With the Australian dollar finally flexing some muscle of late, another realm of travel has opened up for many local globetrotters. Favourable exchange rates have expanded their jet-setting horizons to a level previously only experienced through the pages of glossy travel magazines. Long-dreamt-of holidays to exclusive island getaways, lavish lodges and ritzy resorts have suddenly become a possibility.

But while the smiling currency gods have upped the ante on our travel options, be warned - although the Aussie dollar is going a lot further these days, the following list contains some luxury holiday escapes that, without a suitcase or two of spare cash, will still stretch most travellers way beyond their credit limit.

Island resorts
Lizard Island Resort in far north Queensland is a jewel in the crown of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. A night in one of the resort's villas with its clifftop views and private plunge pool will set you back about $3800. The island is 93km northeast of Cooktown and 27km from the Queensland coast. It is a national park covering 1000ha and has 24 sandy beaches. The resort has 40 guest rooms.

Further south, the exclusive Bedarra Island off Mission Beach offers two-night stays for about $3300 and is so dedicated to its tranquillity it does not allow children under the age of 12 to stay.

High-level hotel suites
At $65,000 a night, the Royal Penthouse Suite at the President Wilson Hotel in Geneva, Switzerland, is the most expensive hotel "room" in the world. The four-bedroom, six-bathroom suite occupies the entire top floor of the hotel, has its own private elevator and boasts views over the city and Lake Geneva to Mont Blanc. Its dining room seats 26 people and the living room has a billiards table, a library and a cocktail lounge. Often frequented by business leaders and heads of state including the likes of Sir Richard Branson, Microsoft's Bill Gates and former US president Bill Clinton and former British PM Tony Blair it has state-of-the-art security with bulletproof windows and doors and a helicopter evacuation service.

But if it's booked out you can always check into the Hugh Hefner Sky Villa at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. It's a little less pricey at about $40,000 a night. The two-storey, three-bedroom villa was built to model the original Playboy mansion, including a rotating bed beneath a mirrored ceiling, glass-walled jacuzzi, massage and spa rooms, poker table and around-the-clock butler service.

Closer to home, Melbourne's Crown Towers has the most expensive luxury hotel rooms in Australia. Its upper-level private penthouses cost $27,500 a night but are occupied by invitation only.

Game reserve
Shamwari Private Game Reserve in Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa has been lauded as Africa's most luxurious adventure. It also has been voted the world's leading game reserve and conservation company for several consecutive years. Spread over 25,000ha within five diverse ecosystems, it boasts six luxury lodges.

Guests have included Hollywood stars Brad Pitt, Nicolas Cage and Neve Campbell. As well as the rehabilitation of farming land back to a more natural state, the reserve is also home to two education and animal rescue centres, which provide long-term care for lions and leopards that have been found in poor condition in circuses and zoos and cannot be returned to the wild.

Ski resort
Courchevel 1850 is the most exclusive and arguably the most expensive ski resort in Europe. The resort is in the Three Valleys in France's Courchevel region. Its jet-set image is legendary and its designer-draped visitors come here not only to ski and to sightsee but to be seen. The place to stay, if you can afford it, is 1850's secluded Jardin Alpin sector a millionaire's row of some of Europe's ritziest chalets and fancy hotels tucked among evergreen trees. Here you can rub shoulders with billionaires and celebrities such as Naomi Campbell and George Clooney.

The resort also is renowned for having one of the swankiest mountain shopping centres, adorned with all the big designer names, including Chanel, Dior, Armani and Gucci.Apart from its glitz and glamour, the resort sits at an altitude of 1747m and boasts no less than 275 ski runs some of them famous for being the most difficult black runs in the world.

Kiwi lodges
Cape Kidnappers resort on New Zealand's North Island used to be a working sheep station before legendary Wall Street investor Julian Robertson got his hands on it, transforming it into his second world-class Kiwi lodge. The other is the equally stunning Kauri Cliffs, in Northland. Luxurious but with an understated charm, Cape Kidnappers boasts sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean and Hawkes Bay. The lodge's main building comprises a lounge, TV and dining area breakfast and dinner are included in the tariff and it has a spa and outdoor heated pool.

