Getting to the Beach

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Beach Vacations

Sand and surf never go out of style, but certain beach vacations are better suited to specific occasions, times of year and personalities. Our Beach Vacations Web Guide offers insight into many versions of paradise, including the best beach trips to remote islands and adventure beaches, as well as beach suggestions for different budgets. Look for links to tools for planning the perfect beach vacation, booking flights and hotels, and advice for managing pre-trip necessities, such as passports and vaccines.

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Beach Travel Basics

There are roughly 220,000 miles of coastline in the world ... read more »

Beach Vacations

Whether you want to laze in the sand with an icy drink, scale craggy peaks with ocean views, or get ... read more »

Beach Travel Safety and Requirements

Before you hit the beach, take care of a few pesky but essential stipulations. This section ... read more »

Getting to the Beach

All you want to do is lay in the sand, but first you’ve got to get there. Online search tools help you find and book flights whether you’re in a pinch, or have tons of time to spare.

Dulcinea's Insight

If you plan to book a beach cruise, read “7 Tips for the best cruise deal” on MSNBC’s “Travel” site. The article offers quick tips that you might not necessarily think of, such as checking the Sunday papers for advertised deals.

The findingDulcinea Travel Web Guide provides additional resources to help you reach your seaside destination, including flight and car rental search tools.

If you find a flight through a search engine, check the airline site before you book; sometimes you’ll find a slightly better deal.

For a little adventure (and perhaps a cheaper flight) fly into a city that’s a good distance from your beach destination. You can backpack and camp your way there, knowing that sun and sand await the end of your trek.

Dulcinea's Picks

For flight search tools …

Kayak is a powerful flight search tool that finds fares from hundreds of airline and travel sites, such as Orbitz and Travelocity. Enter your dates of travel to get a list of flight options that are easy to sort in a variety of ways: by airline, departure time, and/or number of stops. Also view results in a chart depicting price changes over time, or compare your results with Expedia and Priceline. To learn exactly which airlines and agents this site covers, visit its "Providers" page.

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SideStep's prices show the importance of including low-cost airlines like Northwest and JetBlue in the search results. Although the layout isn't as clean and intuitive as Kayak’s, SideStep has great deals and should be one of your top airfare-finding resources.

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Travelocity has tools to help you find flights and all-inclusive travel packages. In addition to finding great prices, Travelocity has a compact design that’s simple to navigate, presents unbiased reviews of properties, and has a help line so you can speak to a representative over the phone for extra help or clarification.

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For flight bargain hunting …

Farecast takes the uncertainty out of booking a flight online. The site presents graphs of price trends over time, along with recommendations on whether to buy now or wait for a better deal.

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Airfarewatchdog.com's team scours the net to find "fluke" prices offered by airlines. These frequently mind-boggling fares are listed in the "Fare of the Day" and "Top 50 Fares" sections. There's no formula for knowing what tickets will be offered, so you'll have to be flexible to take advantage of them. You'll also have to act quickly, as the tickets don't last long.

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For beach cruises …

Expedia finds deals on cruises from numerous providers like Disney Cruise Line and Holland America. Don’t miss the “Last-minute cruise deals” listed in the upper right corner. Use the search tool to find cruises, browse the deals advertised on the cruise homepage, or call to speak to one of Expedia’s Cruise Specialists.

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Cruise Compete takes the hassle out of finding the best price on a cruise. Register with the site and input your cruise specifications, including dates of travel, location, and number of passengers, and more than 300 travel agencies will begin quoting prices, e-mailed to you from Cruise Compete. There is no obligation to purchase any cruise, and travel agencies will not be given your contact information. Respected travel guidebook publisher Frommer’s has called this system “revolutionary.”

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CruiseMates is an essential resource for vacationers considering a cruise package. Find unbiased reviews of numerous cruise ship lines offering background of each company and detailed accounts of what to expect on the boat. Also browse reader reviews of cruise lines (big name lines like Celebrity and Royal Caribbean have the most reviews). Cruise news, articles, message boards, and cruise guides for different categories, such as “First-time Cruisers” and “Family Cruising,” provide enjoyable reading.

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