Confessions of a YYC Travel Junkie

[malcolmk14]

Originally Posted by Buzzard

Hey Chris, or anyone else for that matter. We've been going to Mexico every year for a while and although I love it, I'm thinking next winter of somewhere different. I've always kind of had a desire to check out Turks and Caicos (good marketing on their part I guess!). I haven't done much research yet, but can you or anyone give whatever info you can spare......where to stay, preferred hotels, all incl. or not, flights, whatever else, etc.? I'm assuming there's nothing direct out of Calgary and would probably have to go through Toronto or somewhere down east?

drewboy12 just spent two months in Turks! Send him a message for some cool stuff to do or places to dive/snorkel if you end up going.

[drewboy12]

Originally Posted by Buzzard

Hey Chris, or anyone else for that matter. We've been going to Mexico every year for a while and although I love it, I'm thinking next winter of somewhere different. I've always kind of had a desire to check out Turks and Caicos (good marketing on their part I guess!). I haven't done much research yet, but can you or anyone give whatever info you can spare......where to stay, preferred hotels, all incl. or not, flights, whatever else, etc.? I'm assuming there's nothing direct out of Calgary and would probably have to go through Toronto or somewhere down east?

You have two choices for all inclusive. Beaches and Club Med. Club Med is the oldest hotel on the island and it shows. I would consider it grossly over priced for what you get. Beaches is a fair distance away from everything and it is located right beside the BlueHills area, which with all honesty is not a part of the island you would walk around at night.

I would suggest avoiding the all inclusive resorts and look at renting a condo style suite for your stay in the Grace Bay area. There is am IGA grocery store within walking distance of all the hotels and apartments in Grace Bay. There is also a 18 hole golf course about a 15 minute walk up the road.

One of the top rated snorkel spots in the world is reachable from the beach, about 50 feet from the sand, and I will guarantee Green Sea Turtles on every visit.

Grace Bay Beach was just rated the #1 beach in the world again for 2012.

If you are interested in diving, kayaking, snorkeling, SUP, or tours of the island I would recommend booking with Big Blue. They are an eco friendly company and ranked #1 in the country. Ran by amazing, knowledgeable people.

Flights do all connect through yyz with westjet, and I believe Air Canada connects in Halifax??? I am not positive about that though. Flights are usually rather cheap return, but staying here is not cheap. Food and liquor can be very expensive if you are picky. There are many good restaurants on the island though ranging from cheap-ultra expensive.

If you are looking for beach and water you won't find much better then here. As for other things to do you are very limited.

If you have any other questions, pm me and I will gladly help you out.

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by Buzzard

Hey Chris, or anyone else for that matter. We've been going to Mexico every year for a while and although I love it, I'm thinking next winter of somewhere different. I've always kind of had a desire to check out Turks and Caicos (good marketing on their part I guess!). I haven't done much research yet, but can you or anyone give whatever info you can spare......where to stay, preferred hotels, all incl. or not, flights, whatever else, etc.? I'm assuming there's nothing direct out of Calgary and would probably have to go through Toronto or somewhere down east?

Definitely not any direct flights to PLS from Calgary, Toronto is the most likely place you would be connecting.

I've never been to Turks & Caicos myself, but from what I gather/hear/read...

- it's beautiful
- it's expensive
- 'all inclusive' (as in including food & drink) will cost a fortune (for comparison, the cheapest all inclusive package from the Canadian tour operators to Turks & Caicos is currently at $2700/person after taxes for 1 week)
- I've seen the odd price drop on charter flights to PLS through AirCanadaVacations - on very rare occasion it has dropped below $500 roundtrip after taxes. Most of the time though you can bank on it being at least $700-$800ish from YYC. Not generally a cheap place to get to from Western Canada.

Best things to do/see there according to TripAdvisor...

