Confessions of a YYC Travel Junkie

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by stazzy33

Yeah, that seems to be the way these things go sometimes. I am sure cmyden can explain better, but sometimes these prices drops last only a day or even a few hours. That's why you have to jump on them right away.

Yep, KLM and Air France put their prices back up this morning. It was a pretty big price drop event, from virtually all major cities in Canada, to a variety of cities in the United Kingdom (England, Scotland) and Germany.

http://www.yycdeals.com/calgary-to-e...ncluding-taxes

I meant to post it here as usual, but I was swamped all day yesterday, and completely forgot.

These unadvertised price drops can come and go without any indication of how long they will last, other than estimating from past experience. It's usually a function of these factors...

wildcard factors
- whether or not the prices were intentionally published by the airline (is it mistake? or are they trying to fill empty seats). If it's a mistake, how long before the airline catches it? If it's intentional, how many seats are they trying to fill ?
demand factors
- how severe the price drop is
- how popular the destination is, particularly during the months involved with the price drop
- how widespread the knowledge of the price drop is
supply factors
- how many seats the airline has available to sell at the dropped price. Are seats available on a wide variety of dates, or just on very few select dates?

A combination of all these factors determines how long an unadvertised price drop will last. In my experience, these days, the really severe price drops on popular routes often last just 12 hours. Within 24 hours, it's pretty likely that the price will have returned to normal.

[something]

Looking for some input:

The girlfriend and I are looking for a ten day vacation somewhere at the end of November.

So far, among a variety of choices, the two stand-out locations are:

Iceland & Kauai.

Both are for a good price, at 820 and 540 respectively. Both are places neither of us have been (though I have been to Maui and Honolulu before). We are both avid nature enthusiasts, though my girlfriend has more of an inkling for cities and night life. We are also both avid campers, and if we go to Kauai, it would be cheap for us to camp most nights we are there. Otherwise, Iceland is just somewhere we both are interested in going for the culture, the scenery and the uniqueness of the location.

Any thoughts from those who have been to both or either?

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by something

Looking for some input:

The girlfriend and I are looking for a ten day vacation somewhere at the end of November.

So far, among a variety of choices, the two stand-out locations are:

Iceland & Kauai.

Both are for a good price, at 820 and 540 respectively. Both are places neither of us have been (though I have been to Maui and Honolulu before). We are both avid nature enthusiasts, though my girlfriend has more of an inkling for cities and night life. We are also both avid campers, and if we go to Kauai, it would be cheap for us to camp most nights we are there. Otherwise, Iceland is just somewhere we both are interested in going for the culture, the scenery and the uniqueness of the location.

Any thoughts from those who have been to both or either?

Those are actually the two trips I took this year. Both places are awesome, particularly for anyone who loves the outdoors. Iceland is just one gigantic post card, every minute of your trip. Kauai is a tropical paradise, especially the north coast.

Iceland is amazing, but accommodations (and food) are very pricey. The biggest concern I would have though is that November would not be an ideal month in terms of weather, for seeing a lot of the best sights, hiking, etc. Good month for a higher chance of northern lights though! To me, to really enjoy Iceland, and enjoy all of it's outdoor beauty you'd probably want to be there between June and mid September.

For comparison, think of trying to enjoy the hikes and natural sights around here in Banff and Jasper in November vs July, and how different those 2 months would be. Now consider that Iceland is even much further north, and that much colder in November.

Outside of Reyjkavik, which has great nightlife, there aren't really any other cities in Iceland that offer it. The population of the entire country is 1/3 of Calgary's! After Reyjkavik, the largest population center is like 10,000.

For Kauai, you might want to look into the weather situation in November as well. Particularly for rainfall. Kauai gets a ton of rain, especially outside of the months of May through Sep. There's a reason it's so green there! http://travel.usnews.com/Kauai_HI/When_To_Visit/ - only Dec gets more rain than Nov.

Both are amazing places, and I don't want to try and dissuade you from going to either, but I would definitely look at the likely weather situations first.

Google maps from my trips (good sights, accommodations, places to eat):
Iceland - http://tinyurl.com/krf43wj
Kauai - http://tinyurl.com/kdschqw

[cmyden]

YYC Deals Alert: Calgary to Budapest, Hungary - $849 roundtrip including taxes

Calgary to Eastern Europe for under $850. A very rare event.

Just a heads up that this week's 'Wild Wednesday' deal from Air France and KLM is from Calgary to Budapest, Hungary (BUD) for $849 roundtrip including taxes.

If you haven't heard of these Wild Wednesday deals before, it's because:
A) they're relatively new
and
B) they're usually from Toronto or Montreal.
Sadly, Western Canada is usually ignored. Maybe this signals a change.

Blog post with the details: http://www.yycdeals.com/calgary-to-b...ncluding-taxes

[Table 5]

Anyone ever been to Rome in the winter? Toying with the idea of going there for 2 weeks around Christmas. I would imagine the tourist crowd would be substantially less than during summer.

[Hanni]

Originally Posted by Table 5

Anyone ever been to Rome in the winter? Toying with the idea of going there for 2 weeks around Christmas. I would imagine the tourist crowd would be substantially less than during summer.

I haven't been in winter but the lady we rented an apartment from this summer said that from November-February is much quieter.

[Oil Stain]

Originally Posted by Table 5

Anyone ever been to Rome in the winter? Toying with the idea of going there for 2 weeks around Christmas. I would imagine the tourist crowd would be substantially less than during summer.

I was there around Christmas around ten years ago. I kept trying to go to the Colosseum but it was always closed due to the holidays which is something to keep in mind.

I don't remember the crowds being overwhelming but there were still a lot of tourists there.

