Have PTO, will travel
December 20, 2016 1:18 PM Subscribe
I'm off until January 3rd. Can I score some type of last-minute international travel deal? Not having luck with the resources I've found so far. Looking for help and suggestions.
I can fly any day in my time window - including today, tomorrow, Christmas Day, New Year's Day - and at any time. I'd be fine paying normal price for my vacation; it does not have to be a "deal." I just don't want to pay more than normal. I'm coming from NYC. Budget up to 1K.
I do not want to do a car, train, or bus trip. Flight is good. I've never done a cruise, but I'd consider it if it was cool (Read: Not like a floating TGI Fridays/Times Square/Disney Land rolled into one). Ditto a group tour or package deal. I do not want to do anything in the United States. I like "active" vacations. This does not necessarily mean mountain biking off the side of a cliff, but more than laying on the beach. Usually I like to wander around and explore, poke around, talk to people. I'm female and would be traveling alone, so it needs to be safe. I don't speak any other languages, but I'd be OK going to a country where English is not the predominant language. I'm a very experienced solo domestic traveler but have virtually no international travel experience.
I've looked through the old threads on this topic as well as more recent articles through Google searches, and I've found some ideas, but none seem to be playing out. For example, the American Airlines Last Minute Vacation Deals page - maybe I don't understand how to use it, but when I click on a deal all it does is take me to a list of hotels with a search tool in the sidebar. When I put in my dates, it took me to American's regular flight search page, and when I put in my dates and cities again, it gave me the type of price you'd expect for booking a last minute flight (expensive). I don't get it. Travel Pirates/Holiday Pirates just seems to be an embedded Kayak search. (??) Scott's cheap flights has tons of great deals, but not until January. Kayak Explore is returning some cheap deals to the Caribbean, including Puerto Rico and Cuba, which is okay, I guess, but I feel like I could do better than four days at a resort, which I feel like I could do on any old three-day weekend this winter. (I know Cuba is not a resort, but same idea applies - I feel like I could easily do it over any three or four day weekend.) I thought perhaps there might be cheap flights to Europe since it's cold. (But maybe everything will be closed anyway?), but I've been working Skyscanner, and that doesn't seem to be the case.
Any suggestions for me?
I can fly any day in my time window - including today, tomorrow, Christmas Day, New Year's Day - and at any time. I'd be fine paying normal price for my vacation; it does not have to be a "deal." I just don't want to pay more than normal. I'm coming from NYC. Budget up to 1K.
I do not want to do a car, train, or bus trip. Flight is good. I've never done a cruise, but I'd consider it if it was cool (Read: Not like a floating TGI Fridays/Times Square/Disney Land rolled into one). Ditto a group tour or package deal. I do not want to do anything in the United States. I like "active" vacations. This does not necessarily mean mountain biking off the side of a cliff, but more than laying on the beach. Usually I like to wander around and explore, poke around, talk to people. I'm female and would be traveling alone, so it needs to be safe. I don't speak any other languages, but I'd be OK going to a country where English is not the predominant language. I'm a very experienced solo domestic traveler but have virtually no international travel experience.
I've looked through the old threads on this topic as well as more recent articles through Google searches, and I've found some ideas, but none seem to be playing out. For example, the American Airlines Last Minute Vacation Deals page - maybe I don't understand how to use it, but when I click on a deal all it does is take me to a list of hotels with a search tool in the sidebar. When I put in my dates, it took me to American's regular flight search page, and when I put in my dates and cities again, it gave me the type of price you'd expect for booking a last minute flight (expensive). I don't get it. Travel Pirates/Holiday Pirates just seems to be an embedded Kayak search. (??) Scott's cheap flights has tons of great deals, but not until January. Kayak Explore is returning some cheap deals to the Caribbean, including Puerto Rico and Cuba, which is okay, I guess, but I feel like I could do better than four days at a resort, which I feel like I could do on any old three-day weekend this winter. (I know Cuba is not a resort, but same idea applies - I feel like I could easily do it over any three or four day weekend.) I thought perhaps there might be cheap flights to Europe since it's cold. (But maybe everything will be closed anyway?), but I've been working Skyscanner, and that doesn't seem to be the case.
