5 Ways to Score a Luxury Vacation on a Budget

Are you looking to go upscale for your honeymoon? Or do you just want to experience luxury this time around? There are countless luxury vacation resorts and packages that you will come across over your lifetime when traveling!

Can you afford it though? I can’t answer this question for everyone, but I can say that there are a good portion of people out there that think they can’t, but absolutely can!

There are plenty of ways to score a luxury vacation on that budget you set! You just have to look deeper, and get a little creative.

Here are 5 ways to score a luxury vacation on a budget:

Choose Your Location Wisely

You can’t budget wisely on a luxury vacation in every destination, but there are still quite a few options out there!

What Makes a Destination Budget Friendly?

• Economic state of the destination & a weak currency exchange rate
• Accommodation- Are there plenty of options? Are there all-inclusive options? All-inclusive resorts are a great way to save money if you want everything to be at the tip of your fingers!
• Transportation- Are there plenty of public transportation options available?
• Ease of Accessibility- Is this an easy destination to reach? Remote islands or places like Bhutan will cost you significantly for the plane ticket alone!
• Visa Requirements- What does the destination require visitors to obtain in order to enter, and what are the fees? Places like Mexico only require a Passport, but Europe is starting to tack on more fees for visitors.
• Activities- Is the destination a stay-at-the-resort-and-lay-on-the beach-all-day destination? Or are there going to be ten activities and tours you’ll want to do? These things cost a lot. So it’s safe to say that Italy, with all of its ancient history, architecture, and food tours is probably not going to be cheap!

The Most Budget Friendly Destinations

• Mexico
• Dominican Republic
• Certain Caribbean Islands- Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, U.S Virgin Islands, The Bahamas, Grenada
• South Pacific- If you are coming from the Oceania area, Fiji and the Cook Islands are affordable!
• Southeast Asia
• South Africa
• Some European Countries- Spain, Portugal, some areas of Greece, Malta, and the Baltic countries are more affordable than the rest of Europe.

Timing Is Everything

There is a reason there are high seasons and low seasons, and even shoulder seasons! Depending on the destination, weather can change drastically, or holidays and events bring crowds. With beautiful weather and crowd-attracting events come high prices on accommodation and activities.

What Influences High Pricing?

• High Season- Is there a hurricane season? Cyclone season? Torrential downpour season? Ungodly heat season? Or maybe even dengue-carrying mosquito season? If you aren’t visiting during one of these seasons, it is most likely “high season.” It will cost you to visit during ideal times. That’s just the way of the world!
• Holidays- Do you want to vacation for Christmas or Easter? Or even Halloween? It’s going to cost you to stay at that beautiful resort all decked out in Christmas decor and lights! If you want to do this kind of vacation, I suggest you plan ahead and save up for a few years.
• Events- Certain events such as Mardi Gras, Carnival, Regatta Week, or the Day of the Dead can drive prices up. You’re going to be taking space in a hotel or resort where everyone else wants to stay so that they can attend Carnival! So, you’ll be paying big.
• Demand- Is this a destination that everyone else is visiting too? For example, New York City or Paris. If so, you can expect it to be costly. On the other hand, if you are going to visit Somalia or the very remote island of Nauru… then you might be able to find a bargain!

One More Tip

Another method of scoring a bargain at a luxury accommodation that I have found to be pretty successful?

Stay at brand new no-name hotels and resorts! Even better? Stay at accommodations that are still under construction! Now this could be extremely annoying… but if the grounds are pretty large, like an all-inclusive resort, then odds are you won’t be bothered.

My honeymoon in Antigua was a LUXURIOUS stay. We stayed at Tamarind Hills, which at the time was still being plotted out and built. It was the most luxurious villa that I have ever stayed in to date, and the service was beyond excellent! This was back when my husband were broke and still living in our one-bedroom apartment, so the fact that we could afford a luxury two-story, four-bedroom villa with an infinity pool, outdoor shower, gourmet kitchen, gourmet outdoor kitchen, maid, concierge, etc (the list goes on and on!!!) was just mind-blowing! All because the resort was unfinished. You can’t book that villa for what we did now.

You can read all about my stay at Tamarind Hills here!

Consider doing your research and looking for grand openings or brand new non-chain hotels. Not all of them will offer better pricing, but there will always be that one!

Make Use of Miles and Rewards

Do you have a travel rewards credit card? Are you signed up for rewards with your favorite airline? If not, you are missing out!

I would not be able to travel nearly as much as I do if I didn’t build up points through various rewards programs and travel points-based credit cards! For instance, I just paid for three round-trip Southwest Airlines tickets costing $1500 in full with the miles I accumulated on my Capital One Venture card. That’s $1500 that I didn’t have to take out of my own pocket! It’s paid for, no strings attached. You earn the points, they are yours to use! You can even be reimbursed for any travel-related purchases you make with some of these cards.

On top of using my travel rewards credit cards for nearly everything that I purchase, I also participate in multiple preferred airline rewards programs. These allow me to accumulate points whether I purchase my tickets through the airline directly or through the travel portal for the credit card I am using.

