Top Tips for Best Value Travel

The economy and our government officials continue to make me a bit nervous about spending and investing my hard earned money.  One day the experts tell us things are improving, the next day we are told to buy gold and hide it under the bed.  (Tough to do at over $1700 an ounce!)   Today, luxury and budget travelers alike are looking for best value for their vacation dollars.   Below are a number of tips you might consider when planning your next vacation:

Book the Best-Value fully refundable fare early, then continue reviewing the price for saving opportunities.   This tip will allow you to achieve that early saver price, but be positioned to jump on a savings opportunity later if the supplier drops prices to reduce inventory.  Purchasing “cancel for any reason” travel insurance can provide the same benefit if buying non-refundable travel.

Remain Flexible!  Offsetting travel days by + or – 3 days can result in significant savings on airfare and other transportation.

Alaska in May

Plan your vacation during shoulder periods.   For an Alaskan cruise, this would include May and September – the weather may not be as warm as June/July, but savings can be greater than $1000 per person on a cruise/land tour package.  Travel October through April in Europe and avoid other tourists, save on hotels and airfare, and enjoy a more authentic experience.

Patiently Waiting

If your travel schedule permits, arrive at the flight counter early and add your name to volunteer for a bump.   If the flight is full, you could end up with a later flight and a valuable flight voucher to use on your next trip.  Afternoon and evening flights often provider a greater opportunity to be bumped.  Kim and I had an opportunity for a $500 voucher each a couple of years ago, but we did not want to give up our first class upgrade.  Turns out the later flight arrived at DFW before we did.

Destination Awareness!  Many countries continue to provide savings opportunities on hotels and dining.  As an example, the Argentina peso continues to provide great exchange rates and their seasons are opposite of ours in the US providing great escapes from our temperature extremes.

Kids eat free.   If traveling with children, look for family friendly hotel/resort with additional savings.

Don’t forget your travel reward programs.   You don’t have to be a road warrior to gain significant benefits through travel rewards.   Credit card reward programs provide valuable travel benefits.  Be sure to check your balances and be aware of benefits that expire.

Consider Vacation Rentals.  This is a great savings opportunity for groups and multi-family vacations.   Condos and Villas in gated resort settings around the world often provide numerous amenities that hotels and resorts do not offer.   This may include a cook, butler and even a driver for your group’s safety and comfort.  Many owners have multiple properties and can be booked together for large groups at a greater savings.

Check alternate airports for flight savings.

Use a travel agent.   Go ahead and find your dream vacation and lowest price available then ask us to beat it.   Even if we only match the price we often can find that extra amenity or find additional services that create a memorable travel experience.   We are your advocate and are able to work with travel providers resolving issues while you are on the beach drinking a Pina Colada.

What are your favorite ways to save money when you travel?

The feel of Key West

Key West is one of the most interesting places on earth.  OK let me explain interesting.  I should have said eclectic, hippie, laid back, cool, happy, rockin, beautiful, and fun… 

This is a place where happy hour starts at 7 am but most people don’t bother to get up till around noon.  So the morning happy hour covers those who have not yet gone to bed.  The first time we were in Key West was off a cruise ship and we had a nice long day in port.  We scheduled a walking tour which hit most of the famous tourist spots; Hemmingway’s house with the six toed cats, the Audubon House and Tropical Gardens.  We also ate the mandatory Key Lime Pie and Conch Fritters at Mallory Square.  On this tour was the inspration for our outdoor fireplace.  I took a photo of a fireplace on the tour and saved it for a few years before Keith built this from the photo. 

Also on this first trip to Key West we wanted to take a small bottle of rum back on board our ship and so we went out to find the a bottle store.   The first small liquor shop we came to was the size of a walk-in closet with two ‘interesting’ people inside. (use definition above) I am not sure they actually knew we were there but we were able to find what we were looking for and paid and left with a memory not to be forgotten. 

On our next trip to Key West we decided to just walk around and go to Duval Street to see what it is all about.  We will never have a trip which does not include a walk down Duval as you can see the most ‘interesting’ people.   This trip we also decided to do our first and I think last official ‘Pup Crawl’.   This was a walking pup crawl and we hit 8 or so pups where we each received a drink and a bit of history.  Our guide was very ‘interesting’ and knew a lot of history about the pubs and Key West.  Our very favorite pub was/is the Schooner Wharf Bar.   We have made sure to visit this rather ‘interesting’ place every time we go, it is hidden behind many buildings beside the boat docks, looking just the way it did many years ago.  Their motto is “A last little piece of Old Key West”, and that it is and does not disappoint if you know that is what to expect.   Imagine where the ship captains would hang out after being at sea for months. 

