My Downhill Vacation 10.6.10

I suppose this could incorporate all the things that ever went wrong on every vacation rolled into one big nightmare, but I like to be optimistic. Even though something probably WILL go wrong, it probably won’t be disastrous to your whole trip. I want to talk about snow vacations. With it now being officially fall and all, winter is right around the corner, which means many snow destinations will be opening for the ski season. If you aren’t quite into cold-winter sports, this could work in your favor, because you could go before the first flakes fall and save a bundle. 

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• We are doing a giveaway for the first 500 fans who sign up on our page and the people they were referred by (if applicable-both must be fans of the page), so join us and suggest all your friends to join. 2 lucky people will win items from Travelon and 2 others (potentially) will win referral gifts.

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It’s sometimes hard to find good deals on ski destinations. Between lift tickets, optional equipment rental, airfare and hotel, a cold weather destination can be brutally expensive. With everyone flocking there, the hotel rates skyrocket, so it’s great to find a deal at all.  You can see the Top 25 U.S. Ski Destinations HERE courtesy of TravelHero.

And Frommer’s offers up 5 Ski Destinations in the Rockies That Won’t Break the Bank.

Find wonderful package deals to Chamonix-Mont-Blanc in France to ski your heart out from Expedia. Prices are based on when you travel, so find some travel dates that work for your budget and start brushing up on your French. Also, every dollar you spend will get you ThankYou Points that you can use toward the purchase of future travel from Expedia. Rewards start at just 1,000 points.

Fly Iceland Air from Boston, New York or Seattle from $499 per person for the Golden Circle Getaway. While Iceland is not known for skiing, it is a great cold-weather vacation and now is the ideal time to see the Northern Lights, too. Included in this package is airfare, hotel, daily breakfast and the Golden Circle Tour for 3 days/2 nights. You may add on extra days to the end of your stay (up to 5) for a reasonable nightly rate. Packages are non-refundable, so you might look into getting travel insurance. Check out QuoteWright.com

• Now, you can stay in great locations in Canada, including Banff and Whistler through Hotels.com for as little as $53 per night. Book by Oct 11th for travel by Oct 25th.
• You can also stay in Vail, CO to get your ski on and take advantage of specials, including 3rd or4th night free and 20-50% off. Great rates already, starting at $99 per night or even less if you don’t mind staying outside the city. Booking and stay-by dates vary.

Remember, Hotels.com offers price-match guarantee and doesn’t ever charge to change or cancel your reservation (unless it is for a same-day reservation). Their call center is open 24 hours a day for your convenience. Plus, stay 10 nights, get one free with their Welcome Rewards program. Free to sign up and use and your credits don’t expire!

• Ski Tahoe and stay in The Ridge Tahoe for as low as $54 per night. Buy one night, get one free. Hotel has an indoor sports complex, private shuttle service, indoor swimming pool, health club, tennis courts, putting green & driving net, racquetball courts, on-site ski shop, health club, ping pong & billiards rooms, children’s playground and casino shuttles for a fee. Book by Oct 14th, add airfare and save even more on your vacation.
• Experience the breathtaking views of Alaska and stay for as little as $67 per night in top-rated Expedia hotels near Anchorage.

Buy season passes. If you plan on skiing for more than a day in some locations, it could be more cost-effective to buy an entire season pass. When you’re ready to leave, see if you can sell (read: transfer) your pass to someone else. That way you both get discounted rates!

Buy your tickets online to save time, and sometimes money. Don’t wait in the long line when you can just go right to the slopes.

Buy a Gold Pass. If you are skiing in Colorado all season long, this might be the pass for you. It’s spendy at $3,000, but it gets you access to 21 ski resorts all season and can be transferred to friends or family members, so you get the most use out of it. Only a limited number are sold each season, for obvious reasons, so if you want one break out your credit card.

Ask if there is a student discount (you know, if you actually ARE a student). This could save you quite a bit on lift tickets.

