After a year like this, we all need a vacation. ASAP. Vaccines are more widely available in the U.S. and abroad, the global tourism industry (which lost an estimated $1.3 trillion in 2020, according to the World Tourism Organization) is finally on the rebound, and 26-year-old e-commerce manager and founder of the travel and lifestyle blog "At Your Leisure Victoria, founder of "NYC" (opens in new tab), plans a summer escape from concrete-clad Manhattan to somewhere a little greener. Mindy Yu, director of investments at personal finance app Stash, and Patricia Johnson, travel designer at Reco, a travel concierge service by TripAdvisor, share tips to help Victoria avoid having to pay PTO.

Annual income: $65,000 Monthly take-home pay: $3,414 Savings: $15,753 Debt: $0 Average monthly expenses: $3,050 (including rent) Annual travel budget: $2,500 Allocate for weekend excursions and two major vacations per year. Budget for this trip: $1,000 Victoria would like to take a long weekend and visit tropical places such as Tulum, Mexico. When traveling, she would like to spend money on experiences and local food. She can live without luxury accommodations or first class seats. Remember: Priceless. A cliché, but true. According to Victoria, spending money on life experiences and creating meaningful memories means that travel has an unquantifiable ROI. For her, wanderlust is a worthwhile investment.

Tulum, Mexico may not be the best destination for Victoria. It is a trendy and luxurious place, and hotels can cost $500 or more per night. Instead, she should try Belize, a generally more cost-friendly country on the Caribbean coast of Central America. Even better: with a population of only 390,000, the second largest coral reef system in the world, and more than 200 islands to explore, Belize is a great place to relax (or snorkel) at a social distance. -P.J.

During the shoulder season (the time between peak and off-season at any given destination), you'll get a better deal plus it will feel less touristy. For Belize, that means late spring into early summer. You can have the Mayan ruins all to yourself (like Caracol, one of the most famous ancient ruins, hidden in the Chiquibul Forest). -P.J.

Holiday weekends are often the most expensive times to book flights and hotels. If you have unused vacation time at work, traveling on a weekday can save money. Traveling on Tuesdays or Wednesdays, which are historically the cheapest, can offer better flight deals than Sundays, which are the most expensive. -M.Y.

Divide your anticipated travel costs by the number of months until departure to figure out how much you need to save. This might mean cutting back on discretionary spending leading up to the trip. The first thing I would cut back on is unused subscriptions. -M.Y.

Well, that's about it. Consider getting a credit card that earns airline frequent flyer miles or points that you can spend on your favorite hotel chain. By using it regularly, you may be able to get free flights and lodging. -M.Y.

Yes, sunbathing on the beach is a bargain at $0, but places like Belize offer low-cost, high fun activities too. For example: on Ambergris Caye, you can book a food tour for as low as $45 (the island generally accepts USD) For the same price, spend half a day at Hol Chan Marine Reserve and Shark Ray Alley, a coral reef and local wildlife area, kayaking along the coast You can do this. Inexpensive but memorable. -P.J.

This article appeared in the Summer 2021 issue of Marie Claire.