7 Popular Travel Destinations on Sale in 2025

Where should you go this year if you’re trying to stretch your travel budget? As I write this heading into spring of 2025, you’ve got a lot of places to choose from if you’re American. There are plenty of popular travel destinations on sale this year thanks to a strong U.S. dollar—for now. Don’t wait too long to take advantage of this window because there’s a good chance it won’t last. Tariffs and turmoil make international travel complicated.

The euro and greenback are close to parity now, so if you’re heading anywhere in Europe, you’ll find it to be more reasonable than usual. That also means that the cheapest places to travel in Europe, all detailed in The World’s Cheapest Destinations book, are going to be even an even greater value than usual. 

What I want to highlight here are the places that are priced at a different level than their historic norm, destinations where you can live it up for less simply because of currency arbitrage or something being temporarily out of balance in the economy. If you can seize on these kinds of opportunities, you’ll always get a lot for your money when traveling. 

Just understand that when you travel abroad, meeting an American may not inspire the warm and welcoming feelings it did just a year ago thanks to all the aggression and negative rhetoric coming out of the Oval Office. Most people around the world are wise enough to separate the people from the leadership, but the world is questioning whether there’s something fundamentally wrong with the morals of those born in the USA. Be humble, be kind, and be a person who shows some empathy about the well-being of others when you’re on the move. Big tips alone won’t cut it if they think you’re an arrogant jerk. 

Brazil is Now a Bargain

It’s a great time to make that trip to Brazil, a country that was at one point the most expensive in Latin America, but now one of the best values. To see what happened, you only have to look at their historic exchange rate chart. I’ll sum it up for you: before the pandemic hit, one dollar got you between three and four Brazilian reals. Now one dollar gets you around six. 

So a vacation in Brazil could cost you 50% less than it did a few years ago if you do it right. Prices will be even lower than they were in this old post on travel prices in Rio. 

Brazil has been steadily increasing its flight connectivity the past few years and the change in government seems to be adding some much-needed stability and sanity. It’s easy to get around by air within the country too, with dozens of airports and a robust domestic flight industry. Head to Iguacu Falls and Rio, sure, but explore beyond that and you’ll be rewarded. 

Be advised that there may be a hefty $160 reciprocal visa fees for all Americans starting in April. I say “may be” because this has been announced and postponed multiple times now because the Brazilian tourism industry has been fighting it hard. They know they’ll lose business to nearby Argentina, and Chile if it happens since those countries dropped theirs years ago. 

Search flights to Brazil

Mexico is a Travel Deal Again

In early 2024, the Mexican peso dipped below 17 to the dollar for a while. Combined with the inflation that was going on worldwide, this meant it was more expensive for everything from a taxi ride to a plate of tacos. 

It started slowing changing in the middle of the year and by the end it was hitting 20 to the dollar again, which means my adopted home is costing me under $4 for a haircut, $2 for a beer in a basic bar, and we just picked up 30 eggs for $4. Many of the museums in the city where I live are $1.50 for adults and a taxi across town is usually $4. 

This doesn’t always translate to big savings for hotels or fancy restaurants in tourist magnets like Cancun or Puerto Vallarta though and you can spend as much in Tulum or Los Cabos as you would in New York City or Toronto. The first is filled with Instagram-obsessed suckers who don’t know better and the latter is filled with California millionaires who don’t look at prices on menus. 

If you want to take advantage of prices that are in general about 50% of those in the USA or Canada, then you need to get out of the main resort zones at least (there are lots of other nice beaches to choose from). Or better yet head to the interior highlands where the weather is nice all year and where most of the history is.  

A Rare Opportunity for Japan

You don’t see me mentioning Japan very often because it has traditionally been one of the costliest cities to visit in the world. It was known as the land of $20 watermelons and $40 shots of whiskey in the past, but that has changed in recent years as the yen has declined. As my Nomadico partner Kevin Kelly said in a recent posting, “Despite its reputation, Japan can be one of the cheaper developed places to travel in. Currently their exchange rate per dollar is the highest it has been in many decades.”

For a few decades, the Japanese yen generally traded between 100 and 110 most of the time. Now it is often trading between 145 and 160. This doesn’t mean that Japan is competing with Southeast Asia on prices. It just means that a country that was historically out of reach for many budget travelers is now one that people making normal wages can afford. 

After I did three trips around the world, friends and relatives who didn’t ask the predictable, “What was your favorite place?” question would sometimes ask which places were the most interesting or unusual. That question was easier to answer: India and Japan.

The former is maddening though, while the latter is fascinating without being annoying. Everything just works in Japan and everyone is exceedingly polite and helpful. The culture is fascinating and there’s a long, distinct history on display. It’s no museum though: Tokyo is, in many ways, the most advanced city in the world for technology, trends, and urban planning. 

I’m not a lover of the food like some people are, but if that’s you, go now while everything is reasonably priced and eat your way around the country! This would also be a terrific year to explore Kyoto, hike the Kumana Kodo, or go skiing up north. Plus, traveling with the Japan Rail Pass is a smart move for budget travelers, allowing you to explore various regions without spending a fortune.

Enjoying Egypt for Less

About seven years ago, Egypt floated its currency freely to secure a bailout from the IMF and the currency immediately went to the level most traders thought it was worth: half. So almost overnight the Egyptian pound went from 9 to the dollar to 18. Against all odds it eventually leveled out below that level though, so for a while, the gamble seemed to have worked.

