Tim Leffel’s Cheapest Destinations

Cheap Travel Destinations for Escaping the Cold

I don’t know about where you live, but it is already way too cold where I am. I escaped to Florida last week to visit some relatives, but the endless strip malls and boring housing developments dulled the uplifting effect of the sun and palm trees.

For those who long for a little excitement and verve with their warm weather getaway, here’s an article I got quoted in a few times for Forbes: Affordable Places to Escape the Cold.

Overall, there are two strategies presented. Mine is to head to a cheap country where the weather is warm (or downright hot) all the time: Panama, Honduras, the less crowded beaches of Mexico. As noted in Traveler’s Tool Kit: Mexico and Central America, this region is easy to get to, flights aren’t too outrageous, and there’s no jet lag. Once you land, your dollars go far no matter what’s happening in the international currency markets. You could add Guatemala and Nicaragua to that list as well.

The other strategy put forth by some other experts in the article is a contrarian travel plan: take advantage of a slump in business to score a good deal. Right now, that means Hawaii, Orlando, and Vegas. Those destinations are set up to host a bazillion visitors at a time, so when business drops by 10 or 20 percent, you’re talking thousands of empty rooms and restaurant rooms to fill. Panic sets in and sweet deals abound. At this point you should be able to get a free extra night thrown in, spa treatments, meal credits, whatever you want to go after—and a discount on top. Airfares are coming back down too all over.

If you still have money and a job this winter, you’re back in the driver’s seat again. Don’t pay list price for travel. There are plenty of deals waiting to be plucked.

(Good God—it just started snowing outside my window. Come on, I live in the South! Take your Great Lakes cold front back up north where it belongs!)