December travel has a reputation it doesn't entirely deserve. Yes, flights to Paris on December 23rd are expensive. But book before the 20th, pick the right destinations, and you'll find some of the best deals of the year. Most of the tourism world slows down in early December. Hotels drop prices. Hostels have availability. The crowds that made everything harder in October are gone.

This guide made with the help of Travel to Destination covers 17 destinations where December travel actually makes sense on a tight budget — not just cheap in theory, but cheap in practice, with real costs and a few honest warnings about what doesn't work as well.

Southeast Asia

Vietnam — $25–30 a day

Vietnam is the easiest place in Asia to travel cheaply without feeling like you're cutting corners. Street food is the main reason. A bowl of pho that costs $1.50 at a plastic-stool place on a Hanoi side street is better than the $8 version at the tourist restaurant two doors down. That gap — between local prices and tourist prices — exists everywhere in Vietnam, and it's wide.

December is dry and cool in the north, warm in the south. Ha Long Bay is the obvious draw up north, though the classic two-day cruise has gotten pricey. Book from Cat Ba Island rather than Hanoi and you'll pay around $27 for a day trip. In Ho Chi Minh City, the District 4 food walk runs about $7 for 15 tastings — it's a good way to eat well without wandering randomly and paying tourist prices by accident. The $12 sleeper train to Sapa from Hanoi is worth doing just for the train itself.

Accommodation-wise, hostels run $4–$8, mid-range guesthouses $12–$15. Local buses cost about $3. Grab (the regional Uber) is $15 and significantly more comfortable.

Cambodia — $20–25 a day

Angkor Wat is the reason most people come, and it's worth it. A 3-day pass runs $62 and includes entry the day before sunset, which most people skip — that first evening visit with almost no one around is one of those travel moments that's hard to forget. Don't try to see everything in one day. The site is enormous and the heat is real even in December.

Siem Reap is very geared toward tourists, and prices reflect it on the main strip. Get one block off Pub Street and meals drop from $8 to $2. Someplace Else hostel loans out bikes for free, which is the right way to explore. November to February is the dry season — December hits the sweet spot of good weather and reasonable prices.

Malaysia — $30–50 a day

Malaysia gets overlooked because Thailand is next door. That's exactly why it's worth going. Penang's hawker stalls in George Town are among the best street food in the region — char kway teow, assam laksa, cendol — and nothing costs more than $3. The George Town street art is legitimately good rather than just Instagram-friendly, which isn't always the case with cities that market themselves that way.

Langkawi has no sales tax, which makes beer and wine noticeably cheaper than anywhere else in Malaysia. Laid-back beach town, decent snorkeling, and seafood that doesn't cost a fortune. Stick to the west coast in December — the east coast is in monsoon season and not worth the trip.

Bali — $20–30 a day

December is Bali's wet season, so let's be honest about that upfront. You'll get rain. Usually it comes in short tropical bursts rather than all-day grey misery, but some days are genuinely soggy and beach days can be a write-off. If that's your main reason for going, push the trip to April.

That said, December in Bali is cheap and much less crowded. Ubud in the rain is actually nice — the rice terraces are intensely green and the jungle sounds different. A $6 massage, $3 warung meals, and a motorbike rental for $5 a day mean the budget stretches further than almost anywhere else on this list. Canggu works better for surfers and people who want cafes and co-working; Ubud is better if you want quiet and greenery.

Eastern Europe

Albania — $30–40 a day

Albania is the cheapest country in Europe that most people haven't been to yet. That's starting to change, but slowly. A burek — a flaky pastry filled with meat or cheese — costs $1 and is available everywhere. Dinners run about €4 in Shkoder. Hostels start at $11.

In December, the coast is cold and empty, but Theth in the Albanian Alps gets snow and becomes genuinely beautiful in a way that photos don't quite capture. The boat ride across Komani Lake costs $8. Winter hiking is possible but the mountain roads get icy — don't rent a car without asking locally about conditions first. That's the kind of thing the travel blogs don't mention.

