Contrarian Travel Destination Resources

Resources - Bargain Destinations

Your destination choices have the biggest impact on your travel budget --whether you are going on a two-week vacation or a trip around the world. Here are some resources that will give you a lowdown on where to stretch your travel dollars (or euros, or yen...)

The World's Cheapest Destinations
This definitive book, now in its second edition, is the only one to give a rundown on the best value destinations around the globe. The accompanying web site is full of resources and articles on bargain destinations. Also check out the author's Cheapest Destinations Blog.

You can find a lot of destination info, including a very basic rundown on prices, from the guidebook sites. Some of the best and most current info is found on the message boards, where real travelers are espousing on what they've actually paid. Sign up and fire off a question if you're looking for something specific.

Lonely Planet
Rough Guides
Moon Handbooks
Fodors

These sites have message boards geared to travelers on a budget:
BootsnAll
VirtualTourist

Official Travel Guide links to the official tourism sites for countries and cities around the world.

This link will take you to a lot of articles on traveling in cheap countries.

You might need to look at an exchange rate history to see how current prices compare to those in the past, in terms of your own currency. Here's a good one:
Fxtop.com

For in-depth narrative travel stories on a particular destination, see the good webzines that we have listed in our travel websites section.