Hi, my current seasonal gig ends mid-July and it's unlikely I will find another job until sometime in August. I am looking for somewhere to budget travel (max $1k, ideally less) for 1-3 weeks. My main requirements are that the place is warm/hot, and walkable or with decent public transit since I don't drive.
I have been all over LATAM and SE Asia, with few exceptions (mostly expensive places like Patagonia, Pantanal, Easter Island, Uruguay). So I'm quite limited on new budget destinations, but I'm fine repeating a place I've already visited if I liked it enough or if there's a region I haven't been yet.
Or if there's a typically expensive destination, but you have tips to do it cheaper. I haven't been anywhere in Europe since 2021, and I've heard prices have only gone up, but maybe there's still ways to make it cheap-ish there?
I love nature and adventure activities, but also enjoy city exploring, museum, ruins, cultural sites, etc. I love dancing, so I prefer high-energy nightlife like latin dancing or throwing shapes to fun pop songs everyone knows the lyrics to. Head-bobbing/two-stepping bores me and I don't do drugs, so techno/house/electronic parties are never worth my time or money.
I would love to return to Utila for SCUBA diving since I can dive for free there and I miss it, but apparently July is the worst time of year cuz of all the rain. I figure I will ask at my dive shop about the weather outlook when it gets closer, but would like some backup options if that doesn't work out. Has anyone been there during this time of year and can comment on how much sun I'd likely get and the water conditions? I'd love to lie out in the sun a bit, but I hate sand so I need other activities to fill the rest of my time if I end up at a beach destination.
I will be flying standby on United, and since July/August is one of the worst times of year to nonrev, that's another reason why I would like to have backup options. I'm not new to nonrevving by any means, but this will be my first time attempting summer travel as a companion (no ZED or jumpseat as an option anymore) and I will need to connect through a hub since I'll be flying from SoCal.