Photo courtesy of Orlando Sentinel
Being old has its advantages when it comes to travel. Not having to plan vacations around the kids’ school schedules allows those of us, who have ripened into the mature years, to be more flexible and spontaneous. We can also be more adventurous and strategize outside the box of more traditional journey planners.
After tossing around ideas for our next trip, we got to work and put together a cool (as in get me the hell out of this heat) last minute trip using the following approaches:
Photo courtesy HollandAmerica.com
1. Contrary to what you might hear from other cruise expert sites…if you can be flexible, wait until the last minute to book your cruise. The prices drop dramatically the 2 weeks before departure. A typical $1,000 per person cabin rate might drop to as low as $350 if you can just be patient.
2. The above cruise info works better for ports within driving distance. Unfortunately, air fares go up for last minute fliers. Two weeks ago, however, we booked a cruise with Holland America, out of Boston (arriving from Orlando) with the final docking in Montreal. Having discovered decent one-way rates to Worcester and from New York City, we squeezed in an Amtrak scenic 10 hour trip from Montreal to NYC after the cruise. It took a while to figure all this out but well worth the time online.
3. If you need a Friday or Saturday in Manhattan, book near Wall Street. The rates drop as workers get out of town. We saved $100 a night at the Millenium Hilton, with midtown rates in the $300’s. The subways and buses will take you anywhere from lower Manhattan so why not stay far from the maddening crowds?
Photo courtesy Amtrak.com
4. And while we are talking about booking hotels, after checking the discount search engines like Travelocity and Priceline, go directly to the hotel and compare prices (this goes for airlines, too). You might find the same rate or even lower by booking direct. Picking up the phone to call the hotel manager is another option that might get you a discount or upgraded room.
5. This one might sound like a no-brainer, but when booking flights, check smaller airports within 50 or 60 miles of your destination. We have a tiny airport in Sanford, near Orlando, out of which Allegiant Air flies, with some fantastic rates to other tiny airports. Instead of flying into Montreal, choose Plattsburgh, NY and hop on the Amtrak to Canada. You’ll save tons of $$ and enjoy a wonderfully scenic ride as a bonus. On this trip we are landing in Worcester, MA, picking up a Greyhound for the 1 hour drive to Boston, saving some big bucks.
Travel deals can be had if you are creative and lose some of the old, worn myths that have been disproven over the years. The trick to keeping that moss from growing is to keep the stone rolling…so travel for travel’s sake and don’t be afraid to be spur-of-the-moment!
Photo courtesy Anne Taintor www.annetaintor.com
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