Where can you travel on $1,500? We did the math
$1,500 doesn't sound like much for a week away. So we did the math: a week from New York to 26 destinations, with real reference airfares for November 2026 and TripBudget's hotel estimates. The biggest surprise? A week in Lisbon costs less than a week in Miami.
What's left of your $1,500 (USD)
- Caribbean & Latin America825Cartagena
- Europe501Lisbon
- Asia426Phuket
- United States260Orlando
Each bar is the full $1,500:
8 destinations
Caribbean & Latin America: room to spare
This is where $1,500 goes furthest. After the flight and a week of hotel, you'd still have between $343 and $825, or about $49 to $118 a day. Cartagena leaves the most, Santo Domingo has a nonstop flight for $248, and for San Juan, Puerto Rico, you don't even need a passport.
Cartagena: search flight and hotelColombia
Left over$825about $118 a day
Flight $255, leaving November 6 and returning November 10, 1 stop each way. Estimated hotel for 7 nights: $420.
Visa-free
Cancún: search flight and hotelMexico
Left over$630about $90 a day
Flight $345, leaving November 10 and returning November 18, 1 stop each way. Estimated hotel for 7 nights: $525.
Visa-free · 180 days
Santo Domingo: search flight and hotelDominican Republic
Left over$622about $89 a day
Flight $248, leaving November 25 and returning November 30, nonstop. Estimated hotel for 7 nights: $630.
Visa-free
Mexico City: search flight and hotelMexico
Left over$537about $77 a day
Flight $438, leaving November 4 and returning November 9, 1 stop each way. Estimated hotel for 7 nights: $525.
Visa-free · 180 days
Punta Cana: search flight and hotelDominican Republic
Left over$506about $72 a day
Flight $364, leaving November 10 and returning November 19, 1 stop each way. Estimated hotel for 7 nights: $630.
Visa-free
San José: search flight and hotelCosta Rica
Left over$442about $63 a day
Flight $253, leaving November 23 and returning November 29, 1 stop each way. Estimated hotel for 7 nights: $805.
Visa-free · 180 days
San Juan: search flight and hotel
Left over$436about $62 a day
Flight $259, leaving November 4 and returning November 11, 2 stops each way. Estimated hotel for 7 nights: $805.
Montego Bay: search flight and hotelJamaica
Left over$343about $49 a day
Flight $352, leaving November 12 and returning November 18, 1 stop each way. Estimated hotel for 7 nights: $805.
Visa-free · 180 days
- Many resorts in Punta Cana and Montego Bay are all-inclusive: they cost more per night, but meals are covered, so do the full math before ruling them out.
- None of these countries requires a visa from US citizens for a short trip.
7 destinations
Europe: it fits on paper, but it's tight
Lisbon is the standout: $999 for the flight and a week of hotel, leaving you about $500. Istanbul works too. Budapest and Barcelona leave around $200, and in Rome, London or Madrid you'd have $130 or less for the whole week, which isn't enough to eat out every day.
Lisbon: search flight and hotelPortugal
Left over$501about $72 a day
Flight $369, leaving November 9 and returning November 16, 1 stop each way. Estimated hotel for 7 nights: $630.
Visa-free · 90 days
Istanbul: search flight and hotelTürkiye
Left over$283about $40 a day
Flight $692, leaving November 14 and returning November 21, 1 stop each way. Estimated hotel for 7 nights: $525.
Visa-free
Budapest: search flight and hotelHungary
Left over$205about $29 a day
Flight $770, leaving November 21 and returning November 29, 1 stop each way. Estimated hotel for 7 nights: $525.
Visa-free · 90 days
Barcelona: search flight and hotelSpain
Left over$195about $28 a day
Flight $500, leaving November 5 and returning November 10, 1 stop each way. Estimated hotel for 7 nights: $805.
Visa-free · 90 days
Rome: search flight and hotelItaly
Left over$130about $19 a day
Flight $565, leaving November 16 and returning November 23, 1 stop each way. Estimated hotel for 7 nights: $805.
Visa-free · 90 days
London: search flight and hotelUnited Kingdom
Left over$97about $14 a day
Flight $423, leaving November 10 and returning November 18, 1 stop each way. Estimated hotel for 7 nights: $980.
Electronic travel authorization
Madrid: search flight and hotelSpain
Left over$15about $2 a day
Flight $680, leaving November 2 and returning November 9, 1 stop each way. Estimated hotel for 7 nights: $805.
Visa-free · 90 days
- As a US citizen you don't need a visa for any of them. The UK, though, requires an electronic travel authorization (ETA) that you buy online before you fly.
