Let's Fly Away

Even with the 3-ounce rule, added securities and bag check fees, I still love to fly.  Louis C.K. comes to mind, "You're sitting in a CHAIR in the SKY!"

First thing's first about airfare:  it changes constantly.  Buying a ticket on a Wednesday will get you a different price than a Saturday.  Buying that ticket 3 days before you leave will be wildly different than if you purchased 6 months in advance.  Interestingly enough, buying as early as possible will not always get you the best rate.  So when, in the name of in-flight cocktails, is the best time to buy?!

The "experts" (which would be every article I've read on the internet...at least one of them as to know what they're talking about....right?) say that the best day of the week to buy is Tuesday and the best time to buy is 42 days before your departure.  Google "best time to buy flight" and you'll get bajillions of articles giving those two pieces of advice.  Personally, if I had an airline and found that this information was available to the public, I'd jack up my prices on Tuesdays, but luckily for you (unlucky for me), I don't have an airline.

Welcome aboard BethAir!  

Private browsing.  I mentioned this in my hotel post but wanted to explain it a little better.  Whenever you visit a website, your computer will get a virtual badge saying, "Hey!  I've been here!".  These are called cookies and they make websites load a lot faster, automatically fill out information or automagically log you in to websites you have visited before.  When it comes to flight-purchasing websites, when you visit the site it checks for it's "badge" and can change the prices based on how many times you have visited.  I have not personally tested this, but considering it's extremely easy to turn on and off private browsing, I do it anyway just in case it does make a difference.

Price alerts.  Kayak, Airfare Watchdog, and FareCompare track airline prices and can send you updates as much as you choose.  The biggest thing with using these sites is making sure that 1) You already have the money to buy the tickets, 2) You actually read the emails.  If you don't do either of these, then all this price watching is pretty useless.  Sometimes the super great deals will sell out and if you don't see that email quickly enough or see the email and realize you can't afford the ticket, you're going to be pretty sad for that prices that got away.  Bing Travel now owns FareCast where you can put in your flight and dates of travel and then see a history of its prices as well as a prediction on its future price.

Basically what all of this boils down to is shopping around and keeping up with pricing trends.  See how different the prices will change if you arrive/depart a different day.  Remember that unless you are traveling with Southwest, there will be baggage fees.  Look up how much they cost and add that into your travel plans.

Get all those ducks in a row and go into your flight purchasing well-informed.  You may not be able to avoid the awkwardness of TSA full body scan in your travels, but you can avoid the embarrassment of over paying for your flight.

Next time:  Miscellaneous travel expenses

Ho-tel! Ho-tel! (sung to the tune of New York, New York)

So you have some options set up for where you will want to stay, now is the fun part of choosing a hotel!  It can seem like a daunting task (and a huge cost) but hopefully these tips can help you pick a great place to stay within a budget that will make you more excited for your trip rather than scared of the price.

There are countless hotel-searching websites out there:  Kayak, Priceline, Orbitz, and the ilk.  Remember if you do use these sites, turn on private browsing on your computer.  Because you are more likely to book when you visit more than once, they will track that and change the prices accordingly. These sites can have some really good deals, but mostly those deals will depend on your schedule flexibility and your taste (it may be the cheapest around, but you may not want to be in a crappy motel).

"Hey, the latest reviewer said he only found
two roaches during his last stay!  That's a
plus...right?"

If you are a super last-minute planner, you can always check out Hotel Tonight.  It's an iOS and Android app that posts hotel rooms that are available for that evening at a deep discount.

If you have a desire for the more upscale and boutique, I can't recommend Jetsetter enough.  They offer limited time deals on specific properties all around the world at some really steep discounts (called their Flash Sales).  They hand pick all of the luxurious hotels that they feature.  Using Jetsetter can be a good springboard to find smaller, fancy hotels even if you are a good little planner and getting your plans set before the 4-month mark (which is unfortunately as early as you can book for their Flash Sales).

Tablet is another fantastic site with limited-time deals all around the world.  They also back all of their pricing with a best rate guarantee.  Tablet has a wider range of hotels (listing both most afforable and top rated) but a smaller number of private sale deals.

Sometimes, the best known deals can be found at the source.  If you have your eye on a couple hotels, make sure you sign up to be on their mailing list and send them an email and see if they have any special offers.  It never hurts to ask and it is always good to stay well-informed.

With the myriad of possibilities when choosing a hotel, do your homework and make sure you are getting a great price.  It is a sad vacation when you can't see past the dollar signs and just relax and enjoy yourself.

Next post:  Airfare.

Photo credit: Great Beyond / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA

First Step: Location-Location-Location

One of the most important decisions when taking a trip is where to sleep.  I know you're thinking, "Hey, I'm a low-maintenance person!  I just need a bed!" and this may be true for you, but the cheapest hotel/motel in town, may not always be the best decision (and could end up costing you more in the long run).

Find a couple locations near your destination.  In the case of Napa Valley, there's a handful of towns along the main road that are all near wineries and only one of them is Napa, CA.  Take some time and see what places are near your destination but maybe not directly in the town/city you're thinking about.  Smaller towns can be quieter and sometimes a lot cheaper.

When choosing a town, realize that you will want to venture out.  Will you need a rental car or do they have reliable public transportation?  Will you have trouble finding parking?  Your hotel may be just a place for your to sleep, but you also don't want to spend your entire vacation in the car or on the bus.  Find a balance between the location of your activities and lodging prices.  Get yourself a handful of location options and then move onto the fun of picking the hotel.

As far as our Napa vacation goes, we chose Yountville as our home base for the week.  It's quiet, peaceful and has three restaurants at which we would like to dine.


Up Next:  Choosing the perfect lodging.

Revived!

I'm taking another holiday with my fiancé (who will be my husband by that time) because we are going on our honeymoon!  Same deal as last time, I'm going to put up all kinds of planning tips that I've come across and give some updates (they may be minimal ;-) during the trip!

Let's just get down to it, shall we?

First item of business:  where are we going?

We are heading to Napa Valley for a week of wining and dining.  During a recent visit with a very good friend, we took a day trip to Napa and just fell in love.  We stayed here:

We tasted these superb wines:

And we ate an amazing dinner here:

It was all spectacular.  I mean, how could it not be when you get to lounge in a tub like this?

Seriously.  Look. At. That. Tub.

And so from that day trip, we were hooked and we knew that despite it being one of the most popular honeymoon destinations, we would be booking ourselves another trip this year.  We want to do some winery tours (including Lasseter Family Winery in hopes of a John Lasseter sighting), relax in some spas (The Meritage looks promising) and eat some amazing food (oh yeah, The French Laundry, one of the highest rated restaurants IN THE WORLD).

So I'm a little...okay, very excited for our trip and I hope I can give some help to anyone else planning on visiting this oasis of the west coast.