Any suggestions for me?
Response by poster: Just want to pop in the thread briefly and say yes, my dates and length of stay are flexible. (Though I'd like to take advantage of having a longer amount of time off and do something longer than just three days, if possible.)
posted by unannihilated at 1:57 PM on December 20, 2016
posted by unannihilated at 1:57 PM on December 20, 2016
It's tough because travel between today and Christmas Eve is going to be outrageously expensive. I actually started with a search of the specific dates you have available (depart tomorrow, return Monday Jan 2), and basically nothing that wasn't a gigantic ripoff came up. It was like $800 to fly to Cozumel, which is crazy and I can't let you do that.
Traveling 12/24 or 12/25 and returning 1/2 might net something less reminiscent of flushing money down a toilet, perhaps?
The cheapest international destinations from NYC that are places an infrequent international traveler who isn't looking for a beach vacation might want to go tend to be Dublin, London, Madrid or Barcelona, and Reykjavik. Any of those cities would probably be what I'd recommend in your situation. You'll also sometimes find deals for cold-weather cities that are not optimal to visit this time of year, like Stockholm or St. Petersburg, but I think those types of deals tend to be negated by the sheer bulk of Christmas travel.
posted by Sara C. at 2:05 PM on December 20, 2016 [1 favorite]
Traveling 12/24 or 12/25 and returning 1/2 might net something less reminiscent of flushing money down a toilet, perhaps?
The cheapest international destinations from NYC that are places an infrequent international traveler who isn't looking for a beach vacation might want to go tend to be Dublin, London, Madrid or Barcelona, and Reykjavik. Any of those cities would probably be what I'd recommend in your situation. You'll also sometimes find deals for cold-weather cities that are not optimal to visit this time of year, like Stockholm or St. Petersburg, but I think those types of deals tend to be negated by the sheer bulk of Christmas travel.
posted by Sara C. at 2:05 PM on December 20, 2016 [1 favorite]
If you're interested in Europe or North Africa, check out Norwegian Airlines. They have a flight calendar that shows you where they're flying to out of a selection of US airports (pick NYC for you.) For example, flying to Denmark or Iceland can be done for about $300 RT right now.
Expedia has good deals to the US Virgin Islands and the Caribbean.
posted by Everydayville at 2:08 PM on December 20, 2016
Expedia has good deals to the US Virgin Islands and the Caribbean.
posted by Everydayville at 2:08 PM on December 20, 2016
Using skyscanner and putting in departure NYC and destination "everywhere" for dec 2016 - january 2017 I found some options:
Belize for $645 rt from 12/25 - 1/5
Turks & Caicos $386 rt from 12/22 - 1/7
Stockholm $430 rt from 12/25 - 1/5
Barcelona $427 rt from 12/26 - 1/5
Dublin $457 rt from 12/25 - 1/4
Just to list a few. There are tons more if you check using those parameters
No idea if these are any cheaper than normal, but just going by the under-1000 requirement
You can also try Scott's Cheap flights, if you join the mailing list he sends frequent flight deals
posted by sprezzy at 2:19 PM on December 20, 2016
Belize for $645 rt from 12/25 - 1/5
Turks & Caicos $386 rt from 12/22 - 1/7
Stockholm $430 rt from 12/25 - 1/5
Barcelona $427 rt from 12/26 - 1/5
Dublin $457 rt from 12/25 - 1/4
Just to list a few. There are tons more if you check using those parameters
No idea if these are any cheaper than normal, but just going by the under-1000 requirement
You can also try Scott's Cheap flights, if you join the mailing list he sends frequent flight deals
posted by sprezzy at 2:19 PM on December 20, 2016
Oh sorry, I just saw you mentioned Scott's cheap flights. Nvm about that! But skyscanner seems to show a bunch of great deals
posted by sprezzy at 2:20 PM on December 20, 2016
posted by sprezzy at 2:20 PM on December 20, 2016
And I'm dumb and just saw that you're only off until the 3rd. I thought it read the 8th for some reason. Ugh sorry for my unhelpful comment, i'll try searching some more.
