When the 4th edition of The World’s Cheapest Destinations book came out in January, I posted some advance review comments from various other writers and bloggers. Now that a few months have gone by, here’s what people have said in the early reviews.

 

“Even as an experienced traveler, with some 60 countries under my belt (many of them cheapies), I still was able to find the book useful and interesting.

The World’s Cheapest Destinations will be helpful for travelers at different stages: newbies who would like to start traveling to other countries for the first time, individuals with some international travel experience who are looking to push their comfort zone a little bit, and folks just looking for a little more luxury without spending more money. This book tells you where and how to look.”

- Stephen Bugno of GoMad Nomad

“If you’re currently considering traveling to destinations where your ‘travel money is worth a fortune,’ I highly recommend you pick up the fourth edition of Tim Leffel’s well-researched, chock-full-of-details book The World’s Cheapest Destinations.”

- Kara Williams, The Vacation Gals

“If you’re up for a wry sense of humor and aren’t put off by the occasional unabashed assessment, The World’s Cheapest Destinations is not only an easy read and a money-saving Bible, but also a veteran traveler’s look at places that many travelers in the U.S. tend to leave off their dream lists.”

- Kristin Mock, freelance travel writer

“The 4th edition of Tim’s book has totally inspired us to travel even more by visiting cheaper places.”

- Ashley Steele, Wandering Educators

“Leffel wastes no time outlining some of the world’s cheapest destinations in a concise and honest fashion. Refreshingly pointed, this compact guide is an ideal handbook for those looking to stretch their money further.”

- Stuart McDonald, editor of Travelfish.org

“His advice ranges from the common sense (albeit often forgotten) to the wise been-there-done-that genre. The most intriguing reason to pick up this book is its nature to inure interest in destinations that may have been left by the wayside on your travel itinerary, but are an absolute must-see for any global traveler worth his weight in passport stamps.”

- Ramsey Qubein, Examiner.com

“With a little ingenuity, a bit of creativity and this book, you’ll be able to travel many places in the world you never thought possible. The World’s Cheapest Destinations is hands down the best guide to traveling the world on a budget.”

- Beth Whitman, editor of Wanderlust And Lipstick

“The very first step to saving money when on the road is to figure out where you can stretch your money the furthest. Due to the ebb and flow of international finance, wars, and natural disasters… the cheapest places are always changing. Tim offers a great way to hit this moving target.”

- Doug Lansky, author of more than 10 travel books including First Time Around the World

“Tim is correct: where you travel has more to do with saving money then how you travel. The cheapest hostel dorm bunk in Zurich will be more expensive than a large, quality hotel room in Bangkok. I’ve been to most of the countries outlined by Tim and can attest that they are great value destinations. This book is a must for affordable travel planning.”

- Gary Arndt, editor of Everything-Everywhere.com

 

Get Your Copy!

So where can you get this book? Pretty much everywhere online:

Direct from the publisher – paperback ($15,95 plus shipping) or PDF ($8.99, no shipping)

Kindle version from Amazon, Nook version from Barnes & Noble, Apple version from iBookstore – all around $8.99.

Paperback from Barnes & Noble, paperback from Amazon.

If you’re in Australia or New Zealand, you can order a copy from Fishpond.

There are a few clusters of cheap destinations around the world where you can travel overland from country to country on a low budget for weeks, months, or a year. For Americans, starting in Mexico and going down to Panama is a pretty reliable way to travel well without spending a fortune—especially since the initial flight won’t set you back too much.

There are major variations of course, which is why Nicaragua is a screaming bargain, Mexico is an “honorable mention” in my book, and Costa Rica isn’t in there at all. Even that last one and Belize will cost you less than home if you pick the where and how carefully, however, so all in all it’s a good block for long-term travel.

A month ago I updated my old article for Transitions Abroad on Budget Travel in Mexico and Central America. It’s an article, not a book, so it’s just going to give you a quick overview. It does give you a quick overview for the region though on sleeping, transportation, and eating/drinking. Plus there are ample links at the end to resources to find out more.

I like Mexico so much I have two houses there. (Though I’d like to bring that down to one. Beach house for sale – $68,500.) It’s no bargain if you go to Los Cabos or the Riviera Maya, but in the interior and many off-the-radar beaches, it’s a whole different story. In Nicaragua, Honduras, and Guatemala, it’s a bargain throughout.

So do a little planning, but follow the article to decide if it sounds like a region where the price is right.

