“I am looking to go on a trip (cruise or resort) in the Caribbean in early September… looking for a good last minute deal leaving from Ottawa or Toronto, Canada. I am wondering if there are any websites that I am not aware of that offer these deals. I am familiar with tripadvisor, conquest, belairdirect, itravel2000. Thanks!”

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Technorati Tags: canada, Caribbean, cruise travel, deals, last minute deal, online

Easy ‘Cheap Cruise’ Tactics

Looking for a cheap cruise? Sometimes you have to create your own discount cruise travel opportunities, rather than wait for the cruise lines to hand you the great deals! Here are 5 simple things you can do to save money…sometimes a LOT of money…on your next cruise.

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Technorati Tags: cheap cruise, cruise lines, cruise travel, deals, discount cruise

Mexico is one of the most visited places in the world. With its warm hospitality, all inclusive resorts and great weather, it’s easy to see why. But there are a million accommodation choices. How do you select the ideal hotel in Mexico for your specific needs? Plus, how do you ensure you will receive the level of quality that you’re expecting?

As in many developing countries, there is a whole range of different properties to choose from, some of which can be limited in terms of modern conveniences they provide. But then again, this may be exactly what you’re looking for! Regardless, here are some tips on how to find a quality hotel in Mexico and advice on how you can ensure you are prepared as you search for that perfect Mexican holiday accommodation…

Doing it Right: The Hotel Selection Process

Amenities, Price and Location. Those are the three most important considerations as you plan your trip and book your accommodation in Mexico. And if you can plan far ahead, it just makes things that much easier. So where do you start?

Using online travel reservation services to compare hotel amenities, prices and check reviews is a good first step. Even if you book through an agent in the end, you’ll gain a lot of information from these sites.

• If you have a certain hotel chain that you prefer, such as Marriott, check their website first for specials and discount rates. The top hotels will guarantee their rates as the lowest available. This gives you the security of knowing that you are getting the best price and are booking through a reputable source.

• Many hotels will offer vacation package deals which bundle your room with meals and other hotel amenities. Depending on your needs, this can be a great way to increase convenience and save some money.

• Check out property pictures, maps, and video clips from hotel websites.

• Find out how other travelers reviewed the property. This information can be found at various websites, such as http://www.epinions.com/.

• Check The Mexico Hotel Guide, TravelWeb, and PlacestoStay, all of which have lots of independent hotel information.

Don’t pay too much! Look for the deals.

• If you have some flexibility, determine if they offer lower mid-week rates.

A good way to find local accommodation is to read travel bulletin boards and look for recommendations made by other travelers, such as those made on Tripadvisor.com.

Hotel Specific Issues

• Have they received positive ratings from independent organizations?

• If the hotel is part of a franchise, find out how the chain rates this property.

• Is the hotel located in a safe part of the city or area?

• Is any major construction going on in the area that could impact your stay?

• Will there be any large groups at the Hotel during the time you want to go?

• Do they have a concierge, shuttle, laundry service or other extra service?

• Is one side of the hotel better than the other?

• Is public transportation located close by?

• What types of restaurants do they offer?

• Is there a fitness and aerobics room?

• What are the local attractions?

• Is this a new hotel or have they gone through a recent remodel?

• What is their cancellation policy?

• Do they offer smoking/nonsmoking rooms?

• Do they bundle with airlines, rental car companies or other partners?

• Is the airport close to the hotel’s location?

Other General Recommendations

Be flexible if it’s feasible for you. The hotel sets their prices by supply and demand, so it helps to know when the peak season is. If you don’t know when the best rates are, just ask them.

Frequent customers of chain hotels can register on the hotel’s web site to save time and effort. By doing this, your hotel room preferences will be automatically included when you reserve your room.

By calling the hotel directly, rather than the chain’s 800 number, you might get a room at the last minute, or during peak travel times. The front desk staff at the hotel are more hands on when it comes to knowing the hotel’s capacity and can check for cancellations or no-shows.

So there you have it, the best advice to finding your perfect Mexican holiday accommodation. Keep in mind; there are many great hotels in all areas of Mexico. From Cancun to Puerto Vallarta, there are plenty of reputable hotels that you will want to return to again and again. If worse comes to worse, use a reputable travel agent to help you find a great hotel. They can remove the uncertainty when it comes to selecting high quality accommodation.

