ADVENTURE TRAVEL THAT WILL NOT BREAK YOUR BANK ACCOUNT
Dreaming of taking a Big Trip but finances a bit tight? Well, take a look at the following destinations. Magic, thrills and adventure, yes. But for the budget-conscious globe-trotter, what’s equally important is that these are places where your dollars will stretch a long, long way.
Cancun, Mexico
There is a reason Cancun is the most popular vacation destination on the planet- a favorite for Europeans, Americans, & Central and South Americans alike. There is a great range of Cancun vacation packages that include airfare and resort hotel lodging- from cheap vacations you can take on a budget, to luxury five star resort all inclusive vacations.
With the negative publicity of widespread drug violence hundreds of kilometers from its most popular tourist spots and the weak European economy that’s starving Mexico, which had already been inherently cheap, the country’s ready to make an even better deal.
In Cancun and the Riviera Maya there are more five-star resorts than the Caribbean and Hawaii combined, and the price isn’t close to the same.
You can see ancient sites, beautiful beaches, and colonial cities, the wonders of nature as well as great Mexican foods and culture. You will find the people of Mexico are hospitable and will help you with anything you need.
Thailand
Thailand is another favorite destination for those on a budget. With great beaches, excellent food, and high standards of service without the high cost, it will continue to attract bargain-hunters
Thailand is a must see for adventurous travelers. The Thai people are warm, welcoming, and have a superb tradition of hospitality. And it doesn’t hurt that your western currency will let you travel in four-star luxury for below two-star prices.
Iquitos, Peru
Iquitos is widely considered the largest continental city unreachable by road. That leaves planes and boats as the primary means of entrance and egress for both people and supplies.
The city offers a vast selection of activities not found elsewhere in Peru, such as Amazon boat rides and great wildlife viewing. One way to see Peru is to visit the 3 areas - Costal, Andes, and Amazon -- and Iquitos is the best way to see the Amazon.
If you want to party, there are dance clubs all over the city. All Iquiteños love to party in their own way. That's non-stop partying all year round!. Beer and other cold beverages are cheaper than in Lima (subsidized by the government). Often times clubs will not let men in if they are wearing sandals or unbuttoned shirts.
There are numerous flights to Iquitos from the capital Lima. Flights are from $55 USD to $200 USD, depending the season and promotions. It is suggested to check prices in all the airlines in advance to get cheap tickets.
Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh City
Vietnam packs a lot into its borders. Highlights include misty Halong Bay with its fairytale seascapes of limestone outcrops and islands; the Mekong delta with its floating markets; the old Vietcong tunnels at Cu-Chi near Saigon–now officially known as Ho Chi Minh City. (Don’t worry about getting stuck: one tunnel has been specially widened for westerners.) Backpacker beds are exceptionally cheap, but decent hotels often cost less than $40. A filling bowl of pho bo beef noodle soup or six seafood spring rolls is less than a dollar. In local hangouts, Saigon Export beer costs 40 cents a bottle. Boat trips on the river can go for as low as $5 USD.
For the ultimate traffic tale to tell the folks back home, head for Hanoi’s old quarter. Any attempt to cross the road turns into a heart-racing adventure. Not only are you contending with psycho-cyclos (rickshaw bicycles), there are thousands of motorbikes and scooters whose riders regard a red traffic signal as a suggestion rather than an instruction. Best place to experience the utter chaos is from within a cyclo rickshaw.
Granada, Nicaragua
From the laid-back colonial city of Granada, you can do a lot in a week in Nicaragua: tackle volcanoes…take Spanish lessons…visit Masaya craft market and also the villages where rocking chairs, hammocks, and pottery are made…explore the Selva Negra’s cloud forests and coffee plantations…chat with expats in the beach surfing town of San Juan del Sur…go to colonial Leon, where you might get to meet indigenous Indians.
Settling into a rocking chair with a cold Victoria beer is a pleasure that generally costs under $1 and spending more than $7 on a meal is difficult. The Alhambra Hotel on Granada’s main square costs a mere $30 a night.