Bulgaria (Bansko) — €60–80 a day including ski pass

Bansko is where you go skiing when you can't afford the Alps. A day pass runs €56, compared to €72 in France. Rooms start at €18. Beer costs €1.20 at the independent bars on the side streets — avoid the ones directly on the main ski strip, which have caught up with western European prices. Ski rental is €8 a day from the local shops rather than the resort outlets.

The skiing itself is decent rather than exceptional. The runs suit intermediate skiers well. If you're advanced and used to Chamonix, you might find it a bit tame. But for a budget ski week, nothing in Europe gets close to this value.

Czech Republic (Prague) — $35–45 a day

Prague in December is the Christmas market city. The Old Town Square market is genuinely atmospheric, not in the manufactured way of some European Christmas markets but actually old and somewhat chaotic and good. Trdlo (chimney cake) costs about $3. Beer and goulash at a pub away from the tourist centre runs under $5.

Charles Bridge at sunrise in December — maybe 7am, before the tour groups arrive — is one of those experiences that costs nothing and is worth losing sleep for. The city is cold but not brutal in December. Budget $35–45 a day if you're staying in a hostel and eating local. More if you're drawn into the tourist restaurants, which are easy to fall into.

Hungary (Budapest) — $35 a day

Budapest works in December because of the thermal baths. Sitting in 38-degree water outside while it's cold and dark at 4pm is one of the better uses of €20 you'll find anywhere in Europe. Széchenyi is the most famous and most crowded; Rudas is older, slightly less polished, and better for it.

Food is cheap — $3 soups, lángos (fried dough with sour cream and cheese) from street stalls, chimney cakes everywhere. The city does a good Christmas market too, though it's smaller and quieter than Prague's. March to May and September to November are the best weather windows, but December works fine if you're not expecting sunshine.

Portugal (Porto and Lisbon) — $40–55 a day

Portugal's shoulder season is long and December still falls inside it outside of the Christmas week itself. Hotels that were €120 in September drop to €60. The weather in Lisbon is mild — usually around 15°C, sometimes warmer. Porto is cooler and rainier, but the city looks good in grey weather and the wine is better than it has any right to be for the price.

Tram 28 in Lisbon costs $1.60 and goes through the best parts of the old city. It's crowded at peak times but at 8am it's almost empty. Pastéis de nata from Pastéis de Belém costs $1.50 and the queue is shorter in December than any other month of the year.

Croatia and Montenegro — $40–55 a day

The coast in winter is a different experience from summer. Kotor in Montenegro with almost no tourists is genuinely better than Kotor in August with cruise ships. The fortress walls cost a few euros to climb and the views are the same regardless of season. Accommodation drops to $15–25. Filling Balkan meals — grilled meats, ajvar, bread — run about $6.

It's cold on the coast in December, sometimes windy, and you won't be swimming. But walking the old towns without crowds is worth it. Don't expect much to be open in the smaller villages — this is off-season for real, not just quieter.

Latin America

Mexico — $25–35 a day

Mexico in December has a pricing problem that's worth knowing about before you book. Early December is cheap — hotels in Oaxaca and Mexico City run around $28 a night. After the 15th, prices jump. The week between Christmas and New Year in Cancún or Tulum is not a budget trip. It's peak season with peak prices.

Book before December 15th or after January 2nd. Oaxaca in early December has the Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe festivities — food markets, music, and street life that doesn't cost anything to be part of. Mexico City's museums are largely free on Sundays. Isla Holbox has bioluminescent plankton in the water at night, visible on kayak tours for about $12. That's the kind of thing that sounds too good to be cheap, but it is.

Period	Hotel/Night (Cancún example)	Notes
Dec 1–15	$28	Best value window
Dec 16–23	$45	Prices rising
Dec 24 – Jan 1	$110	Skip if budget matters

Colombia — $30–40 a day

December is the dry season in most of Colombia, which means good weather for the coffee region, Cartagena, and the Andes. Medellín has transformed significantly over the past decade and is now a genuinely interesting city rather than just a place people go because it's cheap — though it's still cheap. A good meal in El Poblado runs $8; in Laureles, the neighbourhood locals actually use, it's $4.

