Strapped for cash? Take a “Fakecation”
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Now more than ever you’re lusting after a vacation that will take your mind off all the gloom and doom in the news. The trouble is you just can’t afford it. But exotic travel doesn’t have to be expensive. That is if you’re willing to suspend disbelief and consider a variety of travel alternatives that can stand-in for the real thing. There are some real deals on the fake deal.
If you want to go to Spain, fake yourself out with St. Augustine, Florida.
(bronayur)
You’d like to be baking in the sun off the coast of Spain in oversized sunglasses which reflect the villas lining the beach, a glass of sangria in hand. Go to St. Augustine Florida instead. The minute you feel those rays bearing down on you, you’ll be glad you got away and the feel of the place will quickly transport you to another time and place. Since the Spaniards were the first explorers to set foot in the US, it only makes sense that the oldest US city’s got that distinct flair; it was settled on the heels of Juan Ponce de Leon’s 1513 landing.
Why you will be transported: The balconies overlooking narrow streets in the Old City smack of Barcelona. Stop by the whitewashed Basilica of St. Augustine, a great example of old-school Spanish Colonial architecture. Grab a pint at the ancient Taberna de Gallo, where you can listen to Spanish folk tunes by torch or candlelight-this place is so staunchly old school that they’ve shunned electricity, too. If it is the posh beaches that you still dream of, there are plenty to go around in the nearby national parks, which you can get into for just $6. For a more close-up and personal encounter with Spanish history, check out the ghost tours, including the Ghost of the Matanzas boat tours.
All that and you’ll also get: A sip from the very Fountain of Youth the Ponce de Leon was looking for when he set out on his expedition. Oh, of course it’s here, in an orange grove with men in tights.
How much you’ll save: Buckets. Hotel rooms are very reasonable, as are the things to do. You’ll save many hundreds on the air ticket alone.
http://www.historicstaugustine.com
If you want to go to Paris, fake yourself out with Quebec City.
An elegant French city is so just magical, especially when its prize is rich, decadent food. You’ll eat just as well as you would in Paris in the bejeweled, second largest French-speaking city in the world-and it’s not even in France.
Why you’ll feel transported: Sometimes the best part of traveling to another country is not understanding a thing, making up your own back story and marveling at being a complete outsider. You’ll find plenty of that in Quebec City, where over 95 percent of people are originally from France, and most speak French as their first language. The skyline of the Old City is marked by the opulent Le Chateau Frontenac. (Though it looks like a fairytale castle, you can stay there, for a price.) Check out the pristine old chapel at the Musee de la Civilisation , which is a generally good starting point for making sense of it all. Get lost in the narrow, charming St-Jean-Baptiste neighborhood. Still, you can’t die without seeing the Eiffel Tower, so check the Paris Grill for a replica of the real thing. All that and you’ll also get: Boites à chansons, the wonderful Celtic-influenced Québécois folk music.
How much you’ll save: The main savings will be on airfare. It’s especially cheap to fly into Maine, New Hampshire, or New York and rent a car or take the train the rest of the way in.
If you want to go to Japan, fake yourself out with Hawaii.
There aren’t many places in the world that can stand in for Japan. Japan’s culture is simultaneously both ancient and bleeding edge modern which is one reason it remains an otherworldly fascination for so many people. But Hawaii can help you understand much about Japan without your having to dive headfirst into that culture.
Why you will feel transported:
Hawaiian language is peppered with Japanese words directly lifted from the diaspora. (Have some anpan, a Japanese sweet red bean treat or musubi, a rice ball “sandwich.”) In June, go to a traditional matsuri festival, a unifying summer celebration of identity for places, large and small, all over Japan. The state is dotted with Japanese religious shrines, including Byodo-in, a Buddhist temple which is a recreation of one in Japan, with a serene 12-foot bronze Buddha. Also check out Shirokiya, a Japanese department store in Honolulu that can really make you feel like you’re a part of the everyday in Japan and not a tourist. Go late in the day to pick up that days fresh sushi at half price, just as the Japanese do in Japan. Or pick up the latest consumer electronics, straight outta Akihabara.
