What’s on your travel agenda in the new year? If you’re like us, you want to experience a destination lineup that delivers excitement and adventure, relaxation and escape, grandeur and indulgence – all without sacrificing accessibility and affordability. Attuned to the latest rumblings in the travel industry, our value-conscious editors debated for days before settling on these 10 value travel destinations in 2012. Instead of confining you to an armchair with a typical end-of-year roundup of emerging dream destinations (Hovsgol, Mongolia sounds amazing, but it’s also expensive and hard to reach), we’re providing the news and tools to make your dream trip a reality, pointing out hot spots with special event promotions, new discount transportation options, sexy new hotels with low introductory rates, and places where exchange rates are lower than ever. The places on our list that require the longest journeys are the ones where the dollar travels even further once you touch down (see Athens, Cairo, and Tokyo). Need more inspiration? Take a peek at our Value Travel Destinations in 2012 slideshow. It’s never too early to start filling next year’s calendar with red-letter travel days.

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