Bargain traveling is easier on the wallet, but luxury travel is often less 
stressful and more fruitful. This list of resources will help you find unique 
and extraordinary destinations that will inspire you to travel in luxury every 
time. Sure, the yachts, private jets and champagne hot air balloon ride are very 
expensive, but there are treasures to be found for the budget minded traveler 
looking to indulge in some luxury.  

Air Travel 

1. Private Jets: Avoid large 
   commercial airports, long lines, security checks and other travelers. Charter 
   your own personal jet to travel anywhere in the world, with as little as four 
   hours notice.


2. Chartered 
   Flights: Book your flight on a personal jet or plane to save time, and 
   depending on the destination, maybe even money. Travel in style and comfort, and 
   no fighting for a window seat.


3. Go 
   High: If money is not an issue and you’re looking for something 
   extraordinary, consider taking a classy hot air balloon ride that includes a 
   gourmet meal and champagne.


4. First Class Flyer: This 
   website can help you navigate the mysteries of discounted first- and business-class 
   air fares and flight upgrades. First Class Flyer, an online newsletter that also 
   has a new blog, is also available on the site.


5. FareCompare.com: An 
   insightful fare comparison service, good for acquiring a base of information 
   towards an educated buying decision.

Sea Travel 

1. Specialized Cruises: Allura 
   Tours has set its sights on “redefining gay luxury travel.” Their offerings 
   include a lineup of Crystal Cruises in Europe and North America.


2. Tahiti by 
   Gauguin: Sail this luxury cruise ship to exotic destinations. The cruise 
   is tailored for comfort and luxury, it’s like a black tie cruise without the 
   tuxedo.


3. Charter a Yacht: Sail away 
   to paradise aboard your own private yacht in the Virgin Islands.


4. More Yacht Resources: A 
   large and useful online resource for yacht charter enthusiasts. Yacht 
   Charters.com is the easiest way to find yachting destination information as well 
   as an extensive listing of yacht charter resources.

1. Land 
   

1. The Orient Express: With 
   five decadent trains, Orient Express is the emperor of luxury train travel. 
   Travel to iconic European destinations such as Venice, Istanbul and Prague on 
   the Venice-Simplon Orient Express, to Machu-Pichu on Peru-rail, to Edinburgh on 
   the Royal Scotsman or through rainforests and past temples of Thailand and 
   Malaysia on the Eastern and Oriental Express.


2. Rentvillas.com: Rentvillas 
   is a California-based company with a wide selection of beautiful private rental 
   properties throughout Italy. They have a terrific Web site and helpful 
   representatives.


3. Luxury 
   Golf Resorts: This site presents a complete list of the world’s best 
   golf resorts – a quintessential combination of historic holes and refined 
   country luxury that await those who may or may not be on the PGA tour.


4. Romantic 
   Luxury Hotels: Affectionate charm runs rampant in this highly selective 
   list of romantic hotels that are sure to evoke a heightened sense of passion and 
   romance.


5. Luxury 
   Ski Resorts: The most sought-after ski resorts in the world are finally 
   compiled in one place. This esteemed collection of ski resorts can boast the 
   most renowned mountains in the world with the finest ski facilities.


6. Forbes Finest: 
   A list of the World’s very best hotels and resorts, chosen by a panel of experts 
   at Forbes Traveler.


7. The Royal 
   Scotsman: A holiday on The Royal Scotsman is regarded as one of the 
   world’s great travel experiences. Encounter Scotland’s ever-changing landscapes 
   of sweeping glens, towering peaks and mirror-calm lochs as the train weaves 
   through wild countryside and along virgin stretches of coast.

Adventure 

1. IExplore.com If you’re looking 
   for more thrills in your vacation, start by exploring iExplore.com. The site 
   offers hiking and biking trips, as well as multi-sport tours. It also boasts 
   expert advice on “experiential travel,” such as a wildlife safari or culinary 
   tour.


2. Extreme Adventures: 
   Whether it’s a safari in Botswana or sledding with reindeer in Norway, this site 
   has an adventure waiting for you.