#1 - Grace Bay



Sapodilla Bay
Provo Golf Club
Salt Cay
Gibbs Cay
Smith's Reef
Little Water Cay
Bambara Beach
Caicos Conch Farm

I think it's safe to say that T&C is all about the beautiful beaches, reefs, and islands.

[cmyden]

Calgary to Varadero, Cuba - $199 roundtrip after taxes

Air Transat just released a last minute fare to Varadero, Cuba for a pretty crazy price of $199 roundtrip after taxes.

Here's how to find it....

1. http://www.airtransat.ca

2. Leaving from Calgary

Flying to:

Varadero, Cuba

Departing March 26, returning April 2.

3. Hit find flights

screenshot of verified price:

[cmyden]

Calgary to Paris, France - $771 roundtrip after taxes



It looks like Air Transat just dropped the price of their May fares to Paris, France by a good chunk.

It's notable because unlike their flights to London or Manchester, they rarely seem to significantly discount their flights to Paris.

It also makes them about 40% cheaper than the cheapest flights to Paris on the major airlines.

Here's how to find them...

1. http://www.airtransat.ca


2. Leaving From: Calgary
Flying To: Paris, France
Departure Date: May 10 or 17
Returning Date: May 18 or 25

3. Hit Find Flights

screenshot of verified price:

[fundmark19]

Any update on when the deals map will be back up? Me and a buddy have a week or so booked off april 27th till may 6th and we are either going to go to Miami to watch basketball and nhl playoffs or somewhere else if there is a good deal. The deals map was great for looking at all options.

Any suggestions on how to look for a broad selection in the meantime. I use Itravel2000 for any destinations south but that is all I can think of

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by fundmark19

Any update on when the deals map will be back up? Me and a buddy have a week or so booked off april 27th till may 6th and we are either going to go to Miami to watch basketball and nhl playoffs or somewhere else if there is a good deal. The deals map was great for looking at all options.

Any suggestions on how to look for a broad selection in the meantime. I use Itravel2000 for any destinations south but that is all I can think of

You might want to try the Kayak Explore Map: http://www.kayak.com/explore/

Similar idea, except for the fact that it only uses data from searches that have already been made, so the data isn't quite as complete, but still pretty good.

[Knalus]

Hey Chris

Quick question. I am booking that China trip I mentioned earlier, and I was wondering about insurance. It looks like the flight (through Air Canada) has some pretty good cancellation/adjustment policies, but was wondering what other sort of insurance you were recommending. Health insurance is of course a must. Thoughts?

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by Knalus

Hey Chris

Quick question. I am booking that China trip I mentioned earlier, and I was wondering about insurance. It looks like the flight (through Air Canada) has some pretty good cancellation/adjustment policies, but was wondering what other sort of insurance you were recommending. Health insurance is of course a must. Thoughts?

For me personally I only ever buy health insurance, that's a no-brainer. For everything else I figure if something in my life comes up that's terrible enough that I have to cancel a trip, the cancellation fees will be the last thing I'm worrying about. But that's just me, everyone's situation is different.

[Knalus]

Originally Posted by cmyden

For me personally I only ever buy health insurance, that's a no-brainer. For everything else I figure if something in my life comes up that's terrible enough that I have to cancel a trip, the cancellation fees will be the last thing I'm worrying about. But that's just me, everyone's situation is different.

So what is your thoughts on Air Canada's re-booking system? Is this something you can expect hassles with, or is it pretty fair?

[Bill Bumface]

Hey Chris, looking to go to Australia after Christmas. Airfare looks nuts... like $3K. Is that just normal for lat December/Early January and we'll likely have to look at a different time frame to get reasonable flights?

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by Knalus

So what is your thoughts on Air Canada's re-booking system? Is this something you can expect hassles with, or is it pretty fair?

I think they're pretty much the same as any other airline in North America, you'll basically always be asked to pay two things:

1) The 'change fee' - I think Air Canada is $75, which is similar or even less than what most of the U.S. airlines charge.

