Shrinath Travels - Ten Cheap Vacations

Try one of the following ideas instead. But don't give up your vacation, give up that expensive resort if you don't have the money. Vacations don't get better according to price, unlike cars and shoes. Fun and whatever else you want them to be, cheap vacations can still be relaxing.

I'm hoping my friends move to Hawaii. So why not take them up on it, you've probably had friends tell you to come and stay a while? The key here is to have friends with spare beds that live in interesting places. Visit your friends. 1.

Visit the Caretaker Gazette online, to learn more caretaking opportunities. You may even get paid. But you'll get to stay in a beautiful home, and maybe watch the cat, you'll have to water the plants. Costa Rica or Colorado wants you to stay in their house while they're away, someone in California. Caretaking vacations. 2.

Where can you hike or bicycle for free? It's cheaper and more fun than a guided river trip. Then we float on it back to the car. Then build a raft from dead trees, on "Tom Sawyer Day" we hike up a river for hours. And use your imagination, just stay close to home. Outdoor adventure doesn't need to be expensive. Outdoor vacations. 3.

And you might find something valuable as well, treasure hunting is cheap. And ancient pottery, semi-precious stones, in Arizona an old Mayan Indian showed us where to find arrowheads. Take a trip to a ghost town or beach with a metal detector. Treasure hunting. 4.

And cheap motels on or near the beaches in Michigan, there are beaches in Florida where you can camp in your RV. Bring a metal detector to find more valuable things. Start collecting seashells and driftwood. Restless? What's more relaxing than sitting on the beach with a drink? Cheap beach combing vacations. 5.

No expensive hotels or long-distance drives. Spend a weekend or a week checking off your list. And things you've always wanted to do that are within an hour of home, make a list of sights to see. Stay home. 6.

Have a shopping adventure for less than a day at the mall. Visit flea markets and rummage sales in some scenic corner of the country. But they can, cheap vacations don't normally involve shopping. Shopping trips. 7.

We paid the $30 annual fee and stayed more than a week. With hiking trails, my personal favorite is a beautiful place in Arizona (106 degree water). Spend nights around the campfire and days soaking in hot water. Or tent to keep it really cheap. Camp in an R.V. Hotsprings in many parts of the United States are free or inexpensive to use. Hotspring vacations. 8.

Pack a bag and go, pick a nice place within a day's ride. And the trip itself is sure to be an adventure, taking the bus is an alternative to expensive gasoline if you're traveling alone. Greyhound bus travel. 9.

Camping can be the cheapest of cheap vacations. And the campground was free, there were hot showers. We escaped winter there for eight days in our van. Every night we sat around the fire with new friends from England and Texas. In Florida we stalked alligators and watched a dozen other forms of wildlife. Camping vacations. 10.