Celebrate national train day with free companion tickets (on May 10th) from Amtrak

by Grant Martin on

Oh how festive. In honor of the “national train day” that Amtrak has arbitrarily chosen as May 10th, the ailing national rail carrier is offering up free companion tickets for passengers. That’s a Saturday, in case you’re wondering.

You have to book your ticket today, April 4th though, for travel only on May 10th, so if you’re planning on booking a round trip with a return on a different day, you may have to book a separate ticket. But if you’re just heading out for a quick Saturday jaunt to New York City or Chicago, or want to take your mother up the coast real quick for Mother’s Day, this might work well for you.

Use coupon code H768 only on April 4th to cash in on the deal.

Still, it does seem to be a bit difficult to participate in and take advantage of this offer. You would figure that for a seriously ailing industry who can’t seem to manage competing with Chinatown Buses let alone even operate in the black that you would have a more wily or aggressive marketing crew. But hey, what do I know?

Interested in other coupon codes that you might be able to use on the way back or instead? Try out this thread on Flyertalk.

California: Get to Puerto Rico this spring for under 300$

by Grant Martin on

I’ve been putting off sending an alert about this fare for the past few days because it wasn’t really excellent enough — but today it got excellent. Earlier prices from Los Angeles and San Francisco to San Juan, Puerto Rico, were about 275-300$ for dates in April and May, which, even though is a pretty competitive price, isn’t fall-off-your-chair outstanding.

Today however, I’m picking up prices of about 225$ round trip from San Francisco for dates through May. That’s a pretty killer steal for a 3600 mile trip into the Caribbean.

Ever been to Old San Juan? I’m going for the second time next weekend and it’s a ton of fun. A wealth of casinos, restaurants and bars stuff the colonial streets of Old San Juan, where you can wander between hedonistic drinking, quaint shopping and a relaxing afternoon on the beach in just a few steps.

Get bored? Cross the bay to the Bacardi Rum Factory or drive an hour west to the Arecibo Observatory where they shot parts of the Brosnan Bond films.

Use a flexible search on Orbitz or Travelocity to nail down dates but book ASAP if you want to take advantage of these fares — there’s no telling when these are going to get yanked.

And be sure to check out Jaunted’s guides to San Juan for some ideas on where to eat and sleep in the Old City.

Cathay Pacific’s 2008 All Asia Pass

by Jamie Rhein on

If you have 21 days between now and May 15 and August 20 through December 1, Cathay Pacific Airways has the All Asia Pass that gives travelers a chance to visit Hong Kong and up to four more cities in Asia. Prices range from $1,099 with two additional cities; $1,399 for three cities, plus Hong Kong; to $1,699 for the four cities and Hong Kong. With San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York as departure cities, you could probably snag an inexpensive flight to any of them if you plan early enough.

If I were going to take advantage of this ticket, I’d head to Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan and Cambodia. The first three, because I’ve been to each of them and have people I’d like to visit. Cambodia is a place I’d love to go. None of them are far from each other which would help maximize my time in the countries and not going from place to place. In Vietnam, I’d head north to Sapa, a place I haven’t been and see friends in Hanoi. In Thailand, I’d spend a day or two in Bangkok and then head to a beach somewhere. Taiwan would mean revisiting places I liked when I lived there, particularly Beipu and eating all the food I’ve missed since I left. Cambodia would mean new discoveries.

But, since as with most great travel deals, the summer is excluded and that’s when I would have the 21 days to spare, I can’t take advantage. Hopefully, others can. Except for Taiwan, it’s possible to travel in the other three on a shoestring. Hong Kong is good for a day or two, but I’d head to cheaper locations ASAP.

‘Open skies’ agreement spells good news for travel to London Heathrow

by Jeffrey White on

The “open skies” agreement between the U.S. and Europe goes into effect this weekend. And for those wondering whether this deregulation measure will result in lower transatlantic fares, it seems that the answer is yes…at least for now.

It used to be that only four airlines — United, Virgin Atlantic, BA and American — could fly between the U.S. and London Heathrow. Now under “open skies,” US Airways, Delta, Northwest and Air France are jumping onto this route. And in an effort to establish some kind of position in the market, they are offering competitive fares in the $400-$600 range for travel in April and May.

Carol Sottili, the travel deal guru over at the Washington Post, blogs about the details, including specific London services now on offer from the above carriers.

For the time being, it seems that the opening up of transatlantic routes will really only benefit those heading to London. While “open skies” mean, in general, that more airlines will be able to fly to more European destinations, Sottili points out that those flights are spread out across the continent, so competition between carriers isn’t as fierce as it is with London service.

But as a hub for many budget airlines, you can still leave London for other European destinations relatively cheaply. This way, your first leg to London is now more affordable.

Hey Chicago and New York: Get away to Mexico City this Memorial Day for cheap

by Grant Martin on

People often don’t think about traveling over the holidays before it’s too late and ticket prices have gone through the roof. Good thing you’ve got me around. Just be glad you don’t know me personally, I’m always pestering people to buy tickets and they hate me for it.

Anyway, we’ve been looking for good tickets to buy for my girlfriend and I over Memorial Day, and blogger Jeremy (aka, Yaro, aka SATIJ) stumbled on a great fare to Mexico City over that weekend. For a paltry 280$, you can get yourself into the cultural and economic center of our neighbors to the south from either Chicago or New York, leaving Friday or Saturday and returning on Tuesday, the day after the holiday.

Oh but it gets better. If you want to book today or tomorrow, there’s also a 50$ off rebate that you can use with Northwest. So your ticket price drops to 230$.

Use a month long search on the NWA website to find your tickets out of Chicago or New York. You’ll also find that the fare is good for multiple weekends in April and May as well.

Mexico City to big and dirty and scary for you? It’s actually not as bad as it used to be. Take a gander through their wikitravel page and I think you’ll be impressed at what you see. And if you need any personal advice, ask Yaro for some tips and he’ll hook you up. Ask him about his nicknames while you’re at it.

I’ll see you in Mexico City. Just don’t forget your passport.