I do not know about you, but the 0 to -10 degrees that we are having at the moment are making me wish for warm wind, spontaneous jumps into lakes, nighttime ocean swims, driving on a scooter through the mountains or the joy I get from eating a sweet, exotic fruit while sunbathing. Since most of us cannot escape Maastricht’s weather right now, what helps us to dream about and plan the upcoming summer. In the past weeks, I spent a good amount of time looking at trip offers from different websites and realized how difficult it can be to decide where to go. To give you some inspiration for this summer or any upcoming travels I will list the greatest countries to go to in my opinion in 2018, the best websites to use and tips to save money on flights or travelling.
How to save money
In case you need more inspiration for travel destinations after reading this article, holidaypirates.com proposes cheap flights or hotel offers from all around the world, which sometimes includes mistakes in flight prices such as a 50€ flight to Sydney, Australia. Before deciding which country to go to it is convenient to research about any additional costs that you can expect, such as visas or other travel costs in the country to prevent any expensive surprises. For parts of the world that you know less about research how well the infrastructure is, if the political situation is stable or if natural catastrophes happen sometimes and if, in which months. Usually, the federal foreign office of your own country has a website that will provide you with all the information mentioned.
After having decided a destination it might be difficult to find cheap flights, especially for travels to other continents. Therefore, it is advisable to compare multiple booking websites such as swoodoo.com, opodo.com or skyscanner.com. On some websites, it is possible to activate the flexible-dates-mode which shows you the cheapest flights in the days selected. Flight prices can differentiate up to 150€ in three days, especially when you fly over more than one months. To save money try not to book flights for only July and August. These are to almost all destinations in the world the most expensive flights, at least when you fly from a European airport. Flight prices can decrease heavily when starting your trip at the end of June or ending it at the beginning of September. To find the cheapest flights available try multiple airports in different cities for departure and destination if possible. Usually, big airports offer cheaper flights and more direct flights to further destinations.
All flight prices mentioned below are from the airport Frankfurt, Germany and show the prices for both-way tickets in June to the biggest airports in the countries.
Iceland
24-hour daylight, the northern lights, natural, warm, geothermal baths, whale watching, glaciers, volcanoes and black beaches are all reasons why Iceland is such a special travel destination for 2018. While other countries will provide you with higher temperatures, Iceland is raw and pure and provides you with a special experience with nature. The best time to visit is between June and August when temperatures get up to 25 degrees.
Flights in June are around 200€.
Croatia
Need a break from typical summer destinations such as Spain, Italy, France and Greece? Croatia is an affordable and often rather unknown solution. Crystal clear water, national parks with amazing waterfalls, mountains next to beaches, a rich history, affordable food, many unknown places and international festivals with all kinds of music genres. Another huge plus is the cheap flights to Zagreb from where you can travel to the beaches in the South-West or rent a boat with a group of friends and go sailing along the Croatian coast.
Flights to Zagreb in June start from 120€ up.
Caribbean islands – Support the islands beaten down by hurricanes in 2017
The Caribbean islands are a dream come true for anyone who loves white beaches, palm trees and has always wanted to see an on some islands almost untouched rain forest. With choosing Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, the Dominican Republic or any other island depending on tourism as a destination you can do some good by supporting the islands financially to re-build their infrastructure and nature while enjoying an amazing vacation.
Flight prices in June range from 550€ to the Dominican Republic to 630€ to Puerto Rico.
Cuba
The best cigars in the world, old cars, striking architecture, clear blue water and white beaches, rum, the rainforest and an extraordinary nightlife with national music. Cuba offers not only an all-around-package nature wise but gives you a true vacation experience by disconnecting you from the outside world. In 2015 restrictions preventing US-Americans to travel to Cuba were relaxed and tourism increased drastically since then. However, at the end of 2017 restrictions were tightened again and studies show that tourism in Cuba is not going to increase any further in 2018. A vacation in Cuba will be special because in most areas there are no, or not many hostels and travellers therefore sleep at houses offered by Cubans themselves. So start learning Spanish!
The cheapest flights to Havana in June start from 550€.
Colombia
Great coffee, Colombian hospitality, sun, sea, and surf, cultural diversity, music, red rivers, incredible food, and all of that for comparably cheap. While Argentina, Chile and other South American countries became more and more expensive in the past years, Columbia still has a great value for money for travellers with a lower budget. In 2018 Colombia is between off-the-beaten tracks and becoming popular: a good infrastructure, plenty of hostels and agencies, but not too many visitors. Additionally, there hasn’t been a safer time to visit Colombia in the past decades. Peace between the government and the guerilla-groups is holding and new areas have been opened to tourism in the past years.
While the flights are quite expensive, the vacation in Colombia will easily be cheaper than in Cuba or any Caribbean islands. Flights start from 550€ in June to 800€ in July.
Tanzania
Explore National Parks, go on Safari, swim in the Indian ocean, visit one of Zanzibar’s white beaches, climb the Kilimanjaro or a volcano and eat traditional food. Tanzania offers the chance to see buffalos, lions, elephants, zebras, giraffes, rhinos and plenty of other animals up close. Compared to neighbouring countries Tanzania’s infrastructure is good and buses drive to most areas of the country.
Flights to Tanzania in June are around 500€.
India
Indian cuisine, the Taj Mahal, the madness of Indian cities, wildlife, travelling by train and enjoying the nature, winding rivers and lakes, the Himalayas, the Havelock Islands and Goa. India offers a broad spectrum of nature, culture, religion and spirituality. All over India are palaces, mosques, temples, monument and ancient ruins which added together lead to 32 UNESCO world-heritages in the nation. India will give you a different experience of travelling than other parts of Asia. It is unique in its culture and nature and attracts people from all over the world wanting to experience a vacation full of adventures.
Flights to Delhi or Mumbai in June are around 430€.
Comments