{"id":16,"date":"2018-11-08T14:00:04","date_gmt":"2018-11-08T14:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nomadicmatt.com\/?p=13336"},"modified":"2018-11-08T14:00:04","modified_gmt":"2018-11-08T14:00:04","slug":"cheap-holiday-ideas-8-alternative-budget-vacation-deals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ourfunjourney.com\/index.php\/2018\/11\/08\/cheap-holiday-ideas-8-alternative-budget-vacation-deals\/","title":{"rendered":"Cheap Holiday Ideas: 8 Alternative Budget Vacation Deals"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nUpdated:<\/strong> 11\/8\/2018 | November 8th, 2018<\/p>\n

While many of us dream of traveling the world (or at least taking a few months off from work in pursuit of adventure), it\u2019s not always feasible, even for those with the best of intentions. A lot of things can get in the way.<\/p>\n

I frequently talk about long-term travel and round-the-world trips<\/a>, but I know that realistically, not everyone can or wants to enjoy this style of travel. I don\u2019t think traveling the world is hard<\/a>, but I also know that what I do isn\u2019t for everyone.<\/p>\n

Some people just want to go on a\u00a0cheap vacation for a few weeks. Not everyone has the time or luxury to take an extended trip.<\/p>\n

So what do you do when you only have a short amount of time and a short amount of money?<\/p>\n

What are some\u00a0budget vacation ideas that\u00a0aren’t<\/em> about traveling the world?<\/p>\n

Even if I won’t find you\u00a0backpacking Cambodia<\/a> for three months or walking the Camino de Santiago<\/a>, there are many ways to get on the road and see the world without breaking the bank! Here are eight cheap travel ideas if you are cash-strapped and\/or time-poor:<\/p>\n

Cheap Vacation Idea 1:\u00a0Be a Local Tourist<\/h3>\n

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\nHow often do you visit the tourist sites in your own city? Hardly ever, right? I know New Yorkers who have never seen the Statue of Liberty and Bostonians who have never walked the Freedom Trail. I once took a Dutch friend on a tour of Amsterdam because, despite growing up there, she had never seen the local attractions that lure millions of visitors to the city every year.<\/p>\n

We’re all guilty of this. It took me five years to see the Jim Thompson House in Bangkok (even after living there), and I\u2019ve still never been to Bunker Hill in Boston despite spending the first 24 years of my life there.<\/p>\n

We always put it off until tomorrow<\/a>, because when we live in a city, we think there is always a tomorrow.<\/p>\n

We get so caught up in our daily lives we forget that we can have a cheap vacation in our own city. We don’t have to go anywhere!<\/p>\n

If you’re short on time and money, there\u2019s no better way to spend some free time than to wander your own city. No matter what its size, it has a number of wonders that you’ve never seen or even known about because you just don’t like! We’re busy leading our lives and following our routines. It’s normal but let’s look at your home with new eyes.<\/p>\n

Be a\u00a0traveler in your own town!<\/p>\n

Important tips:<\/strong> When you become a local tourist, check out of your house and into a hotel, hostel, or guesthouse. It\u2019s important to get out of your familiar environment because if you stay home, you\u2019ll find something to do around the house and create excuses for why you can’t sightsee. Moving to a different location can help give you that feeling of adventure, excitement, and unfamiliarity.<\/p>\n

Moreover, be sure to go to your local tourism office and get a city tourism pass. These cards allow you to see a wide range of local attractions for free or reduced prices and can be your way to see your local sites on a budget. They aren\u2019t just for outsiders!<\/p>\n

Cheap Vacation Idea 2:\u00a0Travel Regionally<\/h3>\n

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\nTravel brings to mind faraway and exotic destinations. It invokes images of all the places we\u2019ve dreamed of and seen in movies. Because of that, few people look in their own backyard for adventure \u2014 as my Aussie friends always tell me before they jet off somewhere, \u201cMate, you\u2019ve probably seen more of Oz than I have!\u201d \u2014 but it offers just as many places to travel.<\/p>\n

