Spending the Christmas and New Year's holiday weeks with family and friends is the longstanding tradition in most of the Western world, but those based in the colder northern climates are looking for alternatives. After a couple decades of being bundled up, many start to wonder if there is another way to spend the holidays.

Those with the resources have been heading to Hawaii for Christmas for a long time, but there are actually dozens of countries and islands with similar tropical climates around the world, and most of them are far cheaper, at least once you get there. Below is a list of nearly every major tourist destination that combines warm weather and low prices during the weeks around Christmas and New Year's.

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If you have your summer vacation in June then you are in pretty good shape. Since most of Europe's wealthier office workers have their holidays confined to July and August, those who are able to travel in June will find smaller crowds and better deals in most places. The best places to visit in June are spread all over the northern hemisphere, and many of them are cheap.

Planning in advance is still key, as demand from Americans and Canadians will book the best hotels at the best rates, but you do have more flexibility in June. We have listed 26 places around the world that all have fantastic June weather as well as reasonably priced accommodations once you arrive. Click to read more

Anyone looking for an affordable destination with very good weather during the month of May will be happy to know that the list of possibilities is long. There are fascinating cities in most regions of the world that are worth a look, as well as many affordable beach areas for those looking to relax in the sun. Many people are just interested in where is it hot in May, and the list below will answer that question as well.

The list below is broken down by region to help you narrow the choices of holiday destinations in May more efficiently, and there are also links to pages with information about the cheapest beach destinations in the Caribbean and in Europe, which both are loaded with bargains this time of year. Of course for each city mentioned there are plenty of smaller cities nearby that are usually even cheaper, so hopefully this gives you some ideas.

For each destination you'll notice that we include prices for 3-star and 4-star hotels during the month. These prices are the lowest rates we could find for well-reviewed and well-located hotels in those areas, including all taxes and fees. You'll notice that in resort areas there is often a huge difference between 3-star and 4-star hotels, while in cities the difference in price is usually small.

Best destinations during COVID-19

As we all know, there is a global pandemic going on still in early 2021. Many countries are still closed to outsiders, but a surprising number are still open for visitors.

>>>Best destinations for Americans and Canadians during the COVID pandemic

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Now that we are fully in the COVID-19 era and nearly all global travel has shut down at the moment, it's given us time to consider what might be next for the travel industry. As horrible as the lost lives are, there will be a point when people will not only be able to travel again, but also extremely anxious to do so.

This break in conventional travel has given me a chance to think a lot about what might be next, and some of it seems like it might actually be an enjoyable break from visiting big cities or spending time on cruise ships, which seem unlikely to be accepting passengers at all for the foreseeable future. Click to read more

For most of the year we help people find destinations with “great weather” and that usually means that it's warmer there than where you live. But more of us are living in places with scorching summers that never seem to end, and the list below is for those of us looking for a place to cool off rather than warm up.

We've got recommendations for places around the world, going from west to east starting in Alaska, so there should be a few for you no matter where you are starting from. The destinations below also range from quite cheap to extremely expensive, so hopefully each of us can find something suitable for our budget and travel style. Click to read more

Trying to find the absolute cheapest airfare for a trip you are planning is like playing a game that feels too easy to lose. Now in this era of ‘big data' where many companies are able to check airfares on every route every day to calculate the cheapest possible time to buy, it's finally a bit easier.

Only a few years ago the advice was often to buy between 4 and 6 weeks out, but things have changed and it really depends on where you are going. As you'll see in the 2019 update below, the window for buying the cheapest fares starts earlier these days and buying about 4 months out often leads to the best deals. We've summarized a variety of studies below and with a quick scan you should be able to get some insight on when to buy and when to wait. Click to read more

Like many of my friends, I'm somehow addicted to “House Hunters International.” As a travel writer who has lived in many foreign countries myself and visited about 100, I find the show even more relatable than most people do. But in some weird ways the show seems to exist in its own universe where different rules apply.

As a HHI fan who also has access to the internet, of course I've researched and read that the whole premise is fake. I realize that House Hunters are only asked to apply AFTER they have signed a lease or contract for a new place abroad, and that the two fake-out options are sometimes not even on the market. Still, I love the show and I wonder how many other people find some of the things below to be as odd as I do? Click to read more

Planning a holiday for one person is a task all its own, but planning a vacation for two people, can at times, be a test of wills. To help make the first step of vacation planning a little easier, we've complied a list of romantic holiday ideas for couples. These ideas cover four major points in travel -nature, culture, relaxation, and adventure. They also span the globe, meaning that if you like the idea of taking a romantic vacation every year to someplace new, there are plenty of choices to consider.

Below you'll find a list of romantic holiday ideas that range from eco-resorts in Costa Rica to the famed and always popular Paris.

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If you are tired of all-inclusive Caribbean holidays or even marching around historic European cities, you are not alone. After a few vacations like these, the beaches and even the cathedrals all start to look alike. So where else can you go?

Experienced travelers are often looking for something different so we decided to put together our list of the most unusual (and also some of the most desirable) vacation destinations around the world. If you look elsewhere for “unusual destinations” you'll typically find weird, obscure, and remote places that may be interesting to read about for a couple minutes, but you'd never want to go to any of them. Our list is packed with some of the best and most enjoyable places to go in the world that also are very unique. And we also tell you the best way to reach each of them. Click to read more

There are many great reasons to travel by yourself, although many of us do it primarily because we can't find companions to join us on trips that last weeks or months or years. Since 2010 I've been running travel websites for a living and I've literally spent about six of those years traveling and living in places around the world. Solo travel chose me rather than the other way around, and somehow I'm an accidental expert on the subject.

Finding the best places to go as a solo traveler can be tricky at first. Other articles I've seen simply list places the author enjoys and recommends that you go solo for that reason alone. In the article below I describe many different types of places that can be good choices for solo travelers along with why. I think and hope that people will find it useful and at least give you some strategies for what to look for and what to avoid on solo trips. Click to read more