A quick heads up for all you Aussies, or travellers visiting the land Down Under, Jetstar is having a sale on domestic fares. You can score yourself a bargain with flights as cheap as $39 one way (Melbourne to Adelaide).The good thing is that many of the flights are available to use during December & January (when often sale fares can only be used in off-peak times). Maybe it is time to plan a little Summer getaway?
Glamour + Camping = GLAMPING
This upscale, stylish take on what is traditionally a very budget-conscious way to holiday is becoming increasingly popular as modern travellers focus more on unique experiences with luxurious touches than just your run-of-the-mill hotel or resort experience.
Glamping has all the hallmarks of traditional camping - the wilderness, isolation and sleeping under the stars, minus uncomfortable camping mattresses, eating beans from a can and a lack of showers.
Basically, glamping is camping for the jet set and if you’re keen to see it at its best you need to get yourself to one of the following hot glamping destinations:
Longitude 131, Northern Territory, Australia.
Longitude 131 accommodates its guests in elevated luxury tents which boast features such as air-conditioning, mini bars and BOSE sound systems.
Clayoquot Wilderness Resort, British Columbia, Canada.
Offers remote-controlled propane wood- stoves, antique dressers and tea tables, heirloom china and silver accessories and wireless internet access in their ‘tents’.
Paperbark Camp, New South Wales, Australia.
Glamps it up with candle-lit dinners and ‘in-tent’ massages.
But if you’re truly a budget traveller in every sense of the word and these glamping options exceed your budget, it doesn’t mean you can’t add some style to your next camping adventure. For some DIY glamping, don’t forget to pack a few little luxuries along with your tent and fold-out chair.
My picks for the little extras that can turn your camping into glamping would include:
Champagne (no surprises there) - adds a bit of glamour to any situation.
Sun lounges - not your usual camping gear but for something that doesn’t take up much more room in the car than a fold-out chair they add a resort-like feel to your modest camping trip.
Gourmet camping recipes - camp fire cooking can extend far beyond baked beans without a great deal more effort. Try camp recipes for meals such as Mostaccioli with Prosciutto and Pine Nuts.
What are your thoughts and ideas on adding glamour to your camping experience?
With such an abundance of travel blogs and websites out there, excuses are few to not be inspired and resourced to travel in style.
But if you don’t have the time or inclination to search these sites, you’re in luck. Champagne Travel on a Beer Budget does the searching for you and presents the finds in our monthly ‘Link Love’ post. Let the link love begin…
My latest travel blog crush would have to be The Jet Set Life. Check it out and see why.
New website Backpackability is home to a handy list of Budget Travel & Backpacking Resources.
Via Gridskipper, check out the article on the Best New Residence Hotels. I mean really, can you get more champagne travel than setting up digs at a glam hotel? I think not…
I think you are either a quote person or you’re not and I definitely fall into the camp of people who love a good quote. If you’re like me, you’ll love Brave New Traveler’s compilation of The (Next) 50 Most Inspiring Travel Quotes Of All Time.
If you’ve found any other great resources online, feel free to share them in the comments.
If you’re a US resident or have plans to be travelling there in the near future, it is well worth checking out Things You Should Do
This site has tonnes of suggestions for fun things to do in different cities across America and beyond, in fact yours truly has recently done a guest post on free & cheap things to see & do when travelling in Melbourne, Australia.
This post was one of the original ones posted on Champagne Travel on a Beer Budget, and has by far been one of the most popular.
If you are new to the site, other popular past posts that you may want to check out are:
Indulge in a luxury spa experience without the luxury price tag
Having the time of your life travelling solo
How to make flying economy feel like first class
The Ultimate Guide to Getting an Upgrade when you Fly - Pt 1 (I promise Pt 2 is coming soon!)
Pour yourself a glass of bubbly and settle back for a little bit of online travel browsing:
Travel podcasts
If you’re like me and couldn’t imagine travelling without your ipod, you can now justify your dependence as being a clever strategy to lighten your load. Vagabondish provides a great guide to all the fantastic travel podcasts available here.
Why not lighten the weight of your backpack or suitcase by exchanging a few of those travel and guide books with some of these travelcasts?
Do you have a favourite travel podcast? Please share it in the comments.
