Winter’s dreary skies and numbing temperatures make us yearn for warm Caribbean breezes but with today’s economy, most can only dream. Last December my visit to Curaçao was one of the most enjoyable Caribbean experiences ever, so I was delighted when I learned that Hotel Kura Hulanda Spa & Casino and Lodge Kura Hulanda & Beach Club are offering a special “Curaçao Now” package that can turn those dreams into reality.

Guests who book at either resort for a stay May 1 through July 4, 2010 and/or August 15 through December 18, 2010, will receive the following:

• $200 per person air credit from the Curaçao Tourist Board
• $200 food and beverage credit
• Fifth night free
• One day complimentary diving excursion
• One day complimentary car rental service
• Two complimentary tickets to Museum Kura Hulanda (available at Hotel only)
• Diving discounts (available at Lodge only)
• Various additional shopping and museum discounts

Rates include air and start at $499 per person (based on a flight out of Miami) for a five-night stay at Hotel Kura Hulanda Spa & Casino, and $519 per person (based on flight out of Miami) for a five-night stay at Read the rest of this entry »

Photo courtesy of BnBFinder.com

The next  time you catch  the travel bug and want to “wake up someplace special,” check out the offerings at BnBFinder.com. This top rated Bed and Breakfast search engine, which has been in business more than 10 years (almost an eternity in Internet terms), lists thousands of B&B’s in the U.S. and around the world, and its advanced search engine allows searching by more than 130 features such as Jacuzzis in your room, frequent business travelers specials, or inns that accept bed and breakfast travel gift certificates. Searches take customers to a clean interface page, where each property is shown in a horizontal box that includes links to customer reviews and direct links to the B&B’s individual web site. BnBFinder even offers customers the ability to save specific properties and compare them with other inns by creating a free account at their “My Inns” program.

Best of all, the site tracks specials promotions offered by the inns. Currently, a number of properties are participating in “Gas Savings One Tank Trips,” specials make summer travel desirable without breaking the bank. The following are just Read the rest of this entry »

The recent elimination of booking fees for airfare now appears to have been just the first salvo in the war between online travel booking sites. Expedia and Orbitz yesterday announced that they are reducing fees on hotel rooms booked by July 15th. Additionally, Orbitz is now displaying the entire cost for hotel booking upfront, inclusive of fees and taxes, rather than tacking on the aditional fees at the payment screen – a practice long criticized by consumers as being deceptive. Although these latest discounts will no doubt be embraced by consumers, continued erosion of revenues in the industry could result in a round of failures, mergers, and/or acquisitions.

Last week I was having lunch with a couple of friends when the conversation turned to repositioning cruises. Not being familiar with the term, I asked them to tell me more.

“They’re the absolute best cruise deals available!” my one friend insisted. And she proceeded to educate me.

Some ships sail the same itinerary – or at least stay in the same region – year round. Others switch routes with the seasons, requiring them to reposition the ship from one home port to another, which is by necessity a one-way trip. Rather than sail without passengers the cruise lines sell these repositioning trips at a significant discount. Although these cruises require travelers to arrange for more expensive one-way airfare, they also visit more ports of call because they are not limited by the round-trip requirement. Further research turned up some intriguing examples:

Cruise West's Spirit of Oceanus, a small luxury ship that accommodates only 120 passengers

• Cruise West’s Spirit of Oceanus is a small, luxury ship that departs from Anchorage, Alaska on September 10, 2009 for an 18-night Bering Sea crossing dubbed the Ring Of Fire. On its way to Kobe, Japan, the ship visits the Alaskan, Russian, and Japanese ports of Seward, Kodiak, Shumagin Islands, Dutch Harbor, Kiska Island, Attu Island, Petropavlovsk, Atlasova Island, Kuril Islands, Kushiro, Matushima, and Ise. The Read the rest of this entry »

Airfares have been dropping like a rock, with new specials being announced every day. Aside from the obvious money saving benefits, industry experts are offering two bits of advice that bear passing on:

• First, if you have already purchased airfare for this fall, check into re-booking. Normally, excessive change fees would wipe out any savings that would be realized, however current discounts are so steep that it may be worthwhile. Tom Parsons of BestFares.com cites the example of a round-trip ticket between Dallas/Fort Worth and Paris. If purchased on January 5th, it would have cost $1,701, but today’s price is $839. In this instance, it makes sense to cancel and rebook at the lower price, even considering an international change fees of $200 to $250.
• Second, if you plan to travel this fall, delay purchasing your tickets. Parsons expects – with 99% certainty – that fares for travel after Oct. 26 will soon be cut by another 25 to 40%.

With some of the best deals in years on offer, now is the time to take that trip you’ve always dreamed about.

Every cloud has a silver lining. In the case of our current economic woes, the silver lining is travel. With reservations down, absolutely awesome travel deals are being offered to anyone with the time and resources to take advantage of them. Two of the most popular destinations in the country, Las Vegas and Orlando, are pulling out all the stops to attract visitors, but wading through all the hype and companies advertising discounts and packages can be frustrating, if not downright exhausting.

Recently I learned about a web-based company that simplifies the process of booking attraction tickets for Las Vegas and Orlando. Entertainment Benefits Group, headquartered in Hollywood/Fort Lauderdale with offices in Orlando, is one of the largest privately held travel and entertainment providers in the United States. The company was founded in 2001 by former management executives from Disney and Universal Studios. As an officially contracted wholesaler for Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, and Sea World, they work directly with Disney and other theme parks to provide tickets through their website OrlandoFunTickets.com.

OrlandoFunTickets.com

Initially, I was skeptical. Why would anyone buy tickets to Disney World or other Orlando attractions from OrlandoFunTickets.com when they could go to the official website of an attraction and buy tickets directly? So I tested it. I went to the official website for Walt Disney World and checked the ticket prices. Not only were direct tickets through Disney slightly more expensive, their web site was extremely confusing. Once I got to the pricing page, I was asked to select which add-on options I wanted to include (Park Hopper option, Water Park Fun & More option, and No Expiration option). Unfortunately, there was no explanation for Read the rest of this entry »

I was surprised, during my recent ‘leaf-peeping’ trip to the Northeast, to discover a plethora of travel-related bargains. Two years ago, I could not have traveled in the U.S. and stayed in hotels – even if I stuck to the more modest mom and pop motels – for much less than $200 per day, including meals. Yet on this trip I averaged around $100 per day, including food. Most rooms were priced between $60-65 per night and in a few cases I was able to find acceptable accommodations for as little as $35 per night.

That started me wondering whether the recent economic downturn has created an unexpected silver lining for travelers. The short answer is a very definitive YES!

First, consider that the dollar, which a year ago was performing dismally against almost all foreign currencies, has regained some of its former oomph! The Mexican peso has dropped to its weakest level ever against the dollar, as has the Brazilian real. The Argentine peso, which was already at Read the rest of this entry »

I want to tell you about the incredible fares being offered by Spirit Airlines when you join their $9 Fare Club. During the membership process, you are asked to select five preferred cities from the list of cities that the airline serves. At least once every six weeks, Spirit sends out emails offering spectacularly cheap fares exclusively to its members. Although the emails focus on flights to the five preferred cities, members may also log on to Spirit Air’s Fare Club page at any time and see all the deals being offered. For example, today I joined the $9 Fare Club and then logged on to check the current deals being offered. I discovered they were offering flights to Read the rest of this entry »