You’ve worked hard saving enough money to finally take the vacation of your dreams. Maybe your heart is set on spending a week on the beach in the Maldives, or touring Venice, or experiencing New York City.
You start to shop around and look at luxury travel experiences, and your heart sinks. The money you have saved is not going to get you anywhere near as nice a vacation as you hoped. Where you hoped to have enough for a week or more, you actually can only afford a couple of days, and the estimated cost of incidentals is more than you expected, too. It isn’t worth spending two whole days flying just to have a day and a half of vacation.
What should you do?
You could always adjust your expectations: find a local spa, rent an Air BNB, look up some local experiences and arrange yourself a staycation. This would certainly save money, but it is a far cry from the reward that you had hoped to give yourself for all your hard work and dedication.
Fortunately, there is another option: take these luxury travel tips to save money, and experience the best vacation your money can buy.
Choosing Your Destination: The Easy Way for Luxury Travellers to Save Big
If you want your vacation money to stretch as far as possible, the first thing to consider is whether you are willing to change your destination. Is your heart absolutely set on Italy, or would you consider a less famous Mediterranean peninsula with a similar climate and similarly incredible food and wine?
If you have been priced out of the Maldives, consider the rest of the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific: the region is called Polynesia for a reason. Thousands of islands await, and luxury travel destinations abound.
In this section we will explore alternatives to common destinations, and break down the possible savings you might experience by choosing the road less travelled.
Italy or Croatia: You Don’t Need to Sacrifice Luxury to Save Money
The Italian peninsula is famous for its food, wine, and scenery. Set in the beautiful Mediterranean Sea, it offers incredible scenery, ancient cities and rich cultural heritage.
Unfortunately, all these attractions come at a price. Between fine dining, luxury accommodations and incidentals, you need to expect to pay as much as $450 per day–not counting air fares. Overall, to enjoy a trip to Rome or Naples, or a tour of the whole peninsula, aim to save approximately four thousand dollars for your dream vacation.
Croatia: An Affordable Alternative With a Thousand Advantages
If that sounds like an unrealistic savings goal, don’t lose heart. Just on the other side of the Adriatic Sea there lies the beautiful coast of Croatia. There you can find all the wonderful attractions that were calling you to the Italian peninsula: delicious food, breathtaking scenery, and incredible history.
Tour the historic museums of Zagreb, enjoy the blue waters of Dubrovnic, and revel in the sights and smells of Hvar, renowned for its lavender fields.
Flying to Croatia is no more expensive than any other part of Europe, and luxury accommodations, fine dining and activities cost as little as half of what the equivalent attractions would cost in Italy. For approximately $2400 you could enjoy a week of the finest things the Mediterranean has to offer.
Keeping An Open Mind: How Luxury Travelers Can Take Their Dream Vacation On a Budget
If a specific vacation destination has been sticking in your mind, but your budget doesn’t seem that it will hold up, don’t lose hope. Often people think of the most popular locations with a given set of characteristics and advantages. If you’re looking for laid back island living, you might think first of the Maldives; if you’re seeking the height of culture, you may have your eye on New York City.
But there are thousands of tropical islands in the world, and metropoli by the dozens. Rather than setting your sights on the Maldives, look into luxury accommodations in French Polynesia or the Carribean, or even coastal regions of Central or South America. New York City has a vibrant night life and incredible museums, but so do Raleigh, North Carolina, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Phoenix, Arizona.
Open your vision to include alternatives and you may find that you can afford a better vacation than you think, just by choosing a more affordable destination.
Timing Is Everything
But what if only a trip to Italy will do? Perhaps you have Italian roots, or want to explore the vineyards where a specific wine originates, or have been studying Italian for six years and want to use your new skills.
Save on Luxury Travel Experiences By Travelling in the Off Season
In this case there are other ways to stretch your hard earned vacation budget. Luxury travel is quite seasonal, as you may expect. Many people prefer to travel in summer, when students and teachers have time off and when weather across the board tends to be better.
But what if you have some flexibility on when to use your vacation time? Maybe your business is no less bustling in summer than any other time, or maybe you are even in an industry when clients don’t need much help in autumn, for example.
In this case, it can really pay to find out if the luxury resorts in your chosen destination have a lower rate in the off season. Italy is no less beautiful in October than in July, and if your favored destination is in the tropics there will be little difference between summer and winter (though look out for monsoon seasons). Choosing the right moment for your journey could save you hundreds of dollars over the course of your trip. A tropical escape could easily be in your future.
Booking Today: How The Early Birds Get Serious Savings
No matter what season you intend to travel, there is another aspect of timing that can make a great deal of influence on your total cost of flights: book well in advance. As the day approaches the prices start to go up steeply, so don’t wait until two weeks before your time off to start booking; get busy as far in advance as possible, at least a month or so.
On the other hand, for US destinations, it’s cheapest by far to book hotels the week of your stay. Talk with your professional travel advisor about the best way to book for hotels in the current travel climate.
Be Flexible if Possible
Being able to accommodate last minute changes to your itinerary can save major money when it comes to flights. Sometimes airlines overbook and need to ask some passengers to take different flight; being willing to adjust the beginning or end of your trip by a day or so can save you hundreds of dollars, as the airline will offer a discount as an incentive for your cooperation.
Slow Travel: Enjoy a Comfortable Pace On Vacation
Rather than racing from attraction to attraction and resort to resort, plan to book your whole stay in one town. Soak up the local ambiance, whether it is city lights or birdsong in vineyards. Explore more deeply, rather than more broadly.
What are the rewards of slow travel? Booking multiple nights is often cheaper than a string of one night stays; you can immerse yourself in local culture and cuisine in a way that wouldn’t be possible when hopping from town to town or island to island; and you won’t have to pay for taxi, train or ferry fares for every day of your trip.
Bringing Luxury Travel Experiences Within Your Reach
If you have been watching your friends and coworkers become luxury travelers and have been patiently waiting your turn, don’t give up hope. Exploring the world while experiencing the joys of luxury travel is within your reach.
Saving money is hard, but nothing is more motivating than the thought of an amazing luxury travel experience waiting for you on the other side of the world. Book your trip–or trips–today.
