Confessions of a YYC Travel Junkie

[mac_gurl]

We like MGM Grand, which is really close to Mandalay. Prices are decent too.
The Wynn is at the opposite end of the strip from Mandalay.

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by TimSJ

hey all,

The wife and i are heding to Vegas for the first time dec 2-6 (fri-tues). She is participating in a half Marathon that they hold on the stip on sunday night. Trying to figure out the best place to stay.

The start finish line is at Mandalay Bay. She would like to stay there so it is easy to get to the start etc and anther couple that is going with us (his wife is diong the race as well) are staying there. Problem is that it is sold out on the sunday night.

I am leaning towards the following 3 options: 4 Seasons at Manalay Bay($229 night), The Venetian($129 night), or the Wynn/Encore ($170 night).

My wife's friends husband and i are looking to play a little golf so some suggestions there as well would be great.

thoughts or suggestions:

The Wynn has a golf course if that helps

It's also one of the nicest hotels in Vegas, and amazing reviews on Tripadvisor.

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

But then again so does the 4 Seasons @ Mandalay (#1 ranked hotel in Vegas actually)

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

[cmyden]

Westjet's Blue Tag deal is from Calgary to Los Angeles, San Diego, and Anaheim this week.

Works out to about $317 roundtrip after taxes to each of them from #YYC. Not mind blowing but pretty close to the bottom price in terms of flights to California this year.

For travel up to December 15. Selection of dates looks good.

[malcolmk14]

Originally Posted by cmyden

Westjet's Blue Tag deal is from Calgary to Los Angeles, San Diego, and Anaheim this week.

Works out to about $317 roundtrip after taxes to each of them from #YYC. Not mind blowing but pretty close to the bottom price in terms of flights to California this year.

For travel up to December 15. Selection of dates looks good.

Damn, too bad the Padres, Dodgers, and Angels all missed the playoffs.

[red sky]

Originally Posted by TimSJ

hey all,

The wife and i are heding to Vegas for the first time dec 2-6 (fri-tues). She is participating in a half Marathon that they hold on the stip on sunday night. Trying to figure out the best place to stay.

The start finish line is at Mandalay Bay. She would like to stay there so it is easy to get to the start etc and anther couple that is going with us (his wife is diong the race as well) are staying there. Problem is that it is sold out on the sunday night.

I am leaning towards the following 3 options: 4 Seasons at Manalay Bay($229 night), The Venetian($129 night), or the Wynn/Encore ($170 night).


My wife's friends husband and i are looking to play a little golf so some suggestions there as well would be great.

thoughts or suggestions:

I've done that race before. IIRC it starts super early which makes it a bit tough to get to especially if you are on the far end of the strip. Nothing a taxi can't take care of but keep in mind that the strip will be shut down and it may take a bit longer. I stayed at MGM and walked over to Excalibur and took the tram to Mandalay Bay. It is pretty amuzing going at that hour as some people are just leaving the bar/casino to go to sleep.

[cmyden]

Save 20% off to select cities within Western Canada on Air Canada

Travel in October between select cities in Western Canada and save 20% off Tango fares.

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Book by October 6, 2011 midnight, from your city of departure.

This offer applies only to the following destinations...

Calgary, AB
Edmonton, AB
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[taco.vidal]

Sunday, December 4, 2011
4:00 pm - Marathon
5:30 pm - 1/2 Marathon

http://runrocknroll.competitor.com/l...-details#start

Originally Posted by red sky

I've done that race before. IIRC it starts super early which makes it a bit tough to get to especially if you are on the far end of the strip. Nothing a taxi can't take care of but keep in mind that the strip will be shut down and it may take a bit longer. I stayed at MGM and walked over to Excalibur and took the tram to Mandalay Bay. It is pretty amuzing going at that hour as some people are just leaving the bar/casino to go to sleep.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by taco.vidal

http://runrocknroll.competitor.com/l...-details#start

In Vegas, 4:00pm is super early.

[cmyden]

It took them a little while but Westjet just matched Air Canada's 20% off code on select Western Canadian flights.

link: http://www.westjet.com/guest/en/deal...st-ge-20110930

Save an extra 20% off new online bookings when you travel from October 1st to October 31st, 2011.

To redeem this offer, bookings must be made on westjet.com. Both the Promo code PCR96 and Coupon code HQELHWX are required at time of booking on the first page of the booking process. Bookings must be made by October 6, 2011 (9:59 p.m. MT) and travel must occur between October 1st and October 31st, 2011. 20% off promo code cannot be used when booking Blue Tag sale fares.

Offer is available on the following flights:

Calgary to/from Kamloops
Calgary to/from Kelowna
Calgary to/from Vancouver
Calgary to/from Victoria
Edmonton to/from Kamloops
Edmonton to/from Kelowna
Edmonton to/from Vancouver
Edmonton to/from Victoria

[red sky]

Originally Posted by taco.vidal

http://runrocknroll.competitor.com/l...-details#start

They must have changed it. A few years back it was in December and it started at 5:00am.

