What are good cheap vacation destinations?

[cHeeZeFacTory]

thailand, beijing, lots of other asian countries are cheap but the airfare will cost you a lot.

 

[SoulAssassin]

Originally posted by: LolaWiz
everyone knows how much i love to cruise and it really would be everything you are looking for. You can cruise to the caribbean or Mexico for 4-7 days from many ports throughout the US, can have an inside stateroom, but be treated just the same as everyone else who might have suites, etc.

Food/drinks are always flowing and gourmet. Entertainment is first class. You don't have to worry about what kind of hotel you will be staying at. You know your cabin will be cleaned when you come back from touring the island/ports.

You can do as much or as little as you want.

Let me know if you want more info.

Cruising is great

The $600 bar tab from my first and last cruise killed it for me. Anytime I go somewhere it has to be all inclusive. The simple fact that I know in my mind that I have to pay for drinks kills alot of the fun for me. At an all-inclusive you can doublefist it all day, try new drinks and not care if you don't like them. So much more fun IMHO. I hear there are all-inclusive cruises but I think they're pretty rare.

 

[Rumpltzer]

The airfare to Asian countries is at one of the annual low points right now (prior to the winter and then Chinese New Year rush). It really does matter what you consider "cheap" though.

I'm not sure what saymyname meant by "Thailand, hands down," but Thailand is pretty nice and pretty cheap as long as you stay out of Bangkok. The last time I flew there, I paid like $800 total for the roundtrip airfare (LAX-BKK, spring break). I then paid like $90 round trip to some travel agent on the street to fly to Phuket which was a lot nicer and less expensive and less in-your-face than Bangkok.

My wife paid something like $700 for both of us to go to Bali last winter. The price included airfare from Taiwan, 5 nights of 5-star hotels, and tour guides. The island was beautiful and the hotels were amazing, but we constantly felt that people (outside the hotels) were trying to cheat us and stuff and it just wasn't enjoyable. I wouldn't go back... I mean, there's so many other places to see.


Japan is always great, but it's not really budget travel anymore than large US cities.

I hear Hong Kong is great on the off season (Oct-Nov) and it'd be easy to get around with so many there speaking English and all that. I've not yet been...

 

[JS80]

Originally posted by: SoulAssassin

Originally posted by: LolaWiz
everyone knows how much i love to cruise and it really would be everything you are looking for. You can cruise to the caribbean or Mexico for 4-7 days from many ports throughout the US, can have an inside stateroom, but be treated just the same as everyone else who might have suites, etc.

Food/drinks are always flowing and gourmet. Entertainment is first class. You don't have to worry about what kind of hotel you will be staying at. You know your cabin will be cleaned when you come back from touring the island/ports.

You can do as much or as little as you want.

Let me know if you want more info.

Cruising is great

The $600 bar tab from my first and last cruise killed it for me. Anytime I go somewhere it has to be all inclusive. The simple fact that I know in my mind that I have to pay for drinks kills alot of the fun for me. At an all-inclusive you can doublefist it all day, try new drinks and not care if you don't like them. So much more fun IMHO. I hear there are all-inclusive cruises but I think they're pretty rare.

i've never heard of an all-inclusive alcohol cruise

 

[zinfamous]

Yeah, Paris is pretty gross. The rest of France rocks though. But Parisians tend to suck...

Belize is quite nice. Also consider Trinidad.

 

[saymyname]

Originally posted by: Rumpltzer
The airfare to Asian countries is at one of the annual low points right now (prior to the winter and then Chinese New Year rush). It really does matter what you consider "cheap" though.

I'm not sure what saymyname meant by "Thailand, hands down," but Thailand is pretty nice and pretty cheap as long as you stay out of Bangkok. The last time I flew there, I paid like $800 total for the roundtrip airfare (LAX-BKK, spring break). I then paid like $90 round trip to some travel agent on the street to fly to Phuket which was a lot nicer and less expensive and less in-your-face than Bangkok.

My wife paid something like $700 for both of us to go to Bali last winter. The price included airfare from Taiwan, 5 nights of 5-star hotels, and tour guides. The island was beautiful and the hotels were amazing, but we constantly felt that people (outside the hotels) were trying to cheat us and stuff and it just wasn't enjoyable. I wouldn't go back... I mean, there's so many other places to see.


Japan is always great, but it's not really budget travel anymore than large US cities.

I hear Hong Kong is great on the off season (Oct-Nov) and it'd be easy to get around with so many there speaking English and all that. I've not yet been...

