Best value destinations for 2016

Tips & articles

Bagging a good deal on the road can be almost as thrilling as the trip itself, no matter what your travel budget.

Make your hard-earned cash go further with our essential annual hot-list of where to go for wallet-friendly wandering, whether you’re hunting for a bargain or in search of old-school cheapness. Splurgers, look elsewhere.

1. New Mexico

Mountain biking in New Mexico. Image by amygdala_imagery / Lonely Planet

Looking for a beautiful, affordable, active, foodie corner of America’s southwest?  Look no further. New Mexico powers your budget further. Dry, sunny weather is a near constant. Albuquerque’s Breaking Bad sights can be explored for the price of a trolley ride and washed down with a cheap eat from a hole-in-the-wall taqueria. Elsewhere, the winter sports are good and cheap and the outdoors is outstanding (and free): hiking in Alpine forests, petroglyph sites to track down and free wild hot springs. Given the richness of attractions all found within one state, New Mexico offers value from a time as well as monetary perspective.

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