There are many reasons for couples to take cheap vacations. You may be on a budget and trying to retire early or want to balance expenses on a trip between luxury stays and heart-pounding adventures. Most importantly, you shouldn’t sacrifice your fun just because you’re looking for low budget vacation ideas.
With our years of travel, we know tricks and tips for cheap flights, road trips, shoulder seasons (even in summer!), and hacks for food and activities that will maximize your fun while stretching your dollar.
Photo Credit: Canva.
Cheap Exotic Vacations For Couples
What couple doesn’t love exotic vacations and seeing something extraordinary? Many foreign destinations are dirt cheap once you arrive (like eating street food in Bangkok), but your entire vacation budget will get eaten up by airfare. Others, like Europe, have an insanely high daily cost, regardless of what Rick Steve says.
Our budget exotic destination list combines the best of both worlds, so you can arrive without breaking the bank and return with a few dineros in your pocket.
Photo Credit: Jenn Coleman.
Puerto Rico Vacations
Visiting Puerto Rico is like hitting the easy button of foreign travel. It’s technically in America, so your phone plan works, you spend dollars, and you don’t need a passport, but it still has a vibe and culture all its own. You’ll see cities older than anything on the mainland, bioluminescent lagoons, and the only tropical rainforest in the U.S. park system.
JetBlue generally has the cheapest flights to “The Island”. You can get there for under $200 bucks round trip. Once you arrive, you’ll find oceanfront Caribbean resorts where you can play golf , scuba dive , snorkel , or just bask on beautiful beaches with a mango mojito in your hand.
Photo Credit: Jenn Coleman.
Riviera Maya Vacations
It’s super easy to find a cheap flight to Cancun, which makes Riviera Maya an affordable exotic vacation. Rather than blowing your budget on an inclusive vacation, look for the less touristy alternatives to get off the beaten path in the Yucatan Peninsula, like renting a car and driving to the interior to see Chichen Itza and hidden cenotes or a mini-vaca to Cozumel or Tulum . You can save enough money to splurge for a night or two of absolute luxury in an adult-only all-inclusive property .
There is a fabulous bus service from the Cancun Airport, so you can get to Holbox or Playa Del Carmen excursion without renting a car. Things to do in Holbox in the summer include swimming with whale sharks and bioluminescent lagoons. Playa offers great food and dining at an affordable price with plenty of day trips , including diving with bull sharks and snorkeling with turtles .
Photo Credit: Jenn Coleman.
Costa Rica Vacations
Spirit Airlines services Costa Rica from the East Coast and Volaris has cheap flights of Tijuana, so airfare is reasonable, but the rental cars are notoriously expensive. Our secret back door trick is to combine an airport transfer with an Arenal adventure . You can zipline on the way in, go white water rafting on the way back, and walk through Arenal on your stay with no worries. Pura Vida!
In Costa Rica, summer is a shoulder season, so you will not pay peak spring prices. Many Costa Rican resorts are getaways in their own right, with on-premise hot springs and private access to the jungle.
Photo Credit: Jenn Coleman.
Mexico City Vacations
There are some great flights to Mexico City, especially if you’re in Southern California and can do the Tijuana Airport hack, where you park in the U.S. and take the CBX Bridge directly into the Tijuana airport. Once you’re in T.J., the flight to Mexico City is domestic.
Mexico City is 7,200 feet above sea level, so it’s relatively comfortable all summer long and free from hurricanes. There are plenty of attractions in the city , like European architecture, cafes, museums, and affordable hotels at every level, plus abundant tours into the countryside so you can visit car-free.
Photo Credit: Deposit Photos.
Rocky Point Vacations
Puerto Peñasco has so many gringos visiting that it’s commonly called Rocky Point, aka Arizona’s Beach. It’s so close, in fact, that it’s a driving destination from Tucson or Phoenix. Once you arrive, there are luxury condos that cost less than most hotels and that undeniable Mexican feel whether you take a boat tour to Bird Island or just siesta in the sand.
Our best tricks for going to Rocky Point are to purchase your Mexican Insurance ahead of time and consider an electronic sim card. Be aware that the Lukeville Border Crossing is closed from 8 pm to 6 am and can get busy on Sundays.
Photo Credit: Larry & Teddy via Flickr
Quebec City Vacations
Visiting Quebec City is like going to Europe without the jetlag. Lingua Franca is in the air, the restaurants are très magnifique, and there’s more romance than you can pack into a single weekend with horse-drawn carriages on cobblestone streets and the most photographed hotel in the world!
