Beach Camping Tips
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One way to reduce the cost of your cheap beach vacations is to camp at the beach. Spending the night staring at some stars and the ocean is a great way to unwind. But it takes a little bit of preparation.
First, you need to be sure that the location allows camping; check with local officials to learn the regulations. It would be horrible to wake up with a beach ranger standing over your head writing out a citation, or worse.
Another horrid way to wake up would be with a sunburn; invest in a beach tent; some pop-up varieties are as inexpensive as $20. This is less than the tubes of aloe you’d be going through if you do get sunburnt.
A lot of places don’t allow bonfires any more; you may need to pack some dry food or a propane stove. Some way to have some food would be a great way to start your camping trip, otherwise you may find yourself going into town and spending too much money on fast food; lack of food hampers your decision process.
Hope you enjoy your stay on the beach!
How to Build a Great Sand Castle
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Building a sand castle - a popular activity on cheap beach vacations, especially when there are children involved. You can do better work with your hands and your buckets and your imagination than any cheap plastic molds. However, do not expect to create intricate sculptures like you see at some sandcastle competitions. Most beach sand is composed of sand that has been ground into sand from the rocks and cliffs around. Because of this grinding, the sand grains are round. They stick together nicely with water, but as they dry out, they roll apart from one another; like marbles stacked in an overturned glass that roll across the table when you lift the glass. So structures over a yard high will be extremely difficult to create without special “square sand.”
The mortar between your sand grains is the water. You need wet sand to build your castle; you either need to dig down to the water table ( depending on the distance to the ocean, it could be a shallow or a deep hole ) or to make many trips with a bucket and dumping water on the previously dry sand. I recommend the hole method; then I can partially fill it in later and have a little “quarry” behind the castle. Scoop out handfuls of sand and place them gently where you want them. Do not pound or pat the sand, you just want to evenly distribute the water between the grains. Instead, jiggle the wall carefully.
To build a tower, use your handfuls of sand in your hands, and form bricks with your hands. Gently shake the sand until the brick sets, and then build another next to it. Once they’re up, you can sculpt the top into a conical shape with your hand by making small shavings down from the top at an angle. Between the towers make walls which also consist of handfuls of sand on top of one another. When the wall is complete, you can carve the top flat or crenelated, and you can even carefully scoop out an archway to use as a door.
I like to emphasize the height of my towers by digging a shallow trench, or moat, around the base of the castle. This makes use of the pre-existing wet sand and helps it look taller.
Cap the towers with bits of seaweed for trim, and grab the family for a photo op!
Snorkling
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A fun thing to do on your cheap beach vacations is to go snorkeling. You can go snorkeling for the cost of the mask, the snorkel, the boat rental and maybe some fins. You should, of course, go with a guide the first few times, so that’s an extra cost too.
Try on your mask before you buy it, since everyone’s face is a little different. If the mask does not fit, you’ll have water leaking into the mask and that’s dangerous and a distraction. To try on the mask, move the strap out of the way and press it against your face. If you press firmly and then let go, and the mask sits there, the mask fits. If it falls off, it doesn’t.
The guide, or perhaps a salesman, can help you get the snorkel attached correctly. It’s important that the snorkel sticks up out of the water when you float. Since you can’t see it when you’re using it, you’ll need an extra pair of hands to deal with this issue.
You might want fins to get you moving around quickly so you can see more of the underwater habitat. You do want to see more of the underwater habitat, don’t you? So get some fins. Some fins are larger than others, but the larger ones take more leg power to operate as well.
Before you go out, make sure someone that’s not with you knows where you went and how long you expect to be gone. Be careful, be safe, and have fun!
You can get more information about mask selection, snorkel usage and some hazards you might encounter at tomzap’s snorkeling page.
Why is Myrtle Beach So Popular?
