When you think of traveling in luxury, you might picture riding a luxury train through Italy that offers private rooms and full-course meals in a fancy dining car. Or, you might imagine staying at 5-star hotels overlooking the ocean, drinking expensive champagne and wine out of crystal glasses.
While these examples are fun ways to travel luxuriously, they’re also extremely expensive. The good news is you don’t need to spend lots of money to travel in luxury. If you’re on a budget, here’s how you can get a luxurious experience on your traveling adventures.
1. Consider residency if you travel often
Some people travel once in a while, but others travel more frequently. Some even end up spending more time at their destination than they do in their own home. If spending a significant amount of time in one place away from home has become a way of life, you may want to consider getting residency there. It will be cheaper for you to travel this way because you’ll travel less frequently, which means you’ll have more money to spend on luxury.
For example, say you’re living in Europe and you travel to the U.S. and spend most of your time in Florida. Consider getting a green card to make Florida your home. To learn about the process of getting your green card, visit Tabea Law.
When you travel less frequently, you’ll have the extra money you need to spend on things like first-class plane tickets, hotel upgrades, fancy meals, and room service. To make sure you got everything covered, it’s also wise to have your own Visa secured credit card while traveling. This can be a good option for traveling because it offers the same worldwide acceptance and security features as a traditional Visa credit card. Additionally, a secured credit card can help you build or improve your credit score while you make purchases and payments on the go, which may come in handy for future travel or financial goals.
2. Redefine your idea of luxury
What do you consider luxurious? Do you need to get a massage every day or eat at 5-star restaurants every night in order to experience luxury? Perhaps one of the best ways to experience luxury on your travels is to redefine how you see luxury.
Consider the following as being a luxurious experience:
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- Sleeping in a comfortable bed with comfortable pillows and sheets
- Having a beautiful view from your hotel room
- Not having to drive anywhere, regardless of whether you call a cab or an Uber
- Enjoying good food
- Having time to explore your surroundings
- Getting excellent room service
- Having a full kitchen in your hotel room
All of the above can be luxurious experiences, and they don’t require having the top of the top to be enjoyed. For instance, you don’t need to sleep on thousand-dollar silk sheets made by a top designer to have a comfortable night’s sleep. You also don’t need to spend $100 on a meal to enjoy your food.
Think about what’s enjoyable to you, not what society says you should be enjoying to experience luxury. So, if you’re dreaming of going to Mykonos for example, I suggest staying in one of Mykonos villas, which is one of the ways you can enjoy luxury without breaking the bank. Choose your experiences based on your preferences and you’ll always experience luxury.
3. Keep track of your visa status
When your goal is to experience more luxury, it’s important to cut down on expenses, especially ones that are avoidable. One of the worst ways to waste money is having to book a last-minute flight back home because you’ve realized your visa just expired. If your existing ticket isn’t changeable, this will be an extra expense, combined with the fact that it will be more expensive since it will be last-minute.
Keep track of your visa status and make sure you travel with a visa that will remain valid throughout your travels. Making a mistake can cost you thousands of dollars, and you’d be surprised how many people let this little bit slide.
The reality is that you can get fined for every day you overstay your visa, depending on the country. If this is a familiar experience, you’re wasting so much money that you could be using to add a little luxury to your travels.
4. Choose cheaper destinations
There are some luxury destinations that don’t cost as much as you’d think. You may not be able to stay for a week, but even if you can only stay for a weekend, it’s worth booking a trip.
For example, renting a luxury car is the cheapest in Bangkok, and it’s also one of the top-rated budget destinations. There are other cheap luxury destinations, like Brussels, where the average 5-star hotel costs $363 per night.
If you aim for the most expensive destinations on the planet, you’ll struggle to afford the luxury destinations you want to enjoy. However, when you scope out cheaper places, you’ll get to travel luxuriously without breaking the bank.
5. Collect points, discounts, and miles
Do you know those travel cards, clubs, miles, and memberships? They seem tedious to keep track of, but they can actually help you save a ton of money that you can put toward more luxurious experiences. These are the most common types of programs that can help you save money for traveling:
- Credit card perks
- Airline miles
- Deals and sales
- Hotel loyalty programs
There are credit cards that will give you cash back for every purchase, and if you have bills to pay, there’s no reason not to use these cards to fund your travels. The only thing is that hotel loyalty programs don’t always provide the best deals. The Points Guy explains that he stopped using hotel loyalty programs when he figured out guest houses are usually cheaper through online travel agencies.
6. Book a long stay through Airbnb
You can find some pretty luxurious rentals on Airbnb, and they’re usually cheaper than hotels. Even better, some Airbnb rentals will give you a huge discount when you stay for more than a week. Sometimes, you’ll get an even better deal when you stay for a month.
What could be more luxurious than going on vacation for a month? Just being away for that long is a luxurious experience.
Luxury is what you make it
Ultimately, traveling in luxury is an amazing experience, but luxury is whatever you create it to be. Not everyone will have the same definition of luxury, so take these tips and use them to create luxurious experiences according to your personal preferences.