As I wrote a few posts back in the midst of a return to Turkey, this country is not a cheap destination anymore. It’s in my book still as an honorable mention because it’s a fair value for mid-range travelers, but it will probably disappear from that category too next time around. Overall, prices are ticking closer and closer to those in Western Europe and with their economy booming (while Europe’s languishes), there’s little chance this trend will reverse.

Minimum wage is only about $500 a month and pensions aren’t much higher, but there are plenty in the sizable middle class making a few thousand more than that each month. Taxes are not outrageous, but fuel costs are, so transportation is no bargain. The conservative government loves sin taxes, to the point that 2/3 of what you spend on booze or beer does not go to the manufacturer or retailer. Even once-cheap raki, the national drink of choice, is pricey. Real estate prices are rising rapidly, which affects store rentals and hotel costs.

Turkey is an amazing destination though, so it still feels like a special experience worth paying for, even if you are sharing that experience with more and more people each year. The cruise ship traffic is up 108 percent year over year, for instance, which nearly always has a negative effect on both prices and crowds. Most of that traffic is in Istanbul, with perhaps a stop off to check out Ephesus, so in this big country it’s not hard to get away from the crowds. Hotel costs are especially high in Istanbul, where 50 100+ room hotels are under construction or about to break ground.

I was just in Istanbul and Ankara on this last trip, so prices here are based on what you find in the two biggest cities. You can expect many of them to go down as you get into the countryside. All prices have been converted into U.S. dollars at the rate of 1.7 Turkish Lira per $.

Food & Drink Prices in Turkey
In-season fruits & vegetables at markets: $1.30 – $2 per kilo
Simit (kind of like a sesame bagel with a bigger hole) – 60 cents
5 small pastries from a simit dealer: $1
Large baguette: 60 cents
200 grams of baklava: – $2 – $3.50
Doner kebab sandwich: $2.50 – $5
Cigar kofte (ground lamb) – $1 per stick
Glass of strong tea – $1 – $1.30
Cappuccino – $2 – $3.50
Bottle of Turkish wine in a store: $5.50 to $15 for most, but some up to $35.
Liter bottle of raki in a store: $25 and up
Large Efes beer in a store/bar: $2-$2.50 / $4-$6
100 grams of peanuts or hazelnuts – 80 cents
100 grams of shelled pistachios – $1.50
Meal in a basic Turkish restaurant – $6 – $10
Meal in a fancy Turkish restaurant – about what you pay in the U.S., NYC prices at gourmet/hotel ones
Kilo of tea – $8
Ice cream novelty: 50 cents to $1.40

Hotel & Hostel Prices
Dorm room bed in a hostel: $22 – $35
Basic double room with bath – $45 – $70
3/4- star hotel on Hotwire: $95 – $165

Transportation Costs in Turkey
Taxi from airport to Istanbul center: $24 – $29
Airport bus to Taksim: $6.50
Metro/tram combo from airport: $2 – $3
Metro/tram local fare: $1.20 per trip (with Istanbulkart)
Istanbul ferry ride: 80 cents – $1.50
Ankara city bus ride: $1
Taxi ride in Ankara: $2 – $18
Long-distance bus ride: around $3 per hour of travel
Istanbul to Cappadocia by overnight bus: $38
High-speed train from Ankara to Konya (1.5 hours at 300 kms per hour): $17 – $23
Istanbul to Izmir by fast ferry & train combo: $39
Internal flights: $75 – $200 one-way

Admission and Activity Charges
Top-tier sites in Istanbul: $15
Second level sites: $9
Bosphorus tour by boat: $15
Small museums: $3 – $5
Mosques: free

By the way, cellular charges here are a good deal. To compare to what you pay at home, for about $15 – $18 a month you can get 500 minutes, 1000 text messages, and 1GB of data.

So what’s the strategy here? How can you avoid spending a fortune?
- Choose your restaurants carefully in the cities and cook sometimes if you can (produce is a bargain).
- Eat lots of nuts and fruit, which are abundant all year.
- Pick and choose which sites will get you excited and skip the others.
- Explore Istanbul by ferry as the rides are cheap, including to the Princes Islands.
- Turkey is not just Istanbul (unless you’re on a cruise). Take a bus to cheaper lands.
- Figure out the public transportation routes and methods. Taxis are expensive.
- Save your hard partying for elsewhere, a country where taxes aren’t 2/3 of the cost.

In one city, should you take a taxi from the far-flung airport to the center, it will cost you more than $250.

In another city, taking a taxi from the airport to the center will cost you less than $5.

How much does that tell you about expenses in the destination?

Quite a lot. The first city is Tokyo, in many respects the most expensive in the world. The second city is Sofia, Bulgaria—one of the best values around.

