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Cheapest Destinations Blog is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Which are the best cheap hotel chains in the USA? According to the most reputable consumer satisfaction survey out there, it would be Drury Hotels, Hyatt House, Hampton by Hilton, Home2 Suites by Hilton, Tru by Hilton, Microtel by Wyndham, and Woodspring Suites in the seven lowest-priced tiers. They split the extended stay chains…
Are you handicapping your budget when you travel by making rookie travel mistakes? Are you costing yourself lots of money or creating extra hassles on travel days by making newbie errors that are easily avoided? I once published an evergreen tips book called Make Your Travel Dollars Worth a Fortune: The Contrarian Traveler’s Guide…
If you never seem to have enough money for travel but a billion other people on the planet do, what’s wrong with this picture? Why don’t you have a travel budget that can pay for your vacations? It probably means that something else is a bigger priority. After all, a travel budget is simply…
I recently got a question from a reader on how to find authentic food from the place she was traveling to and I pointed back to an old article I got quoted in with some good advice. In some places it’s easier than others—last summer I found it super-easy everywhere in Greece and Bulgaria…
This post on how to move out of the US went up in 2024, before inflation and unemployment started rising, national parks started closing, and planes started crashing regularly. It was updated in 2025 after all the dire predictions starting coming true. Sales of my living abroad book spiked bigtime as I was originally…
Vacationing in the USA can cost a fortune, no doubt. Although you can find deals almost anywhere, that’s a whole lot easier in a mid-sized city. You can find a lot of cheap things to do in San Antonio and I ran across a lot of great free attractions and events while I was…
The Cheapest Destinations Blog has been running continually since 2003, with articles from award-winning travel writer Tim Leffel. That’s me at work below.
I’m the author of The World’s Cheapest Destinations, Travel Writing 2.0, and the living abroad book A Better Life for Half the Price. All have been published in multiple editions. I am nomadic part of each year with a home base in Mexico.
I am also editor of the narrative web publication Perceptive Travel, named “best online travel magazine” by the North American Travel Journalists Association and “best travel blog” by SATW. I have contributed to more than 50 publications as a freelancer and have been invited to speak on stage in 11 countries. I’m the former chair of the advisory board of NATJA, served as North American Conference Director for TBEX for six years, and am a member of the Adventure Travel Trade Association. See more on the About page and get in touch with any opportunities via the Work With Me page.
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