The World’s Best Beaches
I love a beach holiday - there’s no need to pack a great deal, you’re guaranteed to leave relaxed and there’s nothing better to daydream about in the weeks leading up to the holiday than laying on a sandy beach, cocktail in hand.
My favourite beach holidays to date have been spent at Haad Tien Beach, Ko Phan Ngan, Thailand & Paradise Beach, Mykonos, Greece.
But as it is currently winter in my homeland of Australia and I don’t have any beach holidays in my plans at the moment, Concierge is providing me with my fix through the 2008 Guide to the World’s Sexiest Beaches.
Read, dream and then start planning your next beach holiday!
Wedding bells…
When checking out the different search engine terms that bring people to Champagne Travel on a Beer Budget, I have noticed a few people searching for budget honeymoons. If that is what brings you here, you may appreciate another great blog along the champagne life on a beer budget philosophy - Champagne Wedding on a Beer Budget.
Our blogs crossed paths due to the similar names and I’m glad to recommend it, especially if you’re in the process of planning a wedding that has plenty of style without costing you plenty of cash!
Perhaps a future post on honeymoons is in order? My honeymoon was an absolute blast and was spent in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo & Byron Bay, Australia. If you have any tips or hints for anyone planning a honeymoon, please send them in!
Here’s the latest online offerings in the world of budget travel:
The ever useful Frommers Price Index for May 2008. Find out just how far your dollar will take you everywhere from Trindad to Tokyo.
Budget Travel provides great ideas for making European travel more affordable by travelling by bike.
Brave New Traveller has us thinking about the importance of travelling with an open mind.
Budget Globetrotting posts on learning languages while travelling . And the best bit? All the resources they mention are free.
So pour yourself a glass of champers & settle back for some great travel reading this weekend.
As for me, I am off to spend the weekend in New South Wales’ Hunter Valley Wine Region. I’ll be sure to report back with lots of great tips for budget travel in wine regions.
Have a great weekend Champagne Travellers!
Cheers
Tara x
If you want to travel in style (especially if you’re not quite making the Forbes Richest 100 list yet), getting the low down on a destination before you arrive is imperative.
When you have done your research, it is easier to travel with confidence, to have a fair idea of how far your money can take you and to decide what it is you want to spend your money on (I personally am a big fan of scrimping on some aspects of travel so that I can splurge on others).
Last Carriage provides some excellent ideas on Researching your Destination before you go.
To Last Carriage’s suggestions, may I add the following online ports of call for stylish travel preparations:
Gridskipper
Lonely Planet Thorntree Forum
The Cool Hunter
Checking out these sites supplements the tried and true favourite of…
Asking people who have been there!
Nothing beats first hand experience and asking friends for the low-down can be a great way to avoid hidden scams and find out what isn’t necessarily worth the money & what is.
The positive here is that everyone loves to talk about their travels and most people will be more than keen to share their experiences (as well as show you way too many photos).
The downside is that everyone is different and what is trash to some is treasure to others. Consider the personalities, likes & dislikes of the people you are asking (and if possible ask people with similar values & interests to yourself) and take everything you hear with a grain of salt.
Now back to our original question is… How do you prepare for a trip?
Have you ever day dreamed about escaping to your own private island for an indulgent holiday with friends? (if your answer is no.. c’mon, really, what are you daydreaming about?).
I couldn’t think of a better way to spend a week or two and so I have been researching the options. And of course, as my beer budget doesn’t quite stretch to accommodate all my champagne travel tastes, I’ve been looking to take this rock star holiday, without the rock star price tag.
And I think I have found my answer. Found through Private Islands Online, here are a couple of fabulous islands that are yours to rent for less than the cost of a good night out.
from US $84 /wk
from US $113/wk
from US $159/wk
If you know of other great champagne accommodation options that suit beer budgets, please leave your pearls of wisdom in the comments.
Thats right. Dinner absolutely free. We’re talking about the full deal - starters, main meal, a bottle of wine, all from top restaurants.
This is one little tip that is essential to any champagne traveller’s arsenal.
Last month I was travelling to visit a friend in another state. During this trip I was able to take someone out for dinner, enjoy great starters, a beautiful meal and wine in a funky restaurant in the middle of the CBD.
And the best part? At the end of the night I was able to tell my friend that dinner was on me.