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When you’re researching your Cheap Beach Vacations, you might be surprised by the amount of traffic going to Myrtle Beach. At first glance, it appears to be a fairly normal resort location; why would over ten million tourists go there every year? There are three factors.
First, there are over sixty miles of warm sandy beaches. This is a huge draw for people living in the midwest and for other places that are cold or snowy. The warm water comforts and nurtures.
Second, there are five amusement parks in Myrtle Beach; ranging from family oriented water parks to the Carolina Opry. Something for everyone. Another entertainment draw is the Hard Rock Cafe.
And third, there are over a hundred golf courses, most of which are open to the public. Imagine going to Myrtle Beach for three months and playing golf on a different course every day. There are beginner golf courses as well as more advanced, dare we say, professional golfer courses.
Between the beach, the amusement parks and the golf, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better beach vacation. However, it’s not that cheap.
Three Cheap Destinations
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If you’re planning your cheap beach vacations, here are three destinations you should consider before making your final decision on where to go.
Puerto Rico is lovely this time of year. Well, any time really, but now is especially good. Our recommendation would be to look for inexpensive flights to Aguadilla and then drive down through Rincón and find a non-touristy, beach bum place to stay. Most people in Puerto Rico speak English. There’s lots of white sand beaches as well as a rain forest to play in. Since it’s a protectorate of the US, there are no passports or visas necessary, you just need to take your driver’s license, if you’re coming from the United States. If you’re coming from elsewhere in the world, the rules are just like going to the US, but the weather is nicer and the streets are more empty.
You might also like Mexico. A relatively strong dollar means you’re getting a big bang for your buck. Acapulco is a very common tourist destination for tourists looking for cheap beach vacations, so if you’re really trying to stretch your dollar, you might consider Zihuatanejo. However, make sure to confirm you’re getting exactly what you want in terms of your stay; a “beach hut” might be exactly that. Zihuatanejo is outside of Ixtapa, which is slightly north of Acapulco, but is not as luxury-oriented as those two cities.
Finally, if you’re planning on staying within the United States or you’re coming to the US specifically for a US beach, you should consider New Smyrna Beach or Vero Beach in Florida. Both of these locations feature the familiar United States surroundings and are smaller cities than the Tampa Bay or Daytona Beach with which you might be more familiar. A smaller town usually means less expensive hotels, restaurants and other amenities.
Here’s to taking a great vacation and saving some money!
Four Cheap Things To Do At The Beach
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On your cheap beach vacations, perhaps the cheapest thing to do is to find a comfortable piece of driftwood and sit and watch the waves roll in. It’s theraputic to acknowledge the eternal pounding of the surf that gradually wears the coastline down from rocks and cliffs to the powder we know as sand. You can make an analogy between wearing down the cliffs to sand and tackling any large problems you face in your life, and the analogy can give you strength to keep going.
If you get up from the sand and driftwood, and you walk over to the water, often times you can find tidepools and look at the wildlife in the pools. Or perhaps, depending on the beach, you can wade out into the water a little and look at the fish and other critters out in the waves. A tidepool is often a microcosm of the sea; the water usually will shush in from one side, pass a few anemones and then bring oxygen to some small fish and crabs. They’re very peaceful. Sometimes if you’ve brought your binoculars, you might see whales or sea lions or other mammals out in the water.
Flying a kite in the constant wind along the beach is always fun. Once you get it up ( running along the beach ), you’ll be able to let the kite out a little at a time. You’ll feel the strong wind pulling on your arms and shoulders, and experience some more of the power of nature.
Diving into the ocean can be cold and dangerous, but if you’re aware of your surroundings and you swim well, surfing is also inexpensive. Riding the waves on your board and letting the ocean swells move you along is a lot of fun! When you surf, be sure to shout “Totally Tubular!” and “Hang Ten!” or people might mistake you for a tourist.
The most important thing to remember is to have fun, relax and unwind. These five bits of entertainment might help you to enjoy your cheap beach vacation. But follow your instincts and have fun.
