You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘travel deals’ tag.
Last week, I learned about a new website, CheapSally.com, which offers coupon and promo codes for top retailers like Amazon, Target, Bloomingdales and AT&T, as well as many travel websites. CheapSally recently teamed up with Expedia, the website that I use most often for booking trips, to offer Expedia coupon codes.
Current coupon codes for Expedia include $220 off vacations, $10 off hotels, and no cancellation fees. The one for $220 off a complete vacation sounds the most interesting to me! Too bad I just got back from an expensive trip and can’t afford another one. Keep in mind, when using the Expedia coupon codes, you must go through the entire booking process to see the discounted price.
After looking at the Expedia coupons, I browsed through the rest of CheapSally’s selection of travel deals. The coupon for $100 off vacation packages to Hawaii, Mexico, and the Caribbean quickly caught my eye. I would love to visit Hawaii for the first time, or take another trip down to the Caribbean. A few other interesting coupons include: 65% off Beaches or Sandals resorts, 50% off 4 star hotels through Hotwire, and $100 off vacation packages through Orbitz.
I’ll be sure to check out CheapSally.com before booking my next trip (which hopefully will be soon!).
When the economy is bad, what’s the first to go? I’m no economist, but I would think that people start cutting back on unnecessary luxuries like going out to eat and expensive vacations. In the past year I’ve seen the economy’s impact on both the restaurant and travel industries. As a waitress, I’ve noticed a decrease in tips, and as a travel-lover who frequents trip-booking websites, I’ve noticed a huge increase in the number of deals posted.
In other words, even though the economy sucks, if you have the money to spend, now is the time to travel. You don’t even need a lot of money. I promise.
The other night, one of my friend’s briefly mentioned how she wanted to go to Florida (Orlando to be specific), and I immediately asserted that I could easily find some really cheap trips. Even though we weren’t serious about going on the vacation, as soon as I got home I went online and began searching.
My search quickly revealed even better deals than I imagined. As always, I used expedia.com. I’m sure that hotels.com, Orbitz, and Travelocity have similar deals, but for no particular reason I’ve always stuck with Expedia. I think I just have used their website so many times that I’m more comfortable with its format.
Anyways, I searched for 5 night hotel and flight packages from Boston to Orlando, and I found per person prices that are cheaper than the average roundtrip ticket. I used a week in mid August for my search, and then organized the packages by price. Many of 3 and 3.5 star hotels, some of which include free transportation to the Disney parks and/or free breakfast, are less than $300 per person.
For example, the Radisson Resort Orlando-Celebration, which is a very nice hotel that I’ve stayed at before, is only $277 per person. For a little extra, you can even stay inside Disney World, at the luxurious 4 star Walt Disney World Dolphin for only $393 per night. I stayed there a few years ago, and it was definitely one of the nicer hotels that I stayed at in Orlando, and it’s nice to be within walking distance of MGM (or Hollywood Studios as it’s now called) and a short boat ride away from Epcot.
There were even a few decent hotels for under $250 per person for the hotel and flight, like the Best Western Lakeside or Comfort Inn Lake Buena Vista. How is that possible, when flights are usually at least $200? Thank you bad economy for all of the travel deals.
I’ve been to Orlando way too many times, so unfortuantely I won’t be able to use these amazing deals that I found. Instead I’ll be going to Toronto next month. Why? I’m not sure. We’re only paying $160 each for the hotel though, so I’m not complaining. I don’t even know what there is to do in Toronto, but I’m sure my friend who suggested the trip has some things in mind. In the end, I know it will be fun. I’ve never been there before, and I always enjoy seeing new places. I need to stop automatically thinking of Florida when I think of the word vacation.
During Spring Break this year, 8 of my friends from BU and I traveled to San Juan, Puerto Rico. We found a great deal through hotels.com: under $500 per person for the flight and 5 nights in a hotel. The trip was a lot of fun; we got to relax on the beach, go snorkeling, take a tour of the rain forest, kayak in the bioluminescent bay, wander through Old San Juan, and of course go out to clubs and bars.
Overall, the trip was more of a relaxing vacation with friends that an a drink-all-day-and-party-all-night booze fest. Unlike Cancun or parts of Florida where spring breakers crowd the beaches and late night clubs, Puerto Rico is full of travelers of all age groups.
The nine of us stayed in two different rooms at the Hampton Inn and Suites in the Isla Verde section of San Juan. Since I was in the group of 5, we were in a one bedroom suite. The rooms were clean and comfortable, and we had enough room for all five of us between the living room, kitchen area, and bedroom. On the downside, the hotel guests weren’t really our age; most were older adults, flight attendants or business travelers. It could have been more fun if we stayed where ever all the college students stayed, but how much time do you really spend at the hotel when there’s so much to do.