[Regular_John]

*BUMP*

Alright so let's talk booking sites, specifically some of the more "obscure" ones that come up on sites like Kayak & Trivago. It is safe to assume any sites being "scraped" by the aforementioned sites are safe to book through?

Basically I had put together an itinerary through Expedia earlier this week, but since then the hotel I picked is no longer showing as available on Expedia's site... but it comes up on some others.

I also discovered booking the flight through one site (flighthub) and the hotel through another (otels.com) ends up being about $200 cheaper than the original itinerary.

But, I've never heard of otels.com, and never used flighthub, is there any reason to worry about either site if they are coming up on some of the bigger "scraping" sites?

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by jaydorn

*BUMP*

Alright so let's talk booking sites, specifically some of the more "obscure" ones that come up on sites like Kayak & Trivago. It is safe to assume any sites being "scraped" by the aforementioned sites are safe to book through?

Basically I had put together an itinerary through Expedia earlier this week, but since then the hotel I picked is no longer showing as available on Expedia's site... but it comes up on some others.

I also discovered booking the flight through one site (flighthub) and the hotel through another (otels.com) ends up being about $200 cheaper than the original itinerary.

But, I've never heard of otels.com, and never used flighthub, is there any reason to worry about either site if they are coming up on some of the bigger "scraping" sites?

Everytime I stay at an otel I always ending staring out the window at the hotel across the street thinking what the H was I thinking being cheap.

[getbak]

If you search for reviews of "flighthub" and "otels.com" (it mostly returns results for otel.com, I don't know if there's a difference), most of the comments on TripAdvisor are negative. There are a lot of accusations of bait-and-switch type moves and very poor customer service.

[getbak]

Also, speaking of YYC, starting Thursday (Sept 18), they are renumbering all of the existing gates in preparation for the opening of the new terminal next year.

http://www.yyc.com/News/tabid/91/art...sy-as-ABC.aspx

The D gates are being re-assigned as A; B/C will just be B; and the current A gates will be C after the change. Other than the gate numbers, I don't think anything else is changing.

[Regular_John]

Originally Posted by getbak

If you search for reviews of "flighthub" and "otels.com" (it mostly returns results for otel.com, I don't know if there's a difference), most of the comments on TripAdvisor are negative. There are a lot of accusations of bait-and-switch type moves and very poor customer service.

Yeah I discovered the same after posting my initial message. Sometimes CP just seems easier then google.

[Ozy_Flame]

Flight special to New Zealand from Canada if you travel between October 19-31, 2014, and May 1-June 8, 2015.

I found flights from Calgary to Auckland on Air New Zealand (awesome airline, btw) for $1600 flat, flying next year.

I encourage anyone thinking about it to take advantage. That is a remarkably cheap flight to Auckland from here, which usually borders on the $1800-$2200 range normally.

http://www.airnewzealand.ca/flights-to-new-zealand

[cmyden]

Calgary to Singapore, Thailand, or The Philippines | from $716 roundtrip including taxes

There are some pretty crazy prices showing from Calgary to a few Southeast Asia hub cities on Delta at the moment.

The cheapest verified prices I've seen so far are...

(roundtrip, including taxes)

Calgary to Singapore (SIN) - $716 CAD
(this is a new record for the cheapest flight I've ever seen from Calgary to Singapore, shattering the old record, set in 2011, by nearly $200)

Calgary to Manila, Philippines (MNL) - $723 CAD
(this is also a new record, shattering the old record from 2011 by $170)

Calgary to Bankgkok, Thailand (BKK) - $825 CAD
(also a new record, besting the $896 flights that showed up in 2011)

Blog post with the full details:

http://www.yycdeals.com/calgary-to-s...ncluding-taxes

[ae118]

Quick question - if flying Calgary to Asia through the states - layover in Seattle, Minneapolis, etc. - when do you go through customs?

[burn_this_city]

Originally Posted by ae118

Quick question - if flying Calgary to Asia through the states - layover in Seattle, Minneapolis, etc. - when do you go through customs?

In Canada from your point of origin.

[cmyden]

Calgary to Shanghai, China - $535 roundtrip including taxes | lowest price record obliterated

It's not every day that a flight to China will cost you about the same as a flight to Toronto. I know some would say that says something about the high cost of flying within Canada (which is true), but in fairness to WestJet and Air Canada, these Delta prices would be considered absurd even from the largest of U.S. airports.

In fact, at this moment it's about 35% cheaper to fly to China from Calgary (through Seattle) than if you were to start the same journey in Seattle. Gotta love the logic of airfare pricing models!

More details:
http://www.yycdeals.com/calgary-to-s...rd-obliterated

[cmyden]

Calgary to Vancouver for Grey Cup Weekend - $199 roundtrip including taxes

Flight leaves Friday after work, comes home late Sunday night. 20 seats available at this price.

details: http://www.yycdeals.com/calgary-to-v...ncluding-taxes

[tvp2003]

Originally Posted by cmyden

Calgary to Vancouver for Grey Cup Weekend - $199 roundtrip including taxes

Flight leaves Friday after work, comes home late Sunday night. 20 seats available at this price.

details: http://www.yycdeals.com/calgary-to-v...ncluding-taxes

Saw this flight yesterday and was going back and forth on whether to book at $259 ($309 - $50 jump code), but the $199 price sealed the deal. Thanks Chris!

[KootenayFlamesFan]

hey chris (or anyone else for that matter), I wanted your input on an upcoming trip.

We want to go somewhere in late April with our two young kids for 10 days. Been to Mexico a few times already, not in a rush to go there again, but want to go somewhere warm and preferably to an all-inclusive. Any suggestions? I've heard good things about Cuba, never been. Anyone gone on a trip with their young family that had good experiences, and what kind of prices would I be looking at for that time of year?

Thanks in advance!