3. Luxury Adventure: We offer 
   a wide variety of rustic- luxury adventure travel options. From 
   adrenaline-packed whitewater rafting in Chile on the Futaleufu River to family, 
   kayaking and multi-sport adventures, we have an expedition to meet your 
   adventure needs and desires. All you have to do is choose an expedition!


4. Family 
   Adventures: This site gives resources for luxury adventure travel tailor 
   made to fit your family’s needs, with guided tours and experts.

Luxury Travel for Pets 

1. Kimpton Hotels: Several 
   luxury chains pull out all the stops for pets. Kimpton Hotels, which has 
   properties in 16 U.S. cities, offers its furry guests Doggie day care, gourmet 
   turndown treats, and pet massage services. Some Kimpton properties, like the 
   Monaco hotels (in Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, and Denver), have special 
   pet events like costume parties and meet-and-greet cocktail hours.


2. Starwood Hotels: If you 
   stay at any Starwood Group property (Westin, W Hotels, Le Meridien, and 
   Sheraton), you’ll get designer dog bedss that rival your own bed. Westin doggies 
   may get their own plush robes; W dogs will be welcomed with a toy and treats. Le 
   Meridien properties have a cute if pricey “Feed the Party Animal” pet 
   room-service menu.


3. Loew’s 
   Loves Pets: As part of their “Loews Loves Pets” program, Loews Hotels 
   provide pet owners with local information on pet-friendly places, parks, and 
   veterinary and grooming services; if you leave any accoutrements at home, beds, 
   litter boxes, scratching posts, pooper scoopers, and so on can be procured. 
   There are even room-service selections for your pet.


4. Dog Travel Guides: A 
   listing of worldwide pet travel guides for dogs of all sizes and breeds. 

Packages 

1. Travel Advisors: 
   DavidTravel an Editor’s Choice winner since 1998, the site has a particular 
   flair for custom travel designing for luxurious land and sea based excursions 
   worldwide.


2. Luxury Tips: Elegantly 
   appointed site offering a search of the world’s best hotels with online 
   reservations and select city guides with maps, pictures, and travel 
   information.


3. Tailored Tours: The days of 
   luxury travel live on. This site specializes in catering to those who want to be 
   treated well with tours planned down to the smallest detail including hotel 
   booking, river cruises, safaris and family packages. If the amount of money you 
   spend on a tour is not as important as the amount of pleasure you derive from 
   it…you’ll feel right at home.


4. Holiday and Leisure 
   Travel: Safaris, cruises on luxury liners and smaller vessels, fine 
   hotels and more all catering to the holiday and leisure traveler looking for the 
   very best.


5. Luxury Travel Tours: 
   Recognized in the industry for years of experience in arranging African safari 
   tours and now covering the globe with travel offerings from luxury ski packages 
   to French river canal cruises.


6. Explore Venues: Here is 
   another site that seems deceptively simple. Click on any of the vacation venues 
   on the left and you are instantly transported to destinations that are sure to 
   pique your interest.


7. Luxury Link: One-stop 
   browsing for the best of travel experiences including information on hotel & 
   destination award winners, top beaches, scenic drives, and special package 
   auction to bid on, or book directly online.


8. Posh Travel: This collection 
   of links and articles provides plenty of ideas for affluent travelers. Chateaux, 
   fine dining, and museums are just a taste of the offerings here.


9. Travel News: Keep 
   up-to-date with the latest in luxury travel with reports on the current crop of 
   best castle hotels, beach resorts, casinos, yacht cruises and private 
   islands.


10. Artisans of Leisure: 
    Artisans of Leisure tours are private and highly personalized, created for 
    discerning travelers who expect the highest level of luxury, service, and 
    attention to detail from the minute you begin planning your trip, to the day you 
    return home. Touring is flexible, with your own expert guide and driver in each 
    destination, and each day is tailored to your personal interests, schedule, 
    level of energy, and travel preferences.

