Okay, so you've found that cheap airfare. Now what? There is a world of people, places and things out there. Go see something that no one you know has ever seen before. If you are stumped for an idea, what follows is a list of unique, non-traditional tourism opportunities.
Adopt - If you are considering adoption, consider international adoption. Before you go hunting for cheap airfare, get the advice of professionals, have your home study completed and have about $20,000 set aside for the adoption process.
http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/country/country_369.html http://uscis.gov/graphics/services/index2.htm http://www.adoption.org/ http://www.bethany.org/ http://www.childrenshopeint.org/ http://www.russianadoption.org/ http://www.spirit-of-adoption.org/home/ Do genealogy - Many public records are unpublished and must be viewed onsite. Take that cheap airfare and go see where your people hail from. Some of these genealogy travel planners find great deals with the airlines.
African American
www.spectortravel.com
Britain/Ireland
www.ancestortravel.com
Customized Genealogy Tours
www.eurofocus.com (also photos sites, if you cannot go)
Germany
http://www.routes.de/ Ireland
www.irishculturalconnections.com
Jewish Heritage Tours to Central Europe
www.routestoroots.com
Do good - Cheap airfare is an absolute necessity when you are trying to spend your money on worthwhile causes. Some of these organizations that can help you pull this together. Group rates may also get the cheap airfares.
Americorps
http://www.americorps.org/ Hurricane Katrina
http://www.networkforgood.org/topics/animal_environ/hurricanes/ Kibbutz
http://www.kibbutz.org.il/volunteers/vomain.htm Peace Corps
http://www.peacecorps.gov/ Start an orphanage
http://www.empoweringlives.org/orphanage/why Action without Borders
http://www.idealist.org/ Go shopping - Cheap airfare is worthless if you spend too much on the goodies you bring home. Try the open air markets wherever you go. You save money and support the small business person.
First Monday Trade Days, Canton, Texas
http://www.firstmondaycanton.com/ Israel
http://www.amshalom.com/dev/israel/israel_journal.asp Mexico
http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/tianges.html Thailand
http://www.into-asia.com/bangkok/markets/chatuchak.php Worldwide Open Air Markets
http://www.openair.org/ Learn - Studying abroad is a time-honored way to expand your horizons and meet new people. Be sure to shop around for cheap airfare, so you'll have more money to spend in the coffeehouses and pubs when you get to your new college.
www.studyabroad.com/
www.studiesabroad.com/
www.goabroad.com/
See something weird, wild or wonderful best viewed from the air. Traditional tourism is overrated. Your boring co-workers went on a cruise to Cancun or Cozumel and were stuck on a boat with other boring people for their entire trip. Do something different. Find some cheap airfare, get on the plane on and go see the world from a bird's eye view.
Crop circles - These don't last long, and they appear overnight, so be ready to fly at a moment's notice.
http://www.circularsite.com/ http://www.cropcircleconnector.com/ http://www.cropcircleresearch.com/ http://www.earthfiles.com/news/news.cfm?ID=1073&category=Environment http://www.cropcirclequest.com/ http://bioch.szote.u-szeged.hu/astrojan/cropcirc.htm Stan Herd's earthworks - Most of these are in Kansas. Some of the best discount airlines fly out of MCI and the major airlines offer cheap airfares pretty regularly.
http://207.57.21.32/index.html http://www.artboy.info/P/herd.html Ancient earthworks and effigy mounds
Anasazi roads and irrigation works of Chaco Canyon
http://www.cr.nps.gov/worldheritage/chachist.htm http://www.ghcc.msfc.nasa.gov/archeology/chaco_compare.html Cahokia
http://www.cahokiamounds.com/cahokia.html Great Serpent Mound
http://www.herper.com/Earthworks.html Louisiana mounds
http://www.cr.nps.gov/delta/indian_mounds/quachita.htm http://www.lpb.org/programs/povertypoint/pp_transcript.html Nazca culture of Peru
http://www.onagocag.com/nazca.html http://www.unmuseum.org/nazca.htm White horses
http://wiltshirewhitehorses.org.uk/ http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/tiwtourism/thingstoseeanddo/westburywhitehorse/ http://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/majorsites/uffington.html Teach English: Get paid to travel to a foreign land. You already have the skills necessary, you can speak, read and write English! Find that cheap airfare, polish up your resume, and pack your bags! Your new job awaits.
www.soyouwanna.com/site/syws/englishabroad/englishabroad.html
http://www.footprintsrecruiting.com/index.php http://www.transitionsabroad.com/listings/work/esl/ Visit family - Many have family all over the world. because of military service, international business, or recent immigration.
Military - Cheap airfare can be achieved through discount airfare programs, donated "miles" and deals subsidized by the government
http://www.caesarspoconoresorts.com/military/ http://www.military.com/Travel/Content1/0,,deployment_travel,00.html
http://www.heromiles.org/ Immigrants - Before you book that cheap airfare, make sure that getting back into the United States will not be a problem.
http://www2.ncid.cdc.gov/travel/yb/utils/ybGet.asp?section=special&obj=vfr.htm&cssNav=browseoyb http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/id_visa/vwp/vwp.xml With tickets in hand, suitcases packed, and all your shots in order, it is now adventure time. Get on that airplane and have fun. And bring home some exotic souvenirs for those of us who only travel via the Internet. You can afford it, now that you found cheap airfare.
