New York City is a cultural mecca in American travel, and will continue to be a major US travel destination in the years to come. Because of the amazing New York City attractions, cultural diversity, historical importance, and large population, one would think it would be a great place for budget travelers and backpackers. Actually, not so much. Why? Because it’s expensive. So here are some really cheap hostels in New York City to help backpackers and budget travelers.

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As spring approaches, the Caribbean is the place to be. A large assortment of Caribbean Islands will be hosting the internationally renowned Cricket World Cup, which has lead to looser travel restrictions in ten Caribbean nations. I’m going to offer a few budget friendly travel tips as I promised in my previous post on the Caribbean Cricket world cup.

Traveling on a tight budget this spring could be tricky as most of the Caribbean will be buzzing with excitement from the Cricket World Cup. This event, paired with the Caribbean’s reputation of being crowded anyways, could put the tourist saturation at all time highs.

But for cricket fans and travelers, these roadblocks still may not be enough to sway your convictions. The locations that are included under the lax travel restrictions are:

• Barbados
• Antigua and Barbuda
• Dominica
• St. Lucia
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Grenada
• St. Vincent and The Grenadines
• Guyana
• Jamaica
• St. Kitts and Nevis

Of these destinations, I have found Jamaica, St. Lucia, and Barbados offer the best budget friendly deals. Cheap lodging is usually the hardest thing to find, and possible deals include:

St. Lucia: Ashley’s Inn from $35USD a night, and Fox Grove Inn from $45 a night.

Barbados: The Rio Guesthouse is a neat hostel that has rates from $30 a bed. This looks like a great deal at a pretty cool place.

Jamaica: Has plenty of hostels available listed on HostelWorld.com. Prices are usually around $20 a night, but may get as high as $40 in resort areas.

For flights, if you’re lucky you might be able to find a dirt cheap flight with Spirit Airlines. Otherwise, on other airlines, expect a round trip fare to range between $400 and $600, depending on your location. From major hubs, expect to be around $450-500ish range.

Other tips? Well, be smart and use your wisdom developed from reading my lengthy posts to make good fiscal decisions if you travel to the Caribbean.

The Caribbean Islands are the place to be from March 5 to April 28, as they will play host to the ICC Cricket World Cup, for 47 entire days! Now, as a disciplined budget traveler, I don’t expect you to stay for the entire duration, but The ICC Cricket World Cup in the Caribbean has a lot to offer this year, including…

Loosened Travel Restrictions

For this world class sporting event, many Caribbean nations have loosened their travel restrictions. These countries (listed below) have all agreed to waive the requirement of visas to travel there, (more…)

If you’re interested in traveling to the Caribbean, you know that there are a many, many islands that you can travel to. Jamaica, Virging Islands, Bahamas, Puerto Rico, and even Cuba for the adventurous. So where to go?

Where to go

Since the Caribbean is the most touristic area (per capita) in the world, it’s hard finding the most “non-commercial” destination. The most attractive destination for the backpacker is probably Cuba, because of its culture and lack of commercialism. Most, including myself, wouldn’t be willing to go through the trouble to get there though.

The next best backpacker destination could possibly be Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico actually has an economy outside of tourism, so it isn’t as saturated with commercialism compared to the Bahamas or the Virgin Islands. So, that should mean travelers can expect to experience a little bit of genuine Puerto Rican culture if they go about it the right way.

Cost

• Flight: from New York to San Juan, Puerto Rico on budget airline Spirit airline is $199 one way. Stick to flying on the weekdays, as I found weekend flights may be $275.
• Accommodation: Unfortunately, hostels are scarce around Puerto Rico. The cheapest rate that I found was $45 a night from Borinquen, in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. More common budget rates range from $70-95.
• Meals: Are not too expensive. Regular (budget) meals range from $3-9. If you’re feeling classy, high end meals don’t get over $30.

What to Do

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Well, this weekend will be heading out to West River, South Dakota. This will be close to my twenty-ninth visit to the area, because I have a family event to attend. More specifically, I will be going to Spearfish.

So now that I’m talking about the area, I thought I would give a little guide of what you can see and do in the area, even though it is a bit off topic of budget international travel.
The Black Hills of South Dakota are actually home to a number of tourist destinations and traps. Most notably, Mount Rushmore. Mount Rushmore, aka the trademark of Dakota Territory, is a usually a must see if you have never seen it before. It’s one of the places where it’s nice to say “Hey, I’ve been there.” when the image pops up on some generic patriotic commercial.

Since the weather and climate has taken a toll on Mount Rushmore, a new monument is destined to take its place. Crazy Horse monument is slated to be the world’s largest statue when it is completed. It honors the famous Native American war hero himself. It is free to view the monument while driving by, but they do charge to actually go inside and see the museum and gift shops.

Those big sculptures make up what I call the ‘big two’ in the Black Hills, but there is plenty else to see in the area. One tourist trap that I enjoy is Cosmos Mystery Area. Cosmos is a crazy house that really messes with you.

There are plenty other tourist traps in the area that you will find brochures for, but most are just rip offs. Instead of going to the traps like the Rushmore Caves or Wall Drug, check out the Badlands and Spearfish Canyon. Both are really beautiful places to spend a day exploring. Get on a hiking path and walk around to enjoy the nature.

Another place to hike would be Harney Peak, the highest point east of the Rocky Mountains. However, one drawback is that the trail at Harney peak is usually pretty busy, so expect a small crowd.

So, there is my short guide to visiting the Black Hills of South Dakota. I don’t expect that I inspired anyone to rush out and get tickets to visit, but I just wanted to fill you in on the area I will be visiting. And, maybe, you learned something new about the the Hills.

[tags] black hills, rushmore, [/tags]