While I spend most of my time reading and researching affordable housing, I also have a lot of fun searching online for exotic, affordable eco-friendly resorts. It’s sort of a hobby. For the most part I’m just ‘window shopping’ for natural building ideas. Regular readers have seen some of these natural resorts here on our blog. Sometimes I find some really intriguing, almost irresistible places I’d like to visit. The most amazing thing to me is that many of these places are quite affordable. Places like this in the US would only be affordable to the rich. Fortunately things are much more affordable in developing countries and it’s not difficult to find very good quality food and accommodation at very reasonable prices. There are nice resorts like this available for $20-$50/night. Good meals in many resorts will cost around $5-$10 (less for vegetarian). So while it’s not exactly dirt cheap, it’s comparable to ordinary lodging and fast food prices in the US. This means someone on a ‘macaroni budget’ could afford a much higher quality lifestyle in a developing country, disregarding the cost of getting there. Most resorts have a website with photo gallery so you can see what’s available.
Here’s an interesting example in Cambodia:
“Veranda Natural Resort is on a forested hill overlooking the town of Kep, the bay and the ocean beyond. Its 14 bungalows with 22 rooms, raised wooden walkways and large veranda restaurant/bar are shrouded by plants and trees and offer some of the best views in Kep. The bungalows are built from a combination of stones and wood. They are simple but stylish with lovely stone bathrooms, large balconies and come in an array of shapes and sizes. The bar/restaurant is a fantastic large covered wooden veranda with a big stone balcony in front. It offers very good and reasonably priced Western and Asian food, with a good selection of French wine, a bakery and an ice-cream parlour. With birds singing, a cool sea breeze flowing up the hill and a beautiful view it is a great location to unwind.”
Veranda Natural Resort
Image source: Experience Travel Group.com
Even the dives here are expensive and if you want something real nice…………..you’ll pay for it. Language isn’t based on American English here, it’s based on the almighty dollar. The slang for it is “the haves and the haves not”
If eco-resorts like this aren’t affordable, you’ll usually find bamboo and thatch bungalows available nearby at a fraction of the cost. You can get fresh fruit, fruit smoothies and other food from street vendors for real cheap.