Camping for Labor Day weekend

I am passionate about travel.

I believe getting out of your daily routine can rejuvenate and

bring incredible insights and excitement to your life.

My goal as a travel agent is to help you find the best fit for you and travel companions.

This weekend the best fit for me is going to be a little car camping.

Photo courtesy of: www.soyouwanna.com

We are headed out to of the great state parks near our home

where a campsite costs only $22 per night. Talk about value!

Here's my first draft of all the "stuff" we are going to bring.

For those of you avid campers out there - what are we missing?

8.29.12 Cruise Deals

Carnival Pack n Go Specials

Bookings must be made by August 31st

3 Day Cruise from Port Canaveral in September

starting at $169 per person

4 Day Cruises from Port Canaveral or Miami in September

 starting at $179 per person

5 day cruise from Jacksonville  in September

 starting at $199 per person

7 day cruise from Miami in September

starting at $369 per person  

 

Royal Caribbean

 

Tips for Group Travel

Friends and families traveling together can a lot to a vacation: a lot of fun and sometimes a lot of tension.  You may want to throw someone in the pool! 

Before heading out on vacation with a new group, here are some questions to review in advance to ensure a successful vacation.

1. What is your ideal day on vacation? Some people love a day at the beach. Others enjoy an action packed schedule of physical activities. Still others love wandering a city without a plan. It’s important to know in advance what people prefer so you can plan a vacation that offers those elements.  

8.22.12 Cruise Deals

One value I add as a travel agent is helping you identify and sort through all these great deals to find the best vacation:

Carnival Pack N Go Specials

 

3 Day Cruises in September from Port Canaveral or Miami

starting at $189 per person

5 Day Cruise from Tampa

 starting at $259 per person

7 Day Cruise from New Orleans

starting at  $369 per person

Tips for renting a car

This week I received an email asking about tips for renting a car.

Here was my response:
Are you brand loyal – meaning you will only rent at one company? If so,  it may be a little harder to find deals. Price the competition using www.kayak.com. Then call the manager of the location where you usually rent and ask them to match the rate. Non-airport locations may be more likely to do this.

Kayak.com is a search engine that pulls together all the online prices from the company’s website. It will also pull prices from travel consolidators like Travelocity or Expedia if you click those boxes. This provides a good overview of the going rate at any given point in time.

If you are interested in trying other companies, take the prices from Kayak and compare those to what you can get through Southwest.com.  On Southwest's main page, they usually have ads for rental cars at 30% off. Click those. You don't need to have a flight.

I have had good luck on Priceline with the name your own price function for rental cars in large cities. You don't see what company it is until after you pay and it's non-refundable. I usually can get a higher class of car for the price of an economy.

Have you found great deals for renting cars? What do you do?

8.16.12 All inclusive Holiday Deals

You could spend your holidays freezing with your family and fighting over that last bit of jello salad. Or you could spend your holidays like this:

Here's some holiday deals from luxurious all-inclusives:

Seven nights at NOW Jade Riviera Cancun including 

round trip flights from Chicago O'Hare

$1,759.64 per person

Seven nights at Secrets St James Montego Bay including

round trip flights from Chicago O'Hare

$1,738.89 per person

Seven nights at Ocean Blue in Punta Cana 

including round trip flights from Cleveland

$1,700.49 per person

Seven nights at Secrets Silversands Riviera Cancun

including round trip flighs from Dallas

$1,789.64

Seven nights at Secrets St James Montego Bay

 including round trip flights from Boston

$1,599 per person

Seven nights at Dreams Puerto Vallarta Resort and Spa

 including round trip flights from Denver

$1,567.30 per person

Please email me for more information on these deals or to book your holiday vacation!

Spotlight on: St. Augustine, Florida

Last winter, my husband and I headed up to Saint Augustine, Florida. We had heard a lot of great things about the oldest settlement in the country. We were not disappointed. We pulled into our bed and breakfast: Bayfront Marin House.

