I spent one night in a luxurious tropical resort and the other camping near it. My vacation was balanced, and I saved money.

• To save some money, my friend and I spent a night camping next to the Fitzroy Island Resort.
• We gained access to the resort's pool and bar by spending the night at the campground.

It was the middle of winter in Australia when my friend and I decided to embark on a tropical getaway. There was just one problem — we didn't have the money to stay at a resort.

We decided on a local getaway to Fitzroy Island, which is just a 45-minute ferry ride from my friend's home in Cairns.

When visiting the island, guests have two options for accommodations: staying at the Fitzroy Island Resort or the campground next to the resort.

We decided to spend one night at the campground for $39 and another at the resort for $170. This way, we could enjoy all the perks of a resort-style vacation without paying top dollar.

Here's how we had a great vacation on a budget.

When we arrived on the island, we checked in and received wristbands

When we got off the ferry from Cairns, we headed to the Fitzroy Island Resort, where guests could check in to either the hotel or the campground.

We received wristbands that signified we were staying on the island, and were able to enjoy some luxuries right away, even though we were camping before staying at the resort.

After checking in, we gained access to the pool, bar, baggage storage area, changing rooms, showers, and lockers. We could also book activities through the tour desk.

We spent our first night on Fitzroy Island at the campground

The campground is only a five-minute walk from the resort and has space for about 20 tents. Here, we had access to cold-water showers, a shared barbecue, and covered eating areas.

When we arrived at the site, we discovered we had the whole place to ourselves and picked a spot close to the beach for our two-man tent.

The biggest perk of staying here was that we had near-exclusive access to the beach outside peak times. It wasn't quite warm enough to swim, so we pitched our tent and hiked through the forest to the summit.

The spectacular views were well worth the roughly three-hour round-trip hike.

When we returned, we hung our hammocks between the low branches of the trees lining the beach and spent hours reading.

We cooked dinner over a camp stove and enjoyed some chocolate and a game of Scrabble before settling in for a night under the stars.

The next day, we explored the island before checking into the resort

The sun was out the next day, so we went snorkeling and explored the coral reef. We took a short walk to Nudey Beach, which, contrary to its name, is not a nude beach.

The water was a little choppy, but the snorkeling was easy, and the underwater world was calm. We were treated to some beautiful coral and tropical fish.

Later that afternoon, we snorkeled with two green turtles at White Rock, the beach closest to the resort. Watching the majestic creatures swim beneath us in their own habitat was amazing.

We ended the trip on a high by checking into the Fitzroy Island Resort

Eventually, after a day of snorkeling and swimming with turtles, we picked up our luggage from the baggage storage area at the resort and checked into our room.

After taking warm showers, we headed down to the resort's restaurant and bar, which we now had access to as guests.

We enjoyed a cocktail at Foxy's Bar, then headed to Zephyr Restaurant for dinner and a view of the sunset.

Spending money on a fancy dinner seemed justified after our camping compromise the night before.

Our trip felt nice and balanced because we camped and splurged

Opting to camp for just one night to cut down on the cost of our tropical island getaway proved to be a fantastic decision.

It allowed me to experience something new and meant I could afford to stay at the resort for a touch of luxury. Plus, we felt more comfortable splurging on some luxury perks after a day spent saving money in the great outdoors.