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Savvy travelers know the right time to view tribal masks from Africa or Brontosaurus bones from the Jurassic: when the price of museum tickets is zero. Several venerable institutions in the West, such as the Denver Art Museum (denverartmuseum.org), San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum (asian art.org), and the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Wash. (museumofglass.org), let the public in for free on select days or at particular times.

The fireplaces in national park hotel lobbies provide perfect vantage points to sit and marvel at the grand, rustic parkitecture that surrounds them. Hot spots include the hearth at Crater Lake Lodge in Oregon
(888-774-2728), the pair of fireplaces at the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite (801-559-4884), and the 76-foot-tall stone beauty at Yellowstone’s Old Faithful Inn (866-439-7375).

Treat your kids to a candy-making tour at the Jelly Belly factory in Fairfield, Calif. (jellybelly.com), or visit Henderson, Nev., to see how Ethel M chocolates (ethelschocolate.com) are made. Grown-ups may prefer a brewery tour. On tap: Alaskan Brewing Co. in Juneau (alaskanbeer.com), the Widmer Brothers Brewing Co. in Portland (widmer.com), Anchor Brewing Co. in San Francisco (anchorbrewing.com), and Coors Brewing Co. in Golden, Colo. (coors.com). Prosit!

The AAA TourBook and CampBook guides are packed with specific details on hundreds of AAA approved hotels, campgrounds, and restaurants along with descriptions of popular and offbeat places of interest, from theme parks and planetariums to city monuments and scenic drives. Best of all, you can access or order the books at AAA.com.

UNDER $20
Most cities sell transit passes that allow you to get around easily and eliminate the search for parking. Prices are fairly consistent: $2 for a daily pass in Boise, Idaho; $15 for a weekly pass in San Francisco. Bonus tip: Portland and Seattle have fare-free zones and ride times.

Though often targeted for budget cuts by legislators, state parks provide some of the most varied and least expensive getaway options in the West. Your choices include the Mars-like terrain at central Utah’s Goblin Valley State Park, the fragrant formal gardens at Shore Acres State Park on the Oregon coast, the 2,200-year-old rock art at Pictograph Cave State Park near Billings, Mont., and the 1.6-million-acre, lakecovered Wood-Tikchik State Park in western Alaska. Admission is occasionally free though you’ll usually pay between $5 and $10—often for parking or special events—and perhaps more for camping permits.

Over half of Sirius Satellite Radio’s 130 channels feature commercial-free music, from bluegrass and new age to opera and hip-hop. Sirius also has channels dedicated to news, sports, kids, and comedy. Hertz offers Sirius as an option in many of its rental cars—and AAA members receive a 50 percent discount on the $3 daily or $15 weekly radio rental fee. To learn more, call (800) 654-3080 or visit AAA.com/hertz.

Journey in air-conditioned comfort to the coral reefs of the South Pacific, over the rim of the Grand Canyon, or to the edge of an Indonesian volcano for $10 to $15 in an Imax theater. To locate the nearest one, visit imax.com.

UNDER $100
Soar into the Museum of Flight in Seattle or tour Hollywood’s grand Kodak Theatre for half price with CityPass (citypass.com). The passes provide deep discounts on admission to dozens of popular sights and start at $44. Go Visitor Cards and Explorer Passes (smartdestinations.com) offer similar savings in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego, Maui, and other touristfriendly destinations. Card prices start at $49.99.

Hostelling International’s comfortable, low-key accommodations can have you lounging under palm trees in Honolulu near the University of Hawaii ($18–$21 per night), admiring 10,000-foot-high peaks in Montana’s Glacier National Park ($15 per night), savoring ocean views in California’s Redwood National Park ($21 per night), or catching 40 winks in a tepee near Washington’s Puget Sound ($17–$20 per night). To search for other locations, visit hiusa.org.

Aboard Amtrak, not only will you enjoy hours of stunning scenery but you’ll save a bundle on gas. A one-way ticket from Oakland, Calif., to Sacramento sets you back just $22; Portland to Sandpoint, Idaho, costs $54; and Salt Lake City to Reno is $58. AAA members save 10 percent on the lowest available fare with advance reservations. For information and reservations, call (800) 872-7245.

Afraid you won’t be able to afford that souvenir sweatshirt if you dine on veal cutlets, foie gras, soft-shell crab, or razor clams? Consider doing lunch or dinner at a culinary school restaurant. A four-course prix fixe dinner at the Oregon Culinary Institute in Portland (oregonculinaryinstitute.com), for example, will run you just $28 per couple. The Arizona Culinary Academy in Scottsdale (azculinary.com), the Seattle Culinary Academy (seattlecentral.edu/seattleculinary), Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Las Vegas (vegasculinary.com), and the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco (baychef.com) also have tables ready and waiting.