looking for advice on affordable beach holiday from Vancouver - nov 2017

The days of trans-Pacific flights needing to stop in Hawaii/Fiji/Tahiti are gone thanks to long-distance airplanes.
Although I live in the east, I think westerners do indeed like Hawaii or, on the US mainland, such western states as Nevada. Downtown Vancouver is on an enormous beach that stretches from English Bay all the way along to the University of British Columbia's Wreck Beach. Not all that distance is accessible but the views are spectacular and the waters frigid.

If you can find a flight with a stopover somewhere in the South Pacific, that would be my first choice. More exotic, and when might you have a chance to be in that area again?
In terms of which airline flies where, google "route maps" for some of the likely airlines (e.g. Air New Zealand). For more airline options, google the name of the main airport for Fiji, Tonga, Tahiti or wherever you might want to stop, and then see which airlines fly there.

Having said that...West coast Canadians go many places for beach vacations but Mexico and Hawaii are perhaps the most common. There are many cheaper flights (and flight accommodation packages) available, often on lower cost "charter" airlines that you can easily find on the internet when you get closer to your travel time.

Hawaii may be an intermediate stop en route to NZ with some airline but you'd have to check if that is still the case> As reporter stated above, there are more non-stop trans-Pacific flights these days than before.

Have fun! November is a great time to leave Canada and grab some sun!

AFFORDABLE (up to 1000 CAD for the holiday week - flights and accommodation incl)

You should be able to find a week-long holiday package on the Pacific coast of Mexico, for example, Puerto Vallarta, or even the Caribbean coast, for example, Cancun. But that is the start of the winter holiday season. Check the newspapers for ads.

I have a couple of ideas for you:

1. Mexico - if you're not booking really pricey accommodation and open to airbnbs, hostels, etc... Mexico would be your best bet. Quick flight 5-6 hours depending on where you're going. Flights are usually around $500 - $600 might be able to find it cheaper on a seat sale or with a discount airline. This leaves you about $50/night for accommodation. Lots of options: Cancun (nicer beaches on the Caribbean side in my opinion a bit more commercial), Playa del Carmen (1hr from Cancun - similar to Cancun but more laid back), Tulum (2 hr from Cancun - bohemian, lots of eco-lodges, very relaxing), Puerto Vallerta (pacific side, beach not as nice IMO as Cancun, lots of smaller towns nearby Sayulita for example), Ixtapa and Cabo are other options.

2. Los Angeles - This doesn't really tick the box for remote and relaxing - but hear me out. You can usually find flights for $300 RT from Vancouver, so this is cheaper than flights to Mexico. You can also connect to an Air NZ flight to Auckland, so you might just work it out with the airline to fly YVR - LAX - AKL with a long stop-over in LAX. Once you're in LAX, you can easily find somewhere beach-y to relax and get your beach time. There are a number of quieter beach towns that would fit the bill and if you want to go into the city to check out you could always do that.

3. Sometimes it is possible to find great last minute deals for all-inclusives or cruise lines, so this would be something to look into if you're open to travelling that way.

Hope you find what you're looking for. Definitely a way to do it for $1000 CAD but might need to compromise in some areas.

This topic has been automatically locked due to inactivity. Email community@lonelyplanet.com if you would like to add to this topic and we'll unlock it for you.