posted by sprezzy at 2:23 PM on December 20, 2016
posted by sprezzy at 2:23 PM on December 20, 2016
Keep in mind that those Norwegian flights are ONE WAY prices, not round trip. I just looked at Norwegian myself out of curiosity (if NYC - Denmark for $300 is true, what other deals are there to be found?!), and didn't see much for less than around the going rate for a trip to Europe from NYC.
On the other hand, it did have a lot more destinations on offer at affordable prices. Traditional carriers will have similar prices for a few cities (notably the cities sprezzy and I mentioned), but not be able to get you to your choice of cities at such competitive fares. So Norwegian might be worth looking at just to expand your options within your stated price range, just not so much for too-good-to-be-true deals like RT to Europe for $300.
posted by Sara C. at 2:29 PM on December 20, 2016
On the other hand, it did have a lot more destinations on offer at affordable prices. Traditional carriers will have similar prices for a few cities (notably the cities sprezzy and I mentioned), but not be able to get you to your choice of cities at such competitive fares. So Norwegian might be worth looking at just to expand your options within your stated price range, just not so much for too-good-to-be-true deals like RT to Europe for $300.
posted by Sara C. at 2:29 PM on December 20, 2016
Also, is the 1k budget for the whole vacation, or just flight?
posted by sprezzy at 2:35 PM on December 20, 2016
posted by sprezzy at 2:35 PM on December 20, 2016
Response by poster: This information so far is all really helpful, thank you! It seems like maybe I had a skewed idea of how cheap things would be now, or maybe I'm not utilizing the flight searches as well as I could have.
As far as budget, I was envisioning 1K budget for the whole trip, but it's not a hard ceiling. If spending, say, $1,500 gets me a whole week in Western Europe, versus spending 1K to get four days in the Caribbean, I'd be willing to do the $1,500.
posted by unannihilated at 2:42 PM on December 20, 2016
As far as budget, I was envisioning 1K budget for the whole trip, but it's not a hard ceiling. If spending, say, $1,500 gets me a whole week in Western Europe, versus spending 1K to get four days in the Caribbean, I'd be willing to do the $1,500.
posted by unannihilated at 2:42 PM on December 20, 2016
Response by poster: Er, just to be clear, I wouldn't want to spend $1,500 for 7 days in Western Europe. For 10 days maybe. Maybe $1,200 for 7 days. I'd want to stay somewhere safe but it needn't be expensive (i.e., safe hostel is fine over hotel).
Clearly I'm a little fuzzy on numbers; I've never really traveled internationally. But you get the idea. I'd be willing to spend a little over $1K to get more.
Okay, I'll get out of the thread!
posted by unannihilated at 2:54 PM on December 20, 2016
Clearly I'm a little fuzzy on numbers; I've never really traveled internationally. But you get the idea. I'd be willing to spend a little over $1K to get more.
Okay, I'll get out of the thread!
posted by unannihilated at 2:54 PM on December 20, 2016
I don't think your budget is realistic for Europe, especially if you're looking for something more than a 3-day trip. Maaaaybe a self-guided (=rental car + prebooked accommodations) tour of Iceland, if you drive.
Why not Toronto or Montreal?
posted by praemunire at 3:09 PM on December 20, 2016 [6 favorites]
Why not Toronto or Montreal?
posted by praemunire at 3:09 PM on December 20, 2016 [6 favorites]
Re your $1000 full trip budget, keep in mind that, even in the low season when it's very easy to find cheap international travel deals (usually January-February, some different times of the year for specific destinations with their own particular high/low seasonal quirks), it's rare to find round trip fares from NYC to anywhere international for under the $400-500 range.
If you're looking at Europe, a bed in a hostel in a major European city will run you in the $20-50 range per night depending on where, when, and what the facilities are like.
