Airfarewatchdog’s 2009 tips for saving on airfare

by Grant Martin on

Our friends over at Airfarewatchdog are still working hard, day and night, finding cheap tickets for America. Their grass root efforts have gained them a cult following, and these days, most people I know subscribe to their newsletter.

To help us in our daily scouring, George and the team put together a list of 10 tips for saving on airfare in 2009. With the evolving airline industry, crazy oil fluctuations and new carriers on the market, this sort of stuff is important to keep track of every year.

AFWD’s tips range from the simple, like “use flex searches” to the subtle, like using direct airline websites instead of booking engines, but each of the points is relevant, significant and important to keep in mind while doing your fare searching. Make sure you stop by and take a look at the entire list — it could save you a bundle!

Planning a trip to a National Park? Book campsites and rooms now.

by Jamie Rhein on

Although taking that summer road trip may be far from your mind, if you’re thinking of a stay at a national park, make reservations now. Lodges, cabins and campsites fill up fast, but can be booked up to six months in advance.

A few years ago, we stayed in a Rough Rider cabin near the Roosevelt Lodge at Yellowstone National Park in June and booked it in January. The advantage to planning ahead is that knowing where you need to be, at least part of the summer, helps organize the rest of it. From Yellowstone, we headed to Pocatello, Idaho through Utah, on to California and back to Ohio through New Mexico visiting friends and family along the way.

If you want to hook a vacation around Yellowstone, there are several lodging options in and around the park. This link lists many of them.

If you’re interested in camping–or renting a cabin, head to recreation.gov where there is a drop down menu that lists campground and cabin options. RV camp sites are included. You can book online by using the date function.

If you’re thinking of a Rough Rider cabin, know that they don’t come with a bathroom. There is a communal facility with toilets and showers.For us, it was a perfect stay and the price was right. We ate breakfast in the Roosevelt Lodge’s dining room. There are other more expensive cabins located elsewhere that do have a bathroom if that’s your preference. The photo is of the inside of a Rough Rider cabin.

To book one of these rooms or lodge rooms or cabins at some of the other national and state parks, go to Xanterra Parks & Resorts. There are availabilities, but some lodges have filled up.

Casinos offering travel deals in U.S. gambling spots

by Jamie Rhein on

Here at Gadling, Grant gave the scoop about Las Vegas’s economic woes last September. Gambling was down 16% from the previous year this past November, according to Steve Stephens, the Travel Editor for the Columbus Dispatch. The downturn has not just been in Vegas. This past week, I heard on the radio that Donald Trump’s casino company in Atlantic City is in danger of bankruptcy if the economy doesn’t pep up. With the new train service from New York City to Atlantic City, I wonder if this will help?

Along with Las Vegas, Stephens covered other casino economic troubles and how this translates to deals for travelers in his column Ticket to Write in today’s Dispatch.

Detroit’s Greektown and MotorCity Casinos are not doing as well as last year. Either are Indiana’s. This is the time to look to these places for vacation deals. At MotorCity Casino there are overnight packages that include a variety of perks like food credit and Red Wing hockey game tickets. The Detroit MGM Grande, that actually did well last year is still jumping in on the deal making. You can stay for three nights for the price of two.

Stephens also suggests is the Belterra Casino in Belterra, Indiana. There is a promotion that gives people a $100 resort card that can be used on various services ranging from golf to spa treatments on weekdays.The room rate is $100. On Friday, the room rate is $150 and on Saturdays it’s $200.

For the 55 and over crowd, more deals are to be made. Sign up for Club 55 membership at the Casino Aztar in Evansville and you’ll be able to stay for a screaming deal that range from $30 on Sundays to $69 on Fridays.

Fare alert! Seattle is on sale!

by Grant Martin on

We’re a couple of days late to the party because, well, of all of the partying, but these fares were just too good to not tell you about.

Southwest Airlines (WN), the great low cost carrier based out of Dallas, TX, has done it again, launching a 50% off fare sale from and to Seattle, WA, originating anywhere that WN flies from.

Tickets are rocking as low as $150, with some of the best deals on transcons. You can get back and forth from Baltimore for about $185, less than the cost of a one way most of the time.

And the best part of this fare sale? Most airlines without their heads up their asses matched or lowered their prices, so if you have another favorite carrier, want to fly direct or just want a seating assignment the fares should be similar on other airlines.

Thanks for resetting the market on this one, Southwest. This weekend I’m taking advantage of November’s $98 fare sale to Salt Lake City for some Snowbird, Sundance and hedonistic Mormon parties.

Book your ticket TONIGHT if you want to take advantage here!

Cruises are big this year: Where to look for deals

by Jamie Rhein on

If the trip bookings at the AAA travel show, Great Vacations Expo this past weekend are any indication of the type of travel many people are looking for, it’s cruises, cruises and more cruises. While there, I ran into Bill Purpera, editor of Home and Away magazine for the Ohio section who filled me in on the statistics when I asked him about the biggest vacation sellers on Saturday.

Given that the temperatures plummeted to well below zero on Friday, enough that Columbus schools were closed, it’s not a surprise that people have a strong hankering to head south.

Carnival Cruise Lines were the strongest seller, followed by Royal Caribbean International, with Holland America and Princess Cruises tied for third place. Along with the pull of southern waters, cruises are the hottest travel deal this year, according to the woman who was representing Royal Caribbean.

She said that people are more likely to take cruises to the Caribbean for the first time, but once they’ve been on a cruise they are hooked and head to other destinations. One cruise that a friend of a friend of mine was most excited about was Uniworld’s cruises on rivers of Europe. As she said, the idea that you don’t have to pack and unpack at each city makes for an appealing travel option. The advantage of this sort of travel is that the sticker price of a trip won’t take you by surprise if you know the price options when you sign up.

When I was telling my father about this being the year for cruises, he reminded me that if you are traveling as a single person, cruises are more expensive. Price structures are generally set up for doubles. As a person who travels alone, my dad misses out on most cruise deals, but they can be found with sleuthing.

If you’re looking for cruise deals, here are four places to look:

CruiseDeals.com –Some cruises are grouped according to Top 3 Cruise Deals and More Great Cruise Deals. If you want to see if a cruise is a travel option you’d enjoy before you book a ticket. You can take a virtual cruise at this site. There are useful tips about travel insurance and passports as well.

Cruises.com–This site offers one-day sales, along with allowing you to search cruise options on a pull-down menu. If you’re interested in a shore excursion, but not a cruise, there are deals on tours. This means if you’re on a trip to Alaska, but not on a cruise you can take advantage of a shore excursion tour.

CruiseBargains.com –An easy to navigate site, there is a list of cruise destinations to give you ideas and a drop down menu. There are also links to pages that offer cruises based on activities and interests such as wine and food cruises; art culture and antiquities; and luxurious spas for mind, body and spirit.

VacationstoGo.com –As a cruise clearing house, this site is one to subscribe to if you’re looking for last minute deals. According to the site you can save up to 75% off. The links along the left side of the homepage allow you to search according to age group–there’s one for 55 and over, plus several other discount options like teacher rates, military etc. Here would be a place for browsing just to see what is available and what fits you. I receive the e-mail newsletter which summarizes deals each week.