“Get me a stretch of sand and a hammock and I’m happy,” says Kirsty Hathaway of U.K.-based BeachTomato.com, a fashion and travel site focused on beach vacations. “Awaking to the sound of rumbling waves, completely immersed in nature and wildlife. This, for me, is the epitome of true escapism.”

Escapism looks a little different for everyone, but we can all agree that a reasonable price tag spells relaxation almost as much as a hammock and a cold one. So we’ve rounded up our favorite affordable beach resorts worldwide, each checking in between $50 and $250 per night.

Slideshow: See all the best affordable beach resorts

After all, a beach vacation isn’t rocket science. The three key ingredients are simple: sun, sand, surf. It’s not all about the tanning butlers or 12-course molecular gastronomy tasting menus or the flat-screen pool-cabana entertainment systems. And it certainly isn’t about watching your bank account wash out to sea. 

Jose Ramon Cagigas / Courtesy of Le Reve Hotel & Spa

An unpaved maze of roads leads the way to Le Rêve Hotel & Spa, an intimate, 25-suite boutique property with more romance and charm than its neighboring mega-resorts in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

So what can you get that’s comfortably priced? How about Auberge Carnish, an airy modern cottage along a rugged curve of the Scottish coast where otters frolic in the misty dawn. Reclaimed merbau hardwoods and bath products of local lavender and seaweed bring the outside in. Price tag? $175 per night.  

It’s also perfectly possible to splash out in a trendy destination like Panama, and still come in within budget. Donald Trump’s curving skyscraper in Panama City should do the trick — with a deep-soak tub and high thread count included. Pair that urban beach experience with a stay along the Pacific coast beaches — fantastic for surfing — at the rustic-but-stylish El Sitio (from $99 per night). 

Further afield, you, too, can find your bliss among the beaches of Goa, India, which have welcomed bohemian types since the ’60s. Amarya Shamiyana, a collection of four Moghul-inspired tents in a palm-shaded oasis — just down the beach from Jade Jagger’s boutique — channels that carefree, chic spirit. The hotel bursts with color, from playful hand-painted damask murals to metallic beanbag chairs, and puts you within walking distance of the beautiful party people (from $110 per night).  

Luxe-mod Peruvian surf breaks? Nouveau preppy Kennebunkport, Maine? Avant architecture in Norway? Yup, we’ve got those too. So go ahead and dive in. The forecast is sunny for this choose-your-own-resort adventure.

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Ready to expand your horizons? Chart a new path to paradise with this guide to the lesser-known gems.

Slideshow: See the islands to escape to

Curaçao

Best for: Social butterflies and sun-worshippers.

The largest and most cosmopolitan of the Dutch-allied ABC Islands (along with Aruba and Bonaire), Curaçao also has some of the region's best weather — it lies outside the storm-prone Hurricane Belt.

Dominica

Best for: Adventure junkies and solitude-seekers.

Dramatic, rain-forest-cloaked peaks, bubbling volcanic lakes, excellent diving and a 115-mile-long hiking trail that leads from one end of the island to the other. The drawback? No direct flights from the U.S.

Grenada

Best for: Just about anyone.

The Spice Isle has every tropical flavor: mountains, forests and waterfalls: black- and white-sand beaches; laid-back, affordable guesthouses; and bucolic villages that haven't been tarnished by tourism.

Montserrat

Best for: Thrill-seekers (that volcano's still technically active).

Check out the Soufrière Hills volcano (it created a modern-day Pompeii out of the former capital in 1995) from the observatory or just enjoy the empty beaches, lush hiking trails and robust marine life.

St. Kitts

Best for: History buffs and animal-lovers (vervet monkeys hang around some beaches).

Long in the shadow of pricier Nevis, St. Kitts is home to a thriving West Indian culture and remarkably preserved architecture. A few 17^th-century plantation homes have been converted to inns.

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CuisinArt Resort & Spa sits by the crystal blue of Anguilla's Rendezvous Bay.

Beachgoing travelers know the truth: not all Caribbean hotels are created equal. And during a long winter, when all you crave is warm sun and soft, colorless sand, you want to know that you’ve picked the right spot.

Slideshow: See the finest lodgings in the Caribbean

To help you make the best choice, Travel + Leisure asks readers each year to score their favorite hotels on rooms, location, service, restaurants and value. The top-ranked hotels in the Caribbean, Bermuda and the Bahamas run the gamut from affordable boutique hotels to clubby all-inclusives. But what they share is excellence — and a stamp of approval from thousands of travelers.

Four of the top 20 Caribbean hotels are in St. Lucia, but you won’t have to worry about fighting the crowds: it’s easy to find a quiet paradise on the shoreline of this volcanic atoll. Ladera Resort, in Soufrière, had the highest score here — its secluded, open-air cottages have sweeping views that stretch from the towering Pitons to the turquoise sea. And the view gets even better at night, when you can stargaze from a private plunge pool.

Jamaican hotels won big this year as well, with four top spots. Couples Tower Isle, the highest-rated winner in Jamaica and No. 2 in the Caribbean, has been a romantic getaway since the 1950s, when Eva Gabor and Noël Coward cocooned at the resort. Fresh from a recent $30 million renovation, the all-inclusive property offers twilight catamaran tours and unlimited time on the golf course — all, of course, without having to pay extra. A lesser-known Jamaican gem is the Rockhouse Hotel, set on a craggy cove and known for its affordable rates — often less than $125 a night.

Homing in on excellent accommodations is important to the 10.8 million American travelers who headed to the Caribbean last year, according to Sylma Brown Bramble, director of the Caribbean Tourism Organization. According to Bramble, “The Caribbean has hotels that suit any type of traveler, from families to single travelers — and many have an affordable price point.” In fact, according to Smith Travel Research, the average price of a Caribbean stay is less than $200 a night.

So which Caribbean hotel nabbed the No. 1 spot? Head to eco-friendly Nevis, where Nisbet Plantation Beach Club comprises 36 breezy cottages on a stretch of beachfront sand so white it could be mistaken for snow.

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Courtesy of La Banane

The French West Indies island of St. Bart's is home to white-sand beaches, over-the-top villas and celebrity devotees. It also includes one of the Caribbean's most stylishly revamped hotels, La Banane.

After hitting the beach in low-key French St. Martin, you watch the sun set over Cul de Sac Bay from the terrace of your rustic-chic studio — one of only six at Karibuni Lodge.

My initial encounter with this intimate side of the Caribbean was back in the mid-1990s, when one of my first assignments for Travel + Leisure was to report on a handful of new small hotels. Given my happy memories of that mission, when I was offered a chance to again dip into the Caribbean's small-hotel scene, it didn't take much persuading. And this time, not only were there many more properties to check out, but many of these new tropical gems exhibited bolder and more exciting design than their 1990s counterparts.

Take the Midcentury Modern sleek of St. Bart's stunningly reimagined La Banane. A two-tiered pool now gives way to nine white bungalows with pastel-colored walls and custom-designed tiles. Hotel Chocolat, a newcomer to St. Lucia, takes a more natural approach, blending the design of its 14 villas almost seamlessly with its surrounding lush cacao plantation. Its small scale means guests get special treatment, like learning to make their own chocolate bars with an expert chef.

In addition to breaking new ground on the style and amenities fronts, some of these hotels opened up new geographic frontiers as well. The most notable example is Rosalie Bay Resort — the first luxury resort on the wild, pristine, and still virtually unknown island of Dominica. The pioneering resort is setting a sustainable example for those to come; it relies on solar panels and has its own wind turbine, organic gardens, and spring-fed onyx-colored swimming pool.

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