So even in the cheapest time of the year to travel to the cheapest European destination, you're looking at $600 for a rt flight and 10-night stay. (Note that this isn't any particular place at any particular time, just the cheapest it would be possible to do anything like this, at the cheapest time of year.) That would leave you with $40/day for food and any sightseeing or entertainment. Which is doable, but very tight.
Your best bet for $1000 all-in, if you're looking international, is probably somewhere in Mexico, Central America, or South America, just because flights are relatively cheap and on the ground costs are much lower than they would be in more developed countries. For example I spent a month in Peru for $1500 a few years ago. However, Christmas week is a really popular time of year for trips to Mexico and Central America, because it's warm there and there are a lot of beach destinations. Which likely negates some of the affordability for your particular dates. Also, YMMV if that part of the world is what you want as an inexperienced traveler who isn't looking for a beach to lie on.
posted by Sara C. at 3:16 PM on December 20, 2016 [3 favorites]
If you're looking at Europe, a bed in a hostel in a major European city will run you in the $20-50 range per night depending on where, when, and what the facilities are like.
So even in the cheapest time of the year to travel to the cheapest European destination, you're looking at $600 for a rt flight and 10-night stay. (Note that this isn't any particular place at any particular time, just the cheapest it would be possible to do anything like this, at the cheapest time of year.) That would leave you with $40/day for food and any sightseeing or entertainment. Which is doable, but very tight.
Your best bet for $1000 all-in, if you're looking international, is probably somewhere in Mexico, Central America, or South America, just because flights are relatively cheap and on the ground costs are much lower than they would be in more developed countries. For example I spent a month in Peru for $1500 a few years ago. However, Christmas week is a really popular time of year for trips to Mexico and Central America, because it's warm there and there are a lot of beach destinations. Which likely negates some of the affordability for your particular dates. Also, YMMV if that part of the world is what you want as an inexperienced traveler who isn't looking for a beach to lie on.
posted by Sara C. at 3:16 PM on December 20, 2016 [3 favorites]
Yeah I'm sorry I think that the 1200 for 7 days Europe budget is unrealistic, especially as you fall smack within holiday travel window.
I think your best bet is Mexico, Canada, Caribbean or mayyyybe Panama
posted by sprezzy at 3:16 PM on December 20, 2016
I think your best bet is Mexico, Canada, Caribbean or mayyyybe Panama
posted by sprezzy at 3:16 PM on December 20, 2016
Airfare Watchdog and their twitter account might be worth a try. Also, maybe Costco's travel service.
posted by wintersweet at 4:51 PM on December 20, 2016
posted by wintersweet at 4:51 PM on December 20, 2016
I think you could have a (relatively) luxurious trip to Quebec City on your budget, and that's about as non-American feeling as I think it's easy to get so close to NYC.
posted by Salamandrous at 4:53 PM on December 20, 2016
posted by Salamandrous at 4:53 PM on December 20, 2016
1200 for 7 days Europe budget is unrealistic
No way. I flew to Europe and traveled to four different countries for a month on that much money. It all depends on what you do and how you do it.
Helpful: Google flight matrix is sick.
and
Rome2rio as well.
posted by erattacorrige at 5:37 PM on December 20, 2016 [6 favorites]
No way. I flew to Europe and traveled to four different countries for a month on that much money. It all depends on what you do and how you do it.
Helpful: Google flight matrix is sick.
and
Rome2rio as well.
posted by erattacorrige at 5:37 PM on December 20, 2016 [6 favorites]
erattacorrige--I should say I think it's unrealistic in this time frame (it's mainly returning by Jan 3 that kills it) The best I could find in terms of flights to Western Europe were at least 900-1000+, which leaves...2-300? For everything else for 7 days in Europe? I suppose it's doable but probably not a super comfy vacation. But if you know about deals or workarounds within the holiday travel timeframe that allow for that then please share (I would like to know, too!)
