When vacationing near an expensive tourist area consider renting house/apartment/ condo on the outskirts and then driving to the more touristy area. Since most beaches are open to the public, you can enjoy the beach and the hotel’s restaurants and bars. For example, for our holiday in Aruba, we were able to rent a 2 bedroom 2 bath-room town home for $180 USD a night. It was located about 5 minutes from the high-rise hotels. We parked for free at Senor Frogs, which was right across the street from the Radisson. At that time, the Radisson was charging ~ $800 USD per night because of their great location and facilities. We were able to spend the day at the beach without the need to run around looking for a place to eat. In addition, if you want to cool off indoors there’s a casino on site. So although you may not be a resort guest, you can feel like one (and save money) by enjoying the public beach, eating and drinking at the restaurants, and gambling away your travel money if you so desire!
