Luxury vs. Budget Travel: A Tale of Two Trips

Weary-eyed, as midnight approached after a day and a half of travel, we spotted the smiling man holding the sign that read the one word we were looking for, “Dahleen.” My parents and I were briskly led through customs in Ho Chi Minh City and handed off to our guide who, along with a private driver and van, would show us around the city the next couple of days.

First, we needed sleep, and we were driven directly to the Fusion Suites Saigon, where a family room awaited us.

Seven months later, just south of the equator, I disembarked an airplane with my wife and teenage sons an hour or two before midnight, and I navigated customs with my broken Spanish that wasn’t nearly as good as the custom agent’s English. We accepted a taxi ride for the same price as my phone was showing for an Uber to take us to Lima’s Barranco neighborhood, and we were on our way to our Airbnb.

After taking two somewhat similar but very different two-week trips to far-flung tourist destinations in the past year, I think it will be fun to compare and contrast the rather luxurious Vietnam trip that I took with my parents to the relatively budget trip to Peru taken with my wife and kids.

 

Good Morning, Vietnam!

 

For years, my Dad had expressed an interest in returning to Vietnam. He hadn’t stepped foot in the country since his nearly year-long tour of duty as a young Army dentist ended in 1972. When I got a flight deal alert for Vietnam, I sent it to my parents, who promptly asked if I’d be willing and able to join them on such a trip.

With my kids back in school, we couldn’t just up and leave for two-plus weeks in the fall, but with my wife’s reluctant approval (she would have loved to have joined us), I had the green light to start planning and booking a trip for three to Vietnam.

With flights booked for my parents and me, we had about two weeks in-country to plan. I knew very little about Vietnam and I didn’t want to be at fault for planning anything less than a stellar itinerary for my 77-year old parents’ one last trip to the nation, so a DIY-style trip was out. My parents have grown accustomed to taking at least one high-end, international vacation a year, and knowing that I was only responsible for paying my own way, we looked at some of the more expensive, customizable options.

While we could have spent quite a bit more, we all felt comfortable with the price point and offerings of a company called Exotic Voyages. They asked us some questions about our preferences and tailored a 14-day journey that would take us from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi to Ha Long Bay to Hoi An and Quy Nhon. The last spot was a special request so that my father could revisit a leper colony and beach where he once did volunteer dentistry for orphans on his free weekends 51 years earlier. We made it back there. It was magical and memorable.

In those two weeks, we took three domestic flights, two four-hour bus rides, and one five-hour train. We were also driven around town(s) in vans with a dedicated driver and tour guide in each city.

Our accommodations were four-to-five star hotels. Traveling as a family of three, we typically had larger rooms, and about half the time, I had a private area with maybe a bunk bed, cot, or semi-private loft. Other times, I simply got my own bed, and we usually shared a bathroom, but occasionally we’d have a second half-bath. One night, on a boat full of suites in Ha Long Bay, the manager upgraded me from a rollout bed in my parents’ suite to an empty suite that I could call my own for one night. For the price we paid, I feel I should have had my own space more often, but the places we stayed in were certainly top notch.

Most of our hotels had impressive buffet breakfasts that were included, and many days, a lunch had been planned for us whether we were hungry or not. Dinner was usually on our own.

They say you get what you pay for. We paid a lot; we generally got a lot. That seems fair.

 

 

Partaking in Peru

 

As soon as the school year ended, my family joined me for an adventure all around Peru. This was also a two-week trip, and like the Vietnam trip, it was spurred by the discovery of a great airfare to the destination. We wanted to take an international trip to somewhere we hadn’t yet been, and to find a place as enticing as Peru just one time zone over from ours for this rather short trip was perfect.

Once the flights were booked, it was time to plan. My family is used to DIY slow travel, so while we would have to pick up the pace to see all that we wanted to see in 14 days, I didn’t feel at all compelled to book a bougie, fully customized guided tour for the duration.

We ended up with a happy medium, creating a semi-custom itinerary with Peru Hop, a bus and tour company that caters to tourists like us, offering guided tours and lodging at each destination city along the route from Lima to Arequipa to Lake Titicaca to Cusco, the launching pad for Machu Picchu.

We saw penguins on a tour of the Ballestas Islands off of Paracas, we saw the Nazca lines from the lookout tour en route to Arequipa, we were driven in sand buggies up the dunes around Huacachina, and we rode wooden sandboards down them. In Puno, we toured the floating islands made entirely of reeds and met a few of the roughly 2,000 inhabitants of the collection of islands that have existed for hundreds of years in frigid Lake Titicaca at an elevation of 12,500 feet.

