whitewater, with over 100,000 river rats floating the South Fork of the river each year. It also happens to be one of the best rivers for an early-season float, with the melting winter snowpack off the Sierra Nevadas helping to feed an April-June season down the Class II-III South Fork. More experienced paddlers will want to tackle a riotous 9.5-mile stretch of the North Fork, with some burly Class IV+ rapids. The gateway to the American River is the state capital, Sacramento, which lies about two hours’ drive from the most popular river put-ins.
Photo credit: American River whitewater rafting, California (O.A.R.S.)
Name of activity: Redwood National Park visit Location: Orick, California Price: Free Description: Unlike other premier national parks, which can cost $50 a carload, there is no admission fee for Redwood National Park. The park is home to the world's tallest trees, 50 miles of some of the most pristine coastline in the park system, and impressive herds of the largest American elk species, the Roosevelt elk. The park's coastal Orick gateway is approximately 300 miles north of San Francisco.
Dates open/available: Year-round Website:www.nps.gov/redw
Name of activity: Bay Area Discovery Museum
Location: Sausalito, California
Price: $10 adults, $8 children (1-17), infants free Description: The Bay Area Discovery Museum is a one-of-a-kind indoor and outdoor children's museum at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge. With an emphasis on creativity through play, the museum encourages children ages six months to eight years to develop into curious lifelong learners and explorers. The museum's unique programs feature hands-on art, science and environmental exhibitions, performances, special events, and cultural festivals. Dates open/available: Tuesdays - Fridays, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Closed most Mondays and holidays.
Website:www.BayKidsMuseum.org
California's Orange County is so much more than Anaheim and Disney. The O.C. fronts 42 miles of pristine Pacific Ocean shoreline and comprises six laid-back beach towns, each with its own distinctly SoCal take on life. From north to south, here are the highlights:
Seal Beach
Named after the seals that once frequented the coastline here, Seal Beach's old-fashioned district is a throwback to the city's 1920-30s heyday. Seal Beach has been the location for blockbuster films including Apollo 13, American Pie 2, and Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments.
Huntington Beach
Huntington Beach calls itself "Surf City USA," a clear indication about what's on offer at this surf-blessed place. Onshore, you'll find the Surfing Walk of Fame, the International Surfing Museum, the Surfers' Hall of Fame, plus a bustling boardwalk scene and the longest concrete municipal pier in California, reaching 1,853 feet into the Pacific Ocean.
At the Golden Gate Bridge's completion, Joseph Strauss penned the poem "The Mighty Task Is Done." Rising 746 feet, the bridge's two towers, which stand 191 feet taller than the Washington Monument, were clearly a mighty task. So proud were San Franciscans of this achievement, they hosted a world fair in order to show their masterpiece to the world.
Photo credit: Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco (Corbis)
San Diego's historic Hotel Del Coronado occupies some of Southern California's primo beach real estate. Set on a spit of land that curves into the Pacific, the beach was named one of America’s ten best by the guru of sand himself, “Dr. Beach.” This 120-year-old Victorian that's played host to 15 U.S. Presidents continues to treat every guest like a celeb. Especially after finishing $150 million of renovations that upgraded every room, added the chic Beach Village, toney spa, fitness area, and new wine, cheese, and chocolate bar, ENO. Meanwhile, families will appreciate the Hotel Del’s Tent City Kids children’s camp.
Photo credit: Hotel Del Coronado, San Diego (courtesy, Hotel Del Coronado)
These beach hot spots may not be statistically the cheapest of the cheap around the world, but factoring in the cost of travel and time, here are our ten best budget beach vacations in North and Central America, with one special shout out to Brazil (which currently offers great value for North American travelers):
10. Destin, Florida
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
Don't agree with our picks? Tell us in the comments section!
Photo credit: Cannon Beach, Oregon (Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Getty)