8.9.12 Cruise Deals

Carnival

Carnival’s 3 Day Sale starts Thursday, August 9th through Saturday, August 11th –

offering up to $50 Cash Back per stateroom and a 50% reduced deposit –

all on our 3 to 5 day sailings through May 2013.

Spotlight on: School Breaks

Now is a great time to catch some last minute deals for Fall Break or begin planning for Spring Break.

Fall Break

( These prices are for October 25^th– October 28^th)

Walt Disney World  

3 Nights in a standard room at  one of the Walt Disney World Resort Value  Hotels, a 4 Day Park Hopper Pass and FREE Quick Service Dining Plan for two adults and two children  for just under $1,700 total.  Airfare not included.

Cruise to the Bahamas

3 Night Cruise to the Bahamas departing Thursday October 25^th and returning Sunday October 28^th : $219 per person plus $56.20 in taxes and fees for a total of $275.20 per person. This is based on double occupancy. Airfare not included.

 Spring Break

(These prices are for March 31st – April 6th)

All Inclusive Adults Only Mexico

For a more adult vacation, how about the Secrets Silversand Resort – All Inclusive in Riviera Maya, Mexico?  Seven nights in a Preferred Deluxe Ocean View Room including roundtrip non-stop airfare from Indianapolis for two is $5,409.30 total.

Walt Disney World

7 nights in standard room at the Disney All Star Music Resort including a 7 day Park Hopper Pass for two adults and two children for $2,819.22

7 nights in a Lion King or Finding Nemo family suite at the brand new of Art of Animation Resort  including a 7 day Park Hopper Pass for two adults and two children for $4,813.52.

7 nights in a junior suite at the Disney Coronado Springs Resort including a 7 day Park Hopper Pass for two adults and two children for $5,845.18

Cruises

Six night Caribbean cruise on the Carnival Freedom in an interior cabin for $569 per person plus $95.74 in taxes and fees. Based on double occupancy.

Seven night Caribbean cruise on the Norwegian Pearl in an balcony cabin for $929 per person plus $138.41 in taxes and fees. Based on double occupancy.

This is just a sample of the great vacations I can help you book. 

Due to limited availability, all prices are subject to change until a deposit is made. 

 For more information to book one of these great deals: email me at tripswithangie@gmail.com

8.2.12 Cruise Deals

Carnival

New York to Bermuda:

Balcony Stateroom for an Ocean view Price on the Carnival Miracle

between 11/14/12 and 03/06/13.

Figuring out flights

Booking airline travel these days is getting a little crazy. In general, prices have been high and changing quickly. A few things to keep in mind when booking your flights:

1. You must use the name on your ID. If your ID and name on your ticket do not match, you may not be able to get on your flight. Even the smallest issues like Bob on the tickets versus Robert on the ID could be a big problem.

2. If you are travelling internationally, it is your responsibility to figure out if you need a VISA.

3. Direct is not the same as nonstop. Nonstop means your plane will not stop between the two destinations. Direct means that you will stay on the same plane, but that plane could land in another city. To investigate this, always click the box that says "Show Itinerary". This will let you know where you are stopping and how long you will be there.

4. Play attention to your connections. As a general rule, I only connect through southern cities in the winter f I can help it. Connecting in Chicago, Denver or New York is just asking for trouble due to weather delays. 

5. Be sure to know all the fees in advance. JetBlue allows one free checked bag. Southwest allows two free checked bags. The other Domestic airlines charge for checked bags. Some airlines charge for requesting a seat assignment or carrying on a bag. 

6. Check your connection times. If you are landing in a huge airport like Chicago O'Hare or Atlanta, there is a chance you may have to switch terminals. Make sure you have enough time. If you aren't sure if you will have to switch terminals, check the flight status today for the flights you are considering. It will have the arrival gate and the departure gate for your flights. If these gates have different letters in front of the numbers, you should count on switching terminals.  

7. Make a contingency plan for delays. If you are on the last flight of the day, what will you do if it is cancelled? If weather is looking scary, call the airline to see if you can wait a day or get rerouted. The number one consideration for airlines is safety - not your schedule.

8. Bring a snack and sweater - Hungry and cold is no way to spend a flight.