Summer in Quebec is a wonderfully cool explosion in green with accessible adventures , including Montmorency Falls and spectacular Via Ferrata trails . All you need to do is brush up on your French and book at a boutique hotel in the heart of the old city .
Photo Credit: Jenn Coleman.
Vancouver Island Vacations
Visiting Vancouver Island in the summer is like going to the Alaskan coast, but it’s just a short ferry ride from Vancouver and less than an hour from the Washington border. The island is known for its mild climate and thriving arts community. Victoria, the capital, is filled to the brim with art, culture, and gardens, while the countryside is bustling with primeval forest and spectacular coastlines waiting to be explored.
Pick your hotel , plan your activities , and then explore the charm and beauty of Vancouver Island.
Photo Credit: Deposit Photos.
Cheap Florida Vacations For Families and More
Florida has become more than a little divisive in the travel space these days. Then again, people seem to be getting farther off-center every day. If you have deep-seated convictions one way or another, we won’t change your mind. However, Florida is more than just the Sunshine State and House Mouse; it’s the most affordable tropical vacation Americans can take – period.
Between cheap flights and road trips, it’s pretty easy for most people to get to Florida. Once they arrive, they can find anything they’re looking for, from luxury vacations in cosmopolitan destinations to confirmation bias that Florida Man exists or everybody is crazy in the “Gunshine State.” Personally, we think Florida has the best beaches, best springs, and best diving on the mainland, and if you’ve never been kissed by a manatee, you don’t know what you’re missing.
Photo Credit: Jenn Coleman.
Orlando Vacations
Orland is the mecca for family vacations because what good parent doesn’t want to pay money to Walt Disney World and Universal Study for an immersive week in their intellectual property and gift shops? With not one but two of the cheapest airports in America, It’s easy to get to Orlando, but what is there for couples to do once they arrive? Long story short, there are many romantic hotels and adventurous things to do in Orlando .
In town, you can explore Disney resorts with that unique theme park experience and no park tickets or crying kids. There are fireworks at the Polonysian, Skyliner flights to Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort, boat tour of CityWalk, and some of Orlando’s best restaurants, including Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, with the largest collection of South African wines outside South Africa. Orlando is a hip and happening city with vibrant nightlife. Combine all that with getaways to beaches near Orlando and day trips into Central Florida, and you’ll see why couples want to make that trip to O Town.
Photo Credit!: via Deposit Photos.
Florida Gulf Coast Vacations
The Florida Gulf Coast’s white sand beaches are simply amazing. Siesta Key consistently ranked as the best beach in America, and with Sarasota’s circus past, shelling on Cayo Costa , or shark tooth hunting at Venice Beach, there’s a lot of diversity too. However, Clearwater Beach typically gets the nod as the best “Beach City”, so let’s get into what the cities have to offer.
St Petersburg tops Strategistico’s list of most liberal cities in Florida because of its inclusive downtown and seven distinct art districts. Ybor City is a resurgent entertainment district with incredible dining, and Tampa is a thriving city.
There are plenty of cheap flights to Tampa and Sarasota and a wide selection of affordable hotels , so you’ll have enough left over to plan an adventure or two .
Photo Credit: Jenn Coleman.
Space Coast Getaways
Roughly speaking, the Space Coast runs from Daytona to Melbourne and includes many “only in Florida” vacations. For starters, as the name implies, this is America’s spaceport, where you visit the Kennedy Space Center or see rocket launches if you time it right. It’s also home to outdoor adventures like the best surfing on the east coast and kayak adventures like bioluminescent paddling and exploring miles of mangrove tunnels. Combine that with “The World’s Most Famous Beach” in Daytona and the 260-mile St John River to Sea Loop bikeway, and you’ll see that the Space Coast has plenty to offer.
Budget-conscious couples will find hotels in Daytona Beach , Cocoa Beach , and Melbourne that generally offer more for less than on the Gulf Coast. You’ll also save enough on dining to pay for gas and the toll for the 40-minute drive from Orlando.
Photo Credit: Deposit Photos.
