Nancy Tran

The question used to be simple. Albania was the dirt-cheap secret; Croatia was the polished, overpriced version of the same thing. That calculation worked when Croatia was still using the

You are on a train to Kanazawa. You have a $35 daily budget. You just spent $12 on lunch. It was good lunch — you are not regretting the food.

You are looking at a hostel dorm bed for $14 a night. It has decent reviews. You are also looking at a private room for $38 — the kind with

You are on the Namba walk, heading toward Dotonbori, with a four-year-old who has been walking for twenty minutes and is starting to slow. Your stroller wheel just made a

You just spent $350 on a new backpacking setup. Three days into your first multi-night trip, your tent zipper pops, your sleeping pad has a slow leak you didn't notice

You have been to Bali. Or you have read enough about it to feel like you have been there — the rice terraces, the yoga retreats, the influencers at the

You are sitting in a hostel common room. You just looked at two accommodation options for tomorrow. One is $12 a night — shared bathroom, mixed dorm, fine reviews. The

You're in Hoi An, Vietnam. There's a cooking class that costs $40 — the one every traveler says is the highlight of their trip. You want to do it. But

The word "dupe" in travel has a specific meaning now. It is not "this place is kind of like that other place." It is "this place gives you most of

You are in Hanoi with three days left on your Vietnam trip and very little money. Or you are in Hanoi for a layover and have eight hours. Or you