2) The difference between what the fare cost you when you booked it, and the price of the fare you want *now*.

That second one is what confuses a lot of people.

If your flight cost you $400 when you booked it, and the flight you want now is $700, you'll need to pay the difference of $300. That can be the real killer when it comes to making changes.

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by hulkrogan

Hey Chris, looking to go to Australia after Christmas. Airfare looks nuts... like $3K. Is that just normal for lat December/Early January and we'll likely have to look at a different time frame to get reasonable flights?

That's the dreaded Dec 21 to Jan 7 time period where everything to do with travel (flights, hotels) costs approximately 1.5 to 1.6 times what it normally does.

That being said, even non-holiday fares to Australia in January look really pricey at the moment.

holidays - $2405 roundtrip after taxes
http://www.kayak.com/flights/#/YYC-S...exible/1adults

mid to late January - $2387 roundtrip after taxes
http://www.kayak.com/flights/#/YYC-S...exible/1adults

Pretty much the same.

I'd say if only the dreaded holiday period works for you, it might be worth considering pulling the trigger and biting the bullet like everyone else has to eventually do when it comes to that timeframe.

If non holiday dates can work for you, it might be worth waiting and watching.

[TheyCallMeBruce]

I see flying to london around the same time as the Paris deal is roughly the same. Cmyden, do you anticipate the deal to be around the $780 mark between now till mid april, or is what I'm seeing from Air Transat pretty much it? Thanks in advance for your help.

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by TheyCallMeBruce

I see flying to london around the same time as the Paris deal is roughly the same. Cmyden, do you anticipate the deal to be around the $780 mark between now till mid april, or is what I'm seeing from Air Transat pretty much it? Thanks in advance for your help.

All I can tell you for certain is that it's not super uncommon for Air Transat to drop their London/Manchester flights to just below the $700 roundtrip after taxes mark, but there's never a guarantee of it happening for sure. Flights in the $600s do happen from time to time, but somewhat rare and on limited dates.

Overall I'd say $780 is fairly close to their normal bottom. Flights in April/May stand a better chance of heavy discounting than June/July/Augst.

[undercoverbrother]

i have recently moved to sylvan from calgary.

I was wondering if there is any significant difference in prices for flights between calgary and deadmonton? both airports are about the same difference away, my bad, I mean flight to the same destination, but one leaving from Calg and one leaveing from edm.

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

i have recently moved to sylvan from calgary.

I was wondering if there is any significant difference in prices for flights between calgary and deadmonton? both airports are about the same difference away

I would say...

Domestic and to the U.S. - usually priced pretty similarly, with the same destinations served.

Europe - Calgary tends to get better deals, thanks to more destinations served by Air Transat.

Packages from the Canadian tour operators (all inclusives, etc) - pretty similar pricing, worth checking both though.

Rest of the world - fairly identical pricing.

[tvp2003]

Originally Posted by cmyden

That's the dreaded Dec 21 to Jan 7 time period where everything to do with travel (flights, hotels) costs approximately 1.5 to 1.6 times what it normally does.

I won't ask how you came up with that "Christmas Coefficient" -- I'm sure it's some complex algorithm that only you and Will Hunting have figured out

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by tvp2003

I won't ask how you came up with that "Christmas Coefficient" -- I'm sure it's some complex algorithm that only you and Will Hunting have figured out

Lol, more just a general rule of thumb based on many, many prices that I've seen over time. If anyone asks me what a 'good' price over the Christmas holiday period is, I feel pretty comfortable in saying 'Take the bottom price that you see during a normal, low demand period and multiply it by 1.5 or 1.6'.

If you see a price within that range, you can consider it a 'good' price considering it's Christmas.

[something]

Strongly considering the flight to Paris...

More of a stopover to get to Munich to visit family - wouldn't mind seeing a bit of France either.

Chris, have you had any experience with discount carriers in Europe? Can you share any advice or tips with using them?