Every now and then I get the urge to take off for a hot destination near the beach, where I can read and swim and just take it easy.  Finding money in the budget for a vacation has been more challenging over the past year. It seems likely that we’ll need to put off the expensive trips for the time being.  There are a few places with hot weather, hotels with pools, the beach and a few opportunities for saving a little money.

One obvious destination is Southern California.  There are pushing 100 miles of great accessible beaches between San Diego to Malibu—dozens of places where you can lay out your towel.  Get help and information on planning your Southern California vacation at this site, which specializes in providing information from the perspective of the locals.  I think you’ll find many tips and good advice that you won’t find at other sources.

For an international trip that is not too far away, consider a vacation to Mexico.  The Yucatan resort area around Cancun has become very popular and it is possible to find travel deals to Cancun online.  Look into staying in the Hotel Zone, along a peninsula where resorts offer beautiful beaches.  One thing that is not lacking in Cancun is warm weather.

There are travel deals to be found for warm-weather destinations throughout the
Caribbean.  There are a bunch of other resort cities in Mexico besides Cancun.  Other examples include Cozumel and Jamaica.  Spend some time up front doing research so you learn about the culture and background of the place, and also to make sure you know enough to make smart and safe decisions during your trip.  Of course the internet makes this kind of research amazingly easy; what did we do before the Web came along?