Finally, enjoy your stay! Mexico awaits!

Mike Goldstein

http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-articles/finding-a-quality-hotel-in-mexico-21743.html

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Technorati Tags: Accommodation, all inclusive, deals, holidays, hotel, mexican, Mexico, Resorts, vacation package

The greatest secret to affordable air travel or accommodation discounts is to know your budget and what you really want. Additionally, you should shop and compare deals until you’ve looked at all your options and choose the best among them. And importantly, always plan ahead. Nothing is too early when it comes to vacation planning. This will give you ample time to search and choose.

Whether you’re a business traveler or planning a family vacation, here are some air travel tips to help you save money and choose the best deal:

1. Buy your ticket directly. Travel agents usually charge between $15 and $35 per ticket, so you can save a bit by buying direct. If the holiday you’re planning has a number of different components to it – air travel to your cruise departure point and hotels before and after, for example – then simplifying things by going through an agent might be worth the added cost. That’s your choice.

2. Make all your purchases/reservations at once for these mutli faceted trips instead of buying one at a time. Discounts may be available on booking fees this way.

3. Booking for a package tour that includes air travel, accommodation and any other expense could be a wise choice for some destinations.

4. Compare prices online for the best discounts. There are websites that help travelers to shop and compare. Some also provide travel tips and guidelines.

5. Play the seasons. Some travel destinations are cheapest at certain times or seasons of the year. Booking for an off-peak season also would give you the best deal.

For both air travel and driving, avoid the crowds by traveling during the week, especially from Tuesday through Thursday. An added bonus is that airfares for travel Tuesday through Thursday are usually cheaper.

Mid-morning and late afternoon flights tend to be less crowded, plus you can really avoid commute traffic during this time. Travel sites also offer the low down on late-night flights (also known as red-eye flights for obvious reasons): these flights can help you avoid traffic but it’s only effective if you can sleep sitting up-right on a plane!

And did you know that traveling off-peak means traveling during holidays (not before or after) when airfares are lower and there’s less road traffic?

Some of the most affordable air travel deals of the year can be found in the fall. If you find super off-peak dates that fall between major holidays, strike while the iron is hot. Book immediately with your discount travel broker. Never hesitate!

6. Be flexible with travel dates and times. Some airlines and hotels offer substantial discounts if you book one or two days earlier.

7. Smaller airlines often have smaller fares. Additionally, small airlines don’t necessarily mean smaller airplanes.

8. Using an alternative airport also could provide you with substantial discounts. Ask your travel agent about it.

9. Plan ahead. The earlier you book, the better deal you will have.

10. Buy trip insurance. Insurance will not only save your life but also could save you money. If you end up being sick in foreign country, your insurance back home might not cover it. Thus you might end up using your vacation budget on hospitalization.

11. Sign up for hotel and airline awards programs. Chain hotels usually have award programs; take advantage of it especially if you are a frequent business traveler. Finally, never stop bargaining, always explore the possibility of lower airfare, lower hotel rates.

However, it is important to weigh and compare all options, since not all cheap travel deals will give you the travel value you deserve. Travel will be more enjoyable if you get the most for your hard earned vacation budget, and some hotels aren’t fit to stay in no matter how cheap they are. You do want to remember your trip for the right reasons!

James Yee

http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-articles/best-travel-deals-for-your-holiday-137030.html

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Technorati Tags: Air Travel, budget, cheap travel, deals, discounts, red-eye flights, tips, travel destinations, vacation planning

No matter where you want to go or what you want to do, you’re likely to find travel auctions available to help make the trek easier on your wallet. The auctions that handle travel are found online in a number of places and will range from auctions for airline tickets to all-inclusive outings…

As you look for the best travel auction deals, remember that there are a multitude of sites that provide these auctions. Which one you’re most comfortable with is up to you, but it does pay to check out the different sites before diving in with a big bid on a travel auction offering. If you’re in the market and want to look at travel auction bargains, here are some types of sites to seek out:

* Larger auction sites. These often have a number of travel auction listings going at once. With offerings varying from international trips, complete with airfare, to those that involve more modest destinations, they can all be found online.

* Time share sites. These often have mechanisms for property owners to create some buzz for renting out their timeshares. Sites that cater to timeshare owners very often have their own auctions going to help owners get the most for their property’s rental.

