Confessions of a YYC Travel Junkie

I thought Duke's was just ok for the food... and it was nighttime so we didn't see much of the water from our table.

Make sure that when you go to Hanauma Bay it's not 9-10 days after a full moon. That's when there's an influx of box jellyfish and they wind up closing the beach down. This happened to us 2 hours of getting there. 3 people got stung in the period of 5 minutes.

http://www.hanauma-bay-hawaii.com/jellyfish.html

[cmyden]

Calgary to Nassau, Bahamas - $197 roundtrip after tax!



Try searching for a flight from Calgary to Nassau (NAS) on any major Canadian travel site, from December 11-18.

On FlightCentre.ca for example, first you will see it for $297 roundtrip after tax, like this:



But then click on 'Book Online' to verify the price, and it will drop even further, to $197 roundtrip after tax, like this:



And it's bookable!

cM

[Jing]

Not sure if I should create a new thread or just post in this one...but here goes.

I am heading to Japan for the last week of december and first week of January. I will be in Tokyo and Osaka, and was wondering if anyone could suggest some "must see's"?

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by Jing

Not sure if I should create a new thread or just post in this one...but here goes.

I am heading to Japan for the last week of december and first week of January. I will be in Tokyo and Osaka, and was wondering if anyone could suggest some "must see's"?

There was a pretty good thread last year when those $350 flights were out around!

http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthr...ighlight=japan

I always liked this site:

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e623a.html

There's also a pretty great site for booking cheap Japanese accommodations. One problem... it's only in Japanese.

http://www.jalan.net/

How to use Jalan.net
http://www.secret-japan.com/forum/ho...okan-t439.html

cM

[cmyden]

Last minute: Calgary to Puerto Vallarta, $197 roundtrip after tax!




Try searching for a flight from Calgary to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico (PVR) on any major Canadian travel site, from December 09-16.

On FlightCentre.ca for example:



And it's bookable!


Last minute: Calgary to Varadero, Cuba $147 roundtrip after tax!

Another one of those ridiculous prices. Prices like this, with no taxes and no fuel surcharges are unprecedented. Calgary has never seen anything like this. Nor has any city, really.



Try searching for a flight from Calgary to Varadero, Cuba (VRA) on any major Canadian travel site, from December 11-18.

On FlightCentre.ca for example:



Also bookable!


cM

[SebC]

Chris, do you know of any hotel deals to go with those flight deals?

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by SebC

Chris, do you know of any hotel deals to go with those flight deals?

I think these flights would be most useful to the 'not all-inclusive' type of traveler. Or someone that knows someone with a timeshare down there!

Because all inclusive resorts, booked separately, usually run $150/night or more, in which case you may as well wait for a great deal on an all inclusive package.

I'd probably focus on Puerto Vallarta, and look for a B&B/Inn on Tripadvisor for $50/night or less that gets great reviews...

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g1...st-Hotels.html

(Change property type to B&Bs/Inns)

Go down the list from top to bottom and Google for their websites for rates. A lot of hidden gems aren't hooked up to the Interweb.

Find a place that's cheap and clean and experience a bit more of the authentic side of Mexico. Eat at restaurants that are actually good, instead of bland buffets, and buy your own booze.

cM

[bizaro86]

The Four Seasons Punta Mita has a deal where you get a $1234 resort credit with a four night stay. The rate is $545 per night over those nights, and you get there from the Puerta Vallarta airport. You can apply the resort credit to the room rate at checkout. That would leave the net rate at $236 per night, although the deposit might be a bit more than that, so you'd have to use some of the credit on incidentals.

Obviously not a "cheapest place that includes booze" type deal, but this place is unbelievable. You can also get free breakfast every day and one free lunch per stay if you book through a Four Season Preferred Partner travel agent.

[cmyden]

[PROMO CODE] Air Canada: 15% off flights within Canada *no blackout dates* - [expires: December 9]

Promotion code
C44ZJUF1

http://www.aircanada.com/en/offers/a...day_gifts.html


[PROMO CODE] Westjet: 30% off flights within Canada booked with Mastercard for travel between January 6 and end of March - [expires: December 8]

^^ today only.

Promo code MCH30
Coupon code FKZUOAD

http://www.westjet.com/guest/en/deal...MO-GE-20101208


cM

[ikaris]

Hi cmyden, I was wondering if you were aware of any flight deals for Florida in April?

Either to Orlando or to Tampa? Any week works and we would like to stay for seven days.

Thanks!

[cmyden]

Just an FYI, today's Westjet Blue Tag Thursday deal is for flights to/from Vancouver...

http://www.westjet.com/guest/en/deal...thursday.shtml

If you use it in conjunction with the 15% off promo code they have out right now, you can get Calgary to Vancouver down to $197 roundtrip after tax. Definitely the cheapest it's been in a long time!

Only valid on Tue/Wed flights between January 10 and March 16 though.

The Blue Tag Thursday deals are just for a few hours at a time. This one lasts until 4PM MST.

cM

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by ikaris

Hi cmyden, I was wondering if you were aware of any flight deals for Florida in April?

Either to Orlando or to Tampa? Any week works and we would like to stay for seven days.

Thanks!

Hi Ikaris,

Haven't seen anything too amazing, the cheapest look to be around $530 roundtrip after tax. Such as the Delta flights to Orlando.

I definitely wouldn't be surprised to see something come up for April, I remember there being some sub $400 prices last year, particularly towards the end of April when the snowbirds have come home and there's less demand.

