Virginia Beach on the Cheap: Trip Ideas That Won't Break the Bank

With 35 miles of beach and 18,600 acres of state park, Virginia Beach is a perfect place to find outdoorsy, inexpensive adventures. There is a resort zone with shops and restaurants, but it’s compact, while the parks and reserves sprawl almost endlessly.

If you’re traveling as a family, take a day to visit the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center. It just completed a $25-million renovation and opened a new permanent installation called The Restless Planet. This brings the exhibit count in the Aquarium up to about 300—most of them interactive in some way. Museum admission is under $20 for adults, slightly discounted for children.

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.