Tahiti, Australia, Europe bargains

Need help tracking down a great travel deal? Then put our expert investigator on the case. The Deal Detective will sleuth out the best bargains that fit your needs.

Dear Deal Detective:

I’d like to travel someplace a little different this fall. I don’t have a particular destination in mind, other than that I don’t want to go to London or Paris or any of the “usual” European destinations. (Been there, done that.) I’m departing from Los Angeles and have a $2,000 budget. Can you help?

—Marian R.

Dear Marian,

I received dozens of questions from readers who, like yourself, want help planning their fall vacation. You might be surprised to learn that a $2,000 budget gives you the flexibility to pick from almost any destination you can think of. Below I’ve listed the best deals to “unusual” places that I’ve seen for your travel window. Whenever possible I’ve also researched prices for East Coast and Midwest departures in addition to Los Angeles for the sake of my other readers.

• Since you’re looking for something “different,” why not choose a once-in-a-lifetime destination like Australia? Travelocity currently has the best vacation prices to the Outback. I found five-night airfare-and-hotel packages to Sydney for as little as $1,284 from Chicago, $1,287 from Los Angeles, and $1,612 from New York with a midweek departure in late November. These prices include the dreaded airfare taxes and fees that often ruin otherwise good deals.
• I’m seeing a lot of great deals to Tahiti right now, too. Air Tahiti Nui provides the airfare component for the numerous all-inclusive packages listed on its website. Your best bet for a departure from Los Angeles looks to be from Pleasant Holidays, which has a promotion good for Thursday departures between mid-November and mid-December. You get round-trip airfare, six nights’ accommodations, daily breakfast, and inter-island transportation. Prices start at $1,465 per person, not including taxes and fees.
• If you’re into the whole Cold War chic thing, I love, love, love the value you get from go-today.com’s current Poland offer. It’s a two-city, six-night package that features the contrast of three days in Warsaw and three days in the more old-world Krakow. You’ll travel between the two via first-class rail. I priced the package for a late November departure with accommodations at three-star, centrally located hotels in each city. The results blew me away: $1,218 from New York (JFK or Newark), $1,320 from Chicago, and $1,400 from Los Angeles. These prices include all airfare taxes and fees, as well as daily breakfast, half-day sightseeing tours in Warsaw and Krakow, and all airport transfers. As always with go-today.com, you can extend your stay for minimal additional cost.

These are just a few of the good deals I found while researching your question. I hope this gives you a sense of the destinations available to you on your $2,000 budget. Good luck with your vacation!

If you need help finding a deal for your next trip, please email me your request. Be aware that due to the volume of requests I receive, I cannot always personally respond to every email (although I do try). The more compelling your question—and the more specific you are with your departure city and desired travel dates—the better the chance you’ll be selected for an upcoming case.

All prices, dates, and booking details listed here were valid at the time of publication. Some information may have changed since that time.