Value Luxury: Finding First Class Travel Experiences on an Economy Budget

It gets you a day spa and a pool and all the other amenities. It gets you access to high-quality restaurants and bars that you don't even have to leave the hotel to find.

Unless it's for a really special occasion, I wouldn't splash out on high-end accommodation. Sure, it's great and all, but imagine all of the other things you could do with that money. Imagine how much longer you could travel if you just stayed in a basic hotel, or a hostel.

• The 10 best travel bargains for ?
• Fifteenth Summer!
• You may also like these photo galleries.
• First class flights | Cheap first class flights | www.newyorkethnicfood.com!
• Calculus for Computer Graphics?
• Absolut offen. Non-dualistische Mind-Cracker - in Text und Bild. (German Edition).
• Traveller Newsletter.

Imagine the great meals you could have, or the events you could go to, or the souvenirs you could buy. Unless you're the sort of person who likes to spend the bulk of your holiday hanging around the hotel, I wouldn't recommend it. This is bucket-list stuff. You board a ship in the south of Argentina and set sail for the great southern continent, where you'll get to see huge colonies of penguins; you'll get to see orcas, and seals, and flocks of seabirds; you'll get to spend time in an Antarctic research station; and you'll get to watch and listen as huge glaciers groan and crack and tumble into the ocean.

Save your money, and do it. All of those things you're picturing — they will all be there. There's nothing on Earth that can compare to a trip to Antarctica, to feeling like an explorer as you set off from Ushuaia, to the thrill of being isolated at the bottom of the globe in one of the most beautiful places you've ever seen.

Going to Antarctica is expensive, but it's undoubtedly worth it. Or, you could accept the upgrade you'll inevitably be offered, and spend your journey roaring around the countryside in a Mustang, or a Corvette, or some equally ridiculous sports car that guzzles more fuel that you thought possible, and makes everyone look at you like you're a balding wannabe having a midlife crisis. This is not something I would ever have done, until a travelling buddy talked me into hiring a Mustang convertible to get around California for a week. To begin with it felt ridiculous, but once the sun was out and the top was down, I realised that my 'Stang was just about the best investment I could have made.

Sports cars are fun. Save some extra money and go for it, at least once.

Overcome your fear of flying with this useful advice from British Airways.

There seem to be only two ways to do a safari in southern or east Africa: The fancy way involves luxury accommodation in huge permanent tents with wooden floors and proper showers, or beautiful bungalows with plunge pools looking out over the savannah. In short, it's ridiculous, and awesome. Just for a few nights. Make it your honeymoon or something special like that. And after that, go back to regular old budget safaris. I actually love the stripped-back version of the safari experience, sleeping in a tent and making your own fire in the morning for coffee.

It feels more authentic, more adventurous, than the big-budget version. This is the best of the best. It's like going to see Lionel Messi play football, or Tom Morello play guitar. When you go to a three-Michelin-star restaurant, you're experiencing food at its finest and most inventive. It will probably be silver service, with ultra-professional waitstaff serving up tiny morsels of food that have undergone days of preparation and years of planning to make it to your table.

For foodies, it's the top rung. You have to be into food. If you're not the sort of person who's going to appreciate that this dish is a whimsical play on the chef's childhood in Paris, or that this rare seaweed was foraged from a secluded coastline in northern Scotland, then going to a three-Michelin-star restaurant is going to be a waste of time.

And even for those who really are into food, some of the best dining experiences when you're travelling can come from the cheapest restaurants. But if you want to try the best of the best, this is your only option. Travel is the secret to happiness. Visiting all the world's iconic sights by private jet. Previous slide Next slide. Why it's not worth paying to get access to airport lounges Contains: This article contains a photo gallery. The world's best premium economy seats and what they cost Contains: Etihad A superjumbo business class Contains: The secret to creating a luxury hotel's gardens Contains: Dom Perignon and lobster rolls on this luxurious Australian island Contains: A place so much like paradise, it's insane Contains: The Aussie Bond Girl who is now one of the world's top hotel designers Contains: Hawaii's hotel that's most famous for hosting US presidents Contains: South Africa luxury retreat: Where the bushmen roamed Contains: This Bali jungle glamping hotel is like no other Contains: This article contains a video.

Air Canada business class, Vancouver to Sydney Contains: The hidden paradise on one of Australia's most remote islands Contains: Twelve pools, rooms: Inside Bali's biggest resort Contains: This article contains a video This article contains a photo gallery. Inside one of London's most decadent hotels Contains: Home Travel Experiences Luxury. First class on board an Emirates A superjumbo. If your plans are more modest, and the cost of getting there concerns you most, there is a small clutch of destinations where you can pick up some exceptionally cheap flights.

There is every chance that they will come up trumps in too. Three in particular strike me as attractive options. Baden Baden has a particularly rich cultural life, with regular festivals of classical music as well as its thermal baths dating back to Roman times. Nimes is one of the most attractive and under-rated of southern French cities, with spectacular Roman ruins of its own.

All these routes are served by Ryanair ryanair. Looking for a five-star hotel? Based on average rates paid on hotels. If you prefer to be beside the sea, the cheapest luxury beach destination — and also the nearest to home — is, of all places, Benidorm. For more on Bangkok and Istanbul, see the first two entries in this round-up.

Culture means different things to different people, of course. Ticket prices vary enormously. Overall, though, our prize for value for money goes to Germany. Whether you go to Hamburg, Berlin, Munich or another major city, you will find consistent quality and variety and excellent bargains.

When it comes to museums on a budget, though, there is only one winner. For a useful list of museums in the UK, see visitbritain. Compiled with the help of data from skyscanner.

1. GRANDPA WAS A SAILOR.
2. What’s it like to fly first class?.
3. Suite Temptation (Mills & Boon Kimani) (Kimani Romance)!
4. Budget travel: The world's 50 greatest cheap experiences.
5. O. O. Octopus.
6. Charleston Garden Afghan - Vintage Crochet Pattern.
7. Enjoy First class flights with lastminute.com.

Sunday nights in city hotels are the quietest and cheapest of the week. Plan your city break from Saturday to Monday instead of Friday to Sunday and you are likely to find both flights and accommodation are much cheaper. Some price comparison sites, such as skyscanner. If you are free to plan your travel flexibly, you can make big savings. Look at the bottom line. It is easy to be seduced by a headline discount or percentage savings. The key components in any holiday are the flight and the accommodation.

My Top 5 First Class Flights - How you can Fly First Class!

But eating out can also add significantly to your costs when you get there. Many hotel rates do not now include breakfast, let alone half board or all-inclusive arrangements. And with certain types of holidays, some aspects can make a huge difference to the overall price. For example, you might think you can put together a bargain ski holiday by booking a flight and hotel independently, then find that it costs you hundreds of pounds for the transfer or hire car to the resort. We urge you to turn off your ad blocker for The Telegraph website so that you can continue to access our quality content in the future.

Visit our adblocking instructions page. Home News Sport Business.

We've noticed you're adblocking. We rely on advertising to help fund our award-winning journalism. Thank you for your support.