posted by sprezzy at 12:41 AM on December 21, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by sprezzy at 12:41 AM on December 21, 2016 [2 favorites]
In case you are still looking for a deal, let me suggest checking The Flight Deal. As the name implies, they post information about flight fares that are usually valid for a few hours or maybe a couple of days. You will notice within their post they include the fare availability window, so you can check that first to see if it fits your window before doing actual flight searches.
posted by thewildgreen at 9:40 PM on December 21, 2016
posted by thewildgreen at 9:40 PM on December 21, 2016
Response by poster: Thanks for the advice and resources. I decided that, regarding Europe, it just made so much more sense to wait and do a bigger trip in the fall of 2017, or, looking at what's been coming in on Scott's Cheap Flights and the Flight Deal, perhaps a couple of shorter (4 days or so?) but cheaper trips (like Iceland, Paris, or Spain) this winter that would allow some time to plan. I have thrown together many a fun domestic trip with no problem (once on the plane ride to the place...), but I felt anxious about doing that in this case.
I was then scouring the Caribbean for deals, including cruises, but as was pointed out in one of the threads on this, a lot of people actually have next week off, so there weren't a ton of deals to be had. I could have probably thrown something together, but I wasn't feeling good about it. I feel like it would be better to wait and plan a bit and maybe go in January or February instead, for something shorter. Ditto Mexico and Central America. I even checked Key West, but there was nowhere to stay that wasn't crazy expensive.
Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City...I don't know, I wasn't really feeling the idea of going from one cold place to an even colder place to spend the holidays alone.
I thought about renting a car and tooling around for a week in the Southeast US, but that would be like $500 bucks for a trip I'm not super feeling. I want to see those regions, but I think they would be prettier in the summer and fall. I've never seen the areas around Dakotas/Montana, but I think with the weather I might need to advance plan more. Ditto New England, especially since I'd probably drive. I thought about Utah too, which I love, but I think at this point I may have waited too long to even do something domestic, as when I did a brief search on Kayak the cheapest thing I saw was over $400 to Salt Lake.
So right now I'm getting very close to accepting that I fucked this up and won't be going anywhere. :-( Happy holidays.
posted by unannihilated at 8:58 AM on December 23, 2016
I was then scouring the Caribbean for deals, including cruises, but as was pointed out in one of the threads on this, a lot of people actually have next week off, so there weren't a ton of deals to be had. I could have probably thrown something together, but I wasn't feeling good about it. I feel like it would be better to wait and plan a bit and maybe go in January or February instead, for something shorter. Ditto Mexico and Central America. I even checked Key West, but there was nowhere to stay that wasn't crazy expensive.
Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City...I don't know, I wasn't really feeling the idea of going from one cold place to an even colder place to spend the holidays alone.
I thought about renting a car and tooling around for a week in the Southeast US, but that would be like $500 bucks for a trip I'm not super feeling. I want to see those regions, but I think they would be prettier in the summer and fall. I've never seen the areas around Dakotas/Montana, but I think with the weather I might need to advance plan more. Ditto New England, especially since I'd probably drive. I thought about Utah too, which I love, but I think at this point I may have waited too long to even do something domestic, as when I did a brief search on Kayak the cheapest thing I saw was over $400 to Salt Lake.
So right now I'm getting very close to accepting that I fucked this up and won't be going anywhere. :-( Happy holidays.
posted by unannihilated at 8:58 AM on December 23, 2016
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$500 to Madrid if you're willing to go 12/24 - 12/30.
$650 to Reykjavik, but only for a short trip of 12/22 - 12/25.
There were also a ton of seemingly great deals to Central America and the Caribbean, as well as a flight under $1000 to Shanghai, but those flights were all for literally ONE DAY TRIPS (as in, fly out 12/28 and fly back 12/29, for example), which is crazy and I can't tell whether it's some weird glitch in the system or longer trips to those destinations would result in similar fares.
It's worth noting that these are all fairly standard fares for this time of year, not really good deals. But if you're desperate to go somewhere, a few days in Spain for $500 sounds great.
posted by Sara C. at 1:43 PM on December 20, 2016