Confessions of a YYC Travel Junkie

[return to the red]

Hey Cmyden, looking at leaving vegas after our wedding in November and heading somewhere for an all-inclusive. My question to you is how difficult is it booking to leave out of vegas flying to somewhere in the caribbean and then getting a flight back into Calgary? Any potential hang-ups we may encounter?

Thanks
RTTR

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by return to the red

Hey Cmyden, looking at leaving vegas after our wedding in November and heading somewhere for an all-inclusive. My question to you is how difficult is it booking to leave out of vegas flying to somewhere in the caribbean and then getting a flight back into Calgary? Any potential hang-ups we may encounter?

Thanks
RTTR

I can't think of any real issues as long as you have your passport. Since you're coming from the U.S., you'll probably want to eliminate Cuba as an option.

Might want to focus on some of the more common Caribbean destinations, as the less common ones can be quite a journey back to Calgary (multiple layovers, long flights, etc). Anywhere Westjet flys from YYC should have decent flights.

[getbak]

Out of curiosity, I just ran the flights to Istanbul that I booked during the sale through klm.com. The current total price (for which I paid $718) is $1555.

A 54% savings. Nice.

[REDVAN]

Question for those who travel: where's the best place to get luggage? I want quality but I don't want to spend that much. I'm doing some business trips soon, and need to get some of my own bags.

If you want quality, you have to pay for it.

I used to sell luggage, I would suggest the Briggs an Riley "transcend" line. You can get it at Handy Luggage. Their warranty covers airline damage and Handy Luggage does all the repairs for Calgary. Awesome product!

[return to the red]

anybody know how to go about buying airline credits or vouchers. We want to but my buddy a flight to visit another friend but not sure when he will go. Whats the best option to do this.

I should mention the flight would be to San Fran during the NFL season so i'm pretty sure that takes westjet out of the running

[FiftyBelow]

Originally Posted by return to the red

anybody know how to go about buying airline credits or vouchers. We want to but my buddy a flight to visit another friend but not sure when he will go. Whats the best option to do this.

I should mention the flight would be to San Fran during the NFL season so i'm pretty sure that takes westjet out of the running

Can we be friends?

[return to the red]

Originally Posted by FiftyBelow

Can we be friends?

No. Our friend is about as unselfish and generous as any person can get and has literally spent thousands of dollars on this particular group of friends in the past few years. Pitching in 100-150 bucks to show our gratitude is the least we could do.

so any suggestions or care to do the same?

[fundmark19]

I don't think you can buy them directly through airlines anymore. You can get him one to flight centre or travel agency type places and he can purchase a flight through them

[cmyden]

July 5 to 12 or 19 from Calgary to London, UK just dropped to $649 roundtrip after taxes on Air Transat.

[topfiverecords]

WestJet Blue Tag Thursday. $179+fees
YYC to New York via LaGuardia or Newark
Sept 4-Oct31

[cmyden]

Google launches Flight Search for Canadians - my thoughts

http://yycdeals.com/google-launches-...ns-my-thoughts

[cmyden]

Westjet's Blue tag this week is to Kauai, Hawaii (LIH) and Kona, Hawaii (KOA)

http://www.westjet.com/guest/en/flig...Number=VDAUAAK

30% off base fares (which means realistically it's about a 15% discount off the total price). Looks to work out to $600ish roundtrip after taxes.

Save an extra 30% off* base fare on new online bookings when you travel to/from Kona and Lihue, Hawaii.

To redeem this offer, bookings must be made on westjet.com. Both the Promo code WJC26 and Coupon code VDAUAAK are required at time of booking on the first page of the booking process.
*Bookings must be made by June 28, 2012 (4:00 p.m. MT) for travel from September 5 to December 1, 2012.
Blackout dates are from October 4-9, 2012 and from November 8-13, 2012.
Discount cannot be used towards the purchase of a WestJet Vacations package.

[cmyden]

Westjet has a code out for 10% off base fares to all Canadian cities, which translates into approximately a whopping 5% savings off the actual price. Look for AC to match.

