In this post we will be sharing a bunch of tips that you can implement into your travel plans this year to live it up big in 2023!
Our Aussie dollar…
Our dollar has dropped significantly against the US dollar over the past 12 months. If you want to get the most bang for your buck in 2023, it all starts with knowing where your money will go the furtherest. Let’s look at some destination where we can take advantage of our currency!
AUD strong against Thailand Baht (Bangkok/Phuket – Rest of Thailand)
AUD strong against Fijian Dollar (Fiji)
AUD strong against Indonesia Rupiah (Bali/Jakarta)
AUD strong against Pacific Franc (New Caledonia)
AUD even against NZ Dollar (New Zealand – Queenstown, Christchurch, Auckland)
AUD ok against Canadian Dollar but better than US dollar (Canada)
Under rated destinations
Now that we know the destinations our AUD will go a long way, we can start to research some of the hotels in those areas to see what is best suited for us. People think that you need to go all the way to the Maldives or Bora Bora to stay in overwater villas but New Caledonia & Fiji have those style villas for a fraction of the cost! Nusa Dua & Uluwatu in Bali has some of the best hotels in the world also for a fraction of the cost you would pay in other countries. Do some research into what suits your style best but there are plenty of luxury options to countries that won’t blow out the budget.
Marriott, Fiji – Image by Marriott
Doubletree Hilton, New Caledonia – Image via Hilton
Mulia Resort, Nusa Dua – Image via Mulia Resort
Bulgari Resort, Uluwatu – Image via Klook
Off Peak Travel Periods
To get even more bang for your buck, try to avoid off peak periods such as school holidays/Easter/Xmas etc. In a lot of countries you also pay a premium for weekends too so if possible try to stay during weekdays to ensure you’re getting the cheapest rates.
Booking Direct
Very rarely will you find hotel rates cheaper than what is offered directly from booking through the hotels website. If you do, give them a call or email saying you would love to stay at the hotel and if they can offer a better rate than what you have found. Majority of the time they will at least match it, often beat it.
Packages & Deals
The exception to the rule of booking direct can sometimes come from package deals from sites like luxury escapes or Groupon etc. These sites offer great deals and sometimes you can get a deal on your flights too that make it even more worthwhile. ALWAYS, check with the hotels website to see how cheap the deal you’re getting actual is. Often, you can book on the hotels website a very similar deal that will end up costing less than the packaged deal the 3rd party sites are offering. Remember any 3rd party site is likely getting paid somehow for their efforts and that is usually baked into the price you pay somehow.
Utilise destinations where flights are easy to book using points
It is no secret that paying for flights with points offers unreal savings (especially in business class). If you have points, utilise them to keep costs down. As everyone gets their built up travel cravings out of the way in the coming years, flights to destinations that are currently hard to book with points should begin to free up in the coming years. For now, try to take advantage of the easy routes.
Cut food & drink costs
A huge expenses when travelling (especially for long periods of time) can be food & alcohol. I know it’s a holiday but if you want to stay at nice places or dine out at nice places consider the following… Maximise free buffet breakfasts and try to skip lunch. Save those extra fancy restaurants to every 2nd or 3rd day. Limit alcohol intake… I know us Aussies love to drink but this can make a huge deference to the budget.
A local holiday
While the costs of local accomodation have increased after COVID, a local holiday will still likely end up saving you a fair bit in flights and possibly food (if you can cook yourself). You could always use the money you would save on flights towards increasing the accomodation budget for a local holiday!
Check out our other blogs on our travel hacks page for more articles on getting the best rates for accomodation in 2023!
Avoid travel agents & 3rd parties
Travel agents don’t plan your trips & work for free… inside your ‘deal’ you are paying for them in someway or another. Same goes with 3rd party sites. No one is sending bookings to hotels out of the goodness of their hearts. You can save a lot of money planning your travels yourself and there is a wealth of knowledge on the internet that gives you everything you need. Use Qantas & Virgin for flights, Tripadvisor for hotel reviews & general information, Escape of the Week for travel hacks & tips, YouTube for vlogs on help with itineraries or just google what you’re after and explore a few of the options.
