Cheap places worth a visit

Earlier this month, the New York Times announced the coming of a "double dip recession:" The United States economy seems to be approaching a financial danger zone for the second time since December 2008. That means the penny pinching is going to continue well into the foreseeable future. And when it comes to saving money, many of the sacrifices we usually make have to do with leisure travel.

But for those of you watching the summer breeze by without so much as considering a trip, we have good news for you: Bargains lie in wait for those who look closely. U.S. News Travel has teamed up with Hotwire.com to show you how to take advantage of these last weeks of summer. To help get you started, we've compiled a list of seven destinations that are cheap now. These vacation spots have shown the most significant drop in airline and hotel prices since this time last year, according to Hotwire's Year-Over-Year pricing analysis.