Hunt for fares, squeeze the airlines harder

by Tom Johansmeyer on

I’m about to ruin it for everyone.

The key to finding cheap flights is to zig when everyone else zags … to be different … to treasure the hunt. If you can get a handle on how the airlines post their prices – and how other consumers shop for them – you can turn a market that’s already soft into one that’s downright gelatinous.

Some tips are obvious. Don’t buy the first ticket you see. Don’t wait until the last minute. Be willing to make a connection. Duh. You can do better.

Be patient. Before looking to buy, spend some time getting a feel for the terrain. Set alerts on websites like Kayak.com and Farecast.com to see what certain flights usually cost. When you get a sense of the threshold, you can discern low prices from genuine blow-your-mind bargains. If you have a lot of time, use it. Spend days or weeks learning where the norm lies. Book one to three months in advance; use the rest to hunt and compare.

Next, remember that the weekends are for relaxing – not for price shopping. That’s what everyone else will be doing. Airlines tend to start their fare sales on Sunday nights. By Monday night or Tuesday morning, the competition has had a chance to respond. By pushing your purchase to the early days of the week, you win. Period.

Like the days you buy, consider changing the days you fly. Departing on a Wednesday could net you a considerable savings. Tuesdays and Saturdays are pretty good, too. These are the days nobody else wants. Take ’em!

While the travel deal websites can be helpful, don’t forget to check the airlines’ websites as well. Venues like CheapoAir and Orbitz usually apply some hefty fees that can eradicate most of your savings. I was hunting around recently and found that, in most cases, the best deals are not on third-party sites. But, if you’re looking to lump in a hotel and rental car, it’s time to visit places like Expedia. In general, do both. Compare the packaged deals against what you can piece together on your own.

Of course, if everyone follows this advice, the dynamics of the market will change, and we’ll be right back where we started.

Snake River Resort deal feels like stealing

by Tom Johansmeyer on

I love dirt-cheap deals. I like being able to go to some cool destination … and know that I’m absolutely screwing the place because the package is so cheap. The “Tram-tastic Ski Package” at the Snake River Lodge & Spa looks like one of these chances to feel like you are truly taking advantage of somebody. This Jackson Hole, WY RockResort is turning $106 a night into a gateway to pure decadence (average room rate for the package).

The deal includes access to the new Jackson Hole Mountain Resort tram – in its first season – before the festivities come to a close. So, the gig is only good through April 5, 2009. In addition to riding the damn tram, you’ll pick up four nights at the Snake River Lodge & Spa, three full-day adult ski passes for two at the resort, two 50-minute treatments at Avanyu Spa and breakfast daily at gamefish.

So, stick it to “the man” this month and extract a little extra value from RockResorts. Hell, they’re offering, so it must not be immoral.

Score some $500 tickets to Australia with STA Travel

by Grant Martin on

Jealous of all of those blokes who got in on the first round of tickets to Oz on V Australia? It’s true, some of us snagged sub $500 fares to Australia late last year when The Pacific’s newest airline started selling tickets, but it’s not too late to cash in your chips.

The latest installment in STA Travel’s “fast finger fares” give students one last chance to score that dream vacation down under. As a bonus, a welcome package with two nights of (dorm style) lodging, meals and extras is also included in the price. That’s a steal. So how do you get in?

  • Twenty packages will available at exactly 12PM on Monday, the 9th of March. That’s tomorrow.
  • You can only book the packages by going to your local STA travel or by calling (800) 360.9273, so you either need to get to your local office and sit on a travel agent or use four cellphones and call non stop starting at 11:58. Yes, you can wear your Kappa Kappa Gamma sweatpants to the STA office. No, they don’t make your butt look big.

In the worst case scenario, if you miss out on the twenty best deals, STA still has Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne on sale from Los Angeles for about $650, which isn’t a bad deal.

You can read more about the sale at STAtravel.com.

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Skiing in Maine offers bargains in March

by Jamie Rhein on

When I think of Maine, I think of leaping off barnacle covered rocks into the ocean and eating clams dipped in butter in Ogunquit like I did one summer when I went there to visit a high school friend. She was was working as a waitress at a hotel resort and I was a kitchen grunt and laundry girl at a kids camp–the only way I could afford making it to camp as a high schooler. Whenever else I’ve been to Maine, the theme has been the same–beach seafood,and leisurely strolls. Just recently I’ve thought of a different scene.

A friend of mine–a different one–just emailed me this week with news that he expected to be skiing in Maine until April. He lives near Portland. With the 70 degree weekend we’re having in Ohio, I’d say my one-day pass for tubing at Snow Trails will go unused. Maine is a different story. If I lived there, I’d go tubing and more. Perhaps, I’d dust off those cross-country skis of mine propped in a corner of our basement.

With the snow that socked in the northeast the beginning of this past week, the skiing in Maine has had an extra boost. The Ski Maine Association Web site offers links to each of the Alpine and Nordic ski areas and tells when it last snowed at each. Most places just got fresh snow.

The events page on the site offers a list of the myriad activities that are going on through the middle of April. I have to say the 22nd Annual Parrot Head/Bust N Burn Festival sounds intriguing. It’s taking place at Sunday River, April 3-5. Here’s an article in Boston.com from last year about the event. Key lime pie, Jimmy Buffet music and skiing are involved.

As a note, Sunday River is offering lodge and ski packages through March with an even greater price drop during the middle of the week. If you buy lift tickets ahead of time, you get a 10% discount. The Ski Maine Association also is offering discounts through the Maine Winter Activities Pass. Before you head somewhere, check out the deals.

The photo is of Sugar Loaf. College students who show ID can ski for $39 during mid-week days. That means Mon.-Thursday.

For those looking for skiing longer into the season, I’d seriously think about heading to Maine. Surely you can find steamed clams to dip in butter which could tide you over until summer.

Here’s an events page for what to do in Ogunquit in the winter. On Wednesday nights at Tapas and Tini’s there’s Divine and Dine–where you can have a choice of entrees that come with side dishes for $9.99. The deal ends the beginning of June.

The photo from Maine Coast Semester is of a winter trip to Holbrook Pond. Maine Coast Semester offers wilderness trips year round for adults and young people. Just another way to see Maine in the winter–or any season.

Costa Rican rooms have volcano view at a bargain

by Tom Johansmeyer on

How many hotels give you a great shot of one of the 10 most active volcanoes in the world? Shoot down to Arenal, Costa Rica for a few days, and you’ll see it first hand from your room at the Lost Iguana Resort & Spa. This top-shelf property has only 42 rooms right in the rainforest. You’ll be surrounded by trees that have more than three centuries behind them, and the hiking trails through the jungle can’t be beat.

But, you want to see the lava, right?

The Lost Iguana Resort & Spa’s rooms face the lava-flowing side of the local volcano. Other sights include the Hanging Bridges (a short walk from the resort), La Fortuna Waterfall, and the Tabacon Hot Springs. Wildlife guides are available to help you understand the local scenery.

This unique experience is made more accessible by some steep price cuts. If you stay two nights, you get a 10 percent discount (to $166.50 a night). Three nights brings the price down to $157.25 per night, and a four-night stay brings the average down to $148 (a 20 percent discount).

Still on the fence? Don’t worry, you have until December 15, 2009 to make up your mind.