A lot of it depends on where you are going too. In Hong Kong for example the budget hotels I would not stay in except in an emergency. In Brazil, things are much different and I stay in many very cheap places.

In hot climates, I NEED air conditioning in order to sleep at night, so that's a priority.

Of course as others have said, first or business class on planes is the bomb. Luckily I can secure that on about 90% of my flights because I rack up zillions of miles flying for work.

Overall, if I was rich I would not change much re accomodations, but would probably opt for lots more extracuricular activities such as deep sea fishing, renting jet-skis or motorcycles, flying ultralight aircraft, etc.

How much to rent the jet ski? "$50 per half hour"
*rich braslvr* How much for ALL DAY? That kind of stuff.

Well, like most everyone else, I think the answer is "both". When I'm traveling for work, I go for a rental car and business hotel with hi-speed wireless, late night room service and a decent gym, because that's what's most supportive of Getting Work Done. However, I can definitely say that I have to work much harder to get a flavor of the place in those circumstances.

Given completely free choice when travelling, I'll go for a private room in a hostel, guest house or family inn. It's much easier to meet people in places like that, and a private room avoids sleeping with idiots. I'd usually rather walk or take public transport, unless the drive is the point.

If I had unlimited cash, I would occassionally rent a convertible or a motorcycle. I'd see lots of plays and concerts and eat where ever smelled good, provided they don't ask me to wear pantyhose.

I probably would probably drop significant cash on some excursions, because I'm a big fan of knowing how to do something (like climb or dive) before I go on a trip to do it.

La

Good topic Travis.

I’m also in the “both” camp, especially now that I’m a bit older and usually traveling with a small child. But also have some feelings about “wasteful consumption” that granny mentioned. Not so much on a philosophical or ecological level; it’s more that I often find that certain “luxury” expenses are simply not worth it. In other words, if I’m going to spend 10 times the money, I want do be damn sure that it’s going to make my travel experience 10 times better. Usually it doesn’t.

I don’t like hostels, either, Piecar – the traditional ones are too much like summer camp, and the party ones are too much like frat houses.

Food is a bit different than accommodation. It costs less to splash out on a good meal than a nice hotel, and as a result it seems to be worth it more often. Then again, I had a 10-cent thali in Bombay once that was better than many mid-range restaurants that charged ten or fifty times the price. Money doesn’t always buy authenticity, and I think all of us are searching for some degree for authenticity when we’re traveling.

Other luxuries: Even today, when I definitely have the money for taxis, porters, etc., I often avoid them. My reasons are ridiculous: Sometimes I’m just too lazy to bargain, but also, unless I’m walking 3 or 4 miles per day, I feel like I’m just not traveling!

I’m also highly attached to public transport. The worst buses sometimes make for the best memories.

One last thought: I think some answers might depend on just how much “money is not an issue.” If we’re talking private jet/private island type money, hmm, I might add a few things to my itinerary. But I don’t think it would fundamentally change how I travel ... it’s still about getting your boots on the ground and sampling the world around you.

It'd be sweet if my boat had a/c and a refridgerator... that'd be doing a double or nothing to my budget though!

Sign me up for both... that is my favorite way to travel; part budget, part splurge. You meet the wonderful quirky folk in a hostel as you do in a fancy hotel - it is more of the attitude you exude while traveling.

I love traveling by myself and meeting up with friends along the way ... it makes it so much more interesting.

Life is an adventure live BIG!

I'd also go for the mix of both. I really wouldn't mind being cheap for the rest of the trip if I could fly/travel first class.

If luxury means a fancy hotel like a Ritz, or something like that, I don't think I'd go luxury, even if I could - it just seems like kind of a waste (although if I were on a honeymoon or something, it might be worth it!! ;-). When I'm traveling I don't spend much time in my room - I leave early morning, and come back late afternoon or evening. And I don't like to swim, and don't need a jacuzzi, so the whole concept seems kind of pointless to me. But when I've traveled with my family or recently with my mom, we tend to stay in suites, but they're nothing extra fancy - just lots of space and a little more furniture. That's just how my family travels.

However I do have my standards. A clean, quiet, cozy place, with some open space. I've stayed in private rooms in hostels/pensions, and they've been perfectly fine. If I could afford it all of the time, I'd probably always go for b&b type places, or family run places -- they are so worth it to me. But if I were going on an extended trip, I wouldn't be able to do that all of the time.

Everyone has their priorities -- I'll spend some extra money on a nicer room, but that's because I rarely go to museums (I tend to get bored in them), and I don't go to the bars - so I figure I save a lot that way!

'Going luxury' for me would be going to locations that are super expensive to get to, staying in b&b's or cabins, and going on those expensive adventure-type tours. And taking the private jets to get to all of the little islands, up in Alaska, for example, to see all of the wildlife. That sorta thing.

quote:

Originally posted by happygirl_7:
Sign me up for both... that is my favorite way to travel; part budget, part splurge.

I love traveling by myself and meeting up with friends along the way ... it makes it so much more interesting.

agreed.
things it would be nice to splurge on: in-country flights, expensive, once-in-a-lifetime activities unique to the place you are going, extra excursions, meals at fancy restaurants on occasion, taxicabs so you dont find yourself walking alone down 2 miles of dark busy highway at night in new zealand cuz you are too fokin' cheap to get a taxicab. (i did this in june)

I fall in the middle: I like the comfort that travelling with money affords me, as well as not having to worry about money when I want to go on that hot air balloon ride, or try the lobsters in that restaurant with a view of the sea, BUT I don't like being waited on hand and foot, it stresses me out a little, I also prefer to hang around with the more down-to-earth crowd rather than the snooty, spoiled gaggles of people, so I would most likely hang and dine in more budget-friendly places if for that reason alone.

