We are all looking for a bargain, right? The internet promises to help us enjoy some of the finer things in life without having to deplete the children’s college fund. But how does one find the deals, and then how does one know they are deals?

The Vancouver Sun offers some great suggestions in their article “Luxury Travel Just Got Easier”. The best advice is to get ahead of the curve. With 5 star hotels being built around the world, the trick is not to go to the current hot spot, but to go to places ahead of the crowds.

Roger Kershaw is the general manager of Attache, which specializes in luxury travel arrangements for an affluent clientele. The company has offices in Toronto, Montreal and Calgary. Kershaw’s picks of destinations that are in the forefront of luxury travel but not quite fashionable enough to command five-star prices include: India, which offers great value and ultra-luxury hotels; and Vietnam, which also now boasts luxury resorts. “You can travel in style and luxury in Vietnam at very affordable rates.” Eastern European destinations Prague and Budapest are now popular with Westerners and the prices “are getting up there,” he says. But others, such as Warsaw and Croatia, remain a bargain, he says.

Buenos Aires is another “unbeatable” destination for the price, Kershaw says. The sophisticated Argentine capital, known as the Paris of South America, offers a number of five-star hotels including the uber-cool Philippe Starck-designed Faena Hotel. The country is still recovering from its peso devaluation, which gives the loonie considerable clout. “Couple it with a beach holiday in Brazil and you have a great vacation for excellent prices,” he says.

Traveling to countries that have invested in the tourism infrastructure but are not ahead of the curve is an outstanding way to travel like a Rockefeller and still have a few dollars left in your pocket at the end of the day.