All that and you’ll also get: The stunning, lush natural landscape of Hawaii.
How much you’ll save: Tourism is way down in Hawaii so there are lots of bargains to be had. Stay away from the big resorts and rent a condo with a group of friends. Shop for groceries at Costco and cook at home. Spend your days at the beach or in the free public parts. Do these things and a vacation in Honolulu can be almost as inexpensive as staying at home.
The excellent tourism site www.gohawaii.com includes videos and searchable databases for each island.
If you want to take a trip around the world, settle for a weekend in Las Vegas.
(renny67)
Each of the unreal casino-states offers its own charming brand of escapism.
Why you will feel transported: At the Venetian, you can enjoy lunch al fresco at a replica of St. Marks Square or take a ride on a gondola. Paris has its own versions of the Eiffel Tower and the Arc De Triomphe along with an approximation of European café culture. It’s even possible to get an authentic New York deli sandwich at New York New York. Monte Carlo attempts the haute glitz of a real Monaco city-state, minus the yachts. If you can’t get to the pyramids and great Sphinx, you’ll might can be easily fooled at the Luxor, a famed larger than larger-than life Egyptian-themed casino. Another thought: If you don’t sleep for the entire weekend, which is very possible, you will even feel like the vacation is much longer than it really was…
All that and you’ll also get: To either double or lose your life savings in your spare time.
How much you’ll save: Thousands, and a few months of vacation time.
In conclusion, save the right to take the trip of your dreams for the moment you lose your job. Hey, there’s never been a better time to remind yourself why it’s great to be alive.
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27 Comments so far
leave a commentI’m sorry but your article is very interesting but incorrect. Quebec is far from being the second largest french speaking city in the world. There is Montreal and Laval before, in the same province though.
So, lemme get this straight:
I want to go to Tokyo, a city of gleaming towers and electric nights, and instead, I should go to Hawaii, a noted tourist trap with very few tall buildings and miles of beaches? This doesn’t add.
Going to Las Vegas is NEVER a good idea, money wise.
And really, if you want to go to Spain, either go to Spain, or put it in the someday/maybe file, and go someplace more interesting and cheaper now, like Latin or South America.
Considering that the British Pound Sterling is currently trading below $1.40 per, and the UK is priced for about $1.80-$2.00, I think the UK is a great deal, especially if you can find a good flight (if you live in DC, NYC, or Chicago, you can find a great flight to Heathrow).
Here’s another worthwhile tip: If you want to go to Paris, go to Paris. Get a flight, get an apartment with a kitchen, or stay in a hostel. Eat pastries for breakfast. Make picnics for lunches. Cook in most nights. Instead of going to this checklist destination or that museum, explore the city like a flaneur, walk around and meet people. Get the real, modern Paris. Have a picnic in the Parc Champ du Mars and stare at the Eiffel Tower. Walk the Champs-Elysee and look at the Arc d Triomphe. Etc, etc.
I’m not saying a fakation is a terrible idea, I’m just saying most things ersatz are genuinely ersatz. Go for value, not for cheap.
PS- the Euro is trading <$1.29 per. And most of Europe is priced for $1.35-$1.40. Not the discount the UK is, but the Eurozone is currently on a small sale too.
wow. this article sucks
“You’ll find plenty of that in Quebec City, where over 95 percent of people are originally from France,”
Uuuh, maybe if you look back to the 17th/18th century, sure, I’ll buy that. But to claim that 95% of quebecors -today- are French, you would be sorely mistaken.
Also, Québec isn’t similar to Paris at all… sure, it’s french, but it has its own culture. That doesn’t make it any less of a great place to visit, though.
How is going to Vegas a smart decision when you are strapped for cash? Not a very well thought out article.
Nice job, more useless garbage articles on the web.
@Adrian, Las Vegas can be a very inexpensive place to visit…if you don’t gamble.
Yeah… this article is…. just wrong. So very wrong.
Vegas, Hawaii and those other places can make for fun trips… but there should be no mistake. These places are no replacement for places like Tokyo…
Maybe if you took some drugs… you might be able to convince yourself… but if you are going to do that.. you might as well put on a foreign film and stay home.
