Whether you’re new to the travel game or a seasoned globetrotter, you’ve likely figured out the biggest roadblock—expenses.
Paris, Rome, Tokyo, New York, Mexico City…you name it. If you have to fly there, it’s going to cost you.
But today I’m going to share the travel hack that will allow you to visit dozens of new places.
And the best part isn’t even the amount you’ll save—it’s the unique memories and stories you’ll return with!
There’s no way around it—flying is expensive. If you’re traveling domestically, driving can be an option, but even that has its limits. I don’t know about you, but I don’t love the idea of spending half of my hard-earned vacation time crammed in my car.
I want to get to my destination and enjoy my time off.
Now, that might be different if I had an entire month to spend exploring the country, but then I’d still run into gas and hotel expenses and end up back at square one.
So, how do you travel to new and exciting places on the cheap?
Well, turns out when and where you are traveling has a huge effect on flight prices.
All those top destinations?
They have top-tier price tags to match.
It’s a basic supply and demand equation.
Around 90 million people visited France (and more specifically, Paris) last year alone. And the result? It’s just about impossible to find a round trip flight for less than $400 a head, and that’s on the discounted pay-extra-for-a-checked-bag kind of airline.
If you want a checked bag, a carry-on, and a snack for the 7-hour flight, you can add an extra $100-$200 to that price. At minimum.
Other top destinations like Rome, Athens, Vienna, Madrid, Sydney, Los Angeles, Buenos Aires, Bali, Hong Kong, and Istanbul (just to name a few of the top travel destinations) are the same.
Plus, depending on where you are located, getting to that top destination can get really expensive, really fast.
Here at the Midas Legacy, we’re lucky enough to be near one of the biggest international hubs on the east coast, which means slightly better flight prices than the rest of America, at least when it comes to most destinations. But, if you’re located anywhere other than a coast with a major airport, you’re looking at an extra $200 flight at minimum just to get to a state with an airport that can fly you to your final destination.
I don’t know about you, but I definitely don’t have money like that to burn.
The fact is, the most expensive part of traveling is just that—the travel.
Once you make it to your destination, it’s usually pretty easy to find affordable stays, and anywhere you go you can budget yourself on food, souvenir, and experience expenses.
But when it comes to getting there, you’re completely at the mercy of the airlines.
Or are you?
Turns out, just like we’re slave to the prices of the airlines, the airline prices are slave to travel trends.
What does this mean for you?
Well, for one it means it’s time to stay home and save over the winter holidays, because travel increases by a minimum of 23% each year between Thanksgiving and New Years.
But, this also means that you have a loophole for guaranteed discounted flights.
How?
All you have to do is keep an eye on flight prices in the off-season, and snag a flight when it’s low!
That may sound too easy, but it really is the key to affordable traveling.
Personally, I’ve had a long love affair with London, another pricey vacation spot. During my many trips to return to the city, I’ve used this trick of keeping an eye on off-season dates (January—March and September—October) to snag a $185 round trip ticket that would have been $450+ on a more popular travel week.
You see, in addition to pricing by seasonal demand, airlines price based on the week-by-week demand of passengers as well. That means when sales are low for a particular scheduled flight, those prices will drop. As soon as people start to bite, that price will rise again.
In other words, that means you could have a $150 dollar ticket or a $500 ticket for the same seat on the same flight depending on when you bought it.
But, timely ticket buying isn’t the only secret to affordable travel.
Remember how I mentioned that those top destinations come with big prices?
Well, by the same logic, a lot of ‘second tier’ vacation spots have smaller price tags.
Now, I’m not telling you to book a flight into the middle of nowhere just for the sake of saving money. But, I am telling you to broaden your horizons when it comes to where you want to travel.
What you want to look for is an undiscovered paradise that is an up-and-coming destination.
What does that mean?
Think of it like real estate: the best time to buy real estate in is in a still-developing community with the promise of a big future.
The same applies to travel spots!
If you find a place that has a growing tourist market or wishes to establish itself as a vacation destination, it will have the infrastructure you need to get there easily, plus the discounted prices to bring people in.
Now, where this perfect spot is depends on where you are located, and what your interests are.
However, I did some digging and found some pretty incredible options scattered around the world.
First, let me tell you the winners for the best travel dates each year: January 10th— February 20th, April 20th—May 15th, and September 10th— October 25th!
Within these dates, it’s important to remember that the cheapest dates to fly are usually Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday, so book accordingly.
Now, where should you be going to vacation?
Within these dates, I have a few winners for you, broken down by where you’re starting your trip from.
If you’re located in our neck of the woods in the southeastern region of the country, your top destinations are…
-New Orleans, LA ($57)
-San Juan, Puerto Rico ($98)
-Malaga, Spain ($399)
-Copenhagen, Denmark ($366)
-Lima, Peru ($294)
-Aruba ($263)
If you’re from the Northeast…
-Fort Lauderdale, FL ($77)
-Toronto, Canada ($233)
-Ponta Delgada, Portugal ($340)
-Alicante, Spain ($349)
-Budapest, Hungary ($375)
-Oslo, Norway ($324)
-Reykjavik, Iceland ($363)
-Anchorage, Alaska ($359)
If you’re from the Midwest…
-Chicago, IL ($53)
-Charlotte, SC ($76)
-Puerto Vallarta, Mexico ($200)
-Juneau, Alaska ($332)
-Montreal, Canada ($284)
-Bejing, China ($350)
-Dublin, Ireland ($409)
If you’re on the West coast…
-Seattle, WA ($97)
-Anchorage, Alaska ($262)
-Kahului, Hawaii ($278)
-San Salvado, El Salvador ($267)
-Villahermosa, Mexico ($252)
-Hong Kong ($401)
-Bergen, Norway ($408)
*all prices are the average for a one-week round-trip booking within the next calendar year.
If you know anything about travel, than you can likely tell that these prices are out of this world compared to what you would usually pay for a round trip flight.
And the best part for these winning destinations?
The prices get even better if you follow my advice and book on the right days at the right time of year! Plus, because these destinations aren’t in the list of top ten travel destinations around the world, you’ll likely be able to book a luxury stay without breaking the bank!
No matter where you are located, adventure awaits!
Yes, I like want adventure to enjoy all. But The first to get my profit.