Some of my favorite rewards programs are:

Southwest Rapid Rewards

Emirates Skywards

United Mileage Plus

AA Advantage

My favorite points-based rewards credit cards are:

Capital One Venture/Venture X

Chase Sapphire Preferred

^{DISCLAIMER!!!: I am not an affiliate partner for any of the programs listed above! I am listing these because they have been beneficial to me and have really helped me make travel more affordable. However, if you are not in the financial position or if you do not feel that you can manage your credit card transactions wisely, DO NOT GO THIS ROUTE! These are high interest credit cards, so while they come with a lot of benefits, they WILL come back to bite you in the ass if you don’t use them responsibly. I don’t want that for anyone.}

Other perks that come with rewards cards:

• Some cards, like the Capital One Venture/Venture X, also cover up to $120 towards the purchase of TSA PreCheck or Global Entry.
• You may get premium lounge access!
• Some provide an annual travel credit.
• You may get rental car insurance, trip cancellation insurance, and other travel protections. 
• You may get a better deal through the travel portal.
• Most rewards cards offer a sign-up bonus, as long as you spend the specified amount within the time allotted. For example: I earned 75,000 miles with Capital One Venture because I spent $4000 in my first three months. For Chase Sapphire Preferred, if you spend $5000 in your first three months, you’ll get 100,000 points!

Costco Travel

Are you a Costco member? If you haven’t taken a look at what Costco Travel has to offer, then you are missing out!

I am a longtime member of Costco, and I have to admit that I didn’t give a thought to Costco Travel until a few of my husband’s customers ranted and raved about it! One of them was a travel agent for a very notable cruise company, and she said she doesn’t buy vacations through anyone else unless they just don’t have what she wants.

What Is the Point of Buying Through Costco Travel?

To start, if you are a Costco Executive Member, you are already earning 2% back on every purchase, and that includes travel! So just like with some your rewards credit cards, whatever you purchase through Costco Travel is going to make its way back to you in the form of cash back!

As with any platform that you can book travel through, Costco Travel will not be the cheapest every single time. The reason people love Costco Travel is for the many perks that make it worthwhile, and if you’re lucky you may be scoring a good price on top of that!

Perks of Costco Travel

All-Inclusive and Bundles Packages- A vast majority of the deals you can book through Costco Travel are bundled packages. These can include daily breakfast, transportation, activities, or all-inclusive packages.

Resort Credit- Most deals include a resort credit.

Digital Shop Card- Many of these packages include a digital Costco Shop card for when you have to leave your paradise.

Miscellaneous Gifts- Other perks that I’ve seen Costco Travel throw in are bottles of wine, free wireless internet (yes this does not come free with every resort), waived resort fees, free meals for kids, private round-trip transfers, and valet parking.

Travel Insurance- Some packages cover travel insurance such as baggage coverage, trip cancellation, and emergencies.

Travel Assistance- If you’re old-fashioned like my husband, you prefer to book your entire vacation with a human being rather than online, and you can do that with Costco Travel! Need to talk to someone during or after your trip? You can still talk to a human being.

100% Refund- As long as you cancel 5 days before the date of your vacation, you will get a 100% refund.

Attend a Timeshare Meeting

Now this one is only for those brave few who already know what a scam timeshares are! This one is not for everyone. I repeat! If you think you might be interested in a timeshare, I AM NOT ENDORSING IT! I am actually suggesting you scam the scammers. A lot of resorts offer timeshares, a vacation property that multiple people can own. Each owner supposedly has a set period of the year that they can use the timeshare… but it gets a lot more complicated than that with some of these timeshares.

I won’t get into the full list of reasons why you SHOULD NOT get roped into a timeshare. That’s for another day. Not all timeshares are created equally, so at the end of the day, do your own research and see what you think!

However, I will say that I enjoyed a wonderful vacation at an amazing all-inclusive resort in Mexico because my husband and I attended the timeshare meeting (and didn’t cave in). Our stay was half the price it would normally be, and all food and drinks (including a $500 bottle of wine) were included.

And I have to say, the timeshare meeting wasn’t bad! The nice salesman showed us around the entire resort, including the exclusive penthouse that we could own if we won the lottery. Then we sat down in a room full of free food and drinks that were good, and the salesman picked our brains for 45 minutes. He tried his absolute best to convince us why we needed a timeshare at this lovely resort. Luckily my husband works in finance for the auto industry, and he knows the game, so he kept my head on straight!

That was it. We said no, we left, and had a great time! I have heard that some of these meetings can be longer than that, or even stressful due to the pushy nature of salespeople. If you stay strong though, you can get a really great vacation out of it!

The Best Ways to Save on a Luxury Vacation

Brave the mosquitoes! Bring that bug spray! Go during low or shoulder season.

Seriously consider all-inclusive!

Choose your destination wisely.

Take advantage of miles, rewards, and bundles.

Get creative!

For more tips on travel, packing, and more, check out the archive!