I'm not a rock-bottom traveller as it is, but there's more than a few choices that have been dictated by budget.

If I had vast sums of money at my disposal, I'd spend it where I figured it would benefit me the most. Accomodation, I've found, is not a sector where you always get what you pay for. Small pensions, b&bs, and sometimes even hostels will provide better service than most 3, and some 4 star hotels, for a fraction of the price. I already stay in a mix of hostels, pensions, b&bs and the like, so while the number of hostels would decrease with more money (and dorm rooms would be eliminated entirely), this wouldn't be a fundamental change.

Transportation - likewise. I'd stick with public transit and the like. Rental cars now and again is okay, but I've found they're more stress and work, and sitting on your ass, than they're worth in the long run. And I try to avoid cabs when they're likely to rip me off...the amount of money I have is irrelevant...I've never felt more cheated than the $3 we spent to get to our hotel from the bus station in Damascus.

I don't think I could justify paying for first class airline tickets to myself. Maybe if I was super-rich and it really was just a drop in the bucket. But really, it's only a few hours of my life, and economy really isn't that bad. Not worth double or tripling the price of the ticket over.

Excursions, on the other hand, I'm sure could benefit from a little cash infusion. Ballooning in Cappadocia, anyone?

So, there seems to be a consensus here. Everyone would like more money, but it seems few of us are likely to join the 5 star crowd. (Not that I'd say no to a couple nights at the Burj al Arab...who's paying? )

I'm out now on a long RTW right now and I have been asking myself these same questions lately.

I find that public transportation is the best way to get around for me, seeing the streets, the people, hearing the city. I'm hoping to only have two or three flights in my 2.5 yr. trip.

When it comes to accommodation, I like to mix it up. If I've been on my own for a while, I'll stay in the dorm with the party people. But when I need a good place to check email, wash my grubby clothes and self, I'll find a nice room alone (like Irkutsk on the Trans-Sib route when I paid for a nice room but with good amenities and a spectacular view of the city and the river. Hint: I checked in after midnight and had two nights for the price of one!).

With food, I mix it up too, sit-down nice food or cheap.

Where I refuse to stress too much about money is with thank-yous for friends or new aquaintances who take me in or with letters and cards and email time that keep me in touch with my family and friends.

I may never get back to some of these places and I don't want to be left with the regret that I could have had a one time experience in a museum or elsewhere if I had only spent the extra $10. I'll just skip dinner or stay in a cheap hotel....

A question without a yes or no answer! Travel is political and travel is personal.

I think I fall somewhere in the middle, closer to the rock-bottom budget. To be honest, I find luxury travel boring. I'd rather travel close to the earth, which I find allows me to have the most interesting experiences. I like to meet the locals, to experience things on my own rather than with a bunch of tourists who aren't into the local experience, to do local transportation. In travel, my goal is to learn about the culture, and to truly get a sense of the place I am in.

That's not to say that I don't enjoy the occasional splurge, but it's certainly not my preferred means of travel. I don't like dorm rooms, but have stayed in some pretty divey places on my own. Once in a while, I'll splurge for a tour (the couple hour kind), if it allows me access to and information about a place that I wouldn't be able to get on my own.

Besides, unless I had limitless funds that allowed me to do whatever I please, I'd far sooner travel budget more often than luxury less frequently.

My most recent trip, which was pretty rock bottom, drew comments like, "that's not my idea of a vacation." I guess it wouldn't be for a lot of people, but that's fine. My mode of travel may come with it discomforts, but it also allows me to have what I feel are far richer experiences than I would get otherwise. I learn a lot, and for me, that enrichment is far more refreshing than a week in a resort would be.

No way! Well, okay, maybe a couple times.

I've actually done both. I've been pampered beyond pampered in Hawaii, and I've cheap'd it in Europe. Both types of experiences were awesome, but I've always brought back more with my in terms of experience and memories when going the budget route.

Staying in hostels, meeting new people, eating from local groceries stores, that's the way to go if you really want to experience another culture -- and meet new people from around the world while travelling.

Save the cushy splurgy stuff for home, and when you travel -- go budget.

quote:

Originally posted by Piecar:

But the only thing I could think of was: "That much money would mean I didn't have to own anything. Don't need a car. Don't need a home. No reason to have stuff piled somewhere. No reason for a constant address. No reason to have a phone. It's just me and "Bugs" at this point.I can dump everything.

So...NO....If I had all the money in the world. The first thing I would do...Is dump luxury. I'd live the WALDEN way. And do a jig to do it.

D

F*ck ya. I'm getting rid of so much sh*t now that I'm leaving for 2 years and I can't wait... owning stuff sucks!

ya know, while my budget says I gotta go cheap, if I could, would I?

Probably not all the time. Sometimes, tho, it's really really nice to be waited on hand and foot, have everything brought to you, everything arranged, and just take a total pampering break. When you don't know anyone, it's nice to stay somewhere they refer to you by name. Even if they do have to access your reservation to do it. huge hotel chain or small boutique place, I don't care at that point, so long as I'm wallowing in lazy splendor.

That said, while a couple days in a super hotel with or without car and driver and pampering, and masages, and room service is nice sometimes... the bowing and scraping gets old quick. I'm also much less likely to get out as much as I want to when my room is worth staying in.