Purchase Skier’s Insurance. If for some reason you can’t use your season pass, you’ll be covered to get a refund. Restrictions do apply and cost depends on the cost of your season passes, so please read this carefully. Many resorts already sell SkiersGuard when they sell you your passes and you can add on the cost right then and there. Generally, it is 6% of your purchase price. 

Learn to ski or snowboard in Tahoe for cheap or FREE! 

Skiing in New England and looking for bargains on tickets? Check out Family Ski Trips. 

  

Do you practice yoga? Let BootsNAll show you how to take it on the road with you when traveling. 

Normally, I tell people to stay off-site when going to Disney, but this is one of the best deals I’ve come across. If you want to stay at one of the resorts once in your life, this might be the time to do it. You can also add Disney Dining Plan to your package.
Save $300 on a 4 day/4 night Disneyland Resort package and receive a 4-day Disneyland Resort Park Hopper Ticket for each guest in your party (family 4 pack). Book by December 1 for stays from October 1-December 16.

How many times have your heard the story of Sleepy Hollow and the Headless Horseman? Now you can take a lantern tour of Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Pasadena California for only $20 per person. If you are too scared to go at night, save $5 each and take a daytime tour. Advanced reservations are required.

Travel Channel has a list of the Scariest Halloween Attractions in the U.S., including the Bates Motel, The Queen Mary and Eastern State Penitentiary. 

Trick or Treat, Smell My Feet! 10.2.10

Oh, I love no holiday more than Halloween. It’s better than Christmas in my opinion. I like to do up my whole house all spooky, enjoy it for the entirety of October and into November, throw a party with creepy food and music and dress up. Sometimes, I’ll have several costumes for the season. One for a party, maybe one for another event and one for handing out candy to trick-or-treaters. (My costume closet is vast.) This year, as well as last, I have an extra one to throw in for vacation, as I’ll be attending the Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party in Walt Disney World. Many park days at the Magic Kingdom in Sept-Nov are cut short for this party that requires a special ticket to get in. From 7pm to midnight, many of the park guests come dressed in costume to enjoy 5 hours of trick-or-treating, dancing, nighttime thrill rides (only specific rides will be open during that time, not the whole park), Hall-o-wishes fireworks display, an all-villain musical show in front of the castle, villain meet and greets, amazing park decorations and, best of all, a special parade opened with the Headless Horseman on horseback. It’s all totally Disney and so out of their normal festivities that it’s worth putting off your vacation until that time of year. WDW isn’t the only theme park that throws a big bash for Halloween though. And if you’re into SCARY for Halloween, you’re in luck!

Please join me on Facebook to get more updated deals and tips every day.

• We are doing a giveaway for the first 500 fans who sign up on our page and the people they were referred by (if applicable-both must be fans of the page), so join us and suggest all your friends to join. 2 lucky people will win items from Travelon and 2 others (potentially) will win referral gifts.

Subscribe to my blog on the right or on Kindle, so you can take me wherever you go!

Follow me on Twitter for more great tips and deals.

Many things have been lost, including whole aircrafts and their passengers, never to be found. It’s probable that your flight to Bermuda will be uneventful and your hotel stay and beach visits totally serene.

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  CheapTickets is offering 3-7 night packages to Bermuda, including round-trip airfare and hotel, starting at only $578 per person. Some include 3nd night free, 30% off your stay or free dining!
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  Walk the streets of Jack the Ripper, visit the Vampire Museum and try not to get drugged Hostel-style on this amazing trip. Included:  International round-trip airfare, 6 nights (2 each in London, Paris and Amsterdam), Eurostar travel between cities, HOTEL accommodations, taxes and daily breakfast. Make your own itinerary in these awesome cities and immerse yourself in culture and history.
  

  

  
  

Are you afraid of the dark? Maybe do what I did and stay at an Eco Lodge. With no electricity, you'll be frightened until the sun comes up. 