Last year when gas was outrageous and I had returned to grad school full time, we skipped our annual cross country trek and spent a few days in the City 70 miles away. We enjoyed art museums, rode the bicycle trails, walked the free arboretum etc. An entire vacation for a few hundred dollars spent mostly on food and lodging. I hope we don’t have to do that every year going forward, but it was quality time away with the family when cash was tight.
Hawai’i is expensive. Las Vegas is dangerous for gamblers.
I think a good fake-ation is going to the library and looking at pictures of these places. If you close your eyes you can pretend you’re there.
I thought this was a fun article, although the information about Quebec City is inaccurate.
I agree on Vegas. Just came back from there, and it was very affordable because we don’t gamble. Our hotel/airfare was $450 CDN each for a 4-star hotel. We spent about $600 CDN total while we were there. Ate fantastic meals, saw most of The Strip, and even went to a show. And that amount includes some shopping we did at one of the outlet malls. Otherwise, we probably would have only spent $400 there. This is the time to go – there are fantastic deals everywhere!
Just a further note on Vegas – meals were not at buffets or budget restaurants. There are a lot of fixed price 3-course meals right now starting at $29 per person. We had every meal at top-notch restaurants, and either had wine or beer with lunch and dinner.
The weather was fantastic, too! An average of 20 degrees Celsius each day, compared to the -18 degrees we left.
Wow, chill-out guys – the writer called it a FAKE-cation for a reason! In a globalised world we live in today, it’s not too hard to find similarities.
Wow. I think the funniest part about all of this is all the hypocritical trashy comments tearing apart the article for it’s “trashiness.” Also, don’t tell someone they’re wrong when they used the term “fake” in the title of their article. Of course you should go to Paris if you want to go to Paris, but Quebec City is a fake version of that.
Bitches.
“Fakecation”? really? should i take one with “TomKat” or “Brangelina”. oh and BTW, article is complete garbage.
Las Vegas = Around the World travel? Woah… There’s no culture there, except for maybe the food.. but the food is ridiculously expensive, and not necessarily authentic.
In defense of the article though.. I agree Hawaii is a good substitute for Japan. The article doesn’t say Hawaii is a substitute for Tokyo, which I wouldn’t agree as well. But it’s a good substitute for the rest of Japan in terms of beaches (Okinawa), food, and even a bit of the culture.
my parents live in st. augustine. if spain sucks as badly as that city, the people of spain must be a very bored, old society that thrives on buying dried starfish with googly eyes and overpriced icecream while fat 50 year olds walk around with their tiny dogs
Best fakecation: trip shrooms. No travel necessary.
this article is utter garbage, for reasons already expressed many times.
and to henry gale: quebec city is not a ‘fake’ paris. it’s a real quebec city. and the first part of your post makes no sense at all. a bad review is not hypocritical for it’s use of negative language.
also, montreal is about a million times more awesome than quebec city.
Pretty lame article. Instead of pretending that you’re somewhere else, enjoy the city you are visiting. You can find amazing destinations in cities around the US. Look for a destination nearby and then research great events in that city. Live in Chicago? Check out South Bend for car museums, Notre Dame, and a close proximity to the south shore of Lake MI. Live in St. Louis, or other midwest locale? Check out Crater of Diamonds. National Parks are all over the nation.
Check out virtualtourist.com for some ideas of where to travel locally. Enjoy!
Best fakecation: trip shrooms. No travel necessary..
Vacations are meant to be enjoyed and we should only settle for the real deals and go to places we truly desire.
I don’t think it is wise to spend the money on the substitutes and come back feeling if it has been worth the trouble? The tinge of regret may eat at you for a long time.
If our budget doesn’t permit and we can only settle for places like Indonesia, China or India, then we just should just enjoy the attraction in these places, instead of thinking of them as substitutes.
Associate Money
The point of this article is “Do something else and get over it.”
I like all the orginal places to visit, but the fakes are pretty good in their own right…..
As a person who has never had the money to really travel outside of the country, I have to say that all of these places sound like great vacation spots.
I think this is a great article. the point is there are ways to enjoy a different surrounding for less. no need to burn the author on this article…