I could say the same thing as my Aussie friends. I grew up in Boston<\/a>, and from there, I could visit New Hampshire, the woods of Maine, the bed-and-breakfasts of the Berkshires, or the farms of Vermont. New York was a four-hour car ride from home. How often did I do that? Not often enough!<\/p>\n

Exploring your own region is an underrated and often overlooked aspect of travel. It gets the occasional lip service in magazines, but driving across the United States<\/a> made me realize how much our own countries have to offer us and how often we overlook that for some foreign place.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s something special about being a stranger in your homeland and realizing you really don\u2019t know much about it as you thought.<\/p>\n

We think because we\u2019re born in a place we understand it but every country has regional differences that make it unique and, unless we travel to see and experience them, we’ll never fully understand the place we call home.<\/p>\n

Driving across my country (the U.S.) taught me a lot about it. It gave me a deep appreciation for it, the people, and the diversity within its borders. It broke down stereotypes and misconceptions I had about the different regions in the US. My time exploring my own backyard was just as important to my growth as any trip to a foreign country.<\/p>\n

If you’re on a limited budget, can’t afford a flight or a trip to exotic lands, or just want to do something different, don’t forget that you can always travel your own country. It can be just as powerful as visiting another country.<\/p>\n

Cheap Vacation Idea 3:\u00a0Go to National Parks<\/h3>\n

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\nThe great outdoors present a great chance to go somewhere on the cheap. Camping, after all, costs very little money. Camping fees in national parks are as little as $15 USD per night in the United States, $15-40 CAD in Canada<\/a>, $10-60 AUD in Australia<\/a>, and $17-22 NZD in New Zealand<\/a>. And in many places in Japan<\/a> and Europe<\/a> (especially Scandinavia), you can camp on public lands for free. Additionally, you go camping stocked with all your own supplies and accommodation (i.e., a tent), so you don\u2019t have to worry about spending lots of extra money. Your food bill can be whatever you spend on groceries and nothing more.<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t need to love camping to spend time in the national parks, either. Personally, I hate camping. I\u2019m not the camp-in-a-tent kind of guy; I need toilets, beds, and hot water. Luckily, many parks provide cabins. While hiking the Grand Canyon, I stayed at a national park lodge at the bottom. I had a room in a dormitory, but for a few nights, it was the cheap accommodation<\/a> I needed.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s almost always a park nearby and spending a few days with nature is not only good for your wallet but also good for your soul.<\/p>\n

Along these same lines, Camp in My Garden<\/a> is a website that lets people camp in someone\u2019s backyard (or garden). Got an RV that needs parking? Check out RV with Me<\/a>, which finds cheap parking and overnight solutions for RV owners!<\/p>\n

Cheap Vacation Idea 4: Book a Last-Minute Cruise (or Book Far in Advance)<\/h3>\n

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\nCruises are normally very expensive, affairs with a seven-day Caribbean cruise costing over $600\u2013700 USD per person for a small interior room. And, if you’re traveling alone, you often have to pay the price of two people since not many cruise lines offer single traveler rooms!<\/p>\n

But, if you\u2019re the last passenger running onto that ship, you can find some sweet deals.<\/p>\n

Cruise lines always offer incredible last-minute deals. No ship\u2019s captain – or cruise company – wants to leave with half the cabins empty. If you wait until a few weeks before departure, you can find some really amazing deals as cruise lines scramble to find passengers. Plus, cruise operators always throw in some on-board amenities, free upgrades, and cash vouchers to sweeten the deal.<\/p>\n

The website CruiseSheet<\/a> often has cruises as low as $30 per day! (It’s the best cruise booking website in the world!)<\/p>\n

Conversely, if you book over a year in advance, cruise lines also offer amazing low fares for early birds.<\/p>\n

Cruises are the one form of travel for which I recommend visiting a travel agent if you\u2019re part of a big group. They have wonderful working relationships with the operators and can score better packages than booking online.<\/p>\n