The small pool area had a little poolside bar (and swim up bar) that served tropical drinks, burgers, sandwiches, and snacks. The sandwich I got there was pretty good, and decently priced (about $7). The only negatives about the pool were that it was surrounded and shaded by the hotel, and that planes flew loudly overhead.
The free full buffet breakfast was definitely one of my favorite parts of the hotel. I’m a big food-lover, and free-food is about as good as it gets. Every morning they had a different hot item like eggs or french toast, plus regular continental items, fruit, and yogurt. It was nice to start every day with a substantial breakfast, and it definitely saved us a lot of money.
The hotel was a short walk from the beach, which was very nice. I could have laid out all day, everyday, but I didn’t. We took two different excursions that were both a lot of fun. One day we went on a catamaran that took us snorkeling and to an uninhabited island. It was a nice trip but basically the same trip that you do on every Caribbean island. Fun, but not really worth $80 (especially since I did the same thing in Cancun two months earlier).
Another day, we went to El Yunque Rain forest and hiked to a beautiful but very cold waterfall. We all went in the freezing water and took a bunch of pictures. The hike wasn’t very difficult, probably a mile or two, and I would definitely recommend it to everyone. Our tour guide was very funny, friendly, and knowledgable. There also was this great restaurant at the base of the mountain that served delicious authentic Puerto Rican food and had great homemade hot sauce!
The rainforest tour also included a kayak tour of the biolumiescent bay. Sounds nice, slowly kayaking through glowing waters, but in reality, not so nice. The glowing water was really cool, but unfortunately, my friend and I were not the best kayakers. We ran our kayaks into the trees about a million times, could barely see, hit about 10 other kayaks because we couldn’t stop ours, and had to be pulled by one of the leaders. I probably almost cried about 100 times. Also, some of our other friends accidentally followed another group and got lost. Basically the whole bio bay tour was not run very well. Tip: Learn to kayak before you go and follow the right group.
As far as night time entertainment goes, it’s no where near as crazy as Cancun. The first night I went out, we went to Old San Juan. We got some margaritas at this nice little bar and then headed to this club, Laser, which was supposed to be good. Not at all. It was full of locals, smoke, and loud reggaeton. It was nice to see where the locals hang out, but I’m all for music I know and air conditioning.
The next night we got this great deal at a bar down the street from our hotel called Bed Lounge: $15 for open bar! It wasn’t too big, but they played good music (popular American rap and hip hop) and had a dance floor. Upstairs they had a roof deck with a bunch of comfortable chairs, couches, and of course beds, as well as another bar. The weather was perfect so we sat up there for a long time.
Our last night before we went home, we went to one of my favorite bars: Senor Frogs. I love the big plastic cups, the funny games, and the free shots they pour in your mouths. The Senor Frogs in Cancun was much bigger and better, but this one was still fun. Senor Frogs is in Old San Juan, which is definitely another interesting area to visit. The hilly streets offer countless of great places to shop and eat, and the buildings are all painted in bright, tropical colors.
As far as dining goes, we ate a bunch of great places, but sadly I can’t remember any of the names. One of the places that was very close to our hotel, overlooked the beach, and had $5 glasses of Sangria. Wonderful. I wish I could remember the name. It was inside a small motel that was next to the beach, but other than that ???
Well, this post is becoming too long very quickly, so I’ll end with these last words of advice: Puerto Rico is a great place to vacation if you’re looking to get away from the crazy spring break crowds but still want be on a warm island that has lots to do.
So, for some reason when I wrote my first post the other day it didn’t get published. What does it matter, though, I posted my link on Twitter and still no one looked it. I guess I should start commenting on other people’s blogs or something.
Anyways, I found a pretty good deal for one of my favorite places on earth: Atlantis in the Bahamas. Yes, I do frequently go to their website just to gaze at pictures and dream of floating down their relaxing lazy river. With prices, on average, of over $300 per night for the cheapest rooms, $300 flights, and $100 meals, it’s not exactly something I can pay for right now. Anyone can afford to travel luxuriouslywith this summer special, though.
According to their website, you can stay for 4 nights for $400 this summer (through 7/1/09). The cheapest rooms are terrace view rooms in the Beach Tower, which is where I stayed when I went. The prices are based on Sunday or Monday arrival, and the room must be booked by 5/8/09, so hurry! Of course, the price doesn’t include any taxes or fees, but kids stay free (doesn’t help me, but could help someone else).
Atlantis has had many deals like this in the past, and every time I see them advertised I go online and try to find that price. Somehow, I use the correct dates but it never works. This time, though, I actually was able to find the room for 2 people for 4 nights for $795. Not too bad. For dates, I chose Sunday June 14th to Thursday June 18th. If you can squeeze 4 adults into 1 room, the price drops to $273.35 per person for the 4 nights. Now, if only I had the money and time to spare, as well as three friends who also have money and time.
The website also has a $200 air credit if you book a package that includes airfare. So tons of savings for everyone. They must really be trying to attract guests during this recession.