Of course, we made our way to the magnificent Machu Picchu, took tip-based city tours, and went on several hikes and runs independently to stay active while preparing to run what will be our boys’ first half marathon the following month.

Our accommodations were primarily Airbnbs with two or three bedrooms and bathrooms. We spent one night in two separate hotel rooms, giving the kids a bed apiece and the parents some privacy, and there were two nights where we shared large hotel rooms with three-plus beds. One night, we took an overnight bus, and that wasn’t any more fun than a redeye flight, but it got us to where we needed to be.

In terms of food, we had several outstanding dinners — Peru is known for its culinary delights — and breakfasts and lunches were typically a mix of simple staples like ham and cheese sandwiches or empanadas, and similar grab-and-go pastries or other treats. Yes, I tried cuy (roasted guinea pig), and a whole bunch of other traditional foods in a massive lunch spread at La Capitana in Arequipa. We also partook in a wide variety of local brews at craft breweries in Lima, Arequipa, and Cusco.

This was not a luxury trip, but we didn’t skimp on much of anything, and with an exchange rate of nearly four Peruvian soles to one US dollar, it didn’t cost a lot to splurge. Altogether, our expenses in Peru as a family of four comprised of two adults and two teens were about one-fourth the cost of touring Vietnam for the same length of time as a family of three adults. Let’s break down the costs.

 

 

The Cost of Two Weeks in Vietnam

 

The three of us (my parents and I) spent about $16,000 for our two-week Vietnam itinerary.

The tour package added up to $14,500. This covered the cost of the tours and guides, drivers, three in-country flights, hotels (one with a complimentary massage), luxury train ride (which also came with a massage), and one really fun food tour where we were driven around Saigon (HCM City) on scooters from place to place.

Our primary additional costs were for tips for the many tour guides and drivers and paying for most dinners, snacks, and drinks on our own. I guesstimate that these added up to about $100 a day between the three of us, on average.

The roughly $16,000 works out to approximately $1,140 per day or $380 per person per day for a trip that I would describe as luxury travel, although I fully recognize that people can and do spend a whole lot more for an even fancier vacation with more doting and hand-holding.

 

The Cost of Two Weeks in Peru

 

The four of us (my wife and teenage kids and I) spent a total of about $4,200 for our two week Peru itinerary. Because this was not a tour package, but an amalgamation of individual expenses that were incurred quite recently, I’ve got a more granular list of how our money was spent.

• Peru Hop Bus Tickets (Full South to Cusco itinerary): $920
• Peru Hop Tours (Ballestas Islands, Dunebuggy / Sandboarding, Uros Islands): $200
• Hotel rooms x 4: $200
• Airbnb (2-3 br, 2+ ba apartments) x 9 nights: $600
• Restaurants, Drinks, and Grocery: $900
• Machu Picchu Day Trip (train, bus, and entrance fees): $670
• Uber & Taxi (airport transfers x 5): $60
• Cusco to Lima flights: $350
• Tips and Miscellaneous: $280

 

That adds up to about $4,200, which is $300 per day, or $75 per person per day.

The luxury Vietnam trip cost nearly 4 times as much per day as compared to the semi-custom, cost-conscious itinerary in Peru. On a cost per person per day basis, the Vietnam trip was quintuple the cost.

Note that the cost comparison only includes the money spent at the destination. Getting to Vietnam or Peru isn’t easy or particularly cheap, but basing trips on low airfare alerts does save a traveler some money.

Our round trip flights to Vietnam via Canada Air were just under $800 per person, and I opted to add on a $200 flight from our local airport to Detroit to eliminate the cost of parking and an eight-hour round trip drive. Well worth it. Between the three of us, we spent about $2,600 in airfare and booked a couple of nights in hotels as part of our travels to and from Vietnam.

To get to Lima, Peru, and back from our little airport in Alpena cost us a surprisingly low $560 apiece, or $2,240 in airfare for four plus the cost of a hotel in Detroit on the way there and a hotel in Atlanta on the way back. I used some reward points, of course, to cover those.

 

Similarities Between the Luxury Trip and the Budget Trip

 

Both were trips to far away destinations, taken with family. One to Southeast Asia and one to South America.

The tempo or pace of our travels was quite similar. We would be in one place for one to three days at a time and move on to the next spot for a total of six or seven stays over the course of two weeks.

Vietnam and Peru both have emerging economies that benefit from a healthy dose of tourism. The cost of living is not much different between the two. According to Numbeo, living expenses are 6.4% lower in Ho Chi Minh City as compared to Lima, primarily due to food costs being lower.

