raqhtheworld | Budget Travelista

The Perfect Andean Mountain View Lodge for Your Next Stay in Maras, Peru

Sun, 16 Jun 2024 07:50:06 -0700

THE PERFECT ANDEAN MOUNTAIN VIEW LODGE FOR YOUR NEXT STAY IN MARAS, PERU!

If you are looking for a mountainous lodging experience near Cusco, Peru, or already have a trip planned to Maras, Peru, this guide is for you. The Mountain View Experience is perfect for nature and cultural lovers, and adventurers seeking relaxation, nature, and community. I stayed in the Mountain View Lodge in March 2024 during their rainy off season. If I had found out about this harmonious Andean lodge during the earlier planning stages of my trip, I definitely would’ve altered my trip itinerary to stay longer. Hopefully after reading this blog you can take advantage of the Andean views, dwell in nature, and breathe in the spirit of the mountains during your stay at the Mountain View Experience.

WHAT IS THE MOUNTAIN VIEW EXPERIENCE?

The Mountain View Experience has only been established for a few years after construction began during COVID-19. The vision for this lodge combines inspiration of nature, community, and the Andean mountains while encouraging guests to disconnect and revel in the harmonious views of the Sacred Valley. The architecture is especially unique where they took inspiration from ancient Incan huts and tipis to transform the spaces into a sanctuary for adventurers, and nature lovers alike. You’ll connect with nature on a deeper and relaxing level and wake up from your tipi basked in the rising sun or greeted by the on site llamas. The staff is friendly, accommodating, and passionately provide you a unique and lovely experience. It is truly a magnificent experience to choose for your next stay in Maras, Peru!

HOW TO PLAN YOUR TRIP TO MACHU PICCHU WITHOUT A TOUR

I traveled to Cusco, Peru in mid-March 2024 during their off season pricing. There were only a handful of people in each area, and a drizzle of rain towards the very end of the experience. According to my tour guide, just a week later would have been Holy week, welcoming thousands of visitors each day. The high season is from June-October 15 and December 30-31 with up to 5,600 visitors per day. As you can see, I was quite ecstatic being able to visit a World Wonder site with a limited number of tourists. I was even more ecstatic at successfully visiting the site in one day, saving up to $100-200 from tour costs, and the ease of traveling despite my huge anxiety before the trip. Hopefully this guide can ease your anxiety and save you some money!

WHAT MACHU PICCHU TOURS OFFER + HOW TO SAVE

During my trip planning process, I compared pricing and offerings from various tour experiences on GetYourGuide, Airbnb Experiences, and Viator. Originally, I was shocked at the tour costs starting at $400 USD, leading me to dive into the breakdown of the total price and finding major saving opportunities.

GetYourGuide experiences are highly reputable and easy to book, cancel or reschedule. Machu Picchu tours in particular are nonrefundable across all booking platforms due to the complex offerings within each tour. Booking a tour will remove any potential stress from booking your trip yourself with direct private transportation to the train station. Yet, the tours will not include any guides during the train ride or final bus ride to Machu Picchu. If any ticket times are...Read More

What to Pack: Quito & Banos, Ecuador

Tue, 18 Jul 2023 15:02:30 -0700

WHAT TO PACK FOR YOUR NEXT TRIP TO ECUADOR

If you have an upcoming trip to Ecuador and you’re struggling on what to pack + how to pack efficiently this blog is for you! I traveled to the cities of Quito and Banos, in September 2021 and definitely did NOT pack correctly for this trip LOL. I packed efficiently in just a carry on duffel rolling suitcase, but totally had the wrong clothes for the two different climates experienced. Short dresses, tank tops, lightweight cardigans, sandals, and thin pants lined my suitcase. And I was shivering from arrival to departure. I felt ridiculously silly walking amongst locals in winter jackets, hats, gloves and scarves with my short black dress trying to hold onto any heat in my ripped jean jacket. Nice one Raqhelle!

This trip was 4 days and I still had enough room in my suitcase to add souvenirs like scarves and even a huge alpaca poncho to keep me warm. First things first, mastering how to pack your clothes in a carryon can save you checked baggage fees, limit the risk for your bags to get lost, and avoids you from lugging around a 50lb checked bag. I’ve experienced it all. I promise you, trying to roll a 50lb suitcase across heavy traffic with uneven cobblestone streets is just embarrassing in itself. Not to mention a lot of the cars in Latin America are a lot smaller than cars in the United States. Learning how to pack efficiently can save you a lot of hassle so check out my top travel tips below:

RAQHELLE’S TOP 8 PACKING TIPS

Remember that the majority of non-budget airlines allow one personal item in addition to your carry-on suitcase. You can bring up to...Read More

What to Pack: Antigua, Guatemala

Thu, 11 May 2023 10:34:59 -0700

WHAT TO PACK FOR YOUR NEXT TRIP TO GUATEMALA

If you have an upcoming trip to Guatemala and you’re struggling on what to pack + how to pack efficiently this blog is for you! I traveled to Antigua Guatemala, in October 2022 and I was pretty proud of how effectively I packed with just a carry-on bag for a 4 day trip. The duffel suitcase I have used since high school has been my saving grace for the past 10 years. A-mazing.

