Whether your vacation home is just for two, or an entire wedding party, a Santa Barbara vacation rental is such an outstanding value that it changes the very economics of travel. Not only that, with all inclusive vacations, you get to pay one time which will cover not only your hotel accommodations but also your food, drinks, and other recreational fees that are normally priced higher if it is not part of an all inclusive deal.

So, while you can see other houses from the road-side of this house, the property has a real sense of privacy and from the large deck, hot tub, and back of the house you’re just surrounded by only complaints were there weren’t enough sharp knives, particularly a bread knife, and there’s a weird 2-inch step between the kitchen area and living area which tripped up most of us for the first day or two.

Stop booking travel online through Expedia, and pay yourself first is what my mentor told me after I discovered he went to St. Louis, booked a hotel and car rental online, paid practically nothing for the trip, came back home and got a check for his trip in the mail.

The property’s name translates from the Mayan word for ‘secret,’ and it lives up to its status as a hidden gem, comprised of fairy-tale beach villas and ‘bohios’ nestled on the stunning, mile-long Manzanillo beach awash with light powdery sand and glorious Pacific sunsets.

Why you need to go: No longer Mexico’s best-kept secret (there are two luxury hotels and a restaurant from Mexico’s most famous chef, Enrique Olvera), San Miguel de Allende is still an off-the-beaten-path destination pandering to art and history lovers.