[crashbandit]

Me and my girlfriend are hoping to get an all-inclusive with at least 3.5 stars in mid-late november in the $600-$700 range if possible.

Is this unreasonable?

thanks

[fundmark19]

royal decameron in porto vallarta would probably be your closest bet to getting those prices. Might need to increase to 800 range

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by crashbandit

Me and my girlfriend are hoping to get an all-inclusive with at least 3.5 stars in mid-late november in the $600-$700 range if possible.

Is this unreasonable?

thanks

If that's per person, and after taxes/fees, there are certainly times where prices fall into that range. There was one in September that dropped to $532/person after taxes, and it was to a nice resort on the Mayan side of Mexico too (Catalonia Yucatan).

You would just have to be completely flexible about where you're going. The most drastic drops usually occur 1-3 weeks before departure, but just on a few select packages.

[oxygen]

Chris,

Since you're the travel guru, what are some sun destinations you would suggest for a New Years trip, leaving Dec. 26/27 and coming back Jan. 1/2? We want to go somewhere warm with nice beaches, but not Mexico or Hawaii. That is probably one of the most expensive times to travel during the year, but have you seen any decent deals?

Thank you for keeping us updated on travel deals through this thread and your emails.

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by oxygen

Chris,

Since you're the travel guru, what are some sun destinations you would suggest for a New Years trip, leaving Dec. 26/27 and coming back Jan. 1/2? We want to go somewhere warm with nice beaches, but not Mexico or Hawaii. That is probably one of the most expensive times to travel during the year, but have you seen any decent deals?

Thank you for keeping us updated on travel deals through this thread and your emails.

There's no doubt about it, it *is* the most expensive time of year to travel, and it's guaranteed to stay that way, unless we all decide to start taking Christmas holidays at different times of year. There's peak travel periods that are expensive (long weekends) and then there's Christmas, a whole different level.

It's extremely rare to see much price movement in the downward direction around those dates. One notable exception this year were the flights to Belize, Costa Rica, and Honduras. Not sure if you saw those or not. They dropped drastically and actually have stayed that way. There were even Christmas and New Years dates available at cheap prices. Seems like the faster flights are more expensive now though.

If you think of how many thousands of destinations there are out there, and how many millions of prices there are, and then think about how I've only posted a handful of notable price drops over Christmas this year, it gives some indication of how rare an event it is. Whenever a price drop looks to have affected Christmas dates I make a point of mentioning it.

Looks like there are some decent flights into SJO, Costa Rica for $750, but coming back on Jan 5 looks to be the earliest you can come back at the cheap price.

http://www.kayak.com/flights/#YYC-SJ...01-04-flexible

The story is similar to Roatan, Honduras (RTB) for $625 - but there doesn't appear to be any of the ones that are both cheap and fast around those dates.

http://www.kayak.com/flights/#YYC-RT...01-04-flexible

[cmyden]

Air Canada: 20% off flights to Canada, USA, Caribbean, Mexico, Australia, South America

link: http://www.aircanada.com/en/offers/a.../discount.html

Save 20% on Tango, Tango Plus and Executive Lowest fares wherever we fly within Canada, between Canada and the USA (including Hawaii), the Caribbean, Mexico, South America and Australia. Travel until February 10, 2012.

To get your exclusive discount, simply enter this promotion code when booking right here at aircanada.com:
Promotion code
SAVE20

Valid on Tango, Tango Plus and Executive Lowest fares.
Offer is valid for travel from October 14, 2011 to February 10, 2012.
Book by October 16, 2011 midnight, from your city of departure.
Blackout dates apply: December 16, 2011 to January 11, 2012.
This offer is valid on both Air Canada operated flights and codeshare flights.

Air Canada always seems to have issues when they release a promo code. Hopefully they'll get this fixed soon. From their Facebook page...

"We're experiencing a technical issue with one of our servers.
You should be able to use the promo code shortly. We apologize for the delay."

It's just like being on one of their flights!

[woob]

Does WestJet usually match when Air Canada offers those kinds of wide seat price sales?

[cmyden]

Originally Posted by woob

Does WestJet usually match when Air Canada offers those kinds of wide seat price sales?

Usually they eventually do. Of course, it would just be to Canada/USA/Mexico/Caribbean

[cmyden]

And here's the match, just released...

Westjet 20% off anywhere they fly...

link: http://www.westjet.com/guest/en/deal...mo-ge-20111014

Save an extra 20% off all destinations on new online bookings.

To redeem this offer, bookings must be made on westjet.com. Both the promo code PCR98 and coupon code VURDIAH are required at the time of booking on the first page of the booking process. Bookings must be made by October 16, 2011 (9:59 p.m. MT) and travel must occur before February 10, 2012. Blackout dates apply from December 16, 2011 – January 11, 2012.

[woob]

Originally Posted by cmyden

And here's the match, just released...

Westjet 20% off anywhere they fly...

link: http://www.westjet.com/guest/en/deal...mo-ge-20111014

Save an extra 20% off all destinations on new online bookings.

Thanks Chris! Just booked my trip to Phoenix!