Hotwire loves to give you deals. Stay in 4-Star hotels for considerably less than regular price. Take yourself to the site of your favorite horror movies with these amazing deals.

• Spend $69 per creepy night in New Orleans and walk amongst the streets of the infamous vampires and voodoo priests and priestesses.
• Pray you don’t get trapped in a seemingly abandoned house only to be terrorized by a chainsaw wielding murderer in Dallas, Texas from only $59 per night.
• Stay far enough away from the streets of Jack the Ripper and the Black Plague with a visit to Manchester, England from $49 per night.
• That creepy “doctor” from Hostel was from Germany. It’s a sure bet he won’t show up on your vacation, especially if you are staying somewhere nice, like one of these hotels in Frankfurt from $45 per night.

Read any Sephen King novel to find out why New England is so scary. Not to mention that Lizzie Borden and the Salem Witch Trials happened in the area, too.

• Expedia is still offering Free Nights with the purchase of 3+ nights at one of their participating hotels. Stay in a New England hotels from $44 per night and trek through some of Stephen King’s famous landscapes from his books. Book by October 12 for travel through December 15^th for these cheap rates.

A cruise may not sound menacing, but what if you’re cruising to creepy locations? That’s got to be a plus, right? I scoured the internet for some fun sounding vacations that were spooky in nature. Visit the home of Dracula, with a cruise stopping in Romania, and hope you don’t get sucked into the mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle. You could see nothing out of the ordinary, but you will be guaranteed to see something breathtaking on either of these trips:

• In 2011, take the Passage to Eastern Europe cruise from Viking for 11 days from $2256 per person. 8 guided tours in 5 countries, including Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania. Many meals are included Add a 3-night extension to the end of your cruise to visit Transylvania and the Black Sea for an extra $699 per person.  The Viking Primadonna Cruise Ship is a smaller ship that has enough room for 148 passengers. Every state room is an outside stateroom and the ship boasts 2 bars/lounges, a restaurant, boutique, hair salon, atrium, free wireless internet, laundry service, whirlpool and sauna and more. This package does not include international airfare, but it does include transfers if you purchase air with package. You may choose to purchase air separately or through Viking Cruises.

• Norwegian Cruise Lines would like to take you on a 7-night cruise to Bermuda. Cruises sail out of New York or Boston and stop for you to enjoy King’s Wharf in Bermuda. Aside from all your meals and entertainment on board, you’ll receive free traveler’s insurance for you and your companions and an onboard credit.

Win a New Year’s Eve trip to London!!

This is truly a fantastic package to win. See below for everything included:

ENTER NOW for a chance to win a spectacular New Year’s Eve trip to London for two. The winner will receive complimentary round-trip travel, airport transfers, and six fabulous nights in a private (and luxurious) one-bedroom apartment at Cheval Residences in central London. And that’s just the beginning. Imagine the two of you enjoying . . .

• Dinner at the world-famous Absolut Ice Bar London located in the heart of Mayfair – its bar, walls, table, chairs, cocktail glasses are all made from ice.
• An evening at the historic Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in Soho, the heart of the London jazz scene.
• A guided tour of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and a visit to the Shakespeare’s Globe Exhibition, followed by afternoon tea in the Brasserie, overlooking the Thames.
• A special tour of the Tate Modern, followed by a restaurant meal on the 7th floor, overlooking St. Paul’s and the City of London.
• A behind-the-scenes tour of the new Wembley Stadium, home to both great soccer and rock concerts.
• A daytrip to Paris with Eurostar – visit Paris in just two hours and 15 minutes, and when you return to St. Pancras International Station celebrate with complimentary bubbly at Europe’s longest champagne bar.

London Passes that will give you free admission to over 60 top London attractions. Meet the Beefeaters and ravens and see the crown jewels at the Tower of London, visit St. Paul’s Cathedral (where Prince Charles and Princess Diana were married), or float past thousands of years of history aboard a Thames River Cruise.

