The following is a guest post by Angie Picardo from NerdWallet. If you are interested in guest posting at Club Thrifty, please see our guest posting guidelines.

There is so much information online today for researching travel destinations that it’s not too difficult for you to make excellent vacation choices on a budget. The places you can go — without breaking the bank — may surprise you.

But where do you start? First, how you search makes a big difference, and looking at the climate and atmosphere of a place is a good way to start your research. For example, YouTube has many videos made by travelers so you can get an idea of what it is like to visit many places.

Next, really do your research — there are some great travel deals out there. A good travel tip for those looking for bargains on airfare is setting an alert for the lowest fares using sites like Kayak and Air Watch Dog. You can also search for air fares using Google Flight, which offers a basic search function covering many airlines for fare comparisons. Tuesday afternoons have been pinpointed by some studies as the best day to buy cheap airline tickets because it is the day of the week when the most seats are available. Traveling on a Wednesday or Saturday can also be cheaper. Flexibility with days and times also can reduce fares. For example, early morning and late night flights are often better deals, and traveling on flights with stopovers or plane changes can reduce costs too, though they are less convenient. In addition, shopping for deals far in advance and looking for discounted hotel and flight packages can help also. Of course, traveling lightly is cheaper, because some airlines try to gouge passengers that carry extra or overweight bags.

Fun Fact: For international flights you could try flying as a courier for a package that requires a human attendant. These discounted, or even free flights, are generally available only for one person though. There are courier agencies to sign up with and you can try contact airlines directly. In addition, there are many volunteer programs that allow you to travel for little to no money.

Without further ado, here are some beautiful travel destinations that you may be able to check off your bucket list without breaking the bank! [Read more...]