How much is too much for a holiday?

[Orangeradiorabbit]

I always try to holiday cheaply with off peak or last minute deals. However, in the next few years I'm imagining taking a 'once in a lifetime' holiday. Think luxury safari or Maldives. How much is too much to spend on a holiday?

I don't have children, but reading other threads it feels like people sometimes spend 10s of thousands taking the family to Disney World, or similar, during the summer holiday.

Is £15k-£30k too much to spend on a couple going away somewhere amazing? For example, that might just be 1 week away and you could do so much with that money elsewhere. Especially when you could do a similar thing, but with less luxury (I.e. a budget version).

How do you draw the line? How do you mentally justify paying a large amount of money for a holiday? Or, are you someone who could afford it in theory, but don't because it feels like a waste of money- how did you make that decision? Have you been on a luxury break and wished you did the budget version? Or have you spent out a whack of money and it was worth every penny? Do you travel luxury on the regular?

I'm keen to understand others' experiences and thinking process. Part of me thinks: you only live once, why not see the world. The other part thinks: why not do something sensible instead, and travel much more cheaply. I'm also worried going somewhere luxury might become a new 'habit' and 'once in a lifetime' becomes once every few years.

I know being able to afford it/ not being able to afford it is one key criteria - and I'm aware of being privileged to be able to have this consideration in a COL crisis.

more details please this sounds fantastic

Yes me too!

You’re so right actually! Makes me think. I think just years of doing without and putting myself last is a hard habit to break.

We actually white water rafted down the Zambezi - the rapids started at the boiling pot at Vic Falls. The canoes usually start after the rapids cease.

Look forward to reading the article when it comes out

Loads of operators offer canoeing. It’s also on offer above Vic Falls.

@orangelotus , @Birchtrees I went to Zambia both times. First to South Luangwa National Park and Victoria Falls. Second to South Luangwa again and Lower Zambezi National Park. I wouldn't be surprised if I went a third time...

I booked thru Expert Africa but Yellow Zebra Safaris are also good.

My problem with spending loads on a holiday is whether it lives up to expectations - as, for that much, you will expect it to be perfect. I have been disappointed in the past, so would now rather do a couple of great holidays for the same price as one mega holiday!

I took the dc to a game park in South Africa for a week and booked independently. Beautiful camp, amazing tents, and for about a tenth of your budget. The people ant the camp helped us book the transfer (by private driver) from the airport. Admittedly the flights will from what I understand have gone up now, but a fabulous experience is still doable for way less than your budget and means you can go more than once.

We took our teenagers to Disney at Easter. Absolutely haemorrhaged cash but they loved it and we had a great time. DH travels a lot and the company he does that for (conferences etc) pay for him to go business and he always sends us photos as we are normally easy jet folks. So this time we splashed on upgrades on the way back with flat beds-was an amazing experience for all of us to share and the teenagers loved it.

back to easy jet and France for the summer though!

@Tailfeather Surely it depends what your expectations are? For example, great museums do not change that much! The Taj Mahal should still be there. Ditto the Empire State Building. Beaches do not change. The major variable is a hotel. However we tend to move around. So if one hotel isn’t as good as we hoped, the next one is.

The success of an expensive holiday, to me, depends on experiences and, to some extent, travel arrangements working out. Not the quality of the cocktails. It’s where you are, what you came to see snd experience. Money buys those things. You don’t have to stay in an expensive lodge in a game reserve. The animals you will see are the same! So I would always say decide what interests you abroad and concentrate on that. I would always prefer going to see interesting things over a beach hotel these days. So I’m never disappointed but I do a lot of homework!

Also, if you want a safari, paying in the local currency is always cheaper. However it’s not always easy if you are based in the uk. We have friends in SA who have booked for us. If you want everything arranged here, it does cost more. Lots of the best small camps book up. We are quite choosy about where we go in terms of location and when. You can certainly save money by booking via the agents in the country you are visiting. Here Expert Africa and Wildlife Worldwide are very knowledgable.

@shivawn when doing self drive how did you find your way around in Kenya? We went to some private conservancies which were hard to find even for our driver.

And then on the game drives he was very experienced at knowing where the animals were, I know we'd never be able to do that ourselves. I'd be worried about getting lost on the vast African plains without another person or vehicle in sight as far as the eye can see.

I think our trip was more expensive because we did stay at some very nice camps which for us is part of the experience. We could probably do it more cheaply with more budget accommodation but I don't think we'd enjoy it as much.

I'd like to go to South Africa but I'm not sure I'm keen on the game reserves there as they're enclosed I think? Self drive would make it cheaper.

We're thinking of Japan next year which will be another expensive holiday.

@TizerorFizz we booked direct with a local operator in Kenya. It was definitely cheaper than booking through a UK operator. We packed in a lot though and stayed at some amazing places and it was worth every penny and more. I'm talking myself into doing it again next year even though we really should cut back our holiday spending.

No such thing as "too much" as long as you can afford it.

We spent in excess of your upper limit on Antarctica/South Georgia/Falklands (for 2 people). We could've just done Antarctica but figured if we were going to do it, we might as well go all out.

I've spent a fuckload of money travelling but I don't regret any of it. Haven't always enjoyed it, but glad of everywhere I've been.

I wouldn't ever spend similar on a beach holiday - maybe if i was an avid diver i would. Safaris are worth spending on but I'd rather go for longer than stay in fancy accommodation. I don't really care about hotels/facilities. I splurge on activities and experiences.

Galapagos is another that I'd chuck a decent chunk of cash at. And Greenland. Oh and Canada (specifically Churchill for the polar bears).

I’ve always travelled as cheaply as possible but my favourite holiday was a weekend in Queenstown where we blew our budgets but got some great experiences (skydive, heli-hike on a glacier, skiing, ice bar etc). I would spend thousands going back there again (if I had it). On the other hand, my second favourite holiday was probably a bus tour around the Great Ocean Road and Grampians in Australia where the only additional cost was the bus ticket (less than AUD300) and the company was fantastic.

It therefore really depends what you want to get out of the holiday. If you want pampered and spoilt, then you need to pay what that costs (whatever it is). It’s only ‘too much’ if you can’t afford it or don’t enjoy it. You can definitely have a good holiday for a lot cheaper, but there’s no point if it doesn’t get you the holiday you want.

Yes, that’s my problem too. If I’ve paid a fortune, I expect it to be amazing and that’s stressful in itself.

I went with my husband so costs probably weren't much different if you're a family of 4. We went for 2 weeks too and split our time between Tsavo East and an all inclusive resort in Diana Beach, we just had one day to explore Mombasa at the end of the trip.

@shivawn ok yes in that case it works out to the same. I thought you'd found an amazing bargain safari company!

We have booked a luxury Ecuador and Peru trip which is $42,000 for the 2 of us. That’s the most we have spent on one trip but it is a once-in-a-lifetime one. We usually spend at least $15,000 on a holiday and go a few times a year. We only fly business class or better, and that eats up a good chunk of they money. Travel is our priority. More do than our cars or “stuff” for the house.

We can comfortably afford it. That’s the question you should be asking: “can I comfortably afford this?”