There are a lot of badly researched articles out there on finding vacation bargains, so I try to highlight the ones based on solid research and data. This article on the most affordable destinations uses booking info supplied by Expedia to highlight the best hotel values in the USA and abroad, based on average booking prices. For the former it’s mostly small or unpopular places, but the international spots are a different story. The top five are Salvador (Brazil), Guadalajara, Bogota, Merida (Mexico), and Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon. Nomad faves Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur also made the list.

Reserved Flight Seats Require $ or Patience

Hopefully you’ve learned to avoid the “Basic Economy” fares that make your legacy airline ticket as no-frills as one on Spirit or Ryanair. Unfortunately, even if you buy a regular economy ticket, the legacy airlines are all over the map on if or when you can pick your seat for free, even if you’re willing to sit in the back of the plane. With AA/BA, United/Turkish, and Delta/KLM I’ve had a flight series where I could pick the first leg’s seat upon booking, but had to pay on the longer flight unless I was willing to wait until check-in 24 hours before departure. On this latest KLM one I held off and got a good seat for today, but it’s yet another source of stress from an industry that keeps piling on more. Do some research so you don’t pay up in advance if the plane is half full, but perhaps pony up again to avoid a middle seat for 12 hours on a full flight.

Where Tourism is Growing the Fastest

Mexico had a record tourism year in 2025 thanks to all those Canadians bypassing their southern neighbor, but some other destinations did even better in terms of increases. According to this article from the BBC using UN data, Brazil, Bhutan, and Egypt were the big winners last year for percentage upticks, increasing 37%, 30%, and 20% respectively. A weak currency and increased flight capacity helped Brazil, while the museum we’ve been waiting 20 years for finally opened in North Africa: the Grand Egyptian Museum near the pyramids of Giza. The two others with big jumps were the Seychelles and Ethiopia. See the link for details.

High Costs, High Frustration at Disney Parks

I would imagine the Venn diagram connection between Nomadico readers and “Disney Parks lovers” is a very small convergence, but I’m still linking to this insane article from Frommer’s about how hard it is to be a non-rich person doing a Disney World vacation just so you can feel smug about avoiding Orlando if you’d like. If nothing else, it makes every other kind of vacation in the world that you could take look like a bargain. (Unless you’re cruising to Antarctica or going on an African safari maybe.)

A weekly newsletter with four quick bites, edited by Tim Leffel, author of A Better Life for Half the Price and The World’s Cheapest Destinations. See past editions here, where your like-minded friends can subscribe and join you.