Cartagena gets expensive in late December. The walled city is worth a day but staying there costs twice what staying ten minutes outside it does. Santa Marta is a better base for the Caribbean coast and significantly less expensive.

Bolivia — $20–30 a day

The Uyuni Salt Flats in late December have standing water on the surface from the rainy season, which creates a mirror effect that reflects the sky. It's one of the few cases where the photos actually undersell the real thing. Tours run $30–50 for a full day including transport and a guide. May to October is drier and better for photography if you want the classic salt flat look; December gives you the reflection effect but the weather is more unpredictable.

Bolivia is the cheapest country on the continent. $20 a day is genuinely achievable. Altitude is the practical issue — La Paz sits at 3,600m and Uyuni higher. Give yourself two days to acclimatise before doing anything strenuous.

Ecuador — $30–40 a day

Quito is one of the best-preserved colonial capitals in South America and almost nobody talks about it. The historic centre is a UNESCO site and free to walk around. The teleferico cable car up to Cruz Loma runs about $9 and gets you to 4,000m with views across the city and Cotopaxi on a clear day.

Baños is the adventure sports base — canyoning, rafting, zip-lining — and runs cheap. The Galápagos are possible on a backpacker budget if you book last-minute from Puerto Ayora rather than in advance from abroad, though it still costs $80–100 a day minimum once you're there. Beach season in Ecuador runs December to May, so the coast is at its best.

Puerto Rico — $50–70 a day

Puerto Rico is the one destination on this list where 'budget' is relative. It's more expensive than Southeast Asia or Eastern Europe. But for US travellers it's the only tropical option that doesn't require a passport or international phone plan, which is worth something. December to mid-April is the dry season — warm, clear, and far less humid than summer.

Old San Juan is free to walk and genuinely beautiful. El Yunque rainforest has free hiking trails. The beach at Luquillo costs nothing. The expensive part is accommodation, which doesn't have much cheap inventory. Book early.

Africa

Morocco — $20–30 a day

Morocco in December is cold at night, especially in the mountains and the Sahara. Marrakech gets down to 6°C after dark. The medina is still fully operational in winter and actually more manageable without July's heat and tourist density. The Fes tanneries smell worse in summer, which is a reason in itself to visit in December.

A 3-day Sahara desert trip including transport, camel ride, camp, and meals runs $75–90. That's genuinely good value — the camp experience in the dunes with near-zero light pollution is one of those things that's worth spending money on even on a tight budget. Sahara nights in December drop to around -2°C, which nobody warns you about adequately. Bring a proper sleeping bag or ask specifically whether the camp provides warm bedding.

City	Daytime (Dec)	Night (Dec)
Marrakech	18°C	6°C
Sahara Desert	22°C	-2°C

Kenya and Egypt

Egypt in December is one of the best times to visit — 25°C in Luxor, no crowds at the Valley of the Kings, and Nile cruises that are significantly cheaper than in spring. The Red Sea at Hurghada is warm enough to snorkel. Cairo is manageable in winter temperatures rather than the punishing summer heat.

Kenya's wildlife season runs June to October for the Great Migration, so December isn't peak safari time. But Nairobi National Park is just outside the city, costs around $60 for entry, and has lions, rhinos, and giraffes with the Nairobi skyline in the background — one of those genuinely strange combinations that works. Maasai village tours run about $20–30 and support communities directly if you book local.

A Few Practical Notes

Flights before December 20th are dramatically cheaper than the week before Christmas. If your dates are flexible, that window is where most of the savings are. Guesthouses and locally-owned hostels beat chain hotels on price and usually on location too. Eating where you see locals eat rather than where the signs are in English is the oldest budget travel advice there is, but it's still true.

Travel insurance is worth the $30–50 for any trip involving winter mountain regions or destinations with unpredictable weather. It's not exciting to think about but one cancelled flight or a medical issue abroad will cost far more than the premium.

December is a good month to travel. You just have to know which part of it and where.