The ultimate guide to luxury vacations, without the luxury budget!
It's no secret that I love a good vacation. The preparation, the site seeing, the lounging around...Basically everything about leaving the country and escaping your reality, except of course the money leaving my account, but I guess you can't have one without the other right? Wrong! It may seem impossible, but having the best experience and capturing the most instagramable locations dosen't entirely depend on your budget, and if you're anything like me and love a holiday highlight, this ones for you!
Booking
I'm so guilty of randomly scrolling through sky scanner at 2am; looking at flights that I'll most likely never book instead of actually taking the time to plan a trip. It may seem very obvious, but being intentional about your vacation; booking your flights, hotels, etc earlier on saves you soooo much. The reason for this is because hotels and airlines sell their tickets and rooms for their minimum fair earlier, then raise prices when the date is approaching, as they know people who are more desperate or in need of them will be more willing to pay outrageous prices.
It's suggested to book 3-9 months in advance but for those who also think that is absolutely absurd, my suggestion is to opt for cheaper airlines as opposed to top quality lines. Understand that you're literally getting what you pay for, so don't expect £5000 Quatar airways sleep pods on a £15 Ryanair ticket. In order to grab an extra deal, you could choose to book with sites that offer package deals such as Loveholidays and Wowcher (I've heard too many horror stories to ever do that but good luck!), who offer flights and hotels in the same booking for a fraction of the price. Always remember to do your searches on a private browsers as sites often track your activity using cookies, and will raise your prices once they notice you're actively looking.
Accommodation
When picking the perfect hotel, it's important to understand that you may not be able to tick every single box and sacrifices will have to be made. When my best friend and I went to Milan in May, we booked our flights easy peasy but spent sooooo long looking for hotels that ticked all our boxes. They would either be 6 stars, with Wi-Fi, breakfast and great amenities but literally be in the middle of no where, then have the cheek to be stupid expensive. We soon realised that we weren't going to find anywhere that was 100% perfect so we sacrificed amenities and a couple stars for a central location and safe area, but also gave the luxury vibe. This was easy for us to do as we knew we wouldn't be spending all day lounging around in the hotel and would mainly be there to sleep, get ready and for breakfast. We stayed at the 'Bianca Maria Palace Hotel' which had a tram stop right outside, helping us get around (although we did walk loads too), a lovely restaurant in the hotel as well as next door and shops less than 5 minutes away. If like us, you're also planning to be out lots, a great option would also be an airbnb or other rental service. The only downside is, unless you pay extra for a private chef, you'll be spending more on food and you can't guarantee security the same way you could in a hotel.
Things to do
Before you go on vacation, you need to establish what kind of vacationer you actually are. I personally love site seeing and activities, where as my mother likes to lay in the sun for a week with a good book. I can definitely appreciate the lounging, and sometimes it's really necessary, but going on holiday to only do what you can do at home, will just never make sense to me! If like me, you love to roam the town, explore landmarks; maybe ride a quad bike or two, you know that this can get a little pricey. I'd suggest booking your activities whilst booking your hotel, and combing through the listings for the best price. This way you get the cheapest price, but you can also analyse the surrounding areas and plan things like food, since theres more preparation time. If you're a bit riskier, you could even make friends with locals as some may be willing to show you around, improving your trip even more. I'd also suggest renting a car for the trip if you intend to explore a lot or, choose public transportation as opposed to taxis, which is sometimes much safer. However, if you're like my mother and vacay purely for some r&r, this is where I'd recommend spending more on your accommodation and maybe splurging on an all inclusive resort since this is where you'll spend a majority of your time!
Dining
If you're visiting anywhere new, it's normal to want to experience every part of it, especially the food, but unless you're staying at an all-inclusive, dining and food can be very expensive. Of course you may want the fancy restaurant, in the heart of the city, with the candle lights and live music but, I'm sure you've heard that the best food comes from the little home style restaurants? Not only will this cost much less, but you'll be tasting authentic food whilst helping a small business continue to do what they love. Eating out like this instead is much beneficial however, don't be scared to treat yourself with a fancy dinner or two too!
I know I'm not the only one who checks the menu of a restaurant before they go, but in the situation where you're unable to do that, and the menu is in the native language (although you should learn some before you), Google translate have a feature that translates live images, use this to translate your menu. Dining customs may differ also as some countries do not automatically apply service charge and instead, expect tips instead and some countries charge extra just for vibes. Imagine our surprise getting our first bill in Milan and getting charged for cups that we didn't even use.
Not having a large budget shouldn't stop you from having the best vacation. Although there are a few sacrifices you may have to make, wouldn't you rather go and enjoy yourself without a fear of spending? There are so many ways to enjoy your time and lots to do without costing and arm and a leg and now you know how.