Getting that Las Vegas Vacation Package at a Discount..

Ok, I've gone into enough about how bad the economy is and how bad we all have it. Enough is enough !! We are all still alive and need to have fun. There are many places we could travel to where "fun" is the epitaph, and one I think that needs to be on that list is Las Vegas. Don't thing for a second that going to Las Vegas needs to cost you lot's of money. It can and no doubt the city have many ways and places for one to throw $1000's of dollars down the drain, into a slot machine or into the panties of stripper, but you can also get to Las Vegas, enjoy yourself and not break the bank. I've done some searching for some current deals out there and there are some very interesting ones to be had.

1- Ceaesars Palace is offering a great vacation package through the vacation portal I noticed on Yahoo Travel. Caesars is a brand name in casinos and the information for this deal is offering $116 a night right now through the next week. This includes use of all the facilities, about $50 in cash comps and other features. This could get you a great stay at a fantatsic casino hotel in Las Vegas for about $500 for a 4 day 3 night stay

2- Travel Zoo is an incredible web site that consolidates information about vacation pacakges from 100's of qualified suppliers. Checking out their web site today I noticed a great vacation deal and resort package to the Mandalay Bay. The Vacation Package offers 3 nights, plus 2 for 1 one tickets of the show Mamma Mia !. This deal is only available up and until January 5th 2009.

3- Another great Las Vegas Vacation Deals is offered by ResereVacations.com with a few packages worth mentioning. This is a perfect Las Vegas Romantic Getaway at a great rate. The package offers 3 days and 2 nights to the Las Vegas Cancun Resort for $179 for the total package !! Now check this out. You get a suite in the villa, two tickets to Madame Tussards, a free meal either lunch or dinner at Zeffirino/Tintoretto and a Gondala Ride !! Now that's value.

I'm sure for many of you thinking about going to Las Vegas seems like splurging, but with deals like the above I'm sure you can see all that can be offered. I'm going to keep my eye out for even more incredible deals over the coming days, weeks and months. Stay tuned.

Finding Great Travel Deals for After Thanksgiving Holiday..

There is no doubt that the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend is the busiest travel days of the entire year. We are all currently in the thick of it right now as we are on Thanksgiving Eve as I write.

Well for many there is an old saying, we sometimes need a vacation from our holiday or vacation. In keeping with that theme I thought I'd stay ahead of the curve and offer some nuggets or deals from other sites for various locations and destinations...So here they are. For the purposes of my discussion I have looked up airfares for next weekend December 5th to December 7th. This gives people a chance to get back from the Thanksgiving holiday, get a week of work in and have something to look to for the next weekend. So here they are.

From  Philadelphia to Miami Expedia offers several options. Non-Stop, One Stop and Two or more stops. In the Non-Stop column United and American Airlines have rates of $420 and $360 respectively. For One Stop flights United, American, US Airways, Airtran and Delta offer rates of $342, $435, $371, $399 and $437 respectively. Finally for the Two or more stops, United, American Airlines and Delta offer airline rates of $401, $433 and $412 respectively. As you can see, there is no clear airline that consistently has the lowest offer.

The biggest thing that this little exercise I just did is to do a search using a pretty interesting tool web site called Booking Buddy. The site allows you to put in dates and airlines from and to which you are traveling and then use a variety of web sites right on the site such as Expedia, FareCast and Orbitz, just to name a few to see how all the rates compare. The process is a little laborious because if it really were efficient the rates to all the other services would automatically show up. You have to click on the logo for each site and then review their rates.

The other thing is, many of the sites I mentioned, such as Expedia and Orbitz actually have the comparison model in the sites themselves. I still think there is something very novel in the Booking Buddy site and it's worth a look.

Please enjoy your Thanksgiving Holiday and the up and coming Holiday Season..

Williamsburg Vacation Deals..

Williamsburg vacation deals. Yes, I said Williamsburg Virginia vacation deals. Why? In this time of economic downturn travel and vacation deals have to be a little altered to fit tightening budgets. Not to say that Williamsburg is a low class place or has an air of "cheap" to it. 

In all actuality Williamsburg Virginia is a touch of class with step into the past. To those of you who do not know the Williamsburg area is home to the first permanent English settlement in America, Jamestown. There's so much to see and do there. With that I've found some great Williamsburg vacation deals that offer great packages.

AAA is offering some great Williamsburg Vacations right now. The deals end by November 30th. prices range from $99 per night to $389. Variations and restrictions apply but check now for these great deals. Check out AAA's web site. 

I've referred to this web site a few times, but ReserveVacations.com is offering several great packages for Williamsburg Vacation Packages.  The one that caught my eye is the Historic Williamsburg Capital City Package. The deal offers $189 for 4 days and 3 nights for a studio suite at the Westgate Historic Williamsburg Resort. The deal also offers 2 passes Capital City passes. I mean this is just incredible.

