Cross the Canadian border and pay for a 99> item with US$10, and the cashier will hand back almost CAD$15 in change-does it get any better? Okay, so you'll be spending those funny-colored Canuck bucks (of which you presently get CAD$1.55 for every US$1), but once you've made the odd currency calculation, you find-voila!-that your budget has stretched an amazingly long way. Here are some best bets.

1. Links for less

For stunningly inexpensive golf packages, look to Prince Edward Island. Better known for its beaches and Anne of Green Gables, the tiny island province has been recognized as "Canada's Best Golf Destination" by r eaders of SCOREGolf magazine. Starting at US$160 (May/October) or US$210 (June-September) per person, you get three nights' accommodations at any of eight Rodd Hotels & Resorts properties (800/565-7633, rodd-hotels.ca), breakfasts, and three days of golf at your choice of 12 championship courses (this includes P.E.I.'s three top golf courses: Brudenell River, Dundarave, and the Links at Crowbush Cove). It's all a day's drive (680 miles) from Boston via the eight-mile Confederation Bridge from New Brunswick. Contact Tourism PEI (888/734-7529, gov.pe.ca/visitors guide/packages) for details.

2. Cheap college digs

Canada's universities offer rooms at bargain rates during school holiday periods. Check the Canadian University and College Conference Officers Association (cuccoa.org) for a list of 24 schools. Brock University (905/688-5550, ext. 3369, brocku.ca/communityservices/conference/rates.htm), for example, in Ontario's Niagara wine-growing region, offers singl e rooms for US$25 (each shares adjoining washroom, linens included), and there's an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet for US$5, plus free parking. A well-marked 25-mile drive/cycle route (wineroute.com) winds past 45 wineries, many with free tastings. Even better, you're 20 minutes from Niagara Falls (Niagara Parks, 877/NIA-PARK, niagaraparks.com; Niagara Tourism, 800/56-FALLS, niagaratourism.com).

3. Gallic gatherings

No one throws a party like Quebecois. The Just For Laughs Comedy Festival (July 10-20, 2003, 888/244-3155, hahaha.com) and the Montreal International Jazz Festival (June 26-July 6, 2003, 888/515-0515, montrealjazzfest.com), two of Montreal's biggest confabs, offer hundreds of events and most of the entertainment is free (streets close down and stages are set up). Contact the Downtown Bed & Breakfast Network (800/267-5180, bbmontreal.qc.ca; 46 rooms averaging US$38-$75), Bed and Breakfast ^ Montr(r)eal (800/738-4338, bb montreal.com; 35 rooms US$48-$54), or look for last-minute bargains online at tourism-montreal.org. Contact Tourism Quebec at 877/266-5687 or bonjourquebec.com.

4. Half-price hostels

Consider Canada's youth hostels for lodging at less than US$20 per night. Despite the name, there are no age limits. From a lighthouse in Campbellton, New Brunswick, and a former jail in the nation's capital, there's a huge choice. Expect to share a room (some offer family rooms), and most have guest kitchens. One of the best is Whalers on the Point Guesthouse in Tofino (81 West St., 250/725-3443, tofinohostel.com) on Vancouver Island. Enjoy the region's rain forest, sea kayaking, and the best surfing in Canada. And stay for US$14 per night. Rooms have four to six beds, and the fireplace lounge has a huge picture-window view of Clayoquot Sound. Hostelling International-Canada has 69 locations (800/663-5777, hostellingintl.ca).

5. Trimming Toronto

Accommodations on the Lake Ontario waterfront can set you back hundreds of dollars, but not if you sashay through the hotel high-rises and catch the Ward's Island ferry (US$3.25 round trip) for a ten-minute ride to Toronto's charming, 262-home island community. A two-minute walk brings you to Ronni and Julie Bates's Fourth Street Bed and Breakfast, where US$65-$70 gets a double room with breakfast, free bikes, and easy access to downtown, all in a casual cottage community that even locals claim has the best view of the city. Guests at the three-year-old home can dine at the Island Yacht Club or nearby bistro the Rectory Cafe. Water taxis do late-night runs. Open year-round (10 Fourth St., Ward's Island, 416/203-7551, fourthstbb@hotmail.com). For Toronto Islands info (including ferry schedule), log on to torontoisland.org. Toronto Convention & Visitors Association: 416/203-2600, torontotourism.com.

6. Affordable Atlantic