Cheap San Francisco: 14 ways to make your budget last

When you first look through the airplane window and down at the Azores, you’ll be left speechless. From this very first glimpse, you’ll understand why many call this Portuguese archipelago the “Hawaii of Europe” and the “Islands of Colors.”

On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will sweep across areas of North America.

With an average of 266 sunny days every year, 17 miles of world-class beaches, and adventures on tap year-round, San Diego is an ideal place for families to explore. Here are our top multi-generational picks in California’s second largest city.

Sunsets, sandy beaches, and sunshine collide in glamorous Santa Barbara. With the Santa Ynez Mountains looming in the background and pretty Spanish downtown streets to explore, this central California resort suits outdoor enthusiasts as well as city slickers and foodies. All you need is a place to get your beauty sleep. Here’s our selection of the coolest Airbnb Santa Barbara homes and beach house rentals.

Forget crossing bridges to get across the Bay – San Francisco locals are notorious for not wanting to leave the city.

The San Francisco International Airport (SFO), which launched its “Quiet Airport” program in 2018 to reduce terminal noise, announced the debut of a Silent Disco, in which passengers are invited to dance along to San Francisco-themed music using their own headphones. Dubbed “San Fran-disco”, the silent dance party will run from February 14 – March 15, 2024 in the post-security area of Harvey Milk Terminal 1.

San Francisco has a long way to go before tourism, meetings and conferences fully return to the city. Its association with homelessness, public drug abuse and crime has done a lot to drag out its post-pandemic recovery.

With notoriously lousy traffic and next-to-impossible parking, driving is most definitely not the best way to get around San Francisco. Fortunately, there are plenty of other excellent ways to traverse the city. 

The mild-weathered City by the Bay is a compact place, ranked number seven in the US for parks, with tasty food for even the most finicky eaters and with a commitment to accessibility.

Imagine taking off for a vacation, and having no idea exactly where you are going.  Scandinavian Airlines, a Sweden-based carrier, commonly known as SAS Airlines, offered just that, by recently introducing a special mystery flight called “Destination Unknown.”  SAS sold tickets for the flight exclusively to members of the airline’s frequent flyer loyalty program, EuroBonus. Instead of money, travelers needed to redeem 30,000 miles for a seat. The trip will depart from Copenhagen on April 5 and return back to Copenhagen on April 8. Travelers are only provided a clue that the flight will last “a few hours”, and the exact location of the destination will be revealed at some point during the flight through an announcement.  “The prospect of embarking on an adventurous and mysterious journey with fellow enthusiasts, finding new connections and friendships along the way, is truly exciting,” SAS’s Chief Commercial Officer and Executive Vice President Paul Verhagen said in the news release.  Over 1,000 people submitted interest in joining the flight, and the airline is no longer accepting reservations, a spokesperson shared with Travel + Leisure. Due to the limited quantity of seats on the plane, tickets for the April trip will be distributed randomly to the travelers who signed up. SAS operates flights around the world to 125 destinations, and currently has flights from the US (Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, and Washington) to destinations in Scandinavia and across Europe.  The concept of “surprise” travel has taken off as travelers seek new experiences. Lufthansa, a German airline, offers a program called ‘Lufthansa Surprise’ where travelers select their home airport, and a general theme of what type of vacation they want (such as arts, outdoors, or shopping). Once the trip is paid and ticketed, the airline reveals the destination to the traveler. The surprise bookings cannot be changed or canceled, and the 24-hour flexible booking policy also does not apply. 

So you want to go to the Super Bowl this weekend. Even for non-football fans, this year’s spectacle of professional sports and over-the-top entertainment — in Las Vegas, no less — could be hard to resist.

Amid seemingly endless economic uncertainties, travelers worldwide are still demonstrating a steadfast determination to pursue their wanderlust while keeping a close eye on their budgets.