If you fly now you can get there for $700 from the West Coast. I did that a few years back. On the other hand if you wait until the holidays it's going to cost you $1200. I've done that too.

Then when you get there the sky is the limit. If you want to live cheap, go for it. If you want to spend money, by all means do so.

Everything and anything you could want is possible there. I learned how to scuba dive, others went rock climbing, others just got drunk every day on a tropical island.

My only advice is to stay out of the seedy areas (unless that's your thing). Pataya, Patpong, etc are just not my thing and are not the real Thailand. I'd avoid Phukket and Pattaya altogether. The non seedy places on Phukket are boring anyways. Yes it's kinda exciting to see it but don't focus your vacation on it unless you simply can't get laid at home.

I've spent a few months in Thailand. It's definitely my favorite country for vacation.

 

[deathwalker]

Take a Cruise(to anywhere)...its just about your best bang for the buck in vacation money.

 

[moshquerade]

Originally posted by: JS80

Originally posted by: SoulAssassin

Originally posted by: LolaWiz
everyone knows how much i love to cruise and it really would be everything you are looking for. You can cruise to the caribbean or Mexico for 4-7 days from many ports throughout the US, can have an inside stateroom, but be treated just the same as everyone else who might have suites, etc.

Food/drinks are always flowing and gourmet. Entertainment is first class. You don't have to worry about what kind of hotel you will be staying at. You know your cabin will be cleaned when you come back from touring the island/ports.

You can do as much or as little as you want.

Let me know if you want more info.

Cruising is great

The $600 bar tab from my first and last cruise killed it for me. Anytime I go somewhere it has to be all inclusive. The simple fact that I know in my mind that I have to pay for drinks kills alot of the fun for me. At an all-inclusive you can doublefist it all day, try new drinks and not care if you don't like them. So much more fun IMHO. I hear there are all-inclusive cruises but I think they're pretty rare.

i've never heard of an all-inclusive alcohol cruise

He said, "somewhere" so most likely didn't mean a cruise but and all-inclusive resort.

 

[moshquerade]

Originally posted by: deathwalker
Take a Cruise(to anywhere)...its just about your best bang for the buck in vacation money.

except if you plan on drinking any alcohol then you'll pay dearly.

 

[freeloaderz]

Originally posted by: JS80

Originally posted by: SoulAssassin

Originally posted by: LolaWiz
everyone knows how much i love to cruise and it really would be everything you are looking for. You can cruise to the caribbean or Mexico for 4-7 days from many ports throughout the US, can have an inside stateroom, but be treated just the same as everyone else who might have suites, etc.

Food/drinks are always flowing and gourmet. Entertainment is first class. You don't have to worry about what kind of hotel you will be staying at. You know your cabin will be cleaned when you come back from touring the island/ports.

You can do as much or as little as you want.

Let me know if you want more info.

Cruising is great

The $600 bar tab from my first and last cruise killed it for me. Anytime I go somewhere it has to be all inclusive. The simple fact that I know in my mind that I have to pay for drinks kills alot of the fun for me. At an all-inclusive you can doublefist it all day, try new drinks and not care if you don't like them. So much more fun IMHO. I hear there are all-inclusive cruises but I think they're pretty rare.

i've never heard of an all-inclusive alcohol cruise

that is because they are not out there. There are very upscale cruise lines like crystal and seven seas, but even those only have complimentary champagne and wine.

And, you dont NEED to have a $600 bar tab. we like to drink and enjoy ourselves but we never had a tab that high for 7 nights.

Also, I go for a cruise to have gourmet food, people wait on me hand and foot and for a mixture of stuff to do and nothing to do at all.
And that is what i get. I do not think we would get our "moneys worth" from an AI simply because the quality of food and the idea that you really want to get all you can from the resort so that means you dont leave the hotel grounds.

Carnival, RCCL, NCL... all can have great deals for all types of cabins and lengths of cruises.
Check it out. Its a cool way to see many different places in one week to decide if you want to take a land-based vacation there.

 

[Lola]

Originally posted by: moshquerade

Originally posted by: deathwalker
Take a Cruise(to anywhere)...its just about your best bang for the buck in vacation money.

except if you plan on drinking any alcohol then you'll pay dearly.

as i said... not true at all. drinks are cheaper on a cruise than any where else on land that i can remember. for a drink on our cruise in Jan.. $5 for a grey goose bloody mary. For the same thing in hawaii.... $15.

There are drinks of the day, specials, wine packages.

 

[Rubycon]

Cruise > *