We humans work hard and when we play, we celebrate. The array and variety of amazing world festivals is an example of how lavishly we find ways to have fun, to toast who we are as individuals with favourite pastimes (body painting, for instance), as groups (such as those who enjoy ballooning) or as a culture, like those of German descent joining together for Oktoberfest.
World Festivals draw together not just those from the areas where the festival is staged, but like-minded souls from across the world. If you’re planning to go to New Mexico, set your trip during the dates of the Albuquerque International Balloon Festival; make the vacation more than just visiting friends and family, or doing typically touristy things. An amazing world festival can add a memorable experience to your trip.
Or build your entire holiday around a festival that especially appeals to you. Go to Mardi Gras and then spend a while longer in New Orleans. The same would apply to a holiday in Venice, planned and executed around Carnival, or one structured around Carnival in Rio di Janeiro.
Pick an amazing world festival that tickles your fancy, aligns with your ethnicity, or just sounds like a blast and make that the launching pad for an awesome adventure away.
Steeped in tradition as well as embroiled in controversy, Mardi Gras is celebrated throughout the American state of Louisiana, with a focus in the French...
The annual Elephant Festival, held at the Jaipur polo grounds in the city of Jaipur, state of Rajasthan, India, has been continuous since ancient times...
Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is the largest amazing world festival on earth. Its current form has been in place since 1723, but it had...
For nine days, beginning in the first full week of October every year, the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta takes place in the Rio Grande Valley...
There is more than one Oktoberfest in the world, but the biggest and oldest (begun in 1810) traditional “Wiesn” takes place in Munich, Germany, annually for...
The Pingxi Lantern Festival in Taiwan has enjoyed 100 years of candle-lit night skies, but has increasingly come under criticism for environmental issues and fire hazards...
Body painting is nothing new; ancient tribes have practised this art for millennia. This festival, held annually since 1998 in early July in the southern part...
Until the mid-1900s, Thailand (together with Malaysia and Siam) celebrated only their traditional new year, Songkran, on April 13 of each year, not the typically...
From a seemingly simple act of building a wooden man to burn in celebration of the 1986 Summer Solstice to a return to the peace, love...
Called “carnevale” in Italy, the Venice Carnival began modestly in 1162 when a victorious fighter for the Republic of Venice returned from battle and a celebration...
London, England. The words still evoke an era, probably the 1960s and 19670s of mods and rockers, Carnaby Street, youth culture, Princess Margaret, the Beatles...
From sea (Pacific) to sea (Atlantic) to sea (Arctic), every province and territory in Canada boasts designated national parks for visitors from around the world...
We humans work hard and when we play, we celebrate. The array and variety of amazing world festivals is an example of how lavishly we...
Athens, Greece, has been the city of cultural imagination and classical history for over three millennia. The largest city in Greece, Athens, the namesake of...
Where is your sacred place? What is a sacred place to you? For those of us living in modern times, a sacred place might literally...
In the global battle for most romantic city in the world, the Venice versus Paris finals often switch winners, but here at Affordable Travel, we...
What more can be written about Paris that has not already been scribed, spoken or filmed? It’s one of the foremost cities of the...
Part of the Netherlands Antilles group of Caribbean islands — the “A” in the “ABC” (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao) — Aruba is surprisingly affordable. It lacks the...
New York City is an expensive place to live (it boasts the highest number of resident billionaires of all the cities on earth), with the...
Big. Sprawling. Smoggy. Star-studded. Free. Yes, free. There are numerous free and affordable things to do in the City of Angeles, Los Angeles, California. Hundred...