- The European Union plans to require an electronic authorization (ETIAS) from travelers who don't need a visa today: check whether it's in force when you go.
3 destinations
Asia: closer than you'd think
Southeast Asia is far on the map but close to your budget, because hotels there are cheap. Phuket comes in at $1,074 for the week, leaving $426. Bali and Kuala Lumpur fit too, with less to spare. Expect long flights with at least one connection.
Phuket: search flight and hotelThailand
Left over$426about $61 a day
Flight $759, leaving November 4 and returning November 11, 1 stop each way. Estimated hotel for 7 nights: $315.
Visa-free · 60 days
Bali: search flight and hotelIndonesia
Left over$224about $32 a day
Flight $961, leaving November 11 and returning November 21, 1 stop each way. Estimated hotel for 7 nights: $315.
Visa on arrival
Kuala Lumpur: search flight and hotelMalaysia
Left over$122about $17 a day
Flight $958, leaving November 2 and returning November 8, out 1 stop, back 2 stops. Estimated hotel for 7 nights: $420.
Visa-free
4 destinations
Staying in the US: the hotel eats the budget
Here's the twist: flights inside the US are cheap ($120 to Orlando, $154 to Miami), but a week of hotels at around $160 a night swallows most of the budget. That's why a week in Miami ($1,274) costs more than a week in Lisbon ($999) or Phuket ($1,074).
Orlando: search flight and hotel
Left over$260about $37 a day
Flight $120, leaving November 11 and returning November 18, 1 stop each way. Estimated hotel for 7 nights: $1,120.
Miami: search flight and hotel
Left over$226about $32 a day
Flight $154, leaving November 10 and returning November 17, 1 stop each way. Estimated hotel for 7 nights: $1,120.
Las Vegas: search flight and hotel
Left over$81about $12 a day
Flight $299, leaving November 11 and returning November 16, 1 stop each way. Estimated hotel for 7 nights: $1,120.
Los Angeles: search flight and hotel
Left over$60about $9 a day
Flight $320, leaving November 14 and returning November 23, 1 stop each way. Estimated hotel for 7 nights: $1,120.
4 destinations
Just out of reach
Dubai, Paris, Amsterdam and Tokyo don't fit a full week at these prices, but some come close: Dubai is just $7 over and Paris $19, so one night less or a cheaper hotel would do it. Tokyo is $284 over.
Dubai: search flight and hotelUnited Arab Emirates
Short by$7
Flight $527, leaving November 9 and returning November 13, 1 stop each way. Estimated hotel for 7 nights: $980.
Visa-free · 30 days
Paris: search flight and hotelFrance
Short by$19
Flight $539, leaving November 7 and returning November 12, 1 stop each way. Estimated hotel for 7 nights: $980.
Visa-free · 90 days
Amsterdam: search flight and hotelNetherlands
Short by$99
Flight $619, leaving November 9 and returning November 16, 1 stop each way. Estimated hotel for 7 nights: $980.
Visa-free · 90 days
Tokyo: search flight and hotelJapan
Short by$284
Flight $804, leaving November 11 and returning November 17, 1 stop each way. Estimated hotel for 7 nights: $980.
Visa-free · 90 days
How to stretch $1,500
- Look at the total, not just the flight. Miami has one of the cheapest flights on this list, but the full trip costs more than Lisbon.
- Don't rule out holidays without checking. The cheapest fare we found to Santo Domingo was over Thanksgiving week. Still, holiday weeks usually cost more, so compare a few dates.
- The hotel is the other half of the trip. Our estimate is for a mid-range hotel; hostels, apartments or guesthouses can cost much less.
- Check what your fare includes. On budget airlines, checked bags usually cost extra.
- Keep a cushion. TripBudget sets aside 15% of your budget ($225 of $1,500) for spending on the trip. If the flight and hotel eat into that, the trip gets tight.
- Get travel insurance and check entry rules. Requirements change, so confirm them on official government sites before you book.
What about your budget?
Enter how much you have and your dates, and we'll show you where you can go from New York, with real reference airfares, estimated hotels and the visa requirement for your passport.
See where I can goWhere the numbers come from
Flights: Aviasales price data, checked on October 7, 2026, for trips from New York departing in November 2026 (the cheapest 4-to-10-night round trip per destination). Hotels: TripBudget's estimate for a mid-range hotel in each country, for 7 nights. We left out destinations under travel advisories, routes with three stops, and places where our visa data may be out of date. Visas: US passport, based on Passport Index (data as of January 2025).