Relax 

1. Nickel Spa for Men: 
   Cobalt, chrome, gray and blue make up the color scheme and the watery hues even 
   come complemented by a Decompression Chamber. Improve your life with a Facial 
   Shock Treatment (with caffeine and menthol), a Sports Massage (with red pepper 
   extract) or late night remedy — Morning After Rescue Gel.


2. Salish Lodge & Spa: 
   Thirty-five miles from downtown Seattle, Salish Lodge & Spa is an 
   award-winning resort perched spectacularly on the crest of the magnificent 
   268-foot Snoqualmie Falls. The spacious suites include Jacuzzi, wood-burning 
   fireplaces and feather beds. Signature treatments include Alpine Purification 
   Body Polish and an Earth Cocoon treatment in the Rain Room.


3. Spa Avania: Arriving at 
   Avania is like a stress decompression experience. Massages are synchronized to 
   the energy of the time of day, with music to match. Spa visitors can spend the 
   entire day taking restorative dips in the co-ed swimming pool-sized French 
   mineral pool, sipping iced mint ginger water under palm trees and by the outdoor 
   fireplace or enjoying the separate women’s and men’s eucalyptus rooms, rain 
   showers and relaxation lounges.


4. Spa Mandalay, Las Vegas: 
   This way, way, way over-the-top — 30,000 square-foot spa was designed to dazzle, 
   providing an unparalleled opulent atmosphere, with 21 treatments rooms and a 
   3,000 square-foot fitness area. Treatments include Volcanic Dust Mask and Herbal 
   Wrap with Peppermint and exfoliating body treatments which scrub lucky loungers 
   to a mango papaya sugar glow. When tired of all the manhandling, hang out in the 
   11-acre outdoor tropical sand beach, with three pools, wave generator and river 
   ride.


5. Scuba Safaris: A UK based 
   organizations, they play every aspect of luxury scuba diving tours at locations 
   around the world.

Travel for Food 

1. Vagablond.com: The 
   globetrotter’s guide to fashionable travel. Vagablond discusses boutique hotels, 
   food, wine, shopping and more.


2. Gourmet Voyageurs: An 
   e-magazine of luxury hotels, top restaurants, inns and other up-scale travel and 
   food reviews.


3. journeyPod Your guide to 
   luxury travel around the world. Learn about hippest hotels, hottest nightlife 
   and best food and wine spots.


4. Luxury Travel 
   Magazine: Magazine provides information about luxury travel destinations 
   around the globe. Site also provides travel news.


5. World’s 
   Best Gourmet Getaways: List of information on luxury destinations that 
   include gourmet food.


6. Gourmet 
   Experience: Combining luxury travel through breath-taking wine regions 
   with gourmet food and fine wines in the company of some of the world’s leading 
   chefs and winemakers.

Travel Tools 

1. Travel insurance: Buying 
   travel insurance from agencies and travel providers, such as cruise lines, is 
   usually a crummy deal because of price markups and restrictions on how the 
   policy claims can be filed. The best value policies are often those sold 
   directly by the leading travel insurance companies.


2. Seating: Make sure you pick 
   the best seat by reading reviews on airline seat quality, such as the amount 
   legroom and recline ability. Even if you already have an assigned seat, you can 
   contact the airline and try to switch to a better one.


3. Frequent Flier Miles: Webflyer 
   is a useful site for getting the best upgrade for the miles you’ve earned. See 
   how your miles convert between programs, learn about changes to your frequent 
   flier program and discover 
   how to max out the value of your mileage awards when you redeem them for 
   merchandise or services.


4. Currency Conversion: Check rates at 
   XE.com and try to exchange your dollars at a local bank. Along with an 
   easy-to-read conversion rates grid on the homepage, this site offers a host of 
   tools including a travel expenses calculator, credit card charges calculator 
   and, obviously, a conversion calculator.


5. Personal Trip Advisors: 
   Virtuoso luxury vacation, cruise and tour advisors offer exclusive insider 
   connections and industry expertise on upscale cultural endeavors, both on and 
   off the beaten path, high adventure to posh leisure on authentic luxury cruises, 
   tours and vacations.

Qunar