Expensive Cities on the Cheap

All government-run museums are free on Wednesdays, and other days the museum pass for seven major ones—good for a week—is around $4. Although it's good form to give a small donation, all of Hong Kong's temples are free.

You can set up your own sightseeing tour of Hong Kong for cheap. The double-decker trams only cost about 30 cents a ride. The half-mile-long series of covered escalators and walkways going up and down the steep hills between Central and Mid-Levels is free. Ride the Star Ferry to Kowloon and back for less than $1. Or take a ferry to a more remote island for hiking and beaches (less than $4).

The foot of Powell Street in San Francisco is a downtown transportation hub (Phil Coblentz/San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau) [enlarge photo]

Freebie Hong Kong's tourism board runs a wide variety of free culture classes in English. Learn the principles of feng shui one afternoon; then practice some moves with a tai chi master the next morning by the harbor.

LOS ANGELES
There's no getting around it: in L.A. you need a car and you'll put a lot of mileage on it. You're joining throngs of aspiring film and TV workers who are neither famous nor rich, so you can eat and have fun on the cheap if you know where to look.

Those in the know say L.A. has the best thrift shops in the U.S., and Hollywood estate sales turn up all kinds of goodies.

Cheap eats are plentiful: Try a double-double and a real milkshake from In-N-Out Burger, and stop by a taco stand for an authentic Mexican lunch.

For a quintessential L.A. experience, shell out $10 per person for a Sunday-night movie screening in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. You can bring a picnic dinner and a cooler of drinks—alcohol is permitted.

Freebie View the Hollywood sign and the city from the Griffith Observatory, or relive countless movie moments by admiring the sprawling city from nearby Mulholland Drive.

The beaches around L.A. are free and open to the public. Once you get north of Malibu to Zuma Beach and beyond, you can find free parking along the road.

HONOLULU
Let's see...take an isolated volcanic island chain in the Pacific and turn it into a tourist paradise full of golf courses and huge hotels. Only one problem: the costly long-distance shipping of everything but pineapples and poi.

Staying in a house or a condo with a kitchen helps. When stocking up on groceries, avoid the tourist centers and find a regular supermarket to save on your bill. Most restaurants in Waikiki are priced for tourists. To pay what the locals pay, head to Honolulu's Chinatown, order Hawaiian-style fast food from one of 24 Zippy's locations, or check out the Cheap Places to Eat in Oahu blog for ideas.

Freebie Learn to play the ukulele or dance the hula with free one-hour lessons at the Royal Hawaiian Center.