When the all-out war in Gaza started though, the currency took a tumble again and as I wrote about the country last year, the Egyptian pound was trading at 30 to the dollar. It leveled off for a while, then nosedived again. As I write this in 2025 the rate is 51 to the dollar. 

Egypt has been one of The World’s Cheapest Destinations since the very first edition of that book came out and it was a bargain before that when I visited in the mid-1990s. It has never stopped being a travel bargain for a whole lot of reasons, including occasional bouts of terrorist violence, human rights abuses, and political woes. If you’re the type of traveler who is not put off by a bit of bad news, however, Egypt is one of the world’s best values, year after year. 

The site Numbeo.com has Egypt pegged as one of the cheapest places in the world to rent an apartment or house, with an average of $293 for a three-bedroom apartment in the city of Cairo, less than that in any other location. You can see that reflected in the hotel prices too, where you can commonly find a four-star place for under $50 per night, a decent budget place for $10 or $15. If you were a digital nomad, you could just rent a hotel long-term and still be living large for half or less what you used to spend in your home country. 

Meals for a few dollars, a taxi ride for two bucks, and $1 men’s haircuts are just a few of the traveler prices you’ll find in Egypt. And you get to see some of the world’s greatest antiquities for a song. 

South Africa is a Bargain for Now

I have trouble writing about South Africa on this Cheapest Destinations Blog because their currency chart often looks like a bouncing basketball. The country will be a deal one year, be expensive the next, then come back down to Earth again after that. 

We’re on the better end of that pattern right now, with the dollar getting you 18.5 rand at the moment. At times it breaks 19 and you’ll notice it in the declining costs of everything from taxis to street food. To give you some comparisons, at the moment Cape Town is 24% cheaper than Mexico City, 20% cheaper than Budapest, and about 17% more expensive than Vietnam according to Numbeo. 

South Africa is the most developed country in Africa, with good infrastructure and a solid range of hotel choices for every budget, including hostels. You’ve got beaches, wildlife, wineries, and lots more to explore. It’s one of the most popular travel destinations on the continent because it packs a lot in, including wildlife reserves, and it’s a jumping off point to Botswana and Namibia too. 

The drawback for getting here is that South Africa is a long way from almost anywhere. It’s going to cost you a chunk of change for the flights no matter what unless you can cash in airline points. If you’re planning a trip to the bottom of Africa, this would be a good time to get a new airline credit card from United, JetBlue, or Air Canada since they can get you there on miles via partner South African Airways.  Otherwise:

Search flight prices here.

Things Keep Getting Worse for Turkey 

While I’m nearly always touting the advantages of being an opportunistic traveler, I’ve been leery about going to Turkey since I last visited in the 2010s. The authoritarian, religious-leaning government scares me and as a journalist, I feel like I would have a target on my back at all times. There are hundreds of thousands of innocent people in jails because they spoke out against the Putin-wannabe desperately holding on to power.

I really thought that after all the pain the Turkish people have been through this decade that they would finally boot out the leader that half the country hates with a passion, but he somehow managed to get more than 50% of the vote and held on anyway. Predictably, the currency took a nosedive after that and it has continued to lose ground ever since.

This is one ugly exchange rate chart for the Turkish lira since 2020, a steep and steady run downhill: 

If you can put the political issues aside, Turkey will be one of the world’s best travel values once again this year. It’s got more things to see and do just in Istanbul than most whole countries can list, then you’ve got Greek and Byzantine ruins, Cappadocia,  ski resorts, beaches, Anatolian historic sites, and on and on. Plus this is one of the world’s greatest food destinations.

This currency slide comes with major inflation of course, but it has significantly lowered the cost of everything from admissions to taxis to shoeshines if you’ve got euros or dollars you’re cashing in.

Just understand that the tourist infrastructure in popular places is mostly tied to dollars these days, so don’t expect hotel prices to reflect the decline. Once you get beyond the places swarming with foreigners (especially cruise ship passengers) though, it’s a different story. 

Take That Non-Summer Trip to Europe

As we were coming out of the pandemic in 2021 and the vaccines were starting to work, you could take a trip to Europe and be one of the only foreigners in a city or on a Greek island. Back then a U.S. dollar would only get you 85 euro cents though, which meant an 85-euro hotel was going to cost you 100 bucks. As I write this you’ll get 95 or 96 euro cents to the dollar though, which means you can almost stop doing math in your head when you book or buy something. 

I won’t say that Italy and France felt cheap when I was there at the end of last year, but Hungary sure did and I drank my share of $3 wine bottles when we were in Spain. Groceries in Spain felt cheaper than they are in Mexico overall, so we were very happy we had an apartment with a fridge and stove. 

I’m a little hesitant to put Europe in here on this list of popular travel destinations on sale since parts of it are too popular. This is especially true in summer, but we were in Amsterdam and Prague in late October and they were still jammed up with foreigners. There’s not much of an off-season anymore in the greatest hits of Europe. 

It’s easier than most people think to get away from the crowds though. It’s easy to find quiet Greek islands and most of the Czech Republic is a far different story than the capital. When we took side trips out of Budapest in Hungary we didn’t hear many other people speaking English. Then there are whole countries that are still relatively undiscovered, like Bosnia, Albania, Montenegro, and Bulgaria. Check out The World’s Cheapest Destinations for a rundown on each. 

I’m stopping this list at seven areas, though of course this isn’t the “definitive list” or “ultimate guide” to where you can travel for less this year. At least one of these should be on your short list though if you’re looking for an international popular travel destination that’s on sale this year. Happy trails!