Melissa Hebeler / E! IllustrationCelebrities may be just like us in some regards: They struggle to get to the gym, they get grumpy without coffee, they agonize over the perfect Instagram caption. But when they vacation, celebrities are nothing like us. Truly, nothing could be further from the reality of the public at large than a star-studded getaway. But that's why we obsess over them so much.
A-listers live in the lap of luxury most of the time but they truly turn it up when they travel. So many stars have gone on truly lustworthy trips, but there are a few that stand out from the crowd.
Take Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's December, 2015 family vacation to Thailand. They stayed at the Amanpuri Beach Resort in Phuket, which charges a whopping $18,000 per night—a major feat considering the country offers island accommodations for mere dozens of dollars. They went jet skiing, kayaking and toured the waterways on a private yacht all for the cost of a college education.
Earlier this summer, John Legend and Chrissy Teigen embarked on their first major luxury getaway as a party of three (with little Luna in tow, of course). The couple is no stranger to luxury, having spent more time lounging in Italy than some people who actually live there, but they really pulled out all the spots to tour the island of Bali. They flew first class, of course, to a tune of over $50,000, and stayed at the Hotel Como Shambhala Estate, which boasts personal assistants, private yoga classes and a world-class spa.
Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez have only been dating a couple of months but they're already proving they can vacation with the best of them. Miami is their usual stop but earlier this summer they took France by storm. The couple flew by private jet to Nice and then on to Paris, which racked up a bill of over $180,000, and stayed in the swankier-than-swanky Le Maurice Hotel. They also strolled through the Tuileries Garden while enjoying some of the city's finest ice cream, but that was the one good deal they managed to snag.
Not to be outdone by a couple that's receiving loads of press right now, Julianne Hough and her brand-new husband Brooks Laich turned it up for their African honeymoon. They started in the Seychelles (via private helicopter) where they enjoyed the Royal Family's favorite island getaway at the Banyan Hill Estate—prices can run up to $11,000 per night. From there they took a private jet to Kenya to enjoy a safari stay at the Angama Mara resort. They spent approximately $21,000 to hang with the lions and tigers for a week.
You would think by now that Kim Kardashian and Kanye West had out-luxuried themselves, with no place left to vacation but the mundane locales that we regular Americans enjoy on the regular, but no. To celebrate the rapper's birthday in June, they headed to a private island in Bakers Bay, Bahamas. Non-famous people can't even attempt to stay there, because you have to be a member or an invited guest to even set foot on the property. Fancy. They arrived by private jet and then spent their days riding jet skis, boating around the harbor and drinking free Casamigos tequila courtesy of the brand's third owner, Mike Meldman.
And finally, there's Beyoncé and Jay Z. They may not have the most expensive getaways of the group but they certainly claim the most enviable. To celebrate the pending arrival of Sir and Rumi, the couple babymooned in Bali this past spring. They flew on their private jet (duh) to the tune of a few hundred thousand dollars and hung out in a private overwater villa. According to an E! source, they spent most of their time reading and taking naps and presumably reveling in their collective awesomeness. As to be expected.