Our days in both Vietnam and Peru were spent exploring cities, viewing lush (or barren) countrysides, visiting historic sites, and hiking among ruins. We ate and drank well, enjoying local delicacies and beverages. The Peru trip included more athletic activities by design. My kids can move a lot faster than my parents, and we wanted to maintain some semi-regular running regimen, even at altitude. Running a 5k at 12,500 feet is a challenge; ask me how I know.

None of us were behind the wheel of a motor vehicle at any point in either trip. We were transported from one memorable spot to the next by planes, trains, and automobiles piloted by others.

Finally, I would say we all enjoyed both trips immensely. We were grateful for the opportunity to spend time together while exploring so many natural and man-made wonders.

 

Differences Between the Luxury Trip and the Budget Trip

 

There’s the cost, obviously. For the price of the one luxury trip, we could take four budget trips.

We did get something for that cost, of course. The hotels we stayed at in Vietnam were probably some of the most expensive in the area. The food was plentiful. We never had to wait long for the van to pick us up in Vietnam, whereas in Peru, we were sometimes given a 30-minute pickup window.

Our city exploration was usually accompanied by a van, driver, and knowledgeable guide in Vietnam. More often than not, our Peruvian explorations were family affairs done on foot, although we did opt for a guided tour in the city of Arequipa.

In hindsight, when I looked at the places we visited in Hanoi, for example, I realized that I could have easily walked to all of those places, probably seeing more along the way than we did from the vantage point of the van. My parents, on the other hand, might have been less enthused to walk what might have added up to 4-6 miles throughout the day. I should note that they walked a good ten miles in a day when they visited us in Valencia several years earlier, but the fact is that their joints aren’t getting any younger, and they don’t have the same stamina enjoyed by my teenage sons.

Another clear difference is how the Vietnam trip was planned out for us. We didn’t have to do too much legwork. The tour company ascertained our basic preferences, and the trip was planned accordingly.

For the Peru trip, the Peru Hop bus itinerary gave us a starting point, but it was up to us to choose our lodgings, decide when and where we’d eat, and prioritize which sites we most wanted to visit and tours we wanted to take.

Personally, I enjoy the process of putting a plan together, learning what there is to see and do, and having some idea of what’s in store. Studies show that the anticipation of a trip can bring as much joy as the actual trip, and planning it all out gives you a lot to look forward to.

Having someone do the planning for you does save a lot of time, and there is value in that, especially for a busy professional. The schedule you end up with may be great, especially when put together by someone with intimate knowledge of the destination, but it’s not going to be as personalized to your preferences as one you put together for yourself.

 

The Verdict

 

I suppose it’s obvious which way I lean. The DIY budget trip was similarly enjoyable for a fraction of the cost. Traveling in this way is what enabled us to travel for months at a time without breaking the bank during the four years we pulled our boys from school during their late elementary and middle school years.

If the budget style of travel is a little too “budget” for your taste, it’s easy enough to ramp it up and spend more. For example, if we had doubled both the food budget and the lodging budget, we would have eaten like kings and queens daily while staying in some exceptionally comfortable places. The cost of the Peru trip would have increased from $4,200 to $5,900. That’s still $10,000 less than the cost of the luxury trip to Vietnam.

I also prefer the flexibility that accompanies a more DIY-style trip. You can leave days wide open and choose on that morning whether you want to visit a museum, take a city tour, eat a fancy lunch, or just rest and recuperate knowing that you’ve got busy days ahead. If you’ve already pre-paid for a guide, driver, and meal, you’re going to do what’s on the itinerary regardless of what you feel like doing that day.

Another reason we prefer the less luxurious route for our family is the fact that we’re traveling with our kids and we’re trying to raise them “right,” whatever that means. They’re spoiled enough in certain ways as it is, and the last thing they need is to become accustomed to four-to-five star lodgings, linen cloth restaurants, and exclusive experiences every time they leave their home state.

If they’re going to backpack Europe in a gap year, I want them to be cool with staying in hostels. I want them to know they can find delicious meals at kiosks and small diners. I want them to be skilled at getting around with Google Maps, using public transportation (where safe) and ridesharing services, and booking their own planes and trains. I want them to learn to communicate and comprehend using Google Translate and similar apps. Essentially, I want them to be empowered, independent travelers.

Yes, you can pay someone to ensure you never have to use such apps or attain such skills, and for my aging parents, that might make sense, but I want our boys (and ourselves) to be more self-sufficient. We’ve still got a lifetime of travel ahead of us, and planning our own trips while keeping a reasonable budget will help ensure we can continue to explore this great big world for decades to come.