When you graduate, there’s a good chance that you want to take a vacation. Fresh out of school, you probably don’t want to break the bank. Depending on how you are willing to spend will be a determining factor in where you might want to go. The list will start with the cheapest destinations (most likely) and work its way to more expensive. Here is the list of the best affordable graduation trips in 2021.
Coming off of such a year as 2020, you’re going to want to take trip you’re going to remember for years to come without breaking the bank in the mean time.
The key to making your trip less expensive is to be flexible with your dates. Flights can vary in price by hundreds of dollars by being just one day off. Play with the dates and look for the cheapest flights and plan your trip for those days. Another option to make your trip cheaper is to drive. Yes, driving can be extremely monotonous but if you’re going with friends, the road trip will probably become one of your better memories of your vacation.
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas has a large international airport that acts as a major hub in the airline world which makes the flights there pretty affordable. With the Las Vegas strip being a world-renown tourist destination, Las Vegas has ample choices for places to stay. There are over 110 hotels in Las Vegas with over 100,000 hotel rooms, so you have plenty of options.
If you are considering going to Las Vegas, make sure you know what type of scene you are looking for. If you are into the party scene, you definitely chose a great destination. Las Vegas has some of the best clubs in the world. There are 136 casinos in Las Vegas making it the casino capital of the United States and the second-largest concentration of casinos in the world only after Macau. You could also find yourself at one of the world-famous pool parties. There are plenty of fun events to go to in Las Vegas, too, so make sure you look into the events happening on the days you will be there.
If you aren’t into the party scene, there are still many things to see and do in Las Vegas. You could go to the Adventure Dome Theme Park which is a 5-acre indoor theme park near Circus Circus. Shark Reef Aquarium is another excellent activity. Other things to see would be the Gondola Ride at the Venetian, any Las Vegas show, Madame Tussauds, and the roller coaster in New Your New York Hotel.
San Diego and Los Angeles, California
San Diego is one of the best vacation destinations in the USA. If you live near a major airport or are willing to drive to a major airport, you should be able to find a decent flight to San Diego or Los Angeles. San Diego and Los Angeles are only a two-hour drive from each other so you can easily hit both cities if you want to. You can rent a car, take a bus, or take the train to travel to the other city.
Los Angeles is known around the world for film and celebrities. If you go to Los Angeles one of the main attractions is obviously Disneyland but you should also consider Universal Studios. If you want a great photo op you need to go to the Griffith Observatory to get an incredible view of Los Angeles.
Hollywood Boulevard is also a popular tourist attraction you should consider. Santa Monica Pier is a boardwalk that has a small amusement park and gives you excellent views of the mountains, the city, and the ocean.
San Diego has an abundance of activities for you to enjoy. The San Diego Zoo is one of the most famous zoos in the USA so you should definitely consider taking a visit there. Sea World is another great attraction you could spend the whole day at. If you are into museums, take the day and go to the USS Midway Museum which is a naval aircraft carrier transformed into a military museum. Something you could do every day of your trip is to go to the beach. Make sure to check out the beautiful La Jolla Cove.
Denver, Colorado
Make your way to Denver for a mountain getaway. Denver is one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States which also means there are plenty of things to see and do.
Walk downtown for a taste of the city and hit the local restaurants and bars along the way. You could go to a Rockies game too. The beauty of Denver is its proximity to the mountains. Head to the mountains for the scenery and the abundance of activities.
If you head to any ski resort during the off-season, you can score cheap condos within the resort. The area around Silverthorne is an excellent area to be in because it is close to Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, Keystone, and Frisco.
Rent a boat or go kayaking in the Dillion Reservoir or just find one of the thousands of mountain trails around the area. Arapahoe Basin is a ski resort not too far away that is open until early June if you plan to be in the area before then. No matter where you go in the mountains, there is always something to do.
Cancun, Mexico
Cancun might have the cheapest flights for a destination outside of the United States. Cancun is known for its pristine beaches and the large resorts concentrated in the area. You can typically find some of the least expensive all-inclusive resorts around Cancun.
You can have your resort call you a taxi and you can go check out cenotes or Mayan ruins. If you are feeling really adventurous you can take a day tour to the Mayan temple of Chichen Itza which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You could also spend your entire trip relaxing on the beach.
Montego Bay, Jamaica
Montego Bay is where most people fly to when they want a beach vacation in Jamaica. There are plenty of resorts to choose from in the northern half of Jamaica.
The airport offers taxis and shuttles to most of the resorts so you can just relax from the time you touch down in Jamaica. The resorts are often times all-inclusive so if you want an all-inclusive be sure to double-check your search criteria.
There are things to do off of the resort too if you get bored. The Luminous Lagoon is a unique area of one of the bays in Montego Bay where micro-organisms will light up the water if swam in or disturbed. You could also take a trip to Rick’s Café which world renown for the cliffs it sits and the cliff jumping that comes with it. You can also take a day tour of the Blue Hole and Dunn’s River Falls. Regardless of what you do in Jamaica, you’re bound to have a great time.
Anchorage, Alaska
Alaska is a destination that people oftentimes overlook even though everyone wants to go there “eventually”. A graduation trip would be an excellent time to go explore the Alaskan wilderness.
Flights to Anchorage are typically around $400 which is pretty good considering how far away it actually is. You can explore Anchorage for a few days then venture off to other parts of Alaska.
Take a boat tour to the fjords and go whale, sea otter, sea lion, and puffin watching as well as seeing massive glaciers. You can also take the train from Anchorage to Denali National Park. Denali boasts 6 million acres of pristine wildlife with North America’s largest mountain standing majestically in the middle. There are plenty of lodges and resorts that you can call home base during your Alaskan adventure.
Europe (hear me out)
If you book at least a couple of months ahead of time and your dates are flexible, you can score flights to Europe for under $500. Many people probably think it’s crazy to imagine flights to Europe for under $500. Use the “Explore” function on Google Flights to see which cities in Europe offer the cheapest flights. London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, and Copenhagen have been some of the major European airport hubs offering the best deals to and from the United States.
Keep an open mind when you’re planning a graduation trip. If you can get a flight to Europe for under $500, you should definitely consider taking advantage of it especially if you have never been across the pond before. Any major European city will have hostels you can stay in for reasonable prices. You can do a trip to Europe for under $1000 if you know how to live frugally.
One mistake a lot of people make when they are planning a trip to Europe is they try to see too many things in a short amount of time (I was like this for my first stint in Europe). If you only have a week to explore, it is better to get a good taste for one or two cities than to go city hopping nearly every day. A European vacation does not have to be a “once in a lifetime” trip. You can go back!
Overall, if you decide to go on a graduation trip, just make sure to do your research. You can save hundreds of dollars if you just put some time into planning your trip. No matter where you go I’m sure you’ll have a fantastic time.