Check out our cool webcam in Cabo San Lucas too.

If you’re hoping for another year of dirt-cheap cruising, I have news for you: That ship has sailed.

After foundering in the recession, cruise lines have been buoyed by a recent surge in bookings. And that is bringing higher prices.

With that in mind, here are five ways to trim your budget sails in 2010:

Head for Mexico: With recent fares as low as $429 for seven-day, round-trip sailings from Southern California, the Mexican Riviera (Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlán, Puerto Vallarta) is hard to beat for savings. Prices have been pounded by California’s weakened economy, Mexico’s drug wars and the entry of bigger ships into the market, experts say.

The Tourism Minister Rodolfo Elizondo, reiterated its commitment to deploy a comprehensive and strategic promotional campaign in major tourist markets of USA, Canada, Europe and South America, to recover the loss of tourists registered in 2009.

During the opening of the Golf Course Litibú stressed the importance of resorts such as the Riviera Nayarit, to draw more tourists and create attractive for visitors to extend their stay in the country, like Mexico Regatta which takes place in one of local marinas.

He insisted that the rich heritage of the country, making Mexico one of the most attractive destinations for domestic and international tourists, so the importance of investing in more infrastructure and tourism services, where entrepreneurs have confidence.

To President Felipe Calderón, the official said that projects like Litibú Golf Course, which has been endowed with great infrastructure while protecting the environment, sure to attract more tourists.

To President Felipe Calderón, the official said that projects like Litibú Golf Course, which has been endowed with great infrastructure while protecting the environment, sure to attract more tourists.

In turn, the Governor Ney Gonzalez Sanchez thanked President Calderon’s financial support to achieve the tourism and economic emergence of the Riviera Nayarit, which the president fulfilled his word that “friendship that is not reflected in the budget is not friendship”.

Searching for a different kind of destination for the next holiday? Think Puerto Vallarta.
Puerto Vallarta is only about 1,200 miles away but it could be another planet for its ability to transport visitors away from daily lives to moments of romance, adventure and pleasure. Perhaps more than any other nearby destination, the city combines the majesty of the old with the grandeur of the new, a fusion of the foreign with the familiar. Cobblestone streets lead into paved roads. Elegant Mexican restaurants operate down the block from McDonalds. Costco and WalMart compete with Mega and other Mexican chains.
The glowing lights of the city of Puerto Vallarta ring the curve of the Bay of Banderas like sparkling diamonds in a royal tiara. Waves gently lap the shore as cool breezes ruffle shirts and dresses of pedestrians on the Malecon, the broad walking pathway that hugs the shoreline through the heart of the downtown area. Strangely shaped statues decorate the pavement, competing with huge sand sculptures on the sand. These figures create a surreal sense, an exciting twist of reality to the moonlit scene.
Brightly colored displays during the day attract shoppers to boutiques, jewelry stores and art galleries. At night, music streams from the clubs where people party until late.

In the middle of the countryside, and surrounded by farm families, the Governor Ney Gonzalez Sanchez decided to celebrate the third anniversary of the Mark Riviera Nayarit, the most successful that exists in Mexico.

The crucial moment occurred during the opening ceremony of the Centro Integral Improvement of Maize and Sorghum, Monsanto, located in El Tizate Ixcuintla municipality of Santiago.

Accompanied by the federal agriculture secretary, Mariano Ruiz Funes, Nayarit Bush underlined that this day marks the third anniversary of the brand was born Riviera Nayarit, “today I decided to come to celebrate the third anniversary of the most successful tourism brand that Mexico has now, in the field. ”

“The Riviera Nayarit is first referred-national tourism investment attraction in 2009: nearly $ 700 million dollars, purely private investment, we are occupying the first places we are a successful brand, and is in Nayarit, own brand, and I come to celebrate in the backbone of the economy of Nayarit in the rural sector, the success of another important area, which is tourism.

Mexico–Some people can’t put together a desk from a DIY store. Robert Price assembled an entire botanical garden from scratch.

Price, a former restaurant owner from Savannah, Ga., is the founder, executive director and curator of the Vallarta Botanical Gardens – a breezy Shangri La hideaway that sprawls over the Sierra Madre Mountains.

Stopped by the reception last night at the Four Seasons Hotel to say so long to GM Thierry Kennel and to welcome the new GM, Alper Oztok.

Kennel, who opened the hotel here in 2007, was well-liked by people across the St. Louis community. He was a friend to charitable organizations, business types and philanthropic groups. He has been named general manager of the new Four Seasons Hotel and Residences in Denver.

Oztok, who is moving here from the Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita, Mexico, will begin work on March 22. He was circulating at the reception last night with a warm smile and friendly words for all he met.

Jack Nicklaus turned 70 in late January, has an artificial hip and plays golf less than once a month. But he can still hit the ball longer and truer than most purveyors of his courses and he knows this.

So listen to him talk about his designs — now numbering some 340 worldwide — and you hear him say things like “something for everybody.”

His latest, Bahia at Punta Mita resort development just north of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, is like that, a championship 18 holes with a half-dozen water holes on one side and the foothills of the Sierra Madre mountains on the other.

It doesn’t have a trademark hole like “Tail of the Whale” island third at his neighbouring Pacifico course, but it overall plays less like a resort course and more like something a guy like Nicklaus would enjoy.

If you’re in college, you’ve been counting the days until spring break begins. But not all students have the money to book a trip in advance. If you’re looking for some last-minute deals that fit within a budget that’s already strapped by books and dating, here are some low-priced getaways sure to provide an escape worth bragging about.

CRUISE DEAL: 7-night Mexico cruise (Carnival) departing Long Beach, with port calls in Mexico’s Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas and Mazatlan, starting at $559 per person for an inside cabin — 68% off the brochure price. It leaves Sunday, March 14. (VacationsToGo)

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Seventeen students and two staff members from Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell are traveling to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, on a mission trip during spring break, March 13-20.

Two major projects are planned during the mission trip: building homes for the homeless near the city of Puerto Vallarta, and working and spending time with children at an area orphanage.