I know we have missed a lot of attractions in Key West and we might find our way to see more of them if we can just get past all the ‘interesting’ people.  We would be happy to return to Key West at any moment and maybe we will even find a beach or go snorkeling their someday. 

50th Wedding Aniversary Cruise

My first cruise was aboard the Carnival Imagination sailing from Miami in 2000 celebrating my parents 50th wedding anniversary.  There were 12 family members (eight adults and 4 kids) aboard plus one young family friend that was not going to be left behind!  The cruise turned out to be a fantastic way for the family to enjoy a vacation, celebrate the parents milestone, enjoy time together and create great memories that help build lasting relationships.

If you are considering an extended family celebration, I'll pass on the things that we got right and maybe a few things that I might change.

Done Well:

• The family all arrived in Miami the night before and had a wonderful dinner together.  This eliminated any concern about missed flights or delays.
• The Imagination provided a very good mix of facilities and activities for all age groups.  The dining room staff served flawlessly delivering special requests nightly and keeping the kids engaged.
• We booked one large suite for Kim, Randi, Maggie and me and that provided a hang out for our extended family's informal gatherings and a central meeting place to begin the next adventure.
• The onshore excursions were based on individual family preferences and not planned as a group.   The kids selected what excursion and family members they wanted to go with - giving them a chance to have a say in what they wanted to do.
• The Caribbean itinerary of  Jamaica and Grand Cayman provided great opportunities for shopping and activities.

Room for Improvement:

• The cruise was for five nights.   My father may not agree, but seven would have been better.
• We booked seperately and our staterooms were in different parts of the ship.  

Travel Recipes

Kim’s interpretation of Frangipani Jamaican Fish or Chicken

All this talk about Jamaica reminds me of the time we rented a villa in Ocho Rios.  The name of the villa is Frangipani (sometimes we call this Plumeria).  These plants were all over the property and used to decorate the villa by the housekeeper every day.  We also had a butler and a cook.   We had 8 people in this 4 bedroom villa which made it very affordable.  I learned the following recipe from our cook.  She cooked fish and chicken using this method.  This makes a wonderful dish with a rich tomato garlic sauce which can be served over pasta or rice. 

  She would take onions and slice them to cover a large shallow frying pan (which can go into the oven) with a bit of Olive Oil in the bottom.  Then she would add a couple of chopped celery stalks, 3 smashed garlic cloves and some pepper flacks.  Add a jalapeno if you want more heat.   Our cook would then thinly slice about two nice size tomatoes and place them on top of the onion mixture.   I have use canned if I don’t have fresh. 

Now for the best part and what intrigued me the most.  She would simmer this on low heat for at least an hour adding chicken stock if it became too dry.  This made the villa and probably the villas all around ours smell wonderful.  She had a “special” blend of spices she added but could not extract the special blend recipe out of her. (I add a teaspoon of Italian seasoning) Now is a good time to taste for salt and pepper.   If we were having this with fish she would simply lay the fish on top of the mixture and put a lid on the pan for 5 to 10 minutes (depending on the thickness of your fish) until the fish flakes with a fork.  This steamed the fish in these wonderfur flavors. 

With Chicken you would brown the chicken in the pan first in olive oil and remove.  After your sauce has simmered for 20 to 30 minutes add the chicken back on the top, add a bit more stock, put the lid on it and cook in a 350 oven till the chicken is done (30 to 45 mins). 

This may sound like a lot to do but it almost cooks itself.   I hope you can try this and enjoy the enticing aromas and tastes.   





Plumeria
Frangipani

 

Couples Negril - The Quintessential all-inclusive for romantics

Kim and I decided to inspect the Couples Resort property by walking from Breeze's along the beach to the property next door in Negril, Jamaica.  The beach is access controlled and once we left the ocean front and started our hike to the lobby area we were met with a large but very friendly security guard that offered to escort us to the lobby to arrange a tour.   The sales management staff quickly responded and we were given complete access and a guided tour of the property and the rooms. 

Couples Negril takes the all-inclusive package a step further by offering the following off-site excursions:

• Shopping shuttles to the town of Negril offered four time weekly
• Shuttles to scenic local bar available four times weekly
• Catamaran Cruise
• Golf - transfer and green fees to Negril Hills Golf Club

This resort has the feel of a Jamaican rain forest/jungle with 7 ponds and lush plant life that provides comfortable shade throughout the property.   Couples is situated on 18 acres facing the crescent shaped Bloody Bay and 1000 feet of white sand beach.  This all-inclusive gem sets a high standard for luxury and excellence with very competitive pricing.