Its chic, private rooms blend into the landscape and feature gigantic beds and flat-screen TVs concealed behind paintings. But the big attraction is its Tom Doak-designed golf course, rated among the Top 50 on the planet. Every hole at Cape Kidnappers has a view of the bay.

Jungle delights
Club Med's La Plantation d'Albion resort on the west coast of Mauritius is a 21ha property set amid jungle between mountains and the crystal-clear waters of the Indian Ocean. Opened in 2007, it offers an all-inclusive luxury getaway for families and couples. Accommodation includes 40 recently built one, two and three-bedroom villas with Mauritian-style verandas and pools in the back yard. For a two-bedroom villa you won't get any change out of $3000 a night. The cheaper option is a suite with a sea view and alfresco shower priced at about $600 a night.

Facilities at the upscale resort - now a flagship for Club Med - include a Turkish bath, the world-class Cinq Mondes spa, a Zen pool overlooking the coastline, the nearby 18-hole Tamarina Golf Club and a range of daily activities on offer.

Trains to track down
Touted as the world's most luxurious train, the Pride of Africa is undoubtedly rail travel with an extravagant elegance and old-world charm. It offers rail safaris through South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Tanzania. It was established in 1989 by Rovos Rail and passengers travel in luxuriously remodelled and refurbished wood-panelled coaches. The various journeys take in game reserves, golf courses, the spectacular Victoria Falls, the desert landscapes of Namibia, stark beauty of Karoo and the lushness of KwaZulu-Natal. Tickets to ride cost from about $1600 for the Cape Town to Pretoria route to about $60,000 for a luxury rail safari along the length of the continent from Cape Town to Cairo.

On the other side of the world, Canada's Rocky Mountaineer offers an equalling stunning but vastly different array of scenery on a two-day journey through British Columbia and Alberta. It follows historic train routes built more than 100 years ago through Canada's west and the Canadian Rockies. Fares range from about $600 to $1200 and include overnight stays.

Private island
Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands is an exclusive private island getaway owned by billionaire entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson. Surrounded by coral reefs, the exclusive 30ha island is run like a resort by a staff of 31 and accommodates only 26 guests. The late Princess Diana once stayed on the Caribbean retreat with security personnel reportedly maintaining a 150m perimeter around the island.

It rents out from about $12,000 for a three-night break to more than $50,000 for a week. The island has a 10-bedroom Balinese villa and two one-bedroom Balinese houses, one of which has a bedroom that hangs over a cliff. The main house boasts a master bedroom with jacuzzi and nine bedrooms with private bathrooms.

Sail on a superyacht
If you have a taste for the high life and a suitably bulging wallet, hiring a superyacht is always a travel option. The Annaliese, a $90 million superyacht owned by a Greek entrepreneur, is reportedly one of the most expensive private yacht charters in the world, coming in at about $115,000 a day. Onboard facilities explain the exorbitant price: a spa, including a marble Roman bath, saunas and steam rooms, jacuzzis, a full-size movie theatre, a business centre and a helicopter landing pad.

Custom itineraries include the Mediterranean, the Caribbean and the South Pacific. The Annaliese and its sister ship, the Alysia (which has the same daily rate), each accommodate 36 people.

Country sanctuary
Wolgan Valley & Spa is the $2000-a-night sanctuary built by airline giant Emirates near the NSW country town of Lithgow. After building Al Maha in the Dubai desert, Emirates started searching the world for another unique destination at which to develop a luxury retreat. The 1800ha property, a three-hour drive from Sydney, now attracts global attention. It comprises 40 suites and a dining room that seats 96. The main homestead building is the focal point of the of the luxury resort and houses the reception area, dining rooms, bar and cognac room.

Holiday Ideas: Luxury Retreats

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