Travel in style, cheaply

While glamorous travel is attractive, you may not have enough money for suites on airlines or in five-star hotels.

You can still travel well, though, if you look for affordable luxuries and are flexible with your travel plans.

Planning your trip well is the first step, with timing being especially important.

While travelling around year-end holidays or European summers may be appealing, airfares and hotel rates are usually far lower if you travel off-holiday and out-of-season. 

While many of us look online for travel deals, writer Karen Harrison from travel site Tripsavvy and some other experts surprisingly suggest using a travel agent. “Travel agents, who are professionals and insiders, have better contacts and better access to deals.”

You may well not have to pay extra, either. Along with local travel companies, consider online sites such Virtuoso and Luxury Escapes for access to travel agents or sites such as Luxury Link and Secret Escapes for access to discounted luxury vacations.

CHOOSING YOUR DESTINATION

The next step is choosing your destination. While London and Paris are glamorous, they’re expensive.

Other venues offer a lot of what you love at lower prices. Consider cost-effective destinations such as Quebec in Canada rather than Paris for a French getaway, Istria in Croatia rather than Tuscany for pasta and Roman history, or Athens rather than London for a history-heavy European holiday.

Once you choose your destination, start looking at foreign currencies, too.

Exchanging for foreign currency when rates are good, at a money-changer or in a DBS bank multi-currency account, can save a lot compared with using credit cards that have huge foreign exchange mark-ups.  

BUYING AN AIRLINE TICKET

While heading to online sites such as Expedia to buy an airline ticket can be good, checking further may get you even better deals.

Ms Janice Waugh, founder of website Solo Traveler, suggests using travel search site Skyscanner’s “Everywhere” button, which shows lower prices for all sorts of destinations when you plug in your home airport.

Google Flights similarly has good deals. And if you need some help, online services such as Scott’s Cheap Flights deliver daily updates on cheap airfares.

Don’t forget to look at the airlines’ websites and sign up for their newsletters, too, since most airlines have sales throughout the year and fares may not be shared with travel search engines.

Check both business class and premium economy along with economy fares too, since there can be deals on luxurious classes of flight that are close to basic economy fares.

Skyscanner’s “Best Time to Book” data shows that booking in advance gets you a cheaper flight price, with fares typically being lowest 21 or more weeks in advance.

If you have some flexibility on the day of the week you fly, you may get lower fares by leaving on Tuesday or another weekday rather than a weekend.

Clear cookies from your browser so that sites see you as a first-time visitor, too, since they often track your visits to their website and may increase their prices when you come back. 

If you end up in economy and want to feel like you’re in business class, use a lounge.

Some credit cards offer free lounge access. Buying a Priority Pass membership, for instance, gets you access to more than 700 lounges worldwide, and you can buy single-use access through sites such as Lounge Buddy or the lounges themselves.

BOOKING A HOTEL

When you choose a hotel, selecting one just outside the city centre or tourist hubs can save you a bundle, and you’ll still be close to major sites.

If you're planning to spend most of your time outside your room sightseeing, you can save big by getting a basic room in a luxury hotel rather than a fancy room and still get the hotel’s five-star service.

Alternatively, staying on the club floor in a four-star hotel can give you a five-star experience at a four-star price.

Or if you’re on a two-week trip, stay at lower-priced accommodations the first week to save money and use the savings to upgrade yourself in the second week.

Along with checking on travel websites such as Booking.com or Agoda, check hotels’ websites for sales and get on hotels’ newsletters so you can look out for deals.

You can also make a booking without paying in advance and check the hotel’s website or apps such as Hotel Tonight for last-minute deals, then change your booking if you find a better rate.

Staying at luxury hotels that just opened can get you amazing opening offers that they use to lure guests.

Apartment rentals through sites such as Airbnb or HomeAway can give you a great location as well and you can save money by using the kitchen. 

When you want to go sightseeing, Airbnb Experiences can provide expert guides who offer amazing tours, and many cities even offer free tours.

Checking online for “affordable (city-name)” can get you deals for theatres and attractions, too. 

Also consider following the “splurget travel” trend by selecting budget options on much of your trip and then using the money you’ve saved to splurge on luxuries such as a hot-air balloon ride or dinner at a Michelin-starred restaurant. 

Perhaps surprisingly, luxury can be affordable. By taking some time and doing searches or working with professionals, you can enjoy even better vacations at affordable prices.