Adventure, Cover Stories, Travel

See the World — at 50% Off!

Wed, Nov 4, 2009

The economy is still a mess — but for exotic locales in even worse financial straits, there’s never been a better time to go.

The economy is still a mess — but for exotic locales in even worse financial straits, there’s never been a better time to go.

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by Charles Coxe, Sean Cunningham, Nicole Cusick, James A. Frank, Karin Krisher, Sarah Rose, Nate Storey, Dacus Thompson, and Nora Zelevansky

The economic sky is falling! Run for the hills! It may be the worst of times for your financial sanity, but, counterintuitively, it may just be the best time in recent memory to drain that bank account and head for that dream vacation spot you’ve had on your life list. Not only are the local economies in certain exotic destinations suffering even worse than our own, but the collapse of our economy — and the resulting evaporation of Americans’ communal desire to burn their hard-earned cash on such frivolous pursuits as life-changing experiences — has made their high-end hotels, restaurants, and outfitters that much more desperate for any tourist dollar they can wring from the economic stone.

Whether you personally choose to see it as doing your duty to help out a desperate tourism industry in a beautiful destination or simply doing your capitalistic best to profit from a bad situation, it doesn’t matter — either way, there are great deals to be had. We combed our own personal favorite spots for the top bargains. Here are the eight places where you’ll get the most bang for your adventurous buck.

1. Reykjavik, Iceland

2. Istanbul, Turkey

3. Sayulita, Mexico

4. Dalat, Vietnam

5. Galway, Ireland

6. Darwin, Australia

7. Buenos Aires, Argentina

8. Hana, Maui

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