Virgin Atlantic’s 25 year anniversary sale fares starts right……NOW!

by Grant Martin on

Midnight sure is a strange time to be posting deals, isn’t it? Well, there’s a reason. Virgin Atlantic is celebrating it’s 25th anniversary in a variety of ways over the course of the year, and one of them is in launching a crazy 24 hour fare sale from Newark to the United Kingdom. Starting RIGHT NOW.

According to our source inside of the company, you’ve got all day to book tickets as cheap as $186 one way from Newark. Once availability runs out, you’re out of luck. So for those of you on the west coast, start clicking. For those of you who just woke up on the east coast, you’d better hope that there’s something left.

The best part is that you can book tickets from July 1st, which means the fares are vaild for high summer season. So grab the kids, scrap the staycation and book tickets to London this summer. Combined with the falling Pound Sterling, you may not get a chance like this again for a while.

Book tickets at VirginAtlantic.com soon, the offer expires at midnight on June 10th.

Stay in a Choice Hotel this summer and get a $50 gift card

by Grant Martin on

Got plenty of business travel this summer? A family reunion that’s taking you across the country for two weeks in August? Have to book a hundred rooms for a graduation? This summer is great time to book hotel rooms among the Choice Hotels. They’re currently running a promotion where after three separate stays you’ll earn enough points to redeem a $50 cash card.

Choice Hotels are traditionally budget to moderate priced properties, so you don’t have to worry about breaking the bank when you reserve a room. Among the candidate properties are Comfort Inns, Comfort Suites, Cambria Suites, Sleep Inn, Qualty Inns, Clarions and those in the Ascend Collection, so you have plenty of flexibilty in your choices as well.

You can check out the properties and join Choice Priveleges, at choicehotels.com, where you’ll automatically start earning points towards your gift cards.

Horny Toad’s “Post Cards from the Edge” contest

by Brenda Yun on

I just returned from my first visit to Santa Barbara and I must say I was completely taken by the classy coastal town. From the college town of Isla Vista to the upscale pedestrian shopping along Main Street, there’s something quintessentially Californian about this city, and Horny Toad (the travel outfitter whose corporate office is based there) wants to send you there.

The company’s latest “Post Cards from the Edge” contest simply asks you to submit a photo on its site (or snail mail a postcard) with a caption about that roadside attraction, strangely worded sign, or something that just made you do a double take — something weird but hilarious.

Solicit ratings from friends and you could be one of three winners:

  • First Prize: A trip to Santa Barbara – airfare and hotel for two – and a $250 Toad gift certificate.
  • Second Prize: A great travel bag and $250 Toad gift certificate.
  • Third Prize: A new point and shoot camera and a $100 Toad gift certificate.

Enter as many times as you like. Voting starts as soon as you enter the contest and ends on July 31st. One rating per entry per person. The photo with the highest rating as determined by legitimate ratings wins. Winners will be notified by email and posted on the site.

Even if you don’t enter the contest, you should stop by and take a look at the wacky photos that are already posted, which are sure to inspire at least one or two giggles.

Gadlinks for Wednesday 6.3.09

by Brenda Yun on


Welcome to Gadlinks! This is the inaugural post of what will be Gadling’s daily trip around the travel blogosphere. Aaron and I will be bringing you the newest and coolest travel news, updates, anecdotes, and insights from the world wide web. Just think of us as your very own travel link forum. You can count on us every weekday evening. Who needs the morning paper when you have Gadlinks?

Hooray for Hump Day! There’s plenty to be thankful for when it comes to our midweek travel news.

‘Til tomorrow, have a great evening.

For past Gadlinks, click HERE.

The Delaying the Real World Fellowship

by Brenda Yun on

Had we at Gadling known about this earlier, we certainly would have brought it to your attention, but travel savvy twenty-somethings still have two days to apply for the Delaying the Real World Fellowship! The deadline is May 30, 2009.

All you have to do is describe what you would do if you could postpone the 9-5 grind. If your proposal is convincing, you could very well be the recipient of a $5,000 grant fulfill your proposed adventure.

The Delaying the Real World fellowship is designed to sponsor an adventurous project that is independent of academic and religious institutions. For a better sense of what kinds of previous adventures made the cut, you can read about the ones featured in Colleen Kinder’s book entitled Delaying the Real World, or visit the fellowship website to read about its past winners.
Applicants must be in their twenties (ages 21 through 29 to be exact). You must also be a U.S. citizen. There is no educational requirement to apply. Eligible applicants must use the online application form at to propose a gutsy and worthwhile adventure in the spirit of Delaying the Real World and the young adventurers who fill the book. There is no time length requirement on your adventure, though the fellowship committee (Running Press, Avalon Travel, Colleen Kinder, and past winners) will take into account how well your proposed idea maximizes the $5,000 grant.

The winner will be selected on the basis of the ingenuity of his or her detailed proposal. The fellowship committee will notify this year’s winner by June 15, 2009. The winner will be featured on the Delaying the Real World website and must be available at an agreed time and date to attend a dinner with Colleen Kinder and the fellowship committee in New York City. The winner should plan to begin the fellowship within four months of the award date and willing to report any fellowship-related escapades back to the fellowship committee, including occasional photos.