There are so many things to do around Halloween time that it took a bit for me to whittle down the list. I want to do everything and give you a million options, but I restrained myself. This section will be longer than normal though. Aside from Disney's Mickey's Party, other theme parks have fun and scary Halloween festivities.

• Knott's presents Knott's Scary Farm. Save $6-23 on your tickets by buying them online instead of at the gate, where they will be $56 each.
• Universal puts on Halloween Horror Nights. While ticket prices don't waver, you're sure to get your money's worth while riding select rides and being scared out of your wits with roaming creeps, themed haunted houses and scare zones. It's like being in your very own horror movie. 
• Busch Gardens in Tampa offers up Howl-o-Scream. Much like Universal, they have scare zones, haunted houses and themed entertainment. You can't get cheaper tickets for this event either, but it'll scare your pants off, which you maybe can't put a price on.
• Sea World has a great event for the little ones and admission is included with your regular park ticket. It's called Spooktacular and it offers trick-or-treating, silly and spooky shows and kids are encouraged to come in costumes.

Now, that's just the major theme parks that have fun activities. There are plenty of other activities the world over that you can get in on. Here are some inexpensive things you can do during the fall season or any other time of the year.

• The Dungeons are on my list of kitchy and kinda scary (if you're afraid of the dark and mirror mazes where you might be followed) and must-do attractions. The site offers best price guarantee and you can get discounted deals if you purchase a combination ticket with Madame Tussaud's and/or the London Eye. If you plan to visit off-peak hours, you can save up to 50%! You must purchase your tickets online though. Each dungeon (located in London, York, Hamburg, Edinburgh and Amsterdam) walks you through the "streets" of history and winds you through creepy stories and rides that take you from one area of the dungeon to another

• Paris Catacombs. There are miles of underground tunnels underneath Paris full of human bones that were put there when the cemeteries became overcrowded. Even now they are still crowded, but with tourists. Get there right at opening and beat the crowds. Lines can stretch up to 2 hours long and with prices at only 5 Euros per person, it's one of the cheaper things you can do in France. If you want to skip the lines and go on a 2 hour guided tour with a small group. Viator can help you with this if you're willing to pay more than 5 Euros. For a little more than $54 per person, you are guaranteed access into the Catacombs, which is extremely limited.

• Plenty of creepy things have come out of London. One of the most famous? Jack the Ripper. He was never caught and you can walk the same streets on a London night with a small group for around $15 per person. Feel some of the fear those women must have felt while standing in a dark alley and hearing about the gruesome and brutal murders that happened on the very spot.
• New Orleans has always claimed to have a rich history in the occult and creepy myths. For an hour and a half walk among the darkened streets on the New Orleans Vampire Tour for only $20 per person. Many other walks are available, but who wouldn't want to believe in the undead and the horrible things that happen in the shadows of the city?
• New England always seems to be the backdrop for creepy and bizarre happenings. Stephen King loves to write about New England in his scary novels, too. One such story, which happens to be true, is the tale of Lizzie Borden in Massachusetts. Not only can you stay in the very house both her parents were murdered in (whether she did it or not, as she was never convicted, but moved to live outside of town where she was shunned for the rest of her life), you can also take a tour of the Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast. As cheerful as a B&B sounds, this one claims to be haunted. People have claimed to have had many encounters with ghosts while staying there, but if you can't get in to sleep there or are too scared, take the tour. They are only $12.50 per person and occur only during daylight hours, so there's (mostly) nothing to be afraid of.
• Portland's Shanghai Tunnels are quite a tourist attraction. There is a whole city of tunnels under the Oregon town's downtown area. For $19 per person you take a flashlight tour of the tunnels and learn about how people would be pulled into the tunnels (often drunk), have their shoes stolen and forced into slave labor. 