Japan
Guide books warn against the expense of the country, but this is only when compared with China or Thailand or Asia's cheapest countries. Japan's tourist industry took it hard after the earthquake / Tsunami of 2011. Attractions and accommodation are often much less expensive in Tokyo than in the cities of New York, London or Paris. If you live on the East Coast of the United States there have been several new direct fights added from JFK to Tokyo.
Prices for domestic flights are surprisingly cheap in Japan. International carriers JAL and ANA and the domestic Skymark all run domestic routes from as little as $96 each way, which is less than the trains.
Porto and Northern Portugal
Famed for its port wine lodges (yes, they do offer free samples), Porto is Portugal’s second city. An historic Atlantic trading port, its warren of laundry-hung alleys plunges down to a waterfront of boats, nets and fish restaurants. Sheets of cod (bacalhau) hang outside grocery stores with original art nouveau tiled facades; the church of Sao Francisco has a gold leaf interior that would make King Midas salivate. Don’t miss the Bolhau food market or the Torre dos Clerigos, Portugal’s highest belfry tower. From the top, you’ll get great views over the jumbled cityscape of churches, bridges and red-roofed houses.
Porto
By EU standards, the price of dining, accommodation, and public transport throughout the region is astounding. Trains and buses are an affordable way to make exploratory day-trips along the coast and into the interior of terraced vineyards and green river valleys. Don’t miss Braga and the thousand-stepped stairway of Bom Jesus church. On holy days, some pilgrims tackle these steps on their knees.
Montenegro
After its split from Serbia, Montenegro is Europe’s latest holiday hot spot–and also the world’s newest independent nation. Along with three-course meals for $7 and rooms in private houses for $10, you’ll find a land of craggy mountains with a switch-backed Adriatic coastline of bays, beaches and villages of pale gray stone. The sea sparkles like blue topaz and medieval walled towns with crumbling fortresses and palaces are often emblazoned with the winged lion emblem of the Venetian Republic.
Now paint in monasteries slotted into mountain crevices and fishing villages of red-tiled roofs and deep-green shutters. Roman mosaics…olive groves…water-lilied lakes…deep canyons and the mighty Boka Kotorska, Europe’s southernmost fjord…the border town of Ulcinj with its minarets and tales of pirate slave-trading.
Chania, Crete
On the Greek island of Crete, Chania is one town that it would be criminal to miss. Crete’s former capital, its history goes back 5,000 years. In the Old Town’s skinny alleyways you’ll find icon workshops…lyres hanging in dusty musical instrument repair-shops…bursts of white jasmine cascading from archways…cats snoozing on balconies…the unlikely sights of a pencil-thin minaret above church towers and a mosque squatting on the waterfront.
Strung with garlands of colored light-bulbs, Chania’s old Venetian harbor at dusk truly is the stuff of romance. The water shimmers in waves of crimson, sapphire and emerald, the Venetian lighthouse sends out its beady wink, and stalls do a steady trade in pistachio nuts. Alleys that were afternoon-silent become thronged with locals taking the volta–the evening stroll. Even in July and August, you’ll find studio apartments here for under $40 a night…plus you can eat well for $10.
Bohemia, the Czech Republic
Prague teems with tourists but few people realize what the rest of the Czech Republic offers. One of its regions is Bohemia, blessed with a spellbinding mosaic of castles, frescoed houses and Rapunzel-style turrets straight from a sword-and-sorcery tale. At Cesky Krumlov you can peer into a medieval bear pit complete with bears. Sedlec, a suburb of Kutna Hora has a chapel entirely decorated with human bones, right down to its chandelier.
Many towns have stoupas…lofty “plague pillars” adorned with chained devils. They commemorate deliverance from the plagues, which swept Europe during the Middle Ages. Then there’s Karlovy Vary, the oldest of Bohemia’s grand spa towns. With spa water bubbling up all over town which visitors can collect for free, it’s a gorgeous place of baroque buildings in sugar-plum colors, flowery parks, and shops glittering with Bohemian crystal.
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