With the COVID-19 vaccine out and ready for to be distributed, the world is giving us some hope for a Summer 2021 or at least Easter/Summer 2022 vacation with your friends or family. If you are anything like me and you like to be the one making the bookings for your friends, here are some vacation ideas on a budget! I will try to keep the destinations as creative as possible 😊
(All calculations in this post are made for the cost of 7 days, flights included)
- Greece
Whether you want to visit Athens or any Greek island, Greece is the place to be if you want your trip to not cost a fortune. With the most expensive month for bookings being August, I would suggest making bookings for June-July or even early September, since temperatures stay relatively the same until mid-October in Greece.
Some islands you can visit for less than £350 for two people for 7 nights:
Zante, Crete, Paros, Lefkada and Santorini!
With flights ranging around the £150 mark I would say that you can have a great stay in Greece for well under £500.
2. Italy
Italy is another great example of a country that can provide a great holiday in lots of cities without breaking the bank. The weather is pretty similar with Greece so again I would recommend travelling in June to early July or early September in order to avoid peak summer prices.
Some cities that are worth visiting and provide very nice stays for under £350 are:
Rome, Milan, Como, Genoa and Naples. (My first choice will always be Rome but you can always take a train to Rome from Milan for around £15.)
Flights to Italy are about £100 including luggage, so this holiday can again stay well under £500.
3. Turkey
Vacations in Turkey are a well-kept secret that is slowly becoming more and more popular amongst tourists. Places like Istanbul and Izmir are great if you are not looking for a beach holiday, while the coast of turkey provides luxurious beach holidays for all those looking to get a tan on a budget (and well beyond £500 if that’s your type of thing).
Some other cities worth mentioning are Antalya and Bodrum, cities that are very popular with tourists and offer affordable but great quality hotels.
Flights are about £150, but hotels (with Booking.com ratings of over 8/10) are around £275 for a double room, making it well under £500.
4. Morocco
Morocco has some beautiful tourist places to visit and even better beaches to catch some sun. With flights being about £140, and 4-5 star hotels both in the coast and the capital ranging from £250-400 for a double room, it is a good choice for those who want to leave Europe in the summer.
5. USA
The U.S. used to seem like a very expensive vacation spot for me until I actually started researching hotels, flights and travel packages. To my surprise, places like Florida, Las Vegas and New York can be visited for around £450 per person with both flights and hotel included. So if the states have been on your bucket list and you’ve saved up some cash while social distancing from restaurants and bars this year, this might be your time to visit once things calm down a bit in the near future!
I hope this list inspires you to do your own research and plan the best trip for you and the people joining you!
PS: All of these destinations are also very popular with solo travellers in case you are interested in that 😊