• Winchester Mystery House. Tour 110 of the 160 rooms of the house that took 38 years to build and has stairs that lead to nowhere and doors that open into walls. There are several tours to choose from, including a flashlight tour special for specific October dates. Tours range from $25 to $33 per person and should be purchased online.
• Almost anywhere you go that has open land will have a corn maze. You can go during the day or the evening and enjoy getting lost in a labyrinth of corn! The daytime maze will be fairly tame and the maze at night is dark and may have several spooky surprises. Though you may not be able to take advantage of pumpkin picking, you CAN stop at the general store they have set up and get some local foods to take home, like pumpkin butter and huckleberry candy (okay, that's what we have here in Oregon). 

Check out some fun musicals for Halloween season. Search for discounts on great theater in London on BroadwayBox. Two musicals that might be of particular interest to you are Thriller Live and Wicked.

Do you need a costume for any of your holiday outings? Purchase costumes and accessories through ebates to get cashback and discount codes at costume retailers.  

Singing & Dancing Makes Life More Fun 9.29.10

I always wonder what life would be like if it were a musical. What if you had background music to your everyday goings on or your inner monologue came out in song form and time stopped while you belted out your secret thoughts and did a nicely choreographed dance to them? Well, for one, we’d all be in awesome shape from all the exercise. Unfortunately, life isn’t like High School Musical and when you’re down, your best friends aren’t going to bust a move and sing you a motivational ditty to get you out of your slump.  So, life may be mundane as we walk through it talking to people, but vacation can always make it more exciting. With today being Broadway Musicals Day, I found it appropriate to take a look at some of the most popular musicals and their settings and what kind of deals can be had there. Enjoy!

• Please join me on Facebook to get more updated deals and tips every day.
• We are doing a giveaway for the first 500 fans who sign up on our page and the people they were referred by (if applicable-both must be fans of the page), so join us and suggest all your friends to join. 2 lucky people will win items from Travelon and 2 others (potentially) will win referral gifts.
• Follow me on Twitter for more great tips and deals.
• Subscribe to my blog on the right or on Kindle, so you can take me wherever you go!

• Transfer your Alaska Air miles to friends or family and they get 30% more miles for FREE! This offer is good until October 31st. Great deal if you know someone who has miles they won't use. You can buy them off of them and get extra points.
• You won't be crying for Argentina, except maybe when you leave. Walk in the steps of Evita and take a 9-night tour complete with RT airfare and lodgings from $1630 per person. Price includes 4 nights in Buenos Aires, 3 nights in Cordoba, 2 nights in Iguazu Falls, daily breakfast, flights within Argentina, hotel and air taxes. You can add activities for an additional cost.

• This South Pacific package will have you singing and dancing Bali Ha'i. Stay 7 nights and pay only for 5. Fiji Plantation Island is a beautiful beachside resort with a lagoon, several pools, a kid's club, 9-hole golf course, mini supermarket, 4 bars and 3 restaurants. Your package will include RT airfare from LAX, lei greeting upon arrival, all transfers to Plantation Island, 7 night accommodations and all your activities. For only $1459pp, this is a super deal. Kids 16 and under stay for free in same room (up to 2). Travel by March 31, 2011.

All stage actors aspire to make it into a Broadway or West End production. Many of them end up waiting tables and living in shoebox-size apartments in order to pay the Rent. Rent and A Chorus Line are full of actors trying to make it. You don’t have to follow in their footsteps, except by making your way to New York City.  Tour the Big Apple and see the sights like the Empire State’s Building, the Statue of Liberty, Madison Square Garden and Times Square and then stay in a nice hotel that is significantly bigger than a shoebox.

