You shouldn’t have to take out a second mortgage to afford your family’s next big vacation. The world is chock-full of beautiful, exciting destinations that offer excellent living standards at a fraction of the cost of big-name tourist magnets. What’s more, many of these places lack the crushing crowds and long lines of popular yet expensive traditional tourist towns. Look beyond the ordinary with this list of cheap places to travel to and experience.
New Orleans
Despite its first-world location, New Orleans is among the most affordable and accessible vacation destinations in the Western Hemisphere. Part of this is due to its unfortunate circumstances: The city was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, losing many of its inhabitants and much of its tourist base, and it remains locked in a struggle to reinvent itself. Off-season hotel discounts are the norm, but it’s now possible to find cut-rate rooms during Mardi Gras and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival as well.
While you’re in New Orleans, look past the packed French Quarter to the beautiful neighborhoods centered around St. Charles Avenue and Magazine Street. Despite its reputation as an adults-only playground, New Orleans boasts family-friendly cultural and historic institutions like the New Orleans Mint, the New Orleans Museum of Art, and the Audubon Nature Institute.
Bolivia
Occupying a broad elevated plain and nearly surrounded by the high volcanic peaks of the northern Andes, Bolivia is one of the world’s highest countries. It’s also one of its most ecologically and culturally unique: Its flora and fauna are well-adapted to the rigors of high-altitude living and its culture remains heavily influenced by the customs of its highly-developed indigenous peoples. Despite its booming economy, it remains one of the cheapest places to travel to in South America.
Although much of mineral-rich Bolivia is rural, its largest cities are surprisingly cosmopolitan. La Paz, which occupies a broad valley just below the windswept Altiplano, boasts several world-renowned universities and a healthy popular culture that venerates local soccer stars. Cochabamba, which sits at a slightly lower elevation, has a stunning repository of colonial-era buildings like the Palacio Portales and Sarco Templo la Merced. In the western part of the country, long-gone settlements dominate the landscape. Characterized by complex infrastructure and high standards of architectural design, ruined cities like Tiwanaku and Incallajta hint at the power of the ancient Inca civilization. Be sure to visit at least one of these places before you leave Bolivia.
Croatia
Hard by the beautiful Adriatic Sea, Croatia mostly escaped the violence that rocked the Balkan region in the years following Yugoslavia’s disintegration. Its surprisingly diverse economy, centered around the primate city of Zagreb, remains strong and continues to enrich its citizens. As a result, Croatia is well-positioned as a cosmopolitan yet affordable tourist destination.
Like the rest of its economy, Croatia’s tourism industry is highly diversified. The country’s coastline is studded with rocky islands that provide endless opportunities for exploration both above and below the waterline. The port of Dubrovnik, while home to fewer than 50,000 permanent residents, is nevertheless one of the most popular stopover points for the cruise ships that ply the Adriatic. Inland, the country’s mild Mediterranean climate has spurred the rapid development of a local wine industry. Dozens of affordable destination spas and American-style inns have sprung up to take advantage of the growing demand for lodging options.
Finding cheap places to travel to around the world is as easy as opening an atlas. Outside of typical tourist stomping grounds in Western Europe and North America, much of the world remains affordable and inviting. While the value of the U.S. dollar fluctuates on a daily basis against major currencies like the euro and British pound, it tends to remain consistently strong against lesser-used coinage like the Croatian kuna and Bolivian peso. Keep this in mind as you look for cheap places to travel.