* Ticket sites. Sometimes online sites that cater to ticket sales will have areas especially designed for travel auctions.

As you look for a discount travel auction online, there are some things to consider before making bids. These include:

* Exactly what kind of trip you’re looking for. Travel auction discounts can be found for just about any kind of trip to any destination. If you’re picky on location, dates and so on, make these determinations before you start trying to hunt for auctions.

* Prices. While travel deals can be found via auctions, it’s still a good idea to set a budget. Sometimes a hot commodity might be available that, due to bidding wars, ends up being anything but discount. If you allow yourself to go too far over budget, you won’t be getting a bargain even if it is a travel auction venue!

* Mode of transportation desired. Travel auctions can be found that include everything from cruises to helicopter flights to remote locations in the wilderness. Decide how you want to travel and where before looking for auction deals.

Once you’ve set a few parameters for you travel auction search, it’s a good idea to remember to check out the auctions closely before bidding. Remember that not everyone that offers auction items is reputable, but many are.

Vacations can be expensive, but travel auction bargains can make them more affordable. When people book trips and find out they can’t take them, they’re often willing to let them go for very reasonable prices. Or, sometimes timeshare owners want to rent out their weeks in luxury accommodations for a profit. Whatever the case, online auctions can provide real savings for travelers. The key is knowing where and how to look for the savings.

Tom Sample

http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-articles/shop-discount-auctions-for-travel-bargains-113351.html

Technorati Tags: affordable, airline, all inclusive, auctions, bargains, budget, deals, discount, holidays, online, prices, search, sites, tickets, time share, transportation, travel, vacations

Over the years, air travel has declined significantly. Bad economic times, acts of terrorism, and the overall high cost of flying have deterred many travelers from flying the friendly skies. Instead, they’re opting for local travel that doesn’t require flying or selecting other methods of transportation such as driving, taking the train, or going “Greyhound”. As a result, the major airlines are making less and less each year, forcing some to close up shop and call it quits…

However, bad economic times and acts of terrorism aren’t the only things affecting the major airlines and the air travel industry as a whole. Discount air carriers who offer limited yet discounted air travel rates have put a huge dent in the business of the major airlines. These airlines, such as U.S. based Jet Blue and Southwest Airlines, can undercut the major players in the air travel market because of lower overhead and less labor costs.

Since the discount air travel carriers are smaller and often only have one type of aircraft (compared to bigger airlines that have full fleets of varying plane types), they have more flexibility with their pricing and can offer discount air travel deals more often then their much larger counterparts. And when combined with the decline in overall air travel, the discount air carriers are winning out over the larger airlines, causing the major players to rethink their game plan and, in many cases, start offering discount air travel through dynamically priced fares.

Using Discount Air Travel and Carriers for Your Benefit

For the most part, discount airlines operate within their country of origin. In other words, many don’t offer flights abroad. So if you need to fly domestically for business travel or a family vacation, a discount air carrier is the way to go. However, just because the discount airlines don’t offer overseas travel, it doesn’t mean you can’t get discount air travel deals on international flights.

The bigger airlines are starting to offer last minute travel deals and dynamically priced fares to try and fill their flights as much as they can. And since the discount air carriers are taking much of their previous domestic customers, the larger airlines are desperate to make a buck any way they can.

Finding The Best Travel Deals

Some airlines offer last minute and discounted travel deals directly to the consumer; however, many work with online travel sites and supply them with bulk-rate deals on plane tickets. Either way, the key to finding discount air travel deals is to search the web and call the airlines.

Compare prices and give yourself time to research your discount travel options. You may find that booking last minute will save you a bundle on your flight in some cases, but cost you twice as much in others; so be flexible and don’t purchase the first ticket you find. You’ll find a better deal on discount air travel if you shop around.

The discount air carriers have caused a significant shift in the air travel industry. There is more competition and less people buying, causing the industry to offer more discounted air travel deals than ever before. As a traveler, this means there are currently more ways to save on your air travel. All you have to do is go out and find those deals!

Frank Johnson

http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/discount-air-carriers-and-discount-air-travel-transforming-the-air-travel-industry-52942.html

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Technorati Tags: air, Air Travel, airlines, carriers, compare, cost, deals, discount, flights, flying, last minute, online, prices, sites, transportation, travel