Top 3 Budget-Friendly Beach Cities

Pack your swimsuit and hit the road. There are deals to be found in these sunny cities on the shore:

Destin
Located on a peninsula along the Florida panhandle on the Gulf of Mexico, Destin is within easy reach of an international airport. If fishing is your thing, you’ll appreciate Destin’s moniker as “the luckiest fishing village on the coast.” And the shimmering white-sand beaches with the emerald water in the background is all the free fun you could want.

Destin Hotel Spotlight: Sandestin Golf & Beach Resort

Although Sandestin Golf & Beach Resort is perched on some of the world's most beautiful beaches, there's also plenty to keep you busy beyond the shore. Take a golf lesson on one of four championship courses, or play tennis with friends on world-class courts. Round out your day at the spa, where the Salt Glo body treatments come highly recommended.

Photo credit: Baytowne, Sandestin (courtesy, Sandestin Resort)

Top 10 Cheap Beach Vacations

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)