Travel Discounters Blog

Traveling to Europe can seem like something only for the wealthy, with the current exchange rate with the Euro everything seems out of reach for the average person. We have found several “tricks” that can help save some money and even make it affordable. As with travel to most tourist destinations you can almost always get better deals by traveling in the off season. In Europe this means spring, late fall and winter. To save money on airline tickets try a flight with one or even two stops. The convenience of direct flights can be costly by comparison. Try renting an apartment, when we traveled to Rome with our kids a few years ago we found an apartment that fit all of us for a fraction of what hotel rooms would have been and with a kitchen we were able to prepare many of our own meals by purchasing food at the local grocery store. Last but not least, as always, shop around. Check out our Hot Deals at traveldiscounters.com and search travel sites for the best bargains.

Safe Travel,
Jim & Emily

Dreaming of a historic visit to Cuba? Ready to laze it out in Cayo Largo del Sur or Varadero Beach? Perhaps you’ve even started your search for the best travel deals and vacation package to Havana? Well not so fast cowboy cause here’s the real scoop…

At this time, the U.S. government restricts Cuban travel. Only persons visiting close relatives, journalists, and several categories of full-time “professionals,” educators, and business travelers allowed. Check here for more information http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1097.html

Bottom line for now, ordinary tourists will either have to wait a while or travel (illegally) from Canada, Mexico, or the Bahamas (CAUTION: you could face civil penalties and criminal prosecution upon return to the United States)

The US Gov’t. authorized direct Cuban charter flights (ABC Charters) are from Miami, Tampa, and St. Petersburg. Also previously authorized are Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago/O’Hare, Dallas-Fort Worth, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Houston, New Orleans, Oakland, and Pittsburgh. Not all are currently operational.

The US Gov’t. provides consular and other services through the U.S. Interests Section (USINT) in Havana. It is located in Havana at Calzada between L and M Streets, Vedado; telephone numbers (537) 833-3551 through 833-3559.

Safe Journeys!
Emily & Jim

February in Maui brings an entirely new spin to the term “Whale Watching”. In February you can see whales from most any west-side beach or cliff. If you go on a guided cruise you are often watching OUT for whales!! The packages are relatively inexpensive (cheap really) and well worth your time.
Our favorite whale viewing company was the Pacific Whale Foundation and my personal whale watching experience came on a combination Molokini and Lana’i snorkeling expedition. While trying to motor from Lahaina to Molokini we were stopped dead in the water three or four times by large groups of whales involved in mating chase games. Usually one female with a calf had four or five large males following her around asking for a “date”. At one point a distraught female swam under our boat and came up belly-side-up right at our stern trying to get some peace! We saw two huge males slapping their tails together above water in a smack-down contest!
Great photos, great naturalists explaining the behaviors and the snorkeling (especially at Lana’i) was fantastic!! I saw reef sharks and millions of fish and an octopus in less than an hour. The free drinks on the way home made us so happy we booked right out on the next cruise!!
What a bargain!!

George
www.traveldiscounters.com

Cheapest time to Buy Airline Tickets

We’ve covered this before but since summer travel is still high on everyone’s calendar, here are a few tips on getting the best deal on airline tickets:

The best Time to buy airline tickets is Tuesday 3pm EST

Worst time to buy airline tickets is on weekends (Fri-Sun)

Try shopping for one passenger first instead of 3 or 4 or 5. If there’s 1 seat left on the low cost fare and you need 2, both tickets get jacked up to the next higher fare.

Check low cost airlines like Frontier, Southwest, Jet Blue separately for lower prices.

Other ways of cutting airline ticket cost:

Be flexible time wise & destination wise.

Cheapest day to fly is Wednesday for domestic travel. Next would be Tuesday and Saturday.

The cheapest time to fly is first flight out in the morning, lunch time & dinner time.

And of course you can’t beat the red eye.

Watch for ‘vacation package specials’ for specific destinations.

There’s still time to take the kids off somewhere so get cracking on those travel deals!

Safe journeys,
Emily & Jim

One thing I learned, when you travel to Ketchikan, take a rain coat and umbrella. With an annual rain fall of 162” the chance of rain is pretty high. It rained lightly the whole day we were there but it was worth a little discomfort to see the sights. Ketchikan is known as Alaska’s first city and is surprisingly large with a population of about 13,000. Since the city is 31 miles long but only 10 blocks wide the water side part of the city is built on stilts over the Tongass Narrows with the rest of the city set into the forested cliffs that tower over it. We decided to take the Duck Tour that goes around the city and then takes you out into the water where our guides showed us a wonderful view of the harbor and mountains. It’s easy and cheap to get around the city by public transportation, a dollar will get a ride on the bus to just about anywhere. We took the bus out to Totem Bight, a state historical park that has a number of totem poles and shows on how they are made and enjoyed it a lot. We returned to lunch at Annabella’s, near the wharf, if you like clam chowder I would highly recommend it. We left for Seattle and our airline flight home and the end of our vacation. We are already planning for our next destination.