First things first, we gotta get y’all to start packing less without sacrificing fashion. Because we are fashion girlies over this way so we are gonna stay cute! Mastering how to pack your clothes in a carryon suitcase can save you checked baggage fees, limit the risk for your bags to get lost, and avoids you from lugging around a 50lb checked bag. I’ve experienced it all. I promise you, trying to roll a 50lb suitcase across heavy traffic with uneven cobblestone streets is just embarrassing in itself LOL. Not to mention a lot of the cars in Latin America are a lot smaller than cars in the United States.

Learning how to pack efficiently can save you a lot of hassle so check out my top travel tips below:

RAQHELLE’S TOP 8 PACKING TIPS

Remember that the majority of non-budget airlines allow one personal item in addition to your carry-on suitcase. You can bring up to a 20'' carry-on suitcase or duffel suitcase. Your personal item can include a large backpack, duffel bag, tote purse, or weekender bag. This allows you to pack even more items for free.
HOW TO USE AFFIRM TO PAY FOR YOUR NEXT FLIGHT
Ever wondered how you can make your next big travel purchase via monthly installments? Well this quick how to guide is for you! This is perfect for the budget traveler that may not have it *all* right now but will have it later, including those who also may not have credit cards just yet but are eager to travel. I don’t know about you, but any chance that I have to pay for a big purchase in installments? Sign me up! Read further on how to pay for flights monthly for as low as $60 or less.
I frequently use both Klarna and Afterpay for a variety of purchases within beauty, clothing, and even my groceries. Used wisely, these companies provide interest free installment options giving people the opportunity to budget with each paycheck. I’ve also seen the ability to purchase your flights with Affirm, but have never figured out how to do it until now! So if you know you are trying to plan a future vacation using Affirm is a perfect way to pay for it monthly while still staying within your budget.
What’s perfect about using Affirm is that once you learn how to pay for your flights in installments, you can apply the same method to any website of your choosing that may not offer Affirm, Afterpay, or Klarna at checkout. I absolutely love when a website that I’m shopping on offers these automatically, but some companies do not offer it at checkout. But that has all change now with the Affirm app.
You can use Affirm for majority of airlines based in the United States, Priceline, Expedia, Royal...Read More

Is Flying Business Class Worth It?

Tue, 04 Apr 2023 10:32:04 -0700

FLYING BUSINESS CLASS WITH QATAR AIRLINES

I started 2023 with a bang by investing in a business class flight with Qatar airlines for my Royal Caribbean 4 night Asian cruise. Our departure port was out of Singapore and we were visiting Penang, Malaysia and Phuket, Thailand. Throughout my search for flights to Singapore I was seeing the air time nearly totaled 30 hours of flying. My first flight leg was 15 hours and my second leg was 8 hours. If you’re planning a trip that will require a long haul flight, you may want to consider saving up more for a business class ticket. After my experience, I may have started a dangerous trend for myself on future international flights ;)

Flying business class with Qatar was life changing And totally worth it. If you're interested in learning more about the business class suites with Qatar airlines, the sister company to American Airlines, then read further to decide if it’s worth it for you! I hope this may help you understand everything that’s included in your suite price including stellar service from the Qatar flight attendants. Sometimes you deserve the ability to splurge on things you want in life. You work hard, treat yourself within reason and you won’t regret it!

THE Q SUITE

There are two different business class setups that I was able to experience during different flight legs. The Q Suite was my favorite and from the name you can guess that yes, it is essentially your own personal suite! Your chair has various settings enabled to lay completely flat like a bed, move upright for...Read More

Travel to El Salvador with a $30 Bus Ticket

Wed, 18 Jan 2023 19:13:18 -0800

If you are traveling to Central America soon and looking for information on how to travel between countries by bus safely, read my quick how to guide and experience traveling from Guatemala City to San Salvador. This guide is perfect for solo travelers, backpackers, and anyone interested in Central American travel on a budget.

In October 2021 I planned a group trip to Antigua, Guatemala for six friends and I after I found $400 flights. It also happened to be one of my friend's birthdays during the trip (Happy B-day Larry!) so it was awesome to celebrate with him since we live in different cities. I absolutely loved the colorful buildings, cobble stone streets, and gorgeous lakes that Antigua had to offer and highly recommend you add it to your list of Central American cities to visit.