This study put out by British foreign exchange company Moneycorp found a staggering variation in the cost of getting into the city from the airport in capitals around the world. Some of this can be chalked up to distance: the cab fare in Quito just doubled, for example, because the new airport is a lot farther away from the center than the old one.  Switzerland is crazy expensive, but the airport in Geneva is only 6km from the city.

In Quito though, you could hire a car and driver for days for less than it’s going to cost you for a taxi to your hotel in a place like Japan. The destination costs matter more than anything.

A taxi from the airport to your hostel bed in Cusco will cost less than a night’s lodging. In Madrid it’ll cost you five times as much.

““What our research into airport taxi costs reveals is the wide variation in taxi fares depending on which country you’re visiting.”

As the article points out, knowing this information in advance can determine whether you want to find an alternative means of transportation or not. When I arrived with my family in Bangkok at 4 am, jet-lagged, I was happy to pay the $18 it cost for a taxi there. When I arrive in Madrid next month after a week in Portugal, however, no way we’re shelling out $100 to ride in a car.

This is another case where reading a guidebook before you depart is a smart move. Instead of pecking around the web for an hour looking up answers to questions like this, it’s all there in front of you in one place, properly researched by someone on the ground.

Remember that some cities are far easier than others when it comes to public transportation alternatives. JFK airport in New York City is great, my other former home of Nashville is impossible. Mexico City has a subway, but you’re not allowed to take luggage on it. Bucharest has a great bus to the city, so does Salt Lake City (and soon it will have a train as well). The only way to know what the options are is to do some research.

Meanwhile, you can be sure that The World’s Cheapest Destinations also have reasonably priced airport taxis in their main airline gateway cities. Even in the honorable mention countries (Turkey, Mexico, Argentina, Czech Republic) you’re not going to see a fare that makes your jaw drop except in rip-off resort areas like Cancun.

Have you encountered a particularly cheap taxi fare—or one that emptied your wallet?

[Flickr Creative Commons photo by bornin78]

I hate paying for parking anywhere and would hate to add up how much I’ve spent over the years leaving my car at airports. When you’re flying out for a week or two and it’s not convenient for someone to drop you off, you’ve either got to pay a taxi (if it’s from home) or to suck it up and pay to park. If you live far from the airport, or you’re in an area where it’s sometimes cheaper to go one city over, you’re really out of options.

Thankfully I don’t pay nearly as much as most other people do when this happens. Half or less most of the time.

See, I rarely park in the actual airport lot—even at economy one—because it’s usually dramatically less to leave my car in a private lot nearby. I’ve never paid more than $7.50 per day to park in Fort Lauderdale, for example, until recently when I had to park in the airport garage when running late for a flight. (Long story.) There it’s $15 per day. If you’re away for a week, that’s $105. In a major city, it can be even worse.

In Orlando a couple weeks ago, I paid $6 a night to leave my car in the lot of the Airport Marriott, where I caught an airport shuttle in a flash. That’s another advantage of these places: usually they have a more frequent shuttle schedule than the airport itself does. When I used to park off-site in Nashville (BNA), they would take you within 10 minutes even if nobody else needed a ride.

I usually use a site called Cheap Airport Parking because they’re on of my advertisers over at Perceptive Travel. Even if they weren’t they’re the second-largest consolidator of these off-site options, so it’s worth checking them out. Here are some sample rates available most days of the week.

MIA Embassy Suites – $5
LAX Premier Parking – $3.99
EWR (Newark) Premier Parking – $5.99
FLL (Ft. Lauderdale) Hilton – $6
TPA (Tampa) Memorial – $3.25
MCO (Orlando) – 3 parking lots are available under $3 per day.

They continuously ask customers to rate parking lots on 5 criteria: location, facility, wait times, shuttle experience and personnel attitude. Based on these ratings they calculate the overall quality score of a lot and sort parking lots based on this score to promote the best lots. Parking lots know about this algorithm and try to serve the customers better in order to be on top in the list and get more customers.

They don’t serve every market—nobody does—but you can usually Google “airport parking” or “off site parking” and the airport code/city to find the options if the market is not on the list of sites like this one. It doesn’t work everywhere, since some airports are too small or inconveniently placed, like the PIE one I have to use sometimes out of Clearwater/St. Pete, Florida.

Most of the small ones (not that one) have reasonably priced parking though. Where my father lives in Greenville/Spartanburg, South Carolina, the overnight charge is $4 and you can walk from the lot with your wheelie suitcase to the entrance.