How to Make Vaccinated Vacations As Cheap As Possible
With continued vaccinations, we are close to reaching some semblance of normalcy (or any other post-pandemic normalcy), and you may be ready to go anywhere after being locked up for over a year. But given last year’s financial woes, expensive travel may not be the right fit for many of us. But if you have some flexibility, you can plan your vacation at a much lower cost than if you had a specific destination. Here are some ways to travel cheaply when your destination is anywhere .
Use the “Explore” feature on travel sites
In Netflix’s The Master From Nothing , the character Aziz Ansari and his love interest go on a date using JetBlue’s “deals” feature, choosing where the cheapest deal takes them. If location isn’t an issue for you, the journey is actually realistic and fun, with JetBlue and other airlines offering low-cost hotel and flight deals, promotions and popular destinations.
Likewise, Kayak’s Explore feature gives you a choice of flights around the world. At kayak.com/explore, the site uses your location as a starting point, the words “anywhere” are automatically included as a destination, and the map shows flight costs for locations around the world.
You will also notice that the timeframe says “anytime and for any duration”. Once you click on a flight to view details, the duration is randomly selected to get the best deal. For example, when I select a flight from Boston to Atlanta, it is $ 66 one way, and when I click on a deal, the date is automatically changed to May 20-25 this year. If flexibility is enough, this is the impulsive traveler’s dream.
Flight Deal is another cheap flight option. Instead of putting a pin on the world map, The Flight Deal gives you a list of places with cheap deals around the world. After clicking on the selected deal, the website will provide detailed information about the flight and type of vacation, including sample travel dates. For example, they currently have a round-trip ticket from Los Angeles to Amman, Jordan on Qatar Airways for $ 696.
Once selected, the site recommends checking out the Petra tourist attraction and offers additional deals for other airlines, such as a $ 100 Economy Class discount on an Alaska Airlines flight on the same flight. They will also recommend the best dates for your trip.
Filter your search results to stay within budget
Hostels are one of the cheapest ways to travel, but during a pandemic, avoid sharing. Fortunately, other cheap private hotels are easy to find on sites like Airbnb , VRBO , and regular travel sites like Expedia, Orbitz, Cheap Hotels and others.
Airbnb’s Get Closer section uses your current location to find nearby destinations in just an hour or two; just select the maximum amount to spend and see what appears. VRBO has similar options and filters to suit your search according to your needs. On the VRBO homepage, you will also see recommendations for family travel and accommodation types (cabins, condos, cottages, etc.).
How to budget for cheap places
Even if location doesn’t matter, it can still help your search. For example, Vietnam is an affordable and common destination with flights between $ 400 and $ 600 one way, and room and board can be significantly cheaper: Budget Your Trip estimates the daily cost of a trip to Vietnam at $ 41 per day , including accommodation. In places like Vietnam, if you can afford the flight, you can get by with the rest on a tight budget.
If you have an idea of where you would like to go, you can also use the Budget Your Trip search function to calculate your daily expenses elsewhere; it will offer a list of Hostels & Low-Cost Places, Travel Guides Around the World, and Activities, Day Trips & Excursions. All of its categories are budget-based, allowing you to take an inexpensive trip to faraway places you might not have thought of before.
New York Times bestselling author and travel writer Matt Kepnes (aka Nomadic Matt) offers several travel guides for traveling the world on an extremely tight budget. In his article “ Ideas for a Cheap Vacation,” Kepnes writes: “Forget Mexico and go to Guatemala. Skip Paris and head to Budapest. Forget Italy and see Greece (it’s really cheap!). Give up Brazil and fight Bolivia instead. ” Kepnes offers “opposite journeys”, avoiding large crowds and expensive events, going against the tide. Kepnes also offers a list of affordable yet attractive destinations for your next trip, including as far away as Moldova, Thailand and Fiji.
How to find cheap excursions
If adventure fuels your urge to travel, try searching for cheap excursions on sites like Viator – just enter your location and dates to find local attractions and activities at low prices. Once you have specified a location and date, the results page will suggest categories to choose from: Food & Drink, Arts & Culture, Outdoor Activities, Unique Experiences, etc. For example, I was looking for Saint – Thomas found a “sunset sailboat with cocktails and snacks” for only $ 56 per person (with unlimited cocktails, by the way).