Blog Badass

I’d like to say I’ve mastered the art, but I have messed up a handful of times. 

I once booked a too good to be true, ‘boutique’ hotel in Paris that was cheap, but defo not cheerful. The room was drab with tattered bedding, dull clinical-like fixtures and chipped furniture likely nibbled by a mouse, or mice. The real kicker though, the dirty needle that dangled from a rusted iron railing when I flung open the balcony window. Eww. 

What a mistake! 
Don’t make this mistake! 

Below, behold what I have done in the past to keep my travels truly badass and bougie. 

Get a travel rewards card right now, like right now. 
Put everything from a $2 coffee to a $200 pair of shoes on that card. This is not a paid ad for Visa, this is me getting a travel card six years ago and feeling (actually, knowing) it’s the best thing I’ve ever signed up for. 

I have a TD First Class Visa, there is an annual fee of $120, but every year I get at least $600- $800 in free travel. Benefits also include, TD for Expedia where you can collect and save more. I’ve scored many a free flight and bougie hotel from this credit card. 

Call your bank, ask around and get a travel card that offers cashback reimbursement on travel-related purchases! 

Skip the overpriced restaurant and opt for a gourmet grocery store picnic. 
I know that foodies are going to hate me for this, but have you been to the cheese section at a regular old grocery store in France? It’s a cheese board gold mine. So is the wine section! 

Grab a bottle, pair it with a fresh, crusty baguette and plant your butt in a park. Call me crazy, but I do love an overly staged bougie picnic picture on social media! 

Just so ya know, gourmet picnics are not exclusive to France, anywhere and I mean almost anywhere, a local grocery store will have all that you need for a cheap and cheerful satisfying meal. 

Skip land travel, and go sailing! 
A coastal breeze seeped over my shoulders and across my ears as I sailed into St. Tropez. It’s was f’n magical. Without a doubt the sailing trips I’ve taken on the Amalfi Coast, Italy and Côte d’Azur, France have been perfectly badass and bougie. 

I scored a sweet deal, not once, but twice through Intrepid on both trips. Island hopping, diving into the deep blue sea, sunbathing under the sails, it’s truly as amazing as it sounds. Contiki has incredible sailing trips too (I previously was on Contiki’s marketing team in Canada), they are legit and an incredible company. 

Sailing is not for everyone, but it’s for someone looking for an adventure.

Once you factor in meals, hotels, trains, planes and automobiles, a sailing trip offers so much for so little. 

Ditch your friends, they’re expensive. 
Ok, ok. this is one is a bit controversial, and goes against my Monaco Airbnb example you’re about to read below and not all my friends are expensive, but it’s so, so true. 

I love solo travelling and any time friends have joined, my cheap and cheerful budget has gone to expensive and cheerful. Which isn’t a total bummer, my friends are awesome and I love them, but solo travel is a real cost saver because I’m not doing a bunch of expensive shit that I normally wouldn’t do. It’s possible to save if you split accommodation, but overall I save a ton of money doing it on my own. 

Airbnb.com and Booking.com are your besties. 
Your saviours. Your guardian angels.

I scored a 1- bedroom, which upgraded to a 2-bedroom upon arrival on a cute ocean view apartment in Monaco (Côte d’Azur) for $140 CND/ 90 € EUR a night! Split between three people, $46 CND/ 30 € EUR a night each. 

I remember the days when an Airbnb was the deal of deals. You have to dig more these days, but Airbnb and Booking are by far the websites I use the most and I find the best bougie places on a budget.  

So, next time you’re on a budget, but wanna keep it badass and bougie consider my suggestions.