What's a great vacation for the budget conscience?

Where are you leaving from?

from Cleveland Ohio

local of course, but you can get a lot of bang for your buck in Mexico.

I was also going to suggest Mexico, although right now, with the dollar tanking, the dollar and peso are pretty even.

Florida would be the next easiest bet if you want warm, sunny weather and cheap accomodations. Ticket prices are in the 250–300 range.

Another good bet, if it was just a little warmer right now, would be San Diego. It’s beautiful, sunny and interesting and you could potentially find cheap tickets on Southwest.

Also, take a look at this web site and see if something interests you;

http://www.budgettravel.com/bt-dyn/content/realdeals

you could potentially do an all-inclusive spa weekend somewhere.

I agree with the Mexico suggestion- you can get cheap flights and stay for as little as $25 a night if you go off the beaten path…flights may be more expensive than staying in the US, but lodging will be MUCH cheaper.
Another option for you is that there are some websites where you can find people who are willing to host fellow travelers for free in their homes! You don’t pay them – they just put you up , out of the goodness of their hearts…you might end up sleeping in someone’s living room, but hey, it’s free. I can’t remember the name but I think it might be couchsurfing.com or couchsurfing.org – something like that?
another cheap-ish option for you since you are in Cleveland would be to drive to Canada…Toronto or Montreal. It’s not warm, but you’ll spend nothing on airfare, and you’ll be in another country (Montreal feels a lot more “foreign” than toronto – it’s like being in Paris…beautiful parks, cafes, a foreign language, lots of culture). I think Toronto is a 5 hour drive from Cleveland…and Montreal is probably a 9 hour drive. There may even be a train that you can take, which would be more fun than driving. But a word of warning- the US dollar has fallen and is now on par with the Canadian dollar, so you should expect to spend more money on lodging/food than you might think…

I think you should go to Costa Rica its a heaven on earth Nature is well preserve out there.you can see wild animals such as monkeys iguanas…white and brown sand beaches and above all the currency is pretty low. If you like surf go down to San Antonio and Quepos there are pretty good places.

U could go to Myrtle Beach. Its nice and cheap!

Mexico is where it’s at!