Save an extra 10% off* base fare on new online bookings when you travel to/from all Canadian destinations.
To redeem this offer, bookings must be made on westjet.com. Both the Promo code WJC31 and Coupon code 6D8RLA5 are required at time of booking on the first page of the booking process.
*Bookings must be made by July 2, 2012 (9:59 p.m. MT) for travel until October 27, 2012.
Blackout dates are from August 1-8, 2012 and October 4-9, 2012.
Discount cannot be used towards the purchase of a WestJet Vacations package.

http://www.westjet.com/guest/en/deal...pc-ge-20120629

[rubecube]

Any idea why flights to Vegas in August or so high right now? I thought August was low season for them. Should I wait for them to come down, or is this likely the best time to buy? I'm in that 6-8 week window.

Also, thanks for the tips on Belize. Ended up being an incredible trip.

[Inferno]

My parents and niece are flying in from Winnipeg to Vancouver for a week the last week of July to visit. Would booking this weekend with the WestJet deal be their best bet or is there a chance that flights will go down within the next month?

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by rubecube

Any idea why flights to Vegas in August or so high right now? I thought August was low season for them. Should I wait for them to come down, or is this likely the best time to buy? I'm in that 6-8 week window.

Also, thanks for the tips on Belize. Ended up being an incredible trip.

Vegas prices are pretty consistent, as the demand is too, especially from Calgary.

August is ridiculously hot, but I think the 'low season' for Vegas these days = non weekend travel. In my opinion the only two seasons for Vegas are weekend and non weekend.

Glad you had fun in Belize, we really enjoyed it as well. Awesome little country with a lot to see and do.

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by Inferno

My parents and niece are flying in from Winnipeg to Vancouver for a week the last week of July to visit. Would booking this weekend with the WestJet deal be their best bet or is there a chance that flights will go down within the next month?

With 4 weeks to go I'd say you're well into the range where the chance of getting a better deal is becoming outweighed by the chance of the fare rising due to the plane filling up.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by cmyden

Vegas prices are pretty consistent, as the demand is too, especially from Calgary.

August is ridiculously hot, but I think the 'low season' for Vegas these days = non weekend travel. In my opinion the only two seasons for Vegas are weekend and non weekend.

Glad you had fun in Belize, we really enjoyed it as well. Awesome little country with a lot to see and do.

Yeah, but even the weekend and non-weekend dates aren't much different. In fact a few I've found were cheaper on the weekend. Oh well, looks like we found a weekend to do 4 nights and return airfare for around $500/each.

[cmyden]

Calgary to Georgetown, Guyana - $511 roundtrip after taxes

This is one for the adventurous travelers out there. Most people likely don't even know where Guyana is, much less have it on their travel wish-list. I have a feeling a lot of people might guess that Guyana is in Africa for some reason.

Guyana is actually in the northern part of South America, right next door to Venezuela. I've actually always wanted to check out Mount Roraima, which meets at the boundaries of the borders of Venezuela, Guyana, and Brazil (yes, that's the mountain from Pixar's movie "Up").



But I think the only easy way up Mount Roraima is on the Venezuelan side. And I don't think there's a way to access it by land from Guyana.

Anyways, I know this deal won't have mainstream appeal, but I feel compelled to share it, since it's such a crazy price, more than 60% cheaper than the usual bottom price. Hopefully some adventurous souls out there can take advantage of it.

The cheap prices look to be available from August through December on Delta. Here are some example 10 day trips on Kayak:

August:
http://www.kayak.com/flights#/YYC-GE...09-08-flexible

September:
http://www.kayak.com/flights#/YYC-GE...09-19-flexible

October:
http://www.kayak.com/flights#/YYC-GE...10-22-flexible

November:
http://www.kayak.com/flights#/YYC-GE...11-19-flexible

December:
http://www.kayak.com/flights#/YYC-GE...12-15-flexible

Guyana is also the only South American country where English is the official language. It has some pretty incredible wildlife and rainforests, but doesn't have much in the way of tourist infrastructure.

Guyana also has some pretty neat natural sights, such as Kaieteur Falls...