If you're spending it like Beckham, private islands, penthouses and outer space are within reach. Here's how to take the holidays of the rich and famous, on a budget
It could be you. Your numbers might just come up. And if it's a EuroMillions Rollover, you could be into the holiday territory of the super-rich.
The budgets are rarely bigger, the locations more pristine and itineraries more extraordinary than for the clients ? mainly billionaires and royalty ? of a company called Based on a True Story (020-7100 6991, basedonatruestory.co.uk)). Its trips start at around ?200,000, rising to ?2m if you include private jets and superyachts. Holidays have included nights in a cast-iron bed on a private precipice over Victoria Falls, and closing Burmese airspace so a private jet can fly to a superyacht in the untouched Mergui archipelago.
For more squillionaire holiday options, and their more affordable alternatives, try the following ?
Ultimate skiing
$24,250 Forget the Alps ? too many oligarchs, darling ? and head south. Deep south. Antarctica's Ellsworth Mountains offer some of the planet's best ski touring. Adventure Network International (+1 801 266 4876, adventure-network.com) runs guided mini-expeditions into the exquisite landscapes of the Connell Canyon, Charles Peak and the west face of Mount Rossman. The 14-day trips (the next departure is not until December) include all meals and activities, equipment and transfers, but not international flights.
On a budget Swap Antarctic for Arctic and you pay a fraction of the price. Stay at Lyngen Lodge (+47 93 440010, lyngenlodge.com) in northern Norway for a week for about �2,458pp, including private transfers. Norwegian (norwegian.no) flies from Gatwick to Troms� from �53 return.
Venezuela in style
?2m A tailormade trip could start with a few days on a yacht ? super if necessary ? in Venezuela's Los Roques islands. Then you take a chopper to the dramatic Gran Sabana plateau, where ancient massifs rise dramatically from forested plains, before lunch above Angel Falls. Final price depends on flights and choice of yacht.
On a budget Explore (0845 013 1537, explore.co.uk) has a 15-day Venezuelan expedition with a visit to Angel Falls, a rainforest canoe journey and a day on a Caribbean beach, from �2,199pp including flights and camping/basic accommodation.
Your fairytale castle
�63,180 Want to make like Madonna in a grand Scottish pile? You could splurge �31,520 for a night's sole use of Skibo Castle, with its 20 massive rooms and lodges. But you'd also have to drop a �24,000 joining fee for the Carnegie Club (carnegieclubs.com) plus �7,660 annual membership.
On a budget In January, all rooms at the Tudor Thornbury Castle (01454 281182, thornburycastle.co.uk) in the Cotswolds are �260 a night, including three-course dinner and breakfast. You might even bag the four-poster where Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn once slept.
Swiss bliss
?42,000 A night in the Royal Penthouse Suite at the Hotel Pr�sident Wilson (+41 22 906 6112, hotelpwilson.com) on Lake Geneva costs the same as five years at a Travelodge. It is slightly more luxurious, with seven bathrooms, two hammams, two dining rooms, a gym and a huge party space. Artwork, flowers and furniture are tailored to guests' tastes, and there are antiques galore, bulletproof windows and helipad. Oh yes, breakfast is extra.
On a budget The Bel'Esp�rance (+41 22 818 37 37, hotel-bel-esperance.ch) close to Geneva's Old Town has a roof terrace with fantastic views. Doubles cost about �100, including breakfast and a public transport pass. Easyjet (easyjet.com) flies to Geneva from several UK airports from �56 return.
Ancient cultures
�9,950 It's one thing to tour a top historical site, quite another to do so with a renowned archaeologist who worked on the excavations. In Peru that means Guillermo Cock explaining the incredible Moche pyramids and burial sites on the Pacific coast, and, at Machu Picchu, Alfredo Mormontoy Atayupanqui who is revising some of the findings of Hiram Bingham, discoverer of the Inca citadel in 1911. You would travel by swanky trains and stay in luxurious style at Orient Express hotels on a 10-day trip with Abercrombie & Kent (0845 618 2200, abercrombiekent.co.uk).
On a budget Guides with Journey Latin America (020-8747 8315, journeylatinamerica.co.uk) are less well-known but still knowledgeable. Its new Machu Picchu and Easter Island trip, combining two historical treasures in one two-week holiday, costs from �1,897pp, excluding international flights, until 25 March.
A number one safari
�21,750 Fellow billionaires will approve of your choice of three extraordinary camps in the Botswana bush. Kings Pool has a unique underground hide with eye-level views of elephant herds; Vumbura Plains Camp in the Okavango Delta offers epic views from raised rooms open on three sides; and at Little Mombo Campan exclusive-use deal gives you three vast tents with high-level walkways, allowing animals to stroll through the camp. A nine-night trip with Ultimate Safaris & Islands (020-7589 8800, ultimatesafarisandislands.com) includes full-board, safaris and first-class flights.
On a budget Dragoman's (+44 01728 861133, dragoman.com) nine-day trip from Victoria Falls to Johannesburg, taking in Chobe national park, the Okavango Delta, and a rhino sanctuary, costs from �1,425pp including camping and basic transport, but not flights.
An island of one's own
�48,980 North Island, in the Seychelles, with its peaks, beaches and lush vegetation, is the ultimate Indian Ocean eco-retreat, with 11 vast villas. Keep it exclusive by taking all 11, complete with butlers, sunken sofas and mother-of-pearl chandeliers. The above price is per night, but that does include fishing, scuba-diving and acclaimed cuisine. Heli-transfers extra. Book through ITC Classics (01244 355 527, itcclassics.co.uk).
On a budget Stay in a Landmark Trust (01628 825925, landmarktrust.org.uk) cottage on Lundy, in the Bristol Channel, and you needn't see another soul. Tibbetts is a granite cottage nearly two miles from the village, with no electricity. Sleeping four it costs from �215 for four nights.
The final frontier
$200,000 Virgin Galactic's sub-orbital flights, starting in a few years' time, already have 330 takers. As well as five minutes looking down on earth, you get three days' training in New Mexico, followed by a "lift" to a mother ship before your spacecraft, the SS2, is launched. After floating around in zero gravity 68 miles above the Earth, you'll glide back to terra firma. Hopefully. Book through Elegant Resorts (01244 897003, elegantresorts.co.uk).
On a budget Board a full-scale mock- up of the US Space Shuttle at the Euro Space Centre (+32 6165 6465, eurospacecenter.be) in Transinne, Belgium. Entrance costs about �9. Eurostar (08432 186186, eurostar.com) returns to any Belgian station cost from �80pp.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2011/jan/22/billionaire-holidays-on-a-budget
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