Confessions of a YYC Travel Junkie

[return to the red]

Originally Posted by cmyden

Maybe it would be better phrased as 'It's standard practice for airlines to claim you can get a 10 percent discount for group bookings'.

http://www.westjet.com/international...ventions.shtml

But it wouldn't surprise me if 10 percent off the best 'regular fare' was more expensive than a fare that's claimed to be 'on sale' in their system (which they almost all always are).

It's kind of like the so-called compassion discounts for attending a funeral, which are rarely cheaper and often more expensive than the price currently showing on the airline's site.


Another link from their site...

http://www.westjet.com/guest/en/trav...s/groups.shtml


Maybe you need to pretend it's a wedding to get the discount...

Just saw this now and It made me lol. It is for MY wedding that I talked to WestJet about and I even mentioned the group was for a wedding. Airlines sure don't go out of their way for you when you there is so many "discount" websites out there now.

[undercoverbrother]

I am thinking about taking my wife to Las Vegas for a long(ish) weekend.

What is the best way to book. Internet and package, try to source flights and hotels by myself?

I was thinking someing in May/June.

Cheers

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

I am thinking about taking my wife to Las Vegas for a long(ish) weekend.

What is the best way to book. Internet and package, try to source flights and hotels by myself?

I was thinking someing in May/June.

Cheers

Long weekends in Vegas = even more inflated prices than a regular weekend. Avoid the traditional long weekend holiday dates if you can!

When it comes to booking a package vs building your own package to Vegas, I've seen enough cases that favor one or the other to know that you really just need to examine both and see which is the better deal at the time.

What you really want to do is compare...

1. Canadian tour operator packages (WestjetVacations, AirCanadaVacations)

vs.

2. The engines that are bundling flights from the major airlines with hotels in real-time (Expedia, Travelocity, etc)

vs.

3. Finding the cheapest flight yourself (Kayak) + the best hotel deal (various sources). Calculate what this works out to per person, for flight and hotel to compare with 1 and 2.

That will cover all your bases. Unless you're willing to consider flying out of Montana

Speaking of Vegas, I've noticed that flights to Vegas, San Francisco, and Los Angeles all seem to be pretty cheap at the moment. Unfortunately for Vegas though, weekend dates don't look cheap (as usual).

LAX: http://www.kayak.com/flights/#/YYC-L...05-23-flexible

SFO: http://www.kayak.com/flights/#/YYC-S...exible/1adults

LAS: http://www.kayak.com/flights/#/YYC-L...exible/1adults

May, June, September, and October seem to be the focus of the drops. Plenty of fares in the range of $310 roundtrip after taxes.

[cral12]

Actually got a good deal going to San Francisco for mid-May. Any travel tips while there (first time - we did book Alcatraz night tour already).

[Notorious Honey Badger]

Chris do you have any experience with Myrtle beach? My Ontario family swears by it. Last half of July I want to go somewhere with my friend that's hot but also cheap, but not too last minute. Is South Carolina good option or should we just get a cheap flight to Mexico or Central America?

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by cral12

Actually got a good deal going to San Francisco for mid-May. Any travel tips while there (first time - we did book Alcatraz night tour already).

Smart to book Alcatraz before you go. There's the Golden Gate bridge of course. Take a ride on a cable car. Golden Gate park is nice, the San Fran version of Central Park.

The Exploratorium is probably one of the better science centers I've been to, if you're into that. Really nice setting and surrounding area too..



San Francisco's Chinatown is the largest one outside of Asia.

Grab some Ghirardelli chocolate at Union Square.

Lombard street.

Some friends of mine made a point of walking by the 'Full House' house. 1709 Broderick Street, near Bush Street is apparently where it is.

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by Notorious Honey Badger

Chris do you have any experience with Myrtle beach? My Ontario family swears by it. Last half of July I want to go somewhere with my friend that's hot but also cheap, but not too last minute. Is South Carolina good option or should we just get a cheap flight to Mexico or Central America?

Folks out East get much better deals to Myrtle Beach than we do in the West. Especially if they're willing to fly out of the U.S. (have seen some pretty crazy prices under $100 roundtrip after taxes).

I've never been to Myrtle Beach myself. I get the impression it's a place for people to do a little golfing and have some beach time but I'm not sure what else. I'm picturing tacky tourism and overpriced restaurants, but I have no idea.

Central America in July can be the rainy season in most countries so be aware of that.

Cheap flight to Mexico could be possible, but there are also a lot less charter flights in the summer, and those are the ones that typically have a better chance of dropping. So ironically, the really crazy prices to 'warm destinations' happen more often in winter than in summer, contrary to what most people might think.

