Adventures for all budgets
What you'll spend where!

How do you choose an unforgettable trip that works for your spend range as well as your special ones?

We appreciate that budget will often play a major part in choosing your holiday destination, so below is a snapshot of the destinations we sell alongside some guide prices.  These are not a rate from, so if you’ve spotted your ideal destination but had a lower price point in mind, please let us know and we’ll do our best to make a plan!  The average spend of our clients is £4,000 – £5,000 per person including Economy flights and 10 – 14 nights 4 to 5 star accommodation, but many spend less whilst others spend more.

 So what are the key factors in holiday pricing and how can you gain the best value?   

1. Season of travel: With weather around the world unfortunately becoming less predictable anyway, choosing to travel out of season (eg when a destination may typically see more rain for example) can work in your favour when it comes to price – recently we’ve seen a much greater demand for holidays to Costa Rica in the UK Summer Holidays, which corresponds with ‘Green Season’, yet no clients have regretted travelling!

2. When you book: Flights become more expensive the busier they are (typically they can be booked 11 months prior to travel) so in a nutshell, book early if you possibly can! Making plans further in advance will also help with accommodation costs – you are more likely to have access to Early Booking discounts and some hotels are also moving to ‘Best Available Rates’ like flights, so prices will be lower the greater availability remaining.  It’s the most economical room types that often book up first too!  With our ‘inclusive-tour’ flights, you only need to pay a deposit, with balances due 10 weeks prior to travel.

3. Which airline / class of travel: Airlines price differently – so for example flying BA to Dubai is often less than flying with Emirates whereas Air Mauritius is typically less than BA to fly to Mauritius!   It might also be cost effective to choose a non-direct flight, but be careful to allow plenty of time for your connection with flights often running late from the UK.  As a guide, the cost of upgrading to Premium Economy is generally £350 – £500 per person, each way, on a long haul trip whilst Business will be 3 to 4 times the price of Economy.  It’s possible to upgrade just one way on your flight to help with your budget – eg upgrade on the night flight only for more comfort, or see if you can book exit row seats (minimum ages apply, eg 12 on BA but 16 on Emirates). You are also welcome to use your Avios to save but please note you’ll need to book with BA directly to use them, but you can earn them!

4. Your accommodation preference: We feature hotels in the Maldives that have rooms for £200 or £20,000 per night, so our holiday prices will of course vary greatly according to the hotels you wish to include.  If you’re going to be out and about, perhaps opt for a good value, centrally located accommodation, and splash out for your beach stay where you don’t intend to venture far. 

5. ‘Big Ticket’ Items:  Typically the holidays that include a remote, All Inclusive wildlife lodge will understandably be more expensive (but those stays are often the holiday highlight).  However we will try and find work arounds, when this pushes the price beyond your ideal budget.  E.g., instead of staying at a safari lodge, you can stay just outside the Park and opt for a self-drive safari or in the Galapagos, rather than exploring the islands by boat, stay land-based on Santa Cruz island in a B&B but go out on a yacht for the day.

6. Your room and board basis choice:  Are you happy sharing a room with your children if space allows, especially perhaps in a more expensive location, or do you need two separate rooms?  Price also depends on elements such as your view and location as well as size, so accepting a smaller view of the garden versus a larger room with ocean views when you might be out of your room most of the day can be a good compromise. If you’re at a beach resort, perhaps staying on Half Board rather than All Inclusive makes all the difference – a big, late breakfast could see you through till the evening meal!

7. The age of your children:  There is no set age that children begin to be charged as an adult other than flights – Age 12 plus are considered an adult, but with reduced taxes if flying Economy and under the age of 16.  With regards to hotels, often children under 12 may share free, especially if there is a sofa bed so a rollaway is not required.  At some hotels, once they reach teenhood, they will be expected to be in their own rooms paying adult rates, whilst at others they will just be charged an adult sharing fee.  At some safari lodges in particular, the child sharing rate maximum age can vary, so if you are travelling with a child age 12 – 15 for example, we can propose Lodges which still consider under 16s as a child, as this will create quite a saving if they are charged at say 50%.

8. Length of stay:  How many nights you stay away is of course key to the cost of your holiday – you might like to think if building in a few restful days at home post-holiday instead of extending your stay abroad, if this sneaks your adventure just within in budget!

9. Travel in destination:  If you choose a destination where you can self drive, such as South Africa or Canada, this is likely to offer better value than if you have to take small flights, such as Kenya or cover huge distances such as Latin America.  One of the reasons we love Sri Lanka as a family destination, is that it has such varied experiences, but no internal flights are required to enjoy them!

10. Exchange rate:  Of course certain destinations are just at a lower cost due to the value of the GBP – typically destinations such as South East Asia and Egypt offer better value, especially if you include 4 star more local hotels, rather than 5 star international chains which can be similarly priced wherever they are in the world.  When you book your holiday, we pre-purchase the currency, so that the price can be fixed.

We’ll always try our best to make any holiday request come to fruition, but if you can, do plan early!  You’ll get your favoured rooms in your top hotel choices, access the best flight prices and then have a whole year to look forward to your adventure!

Below is a summary of destinations, by guide price per person sharing, that could assist in narrowing down your holiday choice:

£2,000 – £3,000

Destinations such as Europe (including The unique Azores) or Northern Africa eg Morocco or Egypt could fall in this budget range. At the higher end, you could also consider destinations in the Middle East and South East Asia, as well as the Caribbean, if you’re happy to stay in 4 star hotels and are travelling for a week rather than fortnight.

£3,000 – £4,000

Many of our recommended itineraries fall within this bracket based approximately on 10 -12 days travel – including the more affordable African countries such as South Africa and Namibia alongside South East Asian destinations such as Thailand, Borneo or Vietnam and Central America (eg one of our most popular destinations, Costa Rica). Canada also is a great option for Summer, but expect to pay a supplement if you’d like to stay at a floating Lodge and spot Grizzlies.

£4,000 – £5,000

Itineraries in this price category could include the mountains, beach and desert of Oman, a beautiful island stay in the Maldives, a fly drive to the USA, tigers and the Taj in India or indeed a circle around the tear-dropped island of Sri Lanka, perhaps even an adventure further afield to Japan or even Australia if you book your flights early!

£5,000 – £6,000

Some additional Africa destinations such as Zimbabwe become an option at this price point and South America enters the equation with itineraries to countries such as Peru and Brazil now possible including a trek to Macchu Piccu or a jaguar safari in the Pantanal.

£6,000 and above

For this spend range, you should be able to enjoy a safari in Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana or Zambia for a week (but note prices can rise steeply with luxury level) or perhaps visit New Zealand to escape Winter, or travel to the famed Galapagos Islands and mainland Ecuador.

About the author

Abi Shaw - Bushbaby founder and avid explorer