Central Florida Adventures
Central Florida is famous for its springs. Turn-of-the-century resorts offered these springs as a fountain of youth panacea that cured all your ills and aches. Today, people flock to them because they’re just clean fun, and since the water comes out at 71 degrees, they’re a great way to beat the summer heat. Of course, you can tube and kayak on many spring runs, with Ichetucknee and Wekiva Island being two local favorites. For the more adventurous, you can kayak with wild monkeys at Silver Springs , drift dive a crystal clear river at Rainbow Springs, or scuba dive at any number of inland caverns. You can even take a seaplane tour from a spring-fed lake.
Cheap hotels abound in Central Florida, but make sure they’re what you expect. Our favorite towns are Ocala in the west and DeLand in the East. Otherwise, you can base out of Tampa or Orlando and make day trips into spring country. One fun option is to try a tiny houseboat stay out of DeLand, which has a super cute downtown scene where we had the best chicken masala ever at Cress!
Photo Credit: Jenn Coleman.
Ft Lauderdale For Couples
Fort Lauderdale is known as the Venice of America because it has over 165 miles of canals for taxi boat tours, riverboat adventures, or just dining canal-side on Los Olas. It’s a romantic city with a surprising outdoor adventure scene , including amazing scuba diving , airboat tours though the Everglades , and the world’s largest loggerhead turtle nesting .
Ft Lauderdale has a fabulous airport and a functional light rail up and down the coast so that you can visit car-free. You can save enough money to stay at luxury beachfront resorts or double down with economy lodging .
Photo Credit: Jenn Coleman.
Key West For Lovers
There was a time when Key West would have never made the cheap vacation list. That was before Breeze Airlines started offering budget flights to the Southernmost Point. With its island vibe, Key West is probably the most affordable Caribbean vacation around, and you don’t need a passport. You will still need to shop well for a hotel , but you will not need a car on Key West between golf carts and biking .
What makes Key West unique is all tours, especially watersports . You can snorkel on the mainland’s only living coral reef , kayak on the mangroves, scuba dive on the Vandenberg wreck, or zip around the seven-square-mile island on jet skis. Couples will love watching the sunset at Mallory Square, sharing key lime pie and conch fritters, then bar-hopping on Duval Street (another good reason not to have a car).
Photo credit: Deposit Photos.
Panama City Beach Road Trips
Let’s get this out in the open; Florabama is real and not just a place one throws fish across the state line. If you come to Panama City Beach and expect Miami, you will be disappointed. That being said, we love PCB and think that Shell Island might be the prettiest beach in Florida, and there are lots of Romantic things to do in Panama City Beach , including scuba diving and dolphin tours in St Andrews Bay which has the largest residential bottlenose dolphin population in the world.
PCB is attractive to budget travelers because it’s a true beach driving-destination. You can find hotels at all levels , from beachfront condos to adult-only resorts . In fact, not only did we put PCB on our list of most romantic Florida getaways , Firefly restaurant is our reigning champ for best she-crab soup….anywhere!
Photo Credit: Jenn Coleman.
Cheap California Vacations
Couples have been California Dreaming of romantic getaways in the Golden State since before the first car zipped down Route 66 to the Santa Monica Pier. It’s a land of sunshine, surf, and superstars.
There’s no reason to go anywhere else for a dream vacation for the 50 million people living in California and the surrounding states. Gas up before the state line and watch your burn rate along the coast, and you can have your choice of desert, beach, or mountain vacations. If you shop well for your hotel and flights , you can find cheap California vacations from anywhere in the county.
Photo Credit:
Jenn Coleman.
San Diego Vacations
America’s finest city is also our first choice for cheap California vacations. S.D. has the best beaches in California for surfing, swimming, and scuba diving, along with the world-famous San Diego Zoo. With the beach resorts of Mission Bay, the gilded age elegance of the Hotel Del, and the urban appeal of the Gaslamp District and Little Italy, it’s easy to see why San Diego is a beloved destination. The trick is how to do San Diego on a budget.
First off, because of traffic in the L.A. Basin, it’s easier to get to San Diego beaches for anybody in Nevada, Arizona, or Southern California for anybody living outside of Los Angeles County or the O.C. Secondly, because of the trolly system and hop-on /hop-off tours , you can visit San Diego car-free if you fly. There are many cheap things to do in San Diego , including biking and the beach, and the hotels are much more reasonable than you might expect. Finally, here’s our ace in the hole – the King of Happy Hour website . There are so many happy hour specials in San Diego, especially Pacific Beach and Mission Beach, that you never need to pay full price for meals.
