Have The Travel Bug?

#1 Set up alerts for cheap flights

You know the old saying “you make your own luck”? Well it’s certainly true when applied to grabbing the best travel deals. Subscribe to the Airfare Watchdog newsletter to get the best flights from airports near you. If your schedule is flexible you’ll have an even better chance to score some amazing deals!

Other tips: Set up a google alert for cheap flights for the destination you’re interested in visiting ie: “cheap flights to Japan”. You can also subscribe to the subreddit r/travel which posts last-minute travel deals frequently.

#2 Consider using AirBNB while traveling

Making travel affordable doesn’t mean you have to stay in hostels and 1-star motels. Many AirBNB accommodations are just as nice or even better than local hotels. Plus, with AirBNB you’re staying in real neighborhoods, so you get a more authentic slice of life as a local than you would at a hotel.

#3 Subscribe to an international subscription box

Limited funds? One of the best ways to travel around the world is in the comfort of your own home. Subscribe to a service like Universal Yums and you’ll receive a box of snacks and candies from a different country each month.

Other tips: Inside every box of Universal Yums, you’ll receive an informational booklet packed with trivia about the country, fun facts, and a music playlist to stream online. It’s a great way to immerse yourself fully in the country and get a taste of the region before you visit it yourself!

#4 Get out in the neighborhood!

If you live near or in a major city, chances are there’s a few different neighborhoods to visit that have large pockets of immigrants. Traveling is all about putting yourself in situations outside of your comfort zone, and that doesn’t have to be 7,000 miles away. Grab some authentic Mexican food, real Vietnamese pho, or a dish of homemade Italian pasta in a hidden pocket of your hometown. Even if you can’t make it around the world, you can always travel in your own backyard!

Other tips: Stumped on where to start? Look for ethnic grocery stores near you, and you’ll be sure to find a community surrounding the store for you to explore!

#5 Read!

Even if you can’t travel at the moment, you can almost certainly go to your local library and pick up a free book. If you’re looking for a lighter read, try Susan Jane Gilman’s Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven, a memoir about visiting communist China soon after it opened its borders. If you want a more immersive novel, try Katherine Boo’s Behind the Beautiful Forevers, a non-fiction novel about a modern-day slum in Mumbai.

#6 Start learning a new language!

It’s always a good idea to learn a few basic phrases before traveling to a new country. Using an app such as Duolingo is a fun, free, and easy way to learn a foreign language. You can set the amount of time you want to spend every day learning a new language, starting at 5 minutes a day (we just found your new activity during bathroom breaks!)

Other tips: On Duolingo, you can learn 21 different languages, from Spanish to French to Russian, and even Swahili!