5 Best Cheap Countries to Visit in 2026 (Where £40 a Day is Luxury)

Last Updated on 10 March 2026 by Dan Wilderness

Hello everyone! When it comes to travel, exchange rates mean that you can really get fantastic value in some wonderful places in the world. With many things in life, spending more sometimes does get you a better option, but I’m not convinced holidays are one of them. So I thought I’d compile a list of cheap countries to visit for planning out your next holiday in the big wide world!

Whilst some of these will require a step out of your comfort zone if you’re someone that wants known quantities on holiday, I’d really encourage you to take the leap of adventure. These countries aren’t just here because they’re cheap, but represent some of where I’ve had my best holidays by throwing myself into the country and food.

And remember if you’re nervous about travelling around, there are options to take the stress out of it. I did some of my trips with Intrepid and G Adventures, who operate small group tours operating around an itinerary of lots of the best sights. I’d really recommend it – I met some lovely people and had some great tours in a way that gave me confidence to do my own thing further down the line.

We started off writing this post as a list of the literal cheapest countries to visit – but as they tended to be grouped geographically in South East Asia (and not always the cheapest from the air travel side), we’ve instead tried to create a list that provides a range of good cheaper options around the world to provide a host of options that get the right mix of adventure and safety.

Cheap Country Holidays – Balancing Flight and Destination Costs

One factor to consider as part of this list is the need to balance flight and destination costs, and length of trips should be considered as part of this analysis depending on where you’re based.

For instance, we feature Vietnam and Poland on this list. From the UK, you can get a very cheap flight to Poland, but the cost of your stay out there can be so cheap that even a short haul trip is viable.

Vietnam is going to be long and much more expensive flight from the UK, but the cost of living out there is such as living for £20 a day is achievable. A long trip is good value, a long weekend is clearly not.

So think about where the value sits between distance and cost, otherwise the cost of the flight will eat into your saving.

Our Cheap Country Visiting Daily Budget Cheat Sheet

I’ve put more detail on specifically why to travel to each country below, but here’s a cheat sheet showing some achievable costs at time of writing.

Country	Avg. Return Flight (UK)	Daily Budget (Mid-Range)	Cost of a Local Beer	Best For…
1. Vietnam	£600 – £850	£25 – £40	£0.80 – £1.20	2+ week adventures & street food
2. Poland	£30 – £80	£50 – £70	£2.00 – £3.00	Long weekends & history
3. Argentina	£750 – £1,000	£35 – £50	£1.50 – £2.00	“Luxury for less” (Steak & Wine)
4. Portugal	£40 – £100	£60 – £90	£1.50 – £2.50	Sunny, short-haul European breaks
5. Thailand	£550 – £800	£30 – £55	£1.50 – £2.00	Island hopping & backpacker hubs

Our list of fantastic cheap countries to visit on holiday

Vietnam

My trip to Vietnam (which features on this list) remains one of my favourite travel spots anywhere. It’s a country with everything – interesting modern and ancient history, some of the best most creative food in the world and absolutely stunning scenery and beaches. I’d go back again in a heartbeat.

Good to know

It makes a lot of sense to go North to South or vice versa by flying into Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh city, stopping off at various places in between and then flying out of the other.

Don’t miss

• Watching the sunset at natural beauty spot Ha Long Bay, and sleeping overnight on the boat. My photo below of the boats gathering in the bay.

• Grabbing a cold Vietnamese Ice Coffee (made with condensed milk) and a delicious banh mi sandwich, a fantastic fusion of French and Asian food.

• Neighbouring Cambodia and Laos also have great sights, seeing them all can make a lot of sense if you’re travelling and long way.

I want a planned trip to Vietnam

Intrepid’s Classic Vietnam was the tour I did and packs in many of the countries highlights, mixing food, culture and history extremely well, and I’d highly recommend it.

How can I get to Vietnam from the UK?

At time of writing Vietnam Airlines are the only airline with a direct flight – alternatively there are regular flights to to Singapore or Hong Kong with Virgin Atlantic or British Airways you can do a short further hop on.

Poland

Friendly people, a rich cultural history that can feel like being in a storybook. Meat and beer lovers will also be in heaven here. Depending when you go you can find all of beaches, parks, mountains and castles!

Good to Know

Krakow and Warsaw are great places to start, but Poland also has amazing countryside and you can get a lot out of going and staying somewhere smaller.

