The dollar is strong right now, making this a good time to lock in flights and accommodation for your next vacation. College budgets can be tight, but there are still plenty of awesome destinations across the country, and around the world, that you can reach without breaking the bank. Here’s seven suggestions for a vacation to remember…
Nepal
Why should you visit Nepal? Besides being one of the least expensive destinations for American backpackers (you can get by here on less than $20 a day), the country is in the Himalayas – eight of the world’s ten highest mountains are found here including Mt. Everest, so if you love the Great Outdoors, here you can trek through some of the most mind blowing scenery. Mystic religious sites, some incredible festivals, and friendly locals are other attractions. There is also stacks of memorable experiences in Nepal you can try, from jungle safaris to spending a day with a monk. The food does take a bit of getting used to though – yak curry, anyone?
Tips: A huge earthquake hit the Lamjung district in the centre of Nepal in 2015. Relief and reconstruction efforts are underway. If you’re visiting and would like to help out, there are many projects that need volunteers even for a short time.
Costa Rica
One of the world’s best eco-destinations, Costa Rica is a land of mountainous peaks, volcanoes, stunning sandy beaches and lush rainforest, with an incredible diversity of wildlife. A relatively inexpensive country for Americans to visit, you can spend your days rappelling down waterfalls, hiking trails, or simply relaxing in thermal spas.
Tips: Costa Rica is a fantastic place to join a surf camp. The surf is pretty consistent all year-round, but for the more-experienced, October is considered the time to be there, with bigger swells and emptier beaches.
Goa, India
Goa has a well-earned reputation as party central on the backpacker route. Once a key stopoff on the hippy trail, you can eat, sleep and enjoy a few beers here for the price of a crosstown cab fare in New York. It’s not just about the beach life and the nightlife though – there’s a number of interesting heritage sites to explore here, and a delicious cuisine – if you love it you can even get a Goan cookery experience from a local chef.
Tips: Looking for somewhere to spend New Year? You can’t do much better than Goa, with epic parties, huge firework displays and beautiful beaches to recover on next day.
Charlotte, NC
Charlotte is easy to get to, and has so many attractions that it can be difficult to leave. For adventure-lovers, you’ve got the U. S National Whitewater Center, with miles of Class II, III and IV rapids to traverse, rock-climbing, mountain-biking and kayaking. There’s science and art museums for the culturally-minded, and the NASCAR Hall of Fame is a major highlight. Plus, if you’re into the Hunger Games movies, they were filmed here, so you can go location-hunting.
Tips: Ride some of the biggest and fastest rollercoasters in the world at Carowinds off Interstate 77. The timber-framed Hurler and the incredible Fury 365 are musts.
Cuba
While relations between the USA and Cuba are beginning to thaw, and travel restrictions have been somewhat relaxed, visiting specifically for tourism is still banned. If you do want to see the iconic fading architecture of Havana, take a salsa lesson or a ride in a classic car, there are a number of ways around the ban, such as taking part in humanitarian projects, concerts, educational activities athletic competitions. You should still have plenty of time to enjoy that Caribbean sunshine and the easygoing lifestyle.
Tips: You can smoke your fill of authentic Cuban cigars while you’re there, even visit the factories where they make them, but if you try and bring any back stateside, they’re probably going to be confiscated at border control.
Paris
If you ever saw Taken, well, you’ve got no-one to blame but yourself, but don’t base any assumptions about Paris on that movie. Paris is the ultimate city of romance and culture – the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Montmartre, the Champs-Elysées, Disneyland Paris. Now it’s true that some Parisians can be a little rude to American visitors, but don’t take it personally – they’re like that with all outsiders. Just immerse yourself in this gorgeous city, remembering to head out of the more touristy areas to find good restaurants at lower prices.
Tips: Visit the grave of one of America’s greatest musical legends, Jim Morrison, at the Père Lachaise cemetery. The frontman of the Doors is in good company, with Marcel Proust, Oscar Wilde and Chopin all buried here.
Road Trip
The great American road-trip tradition, popularised by Jack Kerouac in On the Road, is something we should all experience at least once. With a country as big as the United States, the potential routes are endless, but for inspiration look to the classics, like the coast-to-coast drive, getting your kicks on Route 66, following the spectacular Pacific Coast highway, or wine-tasting through the Finger Lakes in central New York.
Tips: Road-trip hacks: everyone in the car gets a turn with their playlist; bring a cooler to keep your beer frosty, and keep a flexible itinerary, because adventures begin when you go off the beaten track.
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