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San Carlos, Mexico by Geoff from CA - When we're looking for an easy and inexpensive trip, we like to drive south about six hours to the seaside village of San Carlos, Mexico.

There are a variety of budget lodging options—beach house rentals, luxury resorts, or, for the truly thrifty, plenty of beach available for camping.

Places like San Carlos are often skipped over for more touristy spots like Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas, or Cancun, but that is precisely what makes a place like San Carlos so charming.

There is great SCUBA diving available, boating, and other water sports, as well as off road ATV riding, and a variety of other adventure activities. For a more thrifty option, spend the day lounging by a pool or the beach with a margarita.

For meals, there are a number of delicious restaurants serving quality meals for half the price of the same meal in the U.S. The great thing about San Carlos is that you can set your budget wherever you want and still find plenty to see and do.

You can also go to many small towns in Ohio such as Ripley and Marietta and stay in campgrounds, either private or run by the state park system. If you look up “Underground Railroad Sites Ohio” you will find information from the Ohio Historical Society and the Friends of Freedom, including lists of sites. This kind of vacation can be a fun learning experience in both the planning process and the experiencing process. The Underground Railroad is an example of people joining together not just to right a wrong but also to do something materially about it by aiding people. You can have an inexpensive vacation learning about and celebrating these many heroes.

Or less familiar parts of the coast like Matagorda Beach. Matagorda Beach retains its natural beauty; with a rebuilt jetty pier from which you can fish or even look for dolphins. Just up the road is a recently added harbor, with restaurants and hotels available.

The nearby town of Bay City is home to a public birding center, because this area is tops in the nation for different bird species. In Bay City, you can enjoy the feel of a small town with the convenience of the nation's third biggest Wal-mart newly built here for restocking your vacation supplies.

You could even visit the information center of the STP nuclear facility just 20 miles up the road, for an educational side-trip. Or pack up a picnic lunch and inner tube and head over to the Colorado River at the Rio Colorado Park, also located in Bay City. You won't have to spend much to find plenty of things for your family to do.

Las Vegas is an easy city to vacation cheaply in, as long as you keep your time at the gambling tables to a minimum. Room rates in Las Vegas are famously low, even for very high end accommodations. Further, because most Las Vegas Hotels have been constructed over the past few decades, the quality of accommodations for the price is far higher than in many cities.

In an attempt bring in gamblers, many restaurants and shows offer dining and entertainment at a far lower price than comparable venues in other cities do. To really stretch your dollars, consider not staying at the glitzy strip and instead go to downtown Las Vegas, which offers smaller and older hotels and casinos at a price far below that of the strip. These are the “Old Las Vegas” places that cater to small-time gamblers and budget tourists.

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