Another classic in the world of vacations is Marriott. The Marriot Manor Club at Ford's Colony  with 40% off regular rates for a short time. Restrictions on these deal do exist.

The Holiday season is upon us and there are plenty of ways to get a trip in with out breaking the bank. A visit to historic Williamsburg is a way to do just that. 

Tropical Getaway Vacation Packages...

It's that time of year again where those of us who are stuck in the cold of winter start looking for warmer escapes. With that I've taken a little time to check out some deals to places of warm weather, I hope that something catches someones eye that visits this blog.

For those of you that are brave enough to travel to the Middle East, there is a paradise out there known as the United Arab Emeriates. Yes, you are looking to be about 150 miles out of Tehran Iran, but this really is a beautiful place to visit. The Millennium hotel Sharjah is offering a deal of $183 a night, which is incredible relative to the property. Check out the deal here.

Let's focus our desires to South of the Border, Mexico Way. Cancun Mexico to be exact. From a site called ReserveVacations.com comes a vacation deal from the Cancun Ocean Spa Hotel. For 5 days and 4 nights all for $329 you get accommodations, (2) gift certificates with a value of $30 each to be used towards a spa trip and complete use of the facilities. Check out this Cancun Getaway Vacation Deal...They won't last long.

If you're someone that has to make that trip with the family there are some options. One more than any other is a trip to one of the Disney Parks. The current discount vacation deal the Disney is offering is to buy a 4 night trip and get a 3 extra nights free. The value is approximately $1271 which also includes 7 days of family passes to the park of the destination you are staying. Check out this incredible deal right now. The deal only includes vacations for stays between January 4th to January 9th, January 19th through March 26th, April 2nd through April 4th and April 24th through June 27th.

Travel Deals for Thanksgiving Weekend...

The big question right now on many people's minds is are there deals for travel for the Thanksgiving Holiday. The trick at this point in the game is to look for dates that might be out of favor. For example, leaving the Wednesday before Thanksgiving is a huge cash trap. I've take a little time to check fares and providers for various rates and for various trips and here they are;

1- For flights for Philadelphia to Los Angeles leaving Monday November 24th and coming back on Friday November 28th, the best rate I found was through CheapoAir.com at $253.99 per person round trip.

2- For flights to Miami from Boston, the same dates offer better savings, and once again via CheapoAir.com, round trip rates are $195.00.

CheapoAir.com seems to have some great deals right now so I'd check them out.

Good luck with your searches and have a great up and coming Thanksgiving Holiday. 

How to Travel Cheap in these Down Economic Times

I'm almost shutter at the thought of getting up each day recently. It seems like every day more news comes out about how bad the economy is, about how bad the state of the world is, that hope and solutions are far away. 

The only thing is I was raised to live life with zest, fun and a smile. No doubt these times and the days that surround us truly tests that philosophy. My feeling is, it's at these times when you have to dig most to the meaning of that type of life philosophy. 

That being said, there are still ways to enjoy life, and not the stop and smell the roses stuff. Getting away and taking a vacation, getting outside your area and seeing something new, these are things that are well documented as to maintaining a healthy life. The only issue is times are tough and tight.

A new trend I've noticed online are ads and marketing of what are called mini-vacs. Basically these are deep discounted vacation packages that throw in accommodations plus some other kind of premium like free passes to a local amusement park, spa, golf or whatever. The only catch is it's a way of marketing timeshare properties.

Now I know, I know that the term timeshare has a stigma attached with it, almost to that of a used car sales person. I'm here to tell you, though, these packages are incredible. One such site that offers these Vacation Package Deals is ReserveVacations.com. I've seen vacation packages that have included trips to places like Cancun, Las Vegas, Myrtle Beach and Orlando. What's more the value on the packages is insane!!! I'm talking about room night costs at about 30% of regular rates. Then, like I said, they throw in things like a trip to a spa, coupons to high class restaurants and so much more.

The point of all this is, good old capitalism shows it's merits once again. In the face of a sagging economy and poor consumer confidence, the market innovators search for ways to make it. This type of offering fits that bill.

So keep your eye out for deals like this, because they're on the rise. 

Discount Vacations in Branson Missouri..

I've taken some time to write up on great new sites to find discount vacations in the past, but due to the poor economic climate many new sites are popping up. One such is offering some really incredible packages. The one I can across today is for Branson Vacation Packages. 

Let's see what they have here b/c this might be a great place to jet off to before the craziness of the Holiday rush. Specifically there are two major packages being offered. First one for the family called the Branson Family Fun Vacation Package, which offers for 4 days and three nights including accommodations plus tickets to an amusement park. The total package price is $129. The second package is also for the family but is a weekend package, and most appropriately called the Branson Super Weekend Vacation Package. With this package you can get for $249 full accommodations plus tickets to the Pierce Arrow Show.

Of course travel to and from the area is not included, but one would have to make an incredible argument that these are not great deals.