1 week, abroad, $500?

[joestrummer]

Hey guys, I'm new to the board, my name's Cam.

I gotta question, I got about 8 days off of work and not too much cash (About $500). Any suggestions on a good place for a small trip out of the country (Currently in Virgina, USA). I was thinking maybe somewhere in Mexico or Canada. I'm open to couch-surfing, any suggestions, think I'd be able to swing it?

Thanks, cheers

[Dig]

Hi Cam and welcome to tpunks!

Unfortunately $500 will hardly pay for the flight these days. If you had transportation taken care of then I would say that should be no problem if you watched your spending. Couchsurfing is a useful tool, but not a guarantee, especially on short notice.

Personnally I would stay away from Mexico, especially the northern parts.

Just my 2 cents

[jabad17]

Yeah, airfare is your biggest expense, but if you live close to a major airport you could probably make it happen. I would use Kayak's 'Explore' feature to see where the cheapest destination is from your airport. If you have flexibility with dates/times, you can try naming your own price on Priceline. I've done that twice and saved roughly 30% off of the best kayak price. You can probably get a flight to somewhere like Cancun for around $300, which would leave you with $200 for room, board and any other expenses. Figure $10 a night for a cheap hostel, a steady diet of street tacos and fresh fruit and lots of walking and you would be pretty close to making your budget. Cancun is a decent place from which to explore some of the Yucatan Peninsula, which seems to be one of the safer parts of Mexico right now.

You would have to be careful with every peso you spend, but if your main goal is to just get overseas for a week, the challenge of making it under budget might be part of the fun.

[joe7f]

Welcome

How flexible is your time off? If you have 8 days off and it has to be, say, next month, then you may be limited. If you have some flexibility, I would consider saving up some more money (say 1000) or try to borrow it/charge it if you have a decent amount of job security.

If you can find a travel partner, you probably can cruise for 500 including the flight during the offpeak season out of Miami.

I have seen flights to Europe as low as 400 in the offseason (I personally got one for 212 taxes included but it was an error on Delta's part). Good luck whatever you decide

--Joey

[mas24546]

Airfare is the big concern to me too. Couch surfing is a great way to meet up locals & cheap traveling. Why do n`t you try somewhere in India and southwest China. You can do it cheaply.

[simply_angelic]

Spirit.com has some pretty cheap flights from WV...you could maybe make it work to somewhere in central america like puerto rico or costa rica...

[Braunezucker]

Originally Posted by simply_angelic

Spirit.com has some pretty cheap flights from WV...you could maybe make it work to somewhere in central america like puerto rico or costa rica...

Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States, located in the Caribbean Sea and it is not part of Central America.

[joe7f]

^Hi Braune, welcome to the boards.

--Joey

[PamelaWalker]

I think you need to search online for the topic and discuss with travel agent.

[Boulet420]

spirit or bus would be cheap travel