Who doesn’t want a vacation a couple of times a year? You work hard, so of course you want to play hard. Whether you’re a big spender or on a tight budget, there are ways to make your vacation feel luxurious.
The trick is to find the right balance between when to spend and when to save. First, make sure you know what your travel budget is. This may be determined by how long you plan to go. Then, follow these tips to find the balance between luxury and budget.
Research Locations, Flights, and Time
If you don’t have a specific destination in mind, start browsing cheap flights to beautiful places. Often, what costs so much money to travel are the flight and the accommodation. High tourist areas are usually expensive to visit, especially in season. Plus, shorter-term stays typically cost more money than a longer-term booking. For example, flying to Hawaii in the summer to stay for five days may cost you thousands of dollars for a family of four.
So, take the time to research locations with the vibe you want but not necessarily a specific location. While a flight from New York to Hawaii runs upwards of $500, a flight to Costa Rica is under $300. The same goes for accommodations. You can book a house rental for two weeks in Costa Rica for the same price as a hotel in Hawaii for five days. And you’ll get just as much luxury. The bottom line is the more flexible you are, the more glamour you’ll get on a budget.
Pack the Essentials
Another way to balance luxury with saving money is with your essential items. The more you spend on what you need on vacation, the less money you’ll have to spend on what you want. Why? Because many places you’ll visit will hike up the prices on those kinds of essentials. For example, your pain medication and jet lag supplement will likely cost much more, especially in a foreign country. That’s if you can find them at all.
Stock up on essentials before you leave home. Pack your vitamins, supplements, pain medication, and any prescription drugs. Also, make sure you have your clothing and personal hygiene items. It may be hard to find your brand of underwear, bras, and bathing suits as well as your deodorant and toothpaste. It will also help you relax more on vacation to have your familiar items with you, in even the most unusual spaces.
Shop for Basics
Once you arrive at your destination, find the local grocery store, market, and big box store. You’ll spend way more money than you need to on everyday food and beverages if you don’t. Sure, you’ll want to eat at local hot spots and grab a coffee while wandering the streets of the city. But you don’t need to overpay for water bottles, eggs, bread, and other basics. You can end up spending hundreds of extra dollars if you depend on restaurants and cafes to feed you every meal.
Instead, stock up on fridge supplies to keep in your mini fridge in the hotel or full fridge in a rental spot. Coffee, water, sugar, butter, bread, eggs, fruits, veggies, and lunchmeat are great places to start. This doesn’t mean you can’t go out to breakfast some days, or hit the cafe for a latte in the afternoon. But be sure to plan to eat at your rental at least half of the time. Not only will you save money, but you’ll probably feel physically better eating fresh food as well.
Splurge on Restaurants and Cafes
When you save money buying supplies for the rental, you can splurge on the hottest spots in your locale. One of the best parts of taking a vacation is the food. Particularly if you’re visiting somewhere foreign to your culture, you’ll want to eat like the locals do. It’s part of feeling like you’re having a luxury vacation, going to eat and drink at the places most people will only see on television.
Do your research in advance to get great reviews and recommendations. Read “best places to eat in” blogs and ask friends or family who have visited the region. Then, when you arrive, ask for local recommendations. Some of the best places to eat never hit the radar of the media. Also, be sure to ask people what specific items to order on the menu. For example, in Peru, you have to try lomo saltado at a restaurant, and in Hawaii, you must have the kava from a cafe.
Book Adventures
Finally, one of the areas to splurge on luxury is on adventures. You don’t want to travel all the way to a beautiful location and miss out on the local activities you can’t do at home. Many of these excursions are free or cheap, of course. Hikes, walks, and biking tours require little more than sturdy shoes and a rented bike. But in other locations, you’ll want to splurge for the adventures only found in travel magazines.
Be sure to research what the locals and tourists do in the region you’re visiting, and book your adventure in advance. Also, look at reviews for the travel company you’re booking with. If you’re ziplining, don’t save money on a less reputable company that may put your life and limbs in danger. The same rule applies for boating trips and bus tours. This part of the vacation is where you truly should not spare any expense. It’s a luxury, after all.
In the end, balancing luxury and budget on your vacation doesn’t have to be hard. Pick a location with a lower cost of living but a high beauty factor and a number of fun adventures to take. That step alone will likely save you thousands in flights, accommodations, and food. From there, splurge! Go see the views, hike the mountains, eat the food, and spend your money in local shops that support the local economy. You’ll leave feeling rested, relaxed, and confident in your spending choices.