The even better part? I kept the receipt and was completely re-imbursed for the full cost of both meals.
Next month I have a few hours stop-over at an international airport. How will I pass the time? I’ll be spending part of it enjoying another fantastic meal and a glass of wine at a great restaurant, all on the house.
How do I do this? I am a mystery diner.
The Mystery Dining Company re-imburses me for all my meal & drink expenses and in return I answer a questionnaire on my experience at the restaurant. The questionnaire covers the ambience, the service, the cleanliness and of course the meal itself.
The Mystery Dining company has clients in the UK, the US, Australia, Turkey, Norway, Egypt and more. These clients are restuarants, coffee shops and cafes. They want feedback on their services and are willing to give you dinner on the house in exchange.
You do need an eye for detail and need to fax your receipts and answer the online questionnaire to the Mystery Dining Company by the next day.
But if that sounds like an ok deal for being able to have a great eating experience for free, it might be something worth checking out.
Are there any other similar services that you have been a part of? What was your experience?
Want to step off the plane looking like you’ve been luxuriating in first class when the reality is you’ve been cramped back in economy?
Read on for a selection of tips on travel style from those who do it well:
Lisa Bjorksten gets the inside secrets from one of those impossibly polished Emirates air attendents at Beauty Addict
Anna Soref gives the low-down on in-flight Ayurvedic beauty tips at The Yoga Journal
Michelle Johnson delivers practical advice in Frequent Flyer Fashion - arrive at the airport in style
Photo source - Flickr
Want to relax? Detox? Feel rejuvenated? Look amazing?
If so, make sure your next travel experience involves some time at a luxury spa…
Steam rooms, spas and communal baths have been all the rage in countries such as Turkey and Korea for centuries, but day spas and spa resorts are a phenomena that has increased exponentially over the past decade.
And if you have been to one, then you know why. Nothing beats the feeling of walking out of a spa in a blissful state. Refreshed & calm while radiating that glow that is only acheived by being massaged to within an inch if your life.
Most luxury hotels from Sydney to Singapore, Chennai to Costa Rica have their own spa (with some resorts even being solely dedicated to the spa experience), meaning you can work a bit of spa action into the itinerary of nearly any trip you are planning.
But if you are reading Champagne Travel on a Beer Budget, chances are that you want the luxury experience without the luxury price tag. Am I right? Never fear, here are some ideas for a champagne spa experience on a beer budget:
1. Book into a luxury spa, but stay at cheaper accommodation nearby
Just because you are not staying at a hotel or resort, doesn’t mean you can’t book into their spa facilities. So, to cut down the cost of your spa experience, book into the spa at a ritzy resort but book your accommodation close by in a cost-friendly hotel.
Using Thailand as an example, here are three tried and tested spa resorts (from budget to decadent) that have very affordable accommodation options nearby:
Whether you book in for a quick beauty treatment or a week long fasting program, most spas will allow you to use their facilities (either complimentary or for a small fee) - pools, spas, saunas, fresh juice. Which leads to my next point…..
2. Pace your spa experience
Think that a whole day at a spa is too expensive? Then pace out your spa experience. Only booking in for a massage & a blow-dry? Space your treatments out and make a day of it. Get there early and relax in the sauna and spa. Have one treatment and then laze by the pool reading a book and sampling some spa cuisine before you have another. Spending a day at the spa is a very glam and decadent experience and you’ll walk out feeling like a new person.
3. Find a hidden gem
Every travel destination has its own well-known spa, you know the one, you’ve seen it in the magazines, heard it whispered about with almost reverential tones. But usually not too far away is another spa that is maybe not as well known, far less pricey, but still a haven of relaxation equipped with therapists that really know what they’re doing. Ask the locals where they go, check out the back streets and don’t be put off by spas that look like they’re in need of a fresh coat of paint (as opposed to things you should be put off by - like promises of ’sensual’ massage). Some of these spas without all the hype are the tried and true black book secret of many a local.
One that springs to mind straight away is The Ginseng Bathhouse. Located in Sydney, Australia’s Kings Cross, this spa (also known as the Korean Baths) has been relaxing and rejuvenating locals for years for less than half the cost of spas only blocks away. It may be a no-frills establishment, but these women take the spa experience seriously and ensure that you won’t regret your visit.
