I haven't traveled many places in my lifetime (unless you count going to Disney World with your family four or five times during your formative years as being well-traveled). I always had a strong desire to do so, however, and this year I decided to finally get on my feet and get going! Thus far, I have been to Miami's South Beach, Puerto Rico, Montreal, and now a two week tour of France is coming up at the end of September.

When traveling on a budget, however, what options are available to you? In this weak economy, is traveling left only for the wealthy?

Using myself as an example, you certainly don't have to be wealthy to travel during these down times. You can actually use the weak dollar to your advantage when looking for places to visit in United States and its territories.

The first place I would recommend visiting is Puerto Rico - the home of the 50 cent Budweiser, endless expanses of gorgeous beaches, and probably one of THE most relaxed atmospheres you can sink into. Flights for two start at $210 dollars nonstop with American Airlines for a trip scheduled in September, according to cheaptickets.com. Amazingly inexpensive for an exotic island just far enough away! Furthermore, their hotels have dropped the prices drastically over the past few months due to a lag in tourism. Compare rates at hotels.com or priceline.com - the two best sites when looking for bargain rates.

Another great option would be to take a cruise. The deals currently are remarkably enticing, with starting prices at $150 dollars for a 3 day cruise. My favorite choices from cheaptickets.com would include a fourteen day cruise from Cape Liberty, New Jersey that hits Bar Harbor Maine, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Quebec City, Novia Scotia, and New Brunswick Canada starting at only $1,000 per person with Celebrity Cruises, or a nine night cruise of the Caribbean with Royal Caribbean for the same price. Planning a trip to Florida? The best deals depart from several ports in Florida, often beginning around $150 dollars per person. As an ad for Celebrity Cruises states, "Caribbean beaches, Alaskan glaciers, and European villages seem almost close enough to touch. Enjoy sunset dinners for two, then fall asleep to the soothing sounds of the open sea." Sounds quite romantic.

The most efficient means to book a cruise, however, can be found at CruiseCheap.com. This website truly is the market leader in discounts, and the best at comparing various rates for you across different times of the year. Some of their cruise deals include European Cruises with free air and gratuities, as well as a seven night trip to Alaska starting at five hundred dollars. Amazingly, you can spend a 25 night transatlantic voyage starting in Athens, Greece traveling to Turkey, Sicily, Rome, Monaco, Spain, Gibraltar, Seville, Portugal, Morocco, Canary Islands, and then back home to the US in Florida for only $2,000 per person. The only trick would be to purchase the airfare to Athens, which runs for about $500 per person for a one-way ticket. Regardless, $2,500 for a 25 night vacation is absolutely nothing.

Also, you can find some pretty nifty group travel discounts on cruises from BargainCruises.com if you are planning on traveling with your group of friends.

Napa Valley is another great deal at the moment, with flights to California really taking it easy on the traveler's pocket. The trick with Napa Valley, however, is finding a hotel that will accommodate you without first requiring you to dump your life's savings. One option is to stay at a bread and breakfast. La Belle Epoque I hear is a great stay. One traveler writes, on Tripadvisor.com, "We had a lovely time...[as we felt] very welcome in the beautiful home, our bedroom was stunning with beautiful stained glass windows and a large whirlpool bath in the bathroom. The candlelit breakfast was really lovely and the food excellent. The in-house wine cellar was very good, and very welcome after exploring the vineyards during the day." La Belle Epoque runs for about $234 a night - not bad in Nappa Valley standards. Somewhat cheaper but actually a winner, according to Oprah Magazine is the Old World Inn. The inn starts at about $139 per night with breakfast served comfortably in bed. Visit their website for further details.

A vacation to Napa Valley, however, can be confusing to plan due to the fact you would really need to know the area well prior to traveling. Try working with a travel service that can plan the vacation with you. Napa Valley Reservations Unlimited can find you the perfect hotel and plan the tours starting with rooms at $150 dollars a night. There is no fee, and they also have a good grasp on special packages. They can be reached at 1(800)-351-6272.

Lastly, If you work in a large corporate office, ask your Human Resources Department if special discounts are available to employees. My boyfriend actually got us a massive discount on a vacation package to Florida. It cost us each about $315 dollars per person and the ability to have brought an additional two guests for free. The trip will be ten days long, starting with five days, four nights in Orlando near Disney World with two free tickets to a theme park of our choice. Then the trip continued with a 3 day, 2 night stay on a beach in Ft. Lauderdale, with a two day cruise to the Bahamas following afterward. Then, after we purchased the package, we were permitted to go for free for three days two nights to either Puerto Vallarta, Las Vegas, or Honolulu with airfare included. Again, the package only cost us $315 dollars through his work.

The Internet is a perfect reference place for information on budget traveling. With people less willing to spend their money now, hot tourists spots are looking for ways to stimulate tourism in their areas again (Florida in particular). Hit up all of the popular search engines (Priceline, Travelocity, Orbitz, CheapTickets), and compare deals for the upcoming months - particularly October when very little travel is normally done in the first place. The results could very well amaze you.