Traveling has been our passion for years. Even before we could afford traveling to a lot of the places we had always dreamed of visiting, we always were keeping a pulse on what flights cost, so we could know what was a good deal, what was standard, and what was a ripoff. While each airport and country are unique and differ in price, we will break down areas in the world, based on trends we have studied for the last decade. All of these trends are from either LAX or SAN airports. This list is for general travel, but we have thrown in some of our thoughts that are surf related for those of you who surf. Everyone has different factors that influence where they want to travel. Ours are based on surfing, exploration, things to do outdoors, learning about different cultures, and of course affordability. Even if you’d pick an art museum over a hike in the jungle, this might help you evaluate where you go and how much you are willing to spend to get there.
North America/Caribbean/Central America– The more popular and bigger islands in the Caribbean are typically some of the cheapest countries to fly to from LAX/SAN. We flew to Puerto Rico for less than $200, Barbados, Cuba, Jamaica for less than $325, Haiti for $400. You can get to most of the Caribbean for much less than $500. Central America is usually in the $350-600 range depending on where you go. You can fly out of Tijuana for cheaper flights to Central America, but you’ll usually have a layover. Costa Rica and Guatemala tend to be the cheapest countries to fly to from here. Once you’re there, all of the countries from Mexico to Panama are really cheap to stay, with the exception of Costa Rica, which is still cheaper than here but not as cheap as everywhere else. No visas anywhere around here except for Cuba ($100), although in Honduras and El Salvador, they charge a small exit fee of around $10. If you’re a surfer, our Summer is the best time for Central America and the Winter is the best time for the Caribbean.
Eastern Asia-The islands/countries in the Northern Pacific Ocean and mainland Southeast Asia are usually very cheap to get to from LAX, and with the exception of Japan, very cheap to stay as well. It is not uncommon to find flights in the $400-500 range for these countries. We routinely see Japan, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, China, Malaysia, Cambodia and parts of Indonesia for around these prices. You can also find flights to India in this range as well. It is easy and very cheap to fly in between countries as well once in SE Asia, which is a huge bonus if you’re looking to see a couple countries. The downside to this area of the world is that, in our experience, this is where we are the most jet lagged. Out of all the regions of the world we have been to, this one takes the most time to acclimate your circadian rhythm. Asian airports are great for layovers too. China has a $140 visa for US citizens and a few of the countries in SE Asia have visas, but they are cheap and can be given upon entry. The Indian visa is about $100 per person and takes forever to fill out. I’m talking in terms of hours per person. India is well worth the trouble however. If you’re a surfer, Winter and Fall are the best times for most of these places, but be sure to check out the monsoon season for wherever you are planning on going. A lot of these countries get heavy rain for 4-6 months of the year, and usually, that is when the swell comes too. Pay special attention to India, Thailand and Malaysia which have different monsoon seasons on both of their coasts!
Europe– You can find good deals to lots of places in Europe as long as you don’t look in the Summer. Our favorite time for Europe is Fall, because prices drop and the swell starts pumping, but even if you’re not a surfer, the climate is great and the tourists have mostly left. Another bonus is traveling in between countries within Europe is cheap. With planes, trains and a small geography, you can get around Europe really easily. Prices are cheap in the Winter, but it gets really cold. The GBP and the euro typically are stronger than the USD, so Europe is one of the more expensive regions to stay when coming from the USA. If you’re a surfer, you can surf in the Mediterranean from late Fall through Winter. Same with the Atlantic, Summertime is mostly flat.
South America– South America is a mixed bag. Colombia is incredibly cheap to visit and to stay. We flew there for $300 earlier this year from SAN. Peru and Ecuador are fairly reasonably priced for flights and are very cheap to stay. Anywhere South or East of there is expensive. We actually just scored really good flights into Chile and out of Brazil for only $700, which is the best deal we have seen in a decade of watching. The average price we have seen over the years to Uruguay, Argentina and Chile is usually in the 900s. It is not cheap to stay in South South America too. Chile has a new airline that offers affordable flights domestically, to Peru, Argentina and Brazil. Up until a couple years ago, American citizens had to pay a reciprocity fee to enter Chile and Argentina for $160, and Brazil finally admits evisas which are $40 instead of the traditional $160. So our trip coming up would have cost us an additional $440 per person TIMES 5 if we had done it in 2016! Paraguay has expensive visas required for US tourists. Bolivia and Venezuela require visas as well. Timing is everything, that is why we have delayed coming to this part of the world for so long. Now is our chance. Better waves in the Southern Hemisphere Winter (May-Oct). Caribbean side of Venezuela and Colombia better from Nov-Mar.
Western/Central Asia– The Middle East and Central Asia are usually a little more expensive to fly to. We have seen cheap flights to Israel a few times, but most of the region is a little more costly. From India, you can get fairly cheap tickets to neighboring countries like Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Maldives if you are on extended holiday. Usually when we find cheap (under $600) flights to this region, the flight times are awful, 2-3 layovers, at least a full day of travel. It can be done on a budget, but you’ll spend a lot of time on the airplane. Each person travels differently, and this cost benefit analysis is not something we can do for you. We haven’t looked much into a lot of these countries, so there may be some cheaper countries towards the Middle East that are cheaper that we don’t know about. The Middle East can be expensive to stay. When we went to Qatar, the prices were slightly below the USD, but the USD was also historically high when we went.
Oceania/Australia– We typically find sales about once a year to the Cook Islands, New Zealand and Australia that are really cheap. We just scored tickets to the Gold Coast from LAX for $500, which is as low as they will ever get. They are usually around $800-$1,200, so not a cheap place to visit. Jetlag wasn’t too bad in New Zealand because it is almost a day ahead of California. Prices depend on the exchange rate. When we went to New Zealand, the USD was stronger, so our trip was cheaper than it would have been 5 years earlier. The Polynesian islands are never cheap to fly to, even from Australia or New Zealand. They are among the most beautiful places in the world but they are very expensive to visit. Tahiti is the most expensive place we have ever been to. Keep that in mind when looking into the South Pacific. Best time for waves are during our Summer/their Winter.
Africa– There is no cheap way to get to Africa from the West Coast of the USA. Travel between countries within Africa is expensive too. When we were in South Africa, we looked at a flight to neighboring Mozambique and it was half of the price that our ticket to South Africa was. Africa generally is a cheap place to stay, but getting there will take a lot of time and cost quite a bit of money. Many of the African countries require a visa and the infrastructure is pretty poor in a lot of the countries. After years of looking at flights to countries all over Africa, we have come to the realization that its pretty difficult to find anything relatively affordable and the budget airlines that are the most affordable are apparently pretty bad. All of the African locals I have talked to won’t even fly them, despite them being hundreds of dollars cheaper. So much unexplored surf potential in Africa. Waves year round.
Antarctica– When I first started looking at visiting Antarctica, I thought that I was dyslexic. I thought I was imagining a few 0s at the end of the quotes. Visiting Antarctica is not only a journey, its more intimidating financially than buying a house! The cruises only run from Argentina and Chile during the Summer months (Nov-Mar) and they cost around $10,000 per person! I have seen “great deals” for only $5,000 per person! This doesn’t take into account that you have to fly to the tip of South America, which is not cheap either. I spoke to about 10 people that went to Antarctica and they all told me the same thing. Its definitely a once in a lifetime trip and they typically don’t accept children younger than teenagers, which makes sense. It would be pretty rad to be at the end of the earth, but I will have to wait a few years and win the lottery before that is likely to happen!
