Many of us wish we could travel and vacation like the rich and the famous, but we are all stopped in our tracks by the exact same thing, budget. However, there are ways to still go on holiday like a loaded high roller, without spending the same amount of money.

This post will give you tips on not only how to have a fantastic holiday, but have a fantastic holiday on a budget that will suit almost everyone’s pocket.

Join a Loyalty Program
The very first thing you should do is join a loyalty program or two. There are many banks and insurance companies and the like that offer discounts on hotels, air miles, discounts on flights etc. simply by being a part of their business.

These loyalty schemes will vary in value, but if you look around, you will find that you don’t have to change your bank or anything to have access to these fees. Many businesses have these loyalty point type approaches, in some form or another, built in that you benefit from when using them or having an account with them

PayPal is a simple example, you get discounts every now and then on flights if you pay for it through PayPal. This does all require some research, but it really is a way to “hack” the system. Using these loyalty schemes can even get you a free weekend away or a free First Class upgrade.

While it isn’t quite a loyalty program, there are companies that offer “all-in-one” holidays. These type of holidays are also very popular in the skiing world, but they do apply across the board.

Plan Ahead
Planning ahead is crucial to not only being able to get the best deal on a hotel stay or flight, but will help you avoid overpaying. An absolute budget killer is booking last minute or not knowing where you will stay once you land.

There are so many examples every day where you will book a flight a month in advance at one price, but booking it a few days in advance is triple the price for the same reason. This happens constantly, and should be avoided at all costs.

Pick Less Popular Destinations
Another mistake that some people make is thinking that a very particular, popular destination is the only one that can fulfill their holiday needs. This couldn’t be further from the truth. There are many, many countries that have beautiful beaches, mountains, etc.

Researching lesser known destinations is a massive money saver compared to the more popular ones. The other issue being that popular tourist countries start catering for tourists, up their prices, and therefore you spend far more money.

Less popular destinations don’t have this problem. While they are just as beautiful, just as enjoyable and just as memorable, they are a fraction of the price of going somewhere that is packed with tourists.

Travel in the Off-Season
This is an aspect of travel that plays a huge role in how much you end up spending. There are very obvious seasons of travel for countries. Ones with great beaches will be busy in Summer, countries that are famous for their snow and skiing and the like will be very busy in Winter.

What you want to do is, avoid those countries during those times. Traveling to the UK over Christmas is clearly going to be far more popular, and expensive, than traveling there during May or June for instance.

It is also important to note when the school holidays are for the country you are traveling to. This could also have an impact on travel and accommodation costs within the country as obviously the locals will be going on holiday.

Mix the Level of Hotels
A hotel stay is a massive expenditure that you can easily avoid if you ask yourself the question, will you be spending more time sight-seeing, or at the hotel? If the answer is sight-seeing, why spend a ton of cash on a 5-star hotel that you are just going to sleep at and maybe have breakfast a couple of times?

Rather find a nice, simple hotel that looks comfortable, and spend your money on doing holiday things, this will also afford you the chance to maybe spend a couple of nights at a higher end hotel if you wanted to.

Know What Most Things Cost
Last tip, is know what things cost. If you are going to want to travel around a lot, find out the cost of the average taxi ride, is it cheaper to rent a car? What does a meal cost on average, you don’t have to find out everything but it is all useful to know.

This will once again allow you to splurge in other areas of your holiday. The amount of times travelers have landed somewhere new and are shocked when they find out their first taxi or Uber to their hotel blows their day’s budget is ridiculous, and avoidable.

As you can see, it is very easy to have a long, fun holiday with your partner or family that is not only luxurious, but also very affordable. If you just do your research and follow these tips, you’ll be holidaying like the rich and famous in no time.