After you book, keep an eye out on prices, because if they drop, you can often call your travel agent or the cruise company itself to get a partial refund or vouchers to use for dining and alcohol on the boat.<\/p>\n

READ THIS —><\/strong> Click here to read my guide to finding super discounted cruises<\/a>\u00a0(and how to save money once you are on board.)<\/p>\n

Cheap Vacation Idea 5:\u00a0Think Outside the Box<\/h3>\n

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\nForget Mexico<\/a> and go to Guatemala<\/a>. Skip Paris<\/a> and head to Budapest<\/a>. Forget Italy<\/a> and see Greece<\/a> (it\u2019s really cheap!<\/a>). Ditch Brazil<\/a> and take on Bolivia<\/a> instead. The list goes on and on. There are countless cheap alternatives and budget destinations around the world!<\/p>\n

Travel counter to the prevailing trend.<\/p>\n

Zig when everyone zags.<\/p>\n

If people are going in the summer, you go in the spring or winter. Skip the popular destinations and head off the beaten path a bit.<\/p>\n

Contrarian travel will save you a bundle of money. It\u2019s like reverse commuting. While others heading into the city in the morning for work are stuck in traffic, you breeze the opposite way hassle free. The same is true for travel.<\/p>\n

The more you are a contrarian in where – and when you go – the better off you’re wallet will be. Plus, you’ll enjoy destinations more because there will be fewer crowds. No one loves a crowd!<\/p>\n

READ THIS –><\/strong>\u00a0Click here for\u00a010 Destinations to Visit on a Budget<\/a>\u00a0to help give you ideas on where you to go!<\/p>\n

Cheap Vacation Idea 6: Book a Last-Minute Tour<\/h3>\n

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\nJust like cruises, tours are best booked last-minute. Tour companies need to fill the seats just like cruise companies, because once that trip departs, they still have the same costs. Last-minute tour bookings work the same way as cruise bookings.<\/p>\n

Why are tours so cheap last-minute? Well, think about how people plan vacations. You get the time off work, you book your vacation, you buy your flight, and you go. Since people pre-book, prices are higher in advance because these companies understand booking patterns and then price accordingly. As departure time nears, companies know people aren\u2019t likely to turn up and book on departure day, so they sweeten the price to increase bookings. So take the time off work, wait until the week before, see what\u2019s cheap, and then go.<\/p>\n

My favorite company, Intrepid Travel<\/a>, often offers 15\u201330% discounts on last-minute tours.<\/p>\n

Cheap Vacation Idea 7:\u00a0Become a House Sitter<\/h3>\n

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\nAccommodation can eat into the cost of a trip big-time. You might get a flight deal<\/a>, but then accommodation \u2014 even if you can find it cheaply \u2014 might push the cost of your trip into unaffordable territory. A way around that is to stay somewhere for free. While I like Couchsurfing<\/a>, it\u2019s hard to do that for two weeks without annoying your host. A unique way to overcome this is to house-sit<\/a> for someone while they are on vacation. You get free accommodation, a kitchen to cook in, and the chance to explore a destination in depth. It’s a pretty unique way to travel and one that I know a lot of world travelers take advantage of. You can even do this in your own region too, to cut down on transportation costs.<\/p>\n

READ THIS —><\/strong> How to Become a Housesitter<\/a><\/p>\n

Cheap Vacation Idea 8:\u00a0Grab a Cheap Flight<\/h3>\n

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\nNowadays, you don\u2019t have to guess where the cheapest flight from your home would be. You can look up a whole list of flights (from cheapest to increasingly more expensive) using a site like Momondo<\/a> or Google Flights<\/a>. With those sites, you can type in “(the closest airport to you)” for your departure city and “everywhere” for your destination. Then a list of the cheapest flights appears in front of your very eyes, so you can choose where to go within your budget. This is how I decide where to go when I don’t have a specific place in mind. It’s a great tool!<\/p>\n

Here are some other great airline booking sites where you can find deals:<\/p>\n