Delta did have that one weird price drop on all flights to Orlando between October and April, when they dropped it down to $325 roundtrip after tax. I posted it on September 24, but it wasn't around for very long, they put the price back up by the next day.

cM

[Misterpants]

Hey cmyden,

What are your thoughts on Bookit.com? Any feedback on dealing with them?

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by Misterpants

Hey cmyden,

What are your thoughts on Bookit.com? Any feedback on dealing with them?

I've never used them myself. They're a big company, and legit, and Googling around you'll find the usual complaints that most people have about any travel company.

I've seen the occasional decent deal on there, it seems like they sometimes have decent prices on all inclusive hotels. Although it's pretty rare to see anything on there that's better than the best deals from the Canadian tour operators.

I find that they're really good at making prices appear better than they are. Even sneakier than most sites. They'll list the price of a room as per person, based on 4 people in the room, etc.

By the time you get to the final checkout page the price has usually lost it's appeal to me.

I think some people also like the fact that they're affiliated with some sort of bank that lets them pay for their vacation in installments. I believe you need to be an American though. And I'm sure the interest rate is fantastic!

If you see anything interesting on there, share it, and I can compare it to everything else that's out there to see if it's actually a good deal.

cM

[Misterpants]

Originally Posted by cmyden

I've never used them myself. They're a big company, and legit, and Googling around you'll find the usual complaints that most people have about any travel company.

I've seen the occasional decent deal on there, it seems like they sometimes have decent prices on all inclusive hotels. Although it's pretty rare to see anything on there that's better than the best deals from the Canadian tour operators.

I find that they're really good at making prices appear better than they are. Even sneakier than most sites. They'll list the price of a room as per person, based on 4 people in the room, etc.

By the time you get to the final checkout page the price has usually lost it's appeal to me.

I think some people also like the fact that they're affiliated with some sort of bank that lets them pay for their vacation in installments. I believe you need to be an American though. And I'm sure the interest rate is fantastic!

If you see anything interesting on there, share it, and I can compare it to everything else that's out there to see if it's actually a good deal.

cM

Thanks dude! From what I've seen they have other operator sites beat for flight/hotel/car to Kauai by a fair bit it seems. Maybe it's a shell game, but they have comparable packages beat by around $500. So I guess my question is what would your advice be for 12-14 days in January in Kauai?

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by Misterpants

Thanks dude! From what I've seen they have other operator sites beat for flight/hotel/car to Kauai by a fair bit it seems. Maybe it's a shell game, but they have comparable packages beat by around $500. So I guess my question is what would your advice be for 12-14 days in January in Kauai?

Kauai, very nice choice! That's where we wanted to go this February if there were any decent Aeroplan flights, but unsurprisingly there weren't any left. (Should have booked it 330 days in advance!)

One day I did a Google image search on Kauai and this is what I saw...

http://www.google.ca/images?hl=en&q=...w=1280&bih=837

It's apparently impossible to take a picture of the place that isn't stunning.


Looks like the cheapest flights are around $716 roundtrip after tax (Jan 19-31 for example), but that's not the greatest flight. Looks like anything decent is around $822 (12 hours there, 9 back).

For hotels the Kauai Palms is $88/night after tax, and seems pretty highly rated on TripAdvisor...

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...ai_Hawaii.html

Or the Garden Island Inn for $116/night...

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...ai_Hawaii.html

Rental cars look to be around $500ish after tax for 12 days.

So all told I would say around $1670/person after tax for flight + hotel + car for 12 nights would be a decent price for good flights and a nice hotel.

Now I'll try a search on Bookit for the same dates...

Sorting by price, the second package looks pretty comparable, for the Aston Islander on the beach (gets 4 circles on TripAdvisor)...

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...ai_Hawaii.html

Shows as $1519/person, until you hit select of course...

And then it jumps to $1761/person.

And that price looks to be based on selecting the US Airways flights, which are 15 hours each way. It would be nice to get the Air Canada ones that are 12 hours there and 9 hours back, like I selected above.

So let's see...

It seems like I can choose a 12 hour flight there (only $20/person more, but still on US Airways), but can't select the 9 hour one I want coming home. Doesn't seem to have the Air Canada flights? Might not be in their system.

All told though, seems to come out to around $1780/person, but just with worse flights coming back.

What was the best deal you ran across so far? I would just make sure you can't do better in terms of pricing it out on your own. Particularly the flight options, LIH isn't quite as easy to get good flights to as say, HNL.

cM

[cmyden]

[PROMO CODE] Westjet: 25% off flights to Mexico & Caribbean - [expires: December 12]

link: http://www.westjet.com/guest/en/deals/promo-code/

"Save an extra 25% off flights to Mexico and Caribbean when you travel before June 15, 2011."

Promo code: PCR49
Coupon code: MHJT0Q2

To redeem this offer, bookings must be made on westjet.com. Both the Promo code PCR49 and Coupon code MHJT0Q2 are required at time of booking on the first page of the booking process. Bookings must be made by December 12, 2010 (09:59pm MST) and travel must occur before June 15, 2011.

cM

[cmyden]

Just on a hunch I tried the above code for Bermuda as well and it works. Even though it's not technically in the Caribbean.

You can get flights down to $350 roundtrip after tax. Jan 19-26 for example.

I know the Fairmont Southampton Bermuda was down to $99/night at one point, they've been hurting lately. I think the promo might be over now though.

cM

[Misterpants]

Thanks man. Yeah, I was trying expedia and flightcentre and Air Canada/Westjet Vacations and they all came out to around $3800 for the resorts that popped up and that's without a car.

[Peanut]

Any thoughts/tips/suggestions for a woman doing a solo trip Dec 20 - 24. I have time off work and nothing better to do until Christmas day so... where should I go??