Best budget vacations are in Asia or Latin America.
Most of the people I speak to in US have this believe that traveling abroad is extremely expensive. They use it as an excuse not to go and go instead to Florida, Las Vegas, Hawaii, etc. They are not realizing that they likely spend more on these trips than they would in many other countries. Yes, Japan, Australia, most of western and northern Europe and a handful of other countries are not cheap to go on vacation. But traveling to the most Asian or Latin American countries will cost you less than in US. Especially if you are not into luxury and can be happy with budget accommodation, then it will cost MUCH less!
The higher cost of plain ticket to get to the different continent is easily offset by savings on hotels. For example, decent hotel in Bangkok will cost around $35 (could be as little as $10 for a room with air-con and TV if you are not fuzzy). In US it will be $100 or more. Or much more. So for a 10-days vacation you are saving AT LEAST $650 in hotel cost alone! Food, attractions and everything else is a fraction of what you'll pay in the US too!
Most of Asian and Latin American countries are safe and tourist-friendly. For a budget vacations, I highly recommend Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Peru, Costa Rica (outside of San Juan).
While traveling in these countries, you'll get a lot of unforgettable and unique experiences you just can't get in US. Not to mention the moral satisfaction of being able to casually and nonchalantly drop various cultural references from your time abroad in exotic places.
If you are still are not convinced, let me give one last point. Most of my brightest and best memories in life are from traveling to other countries. I hope you could experience them too.
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