• Book by October 13 for free nights from Expedia. If you plan to travel to NYC before December 15th of this year, then this is a deal you should jump on. Stay for as low as $87 per night and get your last night free when you stay the specified number of nights listed for each hotel.
• Expedia is also offering 1 free night to the end of your stay in select Chicago hotels from $47/night. Stay the specified number of nights and get one free! 
• Join SniqueAway from TripAdvisor. The newest luxury-for-less member's only deals available by invitation only. Flash sales only last for a short time, but the savings are significant.
• You may not find your Miss Saigon, but you will probably take home some wonderful memories of Vietnam with more deals from Expedia. Book by October 13th to get low-priced luxury 4 and 5-star rooms from $105/night. If you stay the posted number of nights, the offer includes a free night at the end of your stay. Good for travel now through December 15. Add airfare to save even more!
• Experience Texas unlike Buddy (The Buddy Holly Story) probably ever did. Stay at the MD Resort in Dallas, TX for 3 days and 2 nights from $297 for a family of four. It's a beautiful ranch set on 37 acres. Your price includes meals. Other things to do at MD Resort? Visit with miniature donkeys, horses and buffalo, swimming, horseback riding, hayrides, horseshoes, volleyball and indoor game room. Come with your own horses as well, or enjoy strolling the pecan orchard and many other outdoorsy activities with your family.

• Walk in the steps of Sophie and Donna with your father or find your true love while walking the landscape of Greece, the backdrop of Mamma Mia! A 7-day cruise through Greece, Turkey and the Black Sea from $599 per person. Sail on the Norwegian Gem that boasts 13 eating venues, a casino, nightclub, kid's club, cigar club, 2 pools, video arcade and more. 

                                                  

• The Fiddler on the Roof probably didn't have money to go on a luxurious cruise like this, but if you want to experience some wonderful countries, including Russia, Crystal Cruises has wonderful selections, including the 11-day Jewels of the Baltic cruise that includes 2-for-1 pricing (from $14,010 per couple), free airfare and $1,000 cruise credit on the Crystal Serenity. The cruise docks out of Stockholm Sweden and travels to Tallinn (Estonia), St. Petersburg, Helsinki, Berlin and ending in Copenhagen. Aside from the usual cruise entertainment and distractions, the Jewels of the Baltic cruise can include up to 5 Broadway-worthy productions and Berlitz Language classes.

There were no cars in Paris when Beauty and the Beast met, but visiting Paris now, you can get around town for 20% less in Europe. Avis is offering this discount for bookings by November 5th on rentals between now and December 15th. European destinations this discount is good for include: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

If you find yourself in Chicago, you probably won't encounter gangsters or flappers or a murder (let's hope not anyway), but you will encounter food and probably want to know where to eat. Check The ChicaGO Guide to Special Values, brought to you by the Chicago Office of Tourism. It offers discount coupons for dining, events and attractions and even links to information on “always free” attractions and free days at museums!

• Celebrate the 25th anniversary of Les Miserables at the O2 in London on October 3rd. The celebration will showcase top performers from around the world including Nick Jonas, Lea Salonga, Matt Lucas and Alfie Boe playing character parts. This is truly a most unique performance. Tickets to the show and 3-star hotel night from £174.00 per person. Extra nights can be included.  
• You may not be keen to see The Producers while in NYC, but what about a Night at the Museum? Not the movie, but in the American Museum of Natural History. For $129 per person, you can skip a hotel and spend the night in one of the museum halls. This offer is available for kids 7-13 with a legal guardian and includes roaming access, a nighttime snack, breakfast and admission the next day to the museum during hours with sunlight.

• Save money on checked baggage fees by learning to travel with only a carry-on. 
• Walk all over in style. Dansko footwear in new, comfortable styles for men and women are in stock. Known to promote good foot, leg and back health. Get free overnight shipping on new styles and free two-day shipping on all others from Endless.com.

• As much as you see me running around telling everyone they should buy a Kindle because it is super awesome, I recognize it isn't the only eReader out there. In fact, Borders has several different readers. right now, the Libre eBook Reader is on sale for $100 until October 4th. That's $20 off regular price!