Don’t Miss

• Did you know the EU’s tallest Skyscraper is in Warsaw? You can get a fantastic panoramic view of the city at the Varso Tower

• For something a little different, there’s an amazing subterranean labyrinth in the form of the Wieliczka Salt Mine just outside Krakow, with lakes and salt carvings everywhere. It’s something quite unique.

I want a planned trip to Poland

Cosmos’s Portrait of Poland Tour includes both major cities and a few smaller stops in between, combining history and sightseeing for a pretty complete view of the country in 9 days.

How can I get to Poland from the UK?

Poland is well connected to the UK with direct flights from British Airways, Easyjet, Ryanair and Wizzair.

Argentina

Argentina offers some absolutely fantastic exchange rates via the Foreign Tourist Dollar rate at the moment and means you can have a really luxurious holiday in beautiful surroundings.

Good to know

Whilst cards are largely accepted in Argentina, bring some USD dollar bills to exchange at local exchange houses if looking to make use of street food and local vendors. ATM’s are not a good way to get cash here, even if you’ve got an excellent travel card as you’ll pay puntive fees for the privilege.

Don’t Miss

• Steak and Wine lovers will be in absolute paradise here – you can get a really top quality fresh ribeye steak and a good bottle of local Malbec and walk out with change for about £20.

• Argentina is home to some really top notch wineries and heading out to Mendoza, doing tasting flights at the cellar doors is a very pleasant afternoon.

• Whilst a specific journey to get here, the Iguazú Falls are one of the most beautiful on earth and you can do the spectacular Devil’s Throat Walkway.

I want a planned trip to Argentina

Explore Worldwide have a mix of Argentine trip ranging from adventure sports to leisurely wine tasting. Intrepid offer a number of great trips if you’re looking to combine pieces your trip with other local South American countries like Chile or Brazil (note, the neighbours can be considerably more expensive).

How can I get to Argentina from the UK?

British Airways are the only UK carrier to fly direct to Buenos Aires, most other carriers will require a stop somewhere.

Portugal

An easy relaxed country that’s easy to get to from the UK, and with a great mix in the cities of Lisbon and Porto, some great golf courses, friendly people and good beaches along a wide spread in the Algarve.

(Just to note – Lisbon and the Central Algarve have been rising in price over the last couple of years and remain very popular – we recommend trying Porto or going further off track, where some real gems can be found.)

Don’t miss:

• Learning about the history of Port in the stunning Douro Valley, the oldest designated wine region in the world.

• Grabbing a Pastel de Nata with a coffee, a delicious custard filled tart with flaky pastry. Available elsewhere, but better in Portugal.

• Playing a round at one of the many championship golf courses around the Algarve.

I want a planned trip to Portugal

Trailfinders have a great mix of Portugal tours and experiences on offer to suit different types of Portugal trip.

However it’s a very easy country to do your own thing – I’ve always travelled independently there.

How do I get to Portugal from the UK?

You’ve got an absolute multitude of options here – you’ll find a route with most short haul carriers operating out of the UK!

Thailand

A better known option in South East Asia, Thailand remains fantastic value whilst having some of the world’s best beaches and a fantastic food culture.

Don’t miss

• Learning about beautiful elephants at a conservation centre (We encourage you to do some research here on ethical options – generally better is less interaction with the elephants).

• Trying some great street food in the many markets – incredibly flavoursome and incredibly cheap.

• Trying to find the best beach with some island hopping offshore (we particularly loved Koh Phangan).

I want a planned trip to Thailand

Try Intrepid’s Thailand Beaches Tour for a combination of great places to visit with some great places to relax! If beaches aren’t your thing, Thailand is an area Intrepid have lots of different tours for different appetites, and you can check those out here.

(P.S – We also wrote a specific guide with our moneysaving tips for Thailand travel!)

Get the best value from your travel

We’ve got some great articles on travel here at the Wilderness – we’d always recommend picking up some high quality but cheap travel insurance (especially when travelling off-track), and don’t forget to also get the best value on your travel money!

For countries like Portugal in this list as well you may be interested in our guide to saving money on car hire too!

Where else have you had a great cheap trip?

We know this is just a fraction of some of the magnificent places in the world where you can travel very reasonably – but we’d love to hear about some of your own experiences!

Let us know about some of your own favourite trips in the comments.

And if you don’t fancy one of these, do check out our wider guide to booking a great value holiday where we share all our tips and tricks for saving money when booking a holiday.

And that’s it!

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