As I was planning, I started getting a little nosy (like I always do). I proposed the idea of visiting another country to one of my friends joining the trip and she was down to extend our exploration. I started zooming in and out of the Central American countries, seeing what was close, what was far away, and looking up flights between countries to see if I could tack on another city. Unfortunately those flights...were disgustingly expensive. It would have costed another $400 to get from Guatemala City to San Salvador. The two cities are only 3 hours drive away from each other. YIKES. Later on my friend ended up telling me she couldn't join the trip so I had to make a decision to either cancel the idea of visiting El Salvador or suck it up hop on a bus and go solo!

Well you guessed it...I chose to go solo because you only live once and I was on a mission to meet my goal of 25 countries by age 25. I started researching how to travel by bus, ticket costs, and safely traveling between countries. I realized I could do it successfully and safely without breaking the bank....Read More

What You Can Get for $60 at this Colombian Beach Club

Mon, 03 Oct 2022 21:33:45 -0700

Cartagena, Colombia was a colorful and culturally rich experience that I'm super excited to share with you. I originally planned a trip to Colombia after finding a $230 flight deal...then COVID happened. Ugh, right? I patiently waited for the next flight deal to pop up and lo and behold a $340 flight showed up out of Nashville for September!

Now, I'll be honest. So much was going on right before this trip that I practically planned it nearly the week or so before. I'm sure there was so much more that I missed, but I knew for certain I wanted a different experience and did not want to participate in the conventional attractions in Cartagena. I wanted fun, relaxation, cultural connections, and to explore the colorful city. One of the first activities I booked was a $58 full day pass to Bora Bora, Beach Club in Cartagena!

WHERE IS BORA BORA BEACH CLUB?

Bora Bora is an adult only private beach club on Isla Grande. It offers a private beach area, bar, and relaxing sun cabanas. The islands are apart of an archipelago off the coast of Colombia and referred to the Corales Islas del Rosario. There's several boat tours, hotels, private beaches, and excursions along the islands. Some of the most popular are Bora Bora, Cholon, and Baru. To arrive to Rosario Islands you have to depart by boat for 45 minutes to an hour to arrive.

How to Get Amazing Photos Abroad for the Low!

Sat, 01 Oct 2022 12:59:41 -0700

It's a sunny but breezy day and I just had to sit down, soak up the last of the summer sun, and type out this quick budget 'how to' for y'all :) If you haven't noticed already or are new to my blog (welcome, so glad you're here), I love a good photoshoot!

Any chance I can get, I want to take memorable photos that I can always look back at that can spark some of my favorite laughs, restaurants, and people I experienced on my trip. Instagram will showcase the best parts of someone's stay through professional photos, drone shoots, or video footage. But how do people take these amazing photos on their trip affordably?

I know you're wondering....if a photographer in my area costs $xxx amount for one shoot for one hour....how much is it abroad? Is it the same price? Is it cheaper? And are these people REALLY spending $xxx on every single trip for some photos?

Keep reading to find out how I find photographers and experiences for less than $100 no matter the international destination! That's right, you all can be winners and get professional photos on a budget!

I've traveled to 18 countries, and 100+ cities and love booking a photography experience that allows me to see the city and get amazing photos in some of the top areas or neighborhoods. My most recent trip to Colombia was one of the BEST photography experiences that I've ever had. My mouth practically dropped when I received the Google Drive link with nearly 300 photos. Every single photo was phenomenal and not only captured me wonderfully, but the colorful streets of Cartagena as well. With some credits, I...Read More

Ultimate Las Vegas Travel Guide

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 13:19:15 -0700

ULTIMATE LAS VEGAS ACTIVITY + RESTAURANT LIST

Planning my 24th birthday was whirlwind. I went from trying to plan an international trip, to moving it to Asheville, NC, to finally (and last minute if I may add) deciding to go to VIVA LAS VEGAS. And oh was it worth it! I'll have some of the best memories to remember for years to come from my Vegas experience. Vegas is doable to achieve on a budget, but it's still important to stretch your normal budget out just in case you find an experience you truly don't want to pass up. There were a variety of places to eat along the strip that were more affordable than high end restaurants and activities averaged at $30+.

Your main expenses for Vegas will be your flight and deciding on a hotel along the strip. There are hotels for every single budget. From luxury to budget inns, you can find something you are comfortable with that fits everyone's budget in your party.

The huge variety of hotels honestly overwhelmed the hell out of me trying to plan a last minute trip to Las Vegas. So quite honestly, I would recommend one of the following hotels based on what they offer, room size, overall experience, and location on the strip.

Paris Las Vegas Resort & Casino ($$) - I was lucky to find an old friend via twitter that shared her boyfriend's booking code with me and I got my friends and...Read More