Have a look at South America or Eastern Europe cheap , Central America cheaper or South East Asia cheapest . There are lots of cheap destinations , more than expensive ones anyway . I guess you are from the US ? If you decide for South East Asia the flight will probably eat about 50 % of your budget . Once you are there you can travel for under 20 $ a day , some people travel with half of that . Central America is a bit more expensive but still very cheap compared to Europe . Mexico , Guatemala and Nicaragua are cheap and save . Costa Rica and Panama are save too but a bit more expensive but still cheap . Eastern Europe might come closest to your expectations if you really want to visit Europe but do not have the cash for Western Europe . South America is awesome too but flights are expensive and the only cheap country I ' d recommend here is Colombia . Peru , Chile , Argentina are awesome too but more expensiveI ' d recommend Mexico assuming you are from the US It ' s cheap , it ' s save , it ' s close , it ' s awesome . Nice ruins , nice beaches , nice food , nice people . And they have a quite european vibe at some places too . Buy your ticket no matter where you go about 12 months before you leave . At that point you really should have decided and the tickets are still pretty cheap compared to just a few days before you leaveDo not throw money at travel companies to book a flight for you . It ' s WAY cheaper to book online . Use or to find cheap flights . Get a travel insurance .