Vacation Bargains Abound

I've been looking around at all my favourite discount travel sites lately. Not for myself, but for any friend who asks. I'm happy to do this. I'm certainly not a travel agent, but I have had a pretty wide variety of travel experiences and adventures in the last 10 years.

We have managed to tote our kids to Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Florida, Minnesota, North Dakota, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, The Turks & Caicos,  The Bahamas and Hawaii. We've travelled by passenger train, car, plane and cruise ship.

We've gone hiking, skiing, swimming, surfing, shopping, to amusement parks and more. It's felt a little crazy at times, but it's been good. I have no regrets at all.

My hubby and I also do the classic couples' getaway to Vegas every now and again. Personally, I love Vegas. I'd go anytime. I think one of the things I like so much about Vegas is the nightlife. It's the opposite of my hometown. My hometown exists, Monday to Friday, from 9AM -9PM. After that, the place shuts down and seems like a sleepy hollow.  So, to have concerts and plays and people out enjoying life after dark seems exciting. I like the change of pace.

But I'm not ready or able to plan another family vacation. Not yet anyway. As I stated last week, I seem to have lost my spark. Though, I am genuinely ok with researching on behalf of friends.

There are lots of amazing bargains out there right now. 5* golf vacations to california for about $700 including taxes, hotel and airfare.  Cheap jaunts to Cuba at under $1000.  Luxury caribbean cruises around $800 (Airfare extra).  Lots of bargains to Florida & Arizona.  Vegas is always cheap in the first part of December & the last part of January.

I priced out one golf vacation during the 3rd week of January at $800. The identical trip in late February is sitting around $1700. So yeah, that's what I consider a bargain.  5* trip, at 3* price.  But truly, it's about getting the type of vacation that works for your family, at a time that's convenient, at a price you can afford. I would caution to never ever take a vacation that the only thing that interests you is the price. If you go somewhere you hate, it's truly no bargain.

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Travel sites I like:

www.itravel2000.com

www.redtag.ca

www.yqrdeals.ca www.yegdeals.ca www.ywgdeals.ca  (Deals specific to your local airport)

www.aircanadavacations.com  (Check out their last minute specials.)

Both Redtag and Itravel2000 will chart the vacations days before and after your selected date and show you a grid of the varied prices. This is an amazing feature, as sometimes a day can make a $500 difference, and you'd never know unless you see this comparison. Each site also searches all the package providers for you. It will show you if Westjet has a better price than Air Canada on the nearly identical vacation.

Maritimes in the Fall

Who doesn't want to travel to the Annapolis Valley in the Fall? It's rumoured to be one of the most lovely, scenic, serene trips you can take. I lived in the Maritimes and have been back to Newfoundland, but I haven't seen Halifax in decades. Halifax in September sounds spectacular. I would love to go sometime.

So, just for fun (don't worry hubby, if you actually read my blog) I priced out the flights on this trip. And this was a huge shock for me. It is cheaper to drive to the USA and then take a Delta or a United flight to Halifax, or Moncton or St. John's than it is to take a CANADIAN Airline. Even with 10 or 15% off discount codes, it is still about $200 cheaper to fly one of the American airlines.

This was a shock to me. And sometimes I think I'm pretty smart. Huh.

For example, fly from Fargo North Dakota, on a United Airlines flight, Saturday September 15th and return the following Saturday for $514 all taxes in. To do the same on Westjet out of YWG is $734 and Air Canada $880 ($760 with a discount code).  Fly out of MOT of GFK for roughly $20 more and take either United or Delta.  That's $200 more per person you could be spending on lobster.

I learn something new every day.

Olympic Travel Bargains

During the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games, Air Canada posted new outrageous deals whenever a Canadian athlete won gold.  The deal would start at midnight and often be all snapped up by dawn.

I remember one night seeing YWG to YUL for $49 each way. Or YYZ to YUL for $29. That's crazy! Crazy good! But, having just stumbled upon the deal late at night, and not having ever discussed taking a weekend in Montreal with my husband, I didn't jump at it. The next day when he said "you should have just booked it" I felt a little down. Like coming 4th place in the Olympics. I hesitated and lost out.

So after that, each day I'd cheer more for our Canadian athletes and if/when they won, bubble over with excitement waiting for the deal to pop up.  Then when Jon Montgomery won (remember the athlete who grabbed & downed the pitcher of beer in a post-victory celebration!) gold, I got MY deal.  At midnight, flights to NAS (Nassau, Bahamas) went on sale from across Canada. I grabbed tickets for $99 each way and in April, hubby and I went to the Bahamas for a 3 day weekend. It was crazy and spontaneous and the best quick trip bargain EVER! The Bahamas are my happy place. No place on earth I'd rather visit. Even if it was just for 2 nights. (Sounds crazy. But probably one of, if not my absolute favourite trip ever.

So, the point of this little jaunt down memory lane is to say that AIR CANADA IS DOING IT AGAIN!!! It's a little different this time, but still good and worth looking into. Each day they are offering a different Olympic special. July 30-August 12. There is a new special each day. The first one was a deal on flights to London. The second one was 10% off Executive Class.  I hope there will be some really special deals in there like last time. I'll be watching.

Simply go to Aircanada.com to see their deal of the day. Who knows, you might just strike gold! This, my friends, is the Olympics of travel bargain hunting. Typically you have a day or two to decide when a bargain price pops up, this time, if it's truly good, it will be a few hours at most to decide. Time to put your credit card and you desk calendar in their ready positions. On your mark... get set....

Why the Turks and Caicos?

Several years ago I saw a documentary on how the Turks and Caicos islands were looking to leave British rule and were lobbying/considering becoming a part of Canada. It was there on television I first saw the beauty of their beaches and heard about this place.

Then the two biggest players in the Canadian Airline industry started travelling there regularly. With Westjet and Air Canada introducing their vacation packages, the location became less exotic and more "domestic". With more regular flights, the tourism industry grew and the availability of flights increased and prices came down. But not that much. It's still one of the more expensive Caribbean destinations.

I have travelled to the Bahamas and I feel quite strongly that I am most happy and blissful in the Bahamas. Though I still seek adventure, I wanted to try something/somewhere similar to the Bahamas. And since the Turks are very nearby.... a mere 30 minutes by plane further than the Bahamas, with similar climate and culture, it seemed a safe bet.

Safe it was! No armed guards at the resort, no warnings from the Canadian consulate. The locals speak English and the common currency is the US dollar.

It is a very small island/series of islands.  That in itself presents a unique situation agriculturally speaking and some unique shopping experiences. More to come .....