[doozwimp]

Looking to take a trip to England in around September/October. Is there a good way to go about doing that?

Was checking into stopping over in Iceland for a few days before hand. Seems like it might be a reasonable method...

[Old Yeller]

Wife and I are spending 4 days in Budapest in mid-May. We're going to a shooting range (that was highly recommended) but otherwise we're open for things to see/do.

Any suggestions?

[Tyler]

Anyone been to San Diego for a Chargers game?

Looking for hotel recommendations, tips for going to a game at Qualcomm, flight info, etc

Thanks!

[cmyden]

Calgary to Scotland in May - $599 roundtrip after taxes

Air Transat has been slashing their April/May departure prices to the UK throughout the last week or so. If there are to be any June price cuts, they'll be next, so keep an eye out for those.

At the moment, flights to Manchester, UK can be found for $583 roundtrip after taxes (April 20-28 for example).

Probably the most interesting at the moment might be Calgary to Glasgow, Scotland from May 2 to 9, which is down to $599 roundtrip after taxes.

Can see them both on airtransat.ca

Last year flights to Scotland dropped to $618 roundtrip after taxes for travel around the May long weekend. That happened on May 5. blog post - no guarantee that will happen again of course.

June flights also fell to $618 on May 31.


Calgary to Paris - $648 roundtrip after taxes

May 24 to June 1 from Calgary to Paris just dropped to $648 roundtrip after taxes on Air Transat.
This is officially the cheapest flight I have ever seen to Paris from YYC.

[Mista_Incognito]

Thanks for another gem Chris,

Little do you know how much these flight deals have impacted my life. In the last 6 months I have been able to go to London, Belize and France for ridiculously low prices.

Keep up the good work and thanks for increasing my quality of life significantly!

[kipperfan]

Originally Posted by Old Yeller

Wife and I are spending 4 days in Budapest in mid-May. We're going to a shooting range (that was highly recommended) but otherwise we're open for things to see/do.

Any suggestions?

Do you like art? Budapest has some amazing art museums, if you're interested I can recommend names of places I visited and really enjoyed. Margaret Island is a really nice place to go for a walk/spend an afternoon. The Budapest Castle District is a great area if you like history and museums, lots to see, hard to see everything in a full day. I was told by a few people that the Zoo was really cool for some reason, but don't remember why and didn't go myself. But I can say, the area around the Zoo, like Margaret Island, is very pretty and definitely worth walking around - you'll be there too late in the year, but right in that same area they have a massive ice skating rink which is always packed!

The entire Buda side of the city is great for history and site seeing, it also has some cool caves you can go into, very neat! The Pest side of the city is much better for nightlife/dinning/shopping. The city is very photogenic, I've been to many places in my life but never taken more pictures in one city then I did in Budapest. Hope that helps.

Edit: Also, if you and the wife like this kind of thing, there are lots of great thermal baths, including the largest one in Europe, Szechenyi Bath and Spa Budapest. I went to Szechenyi and it is pretty crazy and would recommend it after a long day of sightseeing!

http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attraction...-Budapest.html

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by Mista_Incognito

Thanks for another gem Chris,

Little do you know how much these flight deals have impacted my life. In the last 6 months I have been able to go to London, Belize and France for ridiculously low prices.

Keep up the good work and thanks for increasing my quality of life significantly!

Thanks Mista! I'm glad people enjoy them and definitely appreciate it when people let me know about ones they've taken advantage of.

[cmyden]

Calgary to London, UK - $288 roundtrip after taxes ?!

If this doesn't turn out to be a mistake this will be the craziest price to Europe since the 2009 fare to Spain for $100 roundtrip after taxes.

Here's how to find it...

1. http://www.canadianaffair.ca

(a reputable and well known site)

2. Search for a flight from Calgary to London Gatwick, departing on April 28 and returning on May 10.

Hit 'Find Flights'

3. About halfway down the page, you'll see a box that says 'SPECIAL FLIGHT OFFERS'. Click on the little plus symbol to open it.

Now you'll see a couple of flight options for $273 roundtrip. Click on Book.

screenshot of verified price:



When I see a price this insane, I tell people your best chance is to book it online. Don't call.

[Notorious Honey Badger]

nm.

[worth]

Arghhh, that is exactly what I am looking for, except for September instead. I can't go this spring. Will just have to wait and see what comes up. Great find Chris.

[Notorious Honey Badger]

Amazing deal. I cant go anyways tho i just realized im commited to dog sit for early may. but wow. nice find chris

[fundmark19]

Anyone else still see it? I am getting 526

[worth]

I still see it. Did you click on the "Special Flight Offer" section?