Travel Safely,
Jim & Emily
www.traveldiscounters.com

Well, after a great day in Skagway we traveled to our next destination, the Tracy Arm Fjord. After getting up at 1:00 am in hopes of seeing the Northern Lights and being disappointed we were back out at 4:00 am to see our entrance into the fjord. It is an amazing site with cliffs towering over the ship as it glides past huge chunks of floating ice at 3 or 4 knots. All down the imposing cliffs flow hundreds of waterfalls created by the melting ice and snow. Around each turn are beautiful rock formations and forests reaching to the sky. As we neared the end of the ships transit there is Sawyer Island that looks like a scene from some fantasy movie as if trolls and elves should live here away from human civilization. In the distance is the Sawyer Glacier with the sun reflecting blue light. Since we went early in the season the ice made it impossible for the ship to get as close to the glacier as you can in the later summer months but it is still an impressive site. Sailing slowly back to the ocean we observed sea lions and the occasional whale as we passed. Bon Voyage.
Safe Travel
Jim & Emily
www.traveldiscounters.com

On the way back to the cruise dock on the White Pass and Yukon Railroad you can get off at the train depot in the town of Skagway. If you choose to travel from the cruise ship to see the town it is only a 5 minute walk with spectacular scenery. The town is laid out in a grid, easy to get around, and was by far the smallest of the 3 stops on our cruise with a population of about 850. As in most Alaska towns there is the dome of a Russian Orthodox Church that stands out gleaming gold in the sun. We walked down Broadway with its many shops and over to the next street, State Street to find a little grocery store called the Fairway Market. Though small it had an excellent selection and we picked up a few basics that we were low on. Walking back to Broadway and down the street we stopped at the Red Onion Saloon, originally a brothel built in1897 it is now a restaurant and bar where you can take a tour of the upstairs with a lovely guide dressed as a Madam of that era. Further down on Broadway we chose to shop at the Alaska Shirt Company, where you can find a large selection of t-shirts, hats and souvenirs at reasonable prices. Been there, bought the t-shirt, as they say. Across the street is an old rotary snow plow that is a must see, especially for railroad buffs. We took the short walk back to the ship and enjoyed the magnificent view of the snow capped Alaskan mountains as we walked along. Back on the ship we are headed for our next destination, the Tracy Arm Fjord, my favorite part of the cruise.

Bon Voyage and Travel Safely,
Jim & Emily
www.traveldiscounters.com

Buying fresh salmon in Alaska

One of the things that got me all excited about our best deal ever cruise to Alaska was the fact that we were getting in during salmon season (spring and summer). My plan was to buy boatloads of cheap (buying at the source), fresh king salmon and shipping it home by air. When I got to Ketchikan, Salmon capital of the world, I was flabbergasted to find out that fresh king salmon was way more expensive in Alaska than the Whole Foods Market I go to!!!

I was told that the majority of commercially caught fish is shipped to the lower 48 states and Japan, hence the higher prices. Fishermen are not allowed to sell off the dock in Seward and most of the fish processing plants don’t sell to the public. So you pretty much have to catch your own fresh salmon. Oh well… more time for sightseeing!

Anyway, it’s not to late to book your trip to Alaska for summer. There’s a lot of last minute deals to be had. Simply hit the ‘blogroll’ to search all travel deals, lowest airfare and discounted vacation package at www.traveldiscounters.com.

Happy trails,
Emily & Jim

Our vacation continued as we travel from Juneau to Skagway. There are many attractions here in this small town, we decided to break the budget, just a little, and signed up for the White Pass & Yukon Railroad journey. It is not free but well worth the price as we travel through Klondike wilderness to the Canadian border. The railroad allowed the gold rush miners to reach their destination in the Klondike. Along the way attractions including the original cantilever bridge from 1900 and many of the original mining sites where thousands of miners toiled, most to scrape a few ounces of gold from the mountains. The train cars are an attraction themselves, from the original railroad line. The guides on the train explain each new attraction as you go and if you miss a top site on the other side the seats switch over to still face forward and everyone changes sides for the trip back to Skagway. More travel talk next time.

Safe Journeys,
Jim & Emily

Our most recent vacation was an Alaska cruise that began in Vancouver. Vancouver was beautiful with many attractions worth seeing if you should travel there. We enjoyed just sitting and watching the sea planes take off and land with a great view of the mountains in the back ground. Our first destination after departing Vancouver was Juneau, the capitol of Alaska. There are a lot of top free sites to see such as the Mendenhall Glacier, which can be viewed from several locations for free. From the cruise dock there are shuttle buses, $2 for all day pass to and from the ship. You take the bus to and from the same location where you will find a number of kiosks selling destination tours. We found one with guide for a reasonable price by negotiating. Don’t pay the first price they give you, save your budget. After our tour of the glacier and other attractions we went into the shopping area and to the famous gold rush era Red Dog Saloon. It was a nice break to listen to some free music and have a beer. Next stop, Skagway.

Safe Travel,
Jim & Emily
www.traveldiscounters.com