Looking for Affordable Christmas Travel!
Posted by 000maw@reddit | Shoestring | View on Reddit | 19 comments
My job gives off from Christmas-New Years Day and I’d like to utilize taking a long trip without having to take a lot of time off. I’m wondering where people have seen good deals around such an expensive travel time? I enjoy being able to jump around multiple cities/countries to see more. Ex: thinking Budapest with trips to Vienna and Prague. Also contemplating Egypt since such a long flight deserves more time. Just eager to travel, so I’m not picky and will go almost anywhere!
Extra context: Dates: Dec 19-Jan 3 (with flexibility) Areas: Europe/Africa/Asia Departing airport: open to multiple on east coast 25 y/o female traveling solo Bonus points for FT <$900
mikew99x@reddit
There is no such thing as affordable Christmas travel.
While such a statement isn't categorically true, I hope that it at least sets your expectations appropriately! If you do luck out and find something between Christmas and New Year's that is within your budget, I would grab it without a second thought.
Oftenwrongs@reddit
Sure there is. Asian and other non christian countries.
anothercar@reddit
East Coast US? And you want to travel on the most expensive travel week of the year?
I think on that budget you’re looking at road trips, not plane trips.
Oftenwrongs@reddit
Many countries aren't Christian, and so it isn't expensive there.
000maw@reddit (OP)
Yes, east coast US. Not aiming for a two week roadtrip, and definitely wouldn’t want to spend $900 to see more of the US right now lol
savehoward@reddit
$575 is doable for your travel dates. Take Hisky roundtrip NY JFK to Henri Coanda Bucharest on your dates.
https://www.google.com/travel/flights/s/tTAL3cyyF19o2MKRA
The rest of the extra $300 left over you can make a circuit to Budapest, Berlin, Vienna, Prague, but that's easy.
There's also the adventuresome option of flying discount flight on Anima Air to Tel Aviv for $88, then take the bus to Elait, cross into Egypt, then a 5 hour bus to Cairo before returning to Bucharest on Tarom for $156, which also gives you the option of spending Christmas in Bethlehem.
But Egypt can easily be a month trip itself. As you have so little time, after Christmas in Bethlehem consider crossing into Jordan to see Wadi Rum, then Petra before returning to Tel Aviv for a flight to Athens and then Bucharest back to the US. If you make it to Petra, speak to the local Bedouin for homestay in Petra.
000maw@reddit (OP)
You are amazing thank you!! I love all of that
savehoward@reddit
Hope you have a fun time. And if you're the adventuresome traveler that i sense you are, I think you'll seriously consider Jordan as the non-Christmas destination to break up the intense holiday marketing. Be sure to see the Treasury from the top left. there is also a view from the top right, but the left side is higher and also where the option to overnight may be. The Jordanian officials don't let the public overnight in Petra, but the Bedouin are different and were in Petra thousands of years before the Jordanians. Before you enter Petra, go to the local store to get snacks for yourself plus a bag of top shelf hard candy individually wrapped. Being able to give a little sweet helps. The hard rock candy ensures they can't wolf them down too fast, plus hard candy doesn't melt.
https://theorangebackpack.nl/en/jordan/treasury-from-above-petra-map/
000maw@reddit (OP)
I appreciate it!! I may end up saving this area of the world for a non-solo trip for certain safety reasons, but am absolutely saving this!
savehoward@reddit
if your standard of safety is Egypt, then Jordan and Israel are very significantly safer than Egypt in crime, war, tourist traps, and sexual harassment.
thaisweetheart@reddit
Yeah that’s not going to happen! You can probably search for flights from the east coast to europe for <900 during that time though
000maw@reddit (OP)
Yes, Europe is much more likely for sure— only threw the others in after randomly finding a $900 ticket to Cairo in early December and holding out unlikely hope lol
thaisweetheart@reddit
you can look right now on google flights! Those cheap tickets for that time just don’t exist!
000maw@reddit (OP)
I’ve been looking for the past two months! Only posting to cheat a little bit. There are so many options to search and searching “Europe” only gives you certain results and was hoping to see what others have seen/done to possible save myself from my next 100 searches lol. I don’t mind where I go at all, just want to travel (:
thaisweetheart@reddit
Yeah unfortunately there is no cheat code. You could get to london for like $800 during that time from nyc but that was the cheapest I saw! It’s just an expensive time to travel which sucks!
Additional_Noise47@reddit
$900 for a multi-week trip? Including flights? Not going to happen.
000maw@reddit (OP)
No, just flight ticket price!
Additional_Noise47@reddit
Ah, then you should have plenty of options, but I would stick to Europe for the convenience of intercity trains. Germany would be lovely with the Christmas markets.
000maw@reddit (OP)
Very true that the trains would add convenience if I want any easy hope to leave the original city. I have thought about the markets in Germany!! I’ve kept those tickets on a tracker as well