By the time Easter rolls around, usually in March or as late as mid April, everybody who lives in the north is so sick of the cold that they are dreaming of spending a week on a warm beach. Fortunately, there are warm beaches all over the Tropics, and many of them are very affordable even during peak travel weeks such as Easter and Spring Break.

These days many universities and schools schedule their Spring Break on different weeks, mostly focusing on the middle of March. The second and third full weeks of March tend to be the most popular and the destinations listed below will usually be most crowded during those weeks. Click to read more

Since most of Europe is so far from the equator, most of the famous cities are still a bit chilly in April. Still, April can be one of the best months of the year to visit the busiest and most popular cities here. Temperatures are warm enough for enjoyable sightseeing, yet the crowd sizes are much smaller than you'll see starting in May and June.

Those looking for a warm-weather destination in April should be thinking about Asia or the Caribbean. Even so, Europe (more or less) does have a couple places warm enough for a bit of April sunbathing, and those are listed on top. Click to read more

April is a wonderful month for a trip to Asia since you have so many great choices. It's still dry in southeast Asia, even if it's extremely hot, and April is warm enough to visit China or some of the other places a bit farther from the equator.

This is also one of the best months of the year for travel bargains since it's low season in the beach areas as well as the bigger cities. April is also the first month of the year when Bali isn't in its rainy season, so you can choose from nearly every good Asia destination and save money in the process.

Click to read more

April is the perfect month for cheap vacations in much of the world because most people prefer tropical holidays in the months ending in March, so you can still find perfect weather combined with lower hotel prices in many fantastic destinations. The best places to visit in April are spread around the world, so no one is too far from a great choice.

Much of Latin America has ideal weather this month, while April is (weirdly) the single hottest month in most of Southeast Asia, so that budget-traveler hot spot is really better avoided until autumn.

Those looking for a cheap beach vacation will have many really good options because even places with scorching weather can be quite bearable if all you are doing is sitting under an oversized umbrella sipping cocktails all day long, with breezes always rolling in. Click to read more

March is the last great month of the high season in southern Asia, but still a bit too cold for the northern countries such as China, Japan, and South Korea. Still, as you'll see on the list below, you've got a lot of excellent choices, including a few amazing cities and some fantastic beach areas.

One great thing about March is that it's sort of an in-between season month, so you can get cheap flights in and cheap hotels in many places as well. The list below contains many beach destinations and quite a few very interesting cultural destinations as well. Mixing a couple from each category can make for an even more memorable trip. Click to read more

If you are coming to Europe in March you are obviously not looking for sunbathing destinations. Still, many of Europe's best and most popular cities have surprisingly decent weather in March, so it can be an excellent time for a city visit. More good news is that most of southern Europe is mostly dry in March, so a light jacket or sweater is probably all you'll need most of the time.

If you are looking for a warm-weather destination in March you should probably think about Asia or perhaps the Caribbean. As long as you don't need it to be actually hot, the Canary Islands are warm and pleasant enough that some people do sunbathe in March, so it's the first place on the list below. Click to read more

When it comes to city passes and travel cards, it's usually fairly easy to figure out whether they would be worth it for you or not. For things like the Paris Pass or London Pass, they have a list of the most popular attractions and how much they cost, right there for you to see. The Swiss Travel Pass, however, is shrouded in mystery, or at least it was until I spent several days tracking down all of the prices and benefits.

A great many of the visitors and commenters on my popular page about where to go in Switzerland on a short visit are wondering whether the Swiss Travel Pass is a good deal. Embarrassingly, I've always had to answer that I found the pass too confusing to confidently advise people on. Now that has all changed, after literally days of research. Click to read more

The month of March is one of the better ones on the calendar for budget travelers since it's well before the summer season in the Northern Hemisphere and the winter crowds in the tropical areas are starting to thin out at the same time. The best places to visit in March are where you might expect, and in Latin America and Asia you can find perfect weather with off-peak hotel prices and reasonable crowds.

For those starting in North America or Europe you'll find that most of these places will require a fairly long flight to reach, but that's the price you pay for warm weather this time of year, and those staying for at least two weeks can easily justify the airfare by the cheap prices they pay once they have arrived. Click to read more

As of late 2019 there are around 400 all-inclusive resorts spread around the Caribbean, with more being constructed every year. More than 130 of those are in the Dominican Republic, with nearly 60 others in Jamaica. The Cancun/Playa del Carmen/Cozumel area has more than 130, and the rest are spread among other islands. When researching Caribbean vacations, you'll find the cheapest all-inclusive deals are clearly on the islands with the most resorts.

With so much competition it's getting more clear that the Dominican Republic is the cheap vacations value leader and the best choice for most people. The Punta Cana area is home to dozens of newer resorts that have a thousand or more room each, and the new airport and new highways make it the easiest and most efficient place to reach as well. But those looking for something smaller and more exclusive also have choices, so we track all of the islands that have more than a few all-inclusive resorts. In other words, the best all-inclusive resorts are often on islands with only a dozen or so choices. Click to read more

Extremely popular with both North Americans and Europeans during the winter months, the Caribbean is filled with islands and destinations that range from cheap & basic to posh & exclusive. You'll also find islands where English dominates, but also where Spanish, French, or Dutch are far more common.

This list has been totally updated for 2020 and nearly all islands have now recovered from the devastating 2017 hurricanes Irma and Maria. Puerto Rico is mostly back open for business, as most of the hotels have reopened. The Virgin Islands (US and British) remain the hardest hit as very few of the cheaper hotels and resorts have reopened as of late 2019.

Ranking Caribbean islands and destinations by price is challenging for a variety of reasons, so we simplified it by including only a cheaper 3-star hotel room for a week and two cheap flights from New York City. Generally speaking, islands with cheaper hotels will also have cheaper meals and diving etc.

Click to read more