WORLD'S THRIFTIEST FISHING VILLAGE? Destin named to list of top ‘cheap' vacation spots

Away.com has named the “Top Ten Cheap Beach Vacations for 2009,” and Destin fell in at tenth, right behind Outer Banks, N.C.

The purpose of the list, according to Alexis Anderson, spokesperson for Away.com, is to give budget-minded travelers suggestions for the “perfect summer escape” although a “far-flung, luxury beach vacation may not be in their immediate future.”

The list includes places both domestic and exotic; the top spot was awarded to Cannon Beach, Ore., but the list is full of foreign beaches such as Tulum, Sao Paulo, Jamaica and more.

Destin was also recently listed as the No. 9 Best Budget Summer Getaway in SouthernLiving.com’s 2009 travel archive.

Away.com's top ten cheap beach vacation destination recommendations for 2009 are:

1.        Cannon Beach, Oregon
2.         Tulum, Mexico
3.         Placencia, Belize
4.         Morro de Sao Paulo, Brazil
5.         Negril, Jamaica
6.         Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica
7.         Cape Ann, Massachusetts
8.         Huntington Beach, California
9.         Outer Banks, North Carolina
10.       Destin, Florida

Cannon Beach, Oregon, Away.com’s number one choice for a cheap beach vacation, gives cost-conscious beachgoers a variety of free activities. Check out iconic Haystack Rock, drive to nearby Ecola State Park, or head to Bay City for fresh seafood. In Manzanita, rooms go for as low as $70 a night during high season.

For a cheap beach vacation a little farther away from home, Tulum, Mexico, has the same beachfront views as Playa del Carmen at budget prices. Visit the nearby Mayan ruins, or stay near the beach, where ocean-view properties have offered rooms for $60 a night, and airfare from the States can be had for less than it’d cost to fly to Florida or California.

In Negril, Jamaica, daily happy hours, electric sunsets, and Acapulco-style cliff divers keep costs low and spirits high. Beachfront hotels can start at $74 a night in high season.

“In these tough times, people tend to forget that it is possible to take a beach vacation without spending your life savings,” says Eric Brodnax, general manager of Away.com. “But it’s easy, and it all begins with picking a destination a bit off the beaten path.”