National Park Lodges from $128.00/Night

I just ran across this deal at Sherman's Travel and wanted to post it in case anyone is thinking of a National Park vacation this summer.

An excerpt: "From thunderous waterfalls to picturesque canyons and starry skies, America’s national parks give you a taste of the wilderness, but also offer some great lodges right on the grounds so you don’t necessarily have to rough it. We’ve rounded up five summer specials at rustic cabins and lodges in Shenandoah, Denali, Yosemite, and more from only $128/night. All packages are for summer travel and fill up fast – so book now before you hit the road."

To read more about the deals (you can also get a free subscription to their e-mail newsletter with travel deals), click this link.

Ten Ways to Avoid New Airline Fees

Most of us have watched over recent months as airlines have begun imposing fees on items that have heretofore been free. Some airlines are now charging you to check even one bag. Most are charging for in-flight meals, and some even for non-alcoholic beverages including bottled water. Some airlines charge you if you want to reserve a window seat or an aisle seat... the list goes on.

I first noticed these on discount airlines like Spirit, about whom I've written often on the blog. I didn't mind it with them so much since they were a discount airline, and I figured the airfares were low enough that the add-ons still kept the whole deal as a bargain. But now the practice of charging these extra fees has been spreading to the major airlines.

For an upcoming trip in Europe we used flylc.com (see my blog post about them) to find some discount travel between various European cities and were dismayed at all the extra fees. We were able to trim some by making arrangements in a way that lets us leave some of our baggage at someone's home so we can make our intra-Europe travel with less baggage and check just one bag.

We booked an upcoming trip in the U.S. and were able to find a carrier that doesn't charge for the first bag to be checked, so that was a bit of savings.

But I just ran across an article originally written by the people at Sherman's Travel and published on msn.com that lists ten ways to avoid some of these new fees.

Here's a summary of their tips:
1. Get a lightweight carry-on bag and carry on all your items if possible
2. Check any bags wisely to avoid any overweight fees
3. Join frequent flyer clubs -- elite members may waive baggage fees
4. Don't pay premium for your seat type; check-in on-line 24 hours ahead
5. Pack comfort items such as neck pillows, and bring a sweater
6. Bring your own headphones
7. Bring some items to eat
8. Pleasantly complain about the charge for a soft drink; they may waive it
9. See if your hotel will reimburse you for airline bag-check fees
10. Fly Southwest which is still abstaining from fees like these.

I wrote a blog post a while back about traveling in more comfort using some carry-on items like noise-canceling headphones, a comfortable eye patch, neck pillow and the First Class Sleeper inflatable seat pillow. They really help make it through some coach travel with less aggravation.

If you'd like to read the whole Sherman's article at msn.com, here's the link.

Thailand: Bangkok and Phuket Combo Trip -- 6 Nights Hotel, Breakfast & Roundtrip Airfare from LA from $945 and Up

Things seem to go in cycles, and after posting one exotic destination (Tahiti) last night, here's another deal that hit my e-mail today from Sherman's travel newsletter: Thailand. The package combines three nights in the very exotic Bangkok, with three nights at the island of Phuket. For travel during May, they have packages including roundtrip airfare from LA starting at $945. Taxes/airport fees etc. are additional and add about another $360.

That's a pretty nice price to let you explore the temples, history and culture of Bangkok and visit the beaches of Phuket.

They have packages departing from other US cities, and you can choose various hotels to customize your stay to your travel style (although prices would vary).

So if you've had a dream about visiting Thailand, why not see if this helps your dream come true? Click on this link for the offer details.

Today, Act Quick -- Another Day of Spirit Air Specials!

Today only (book by 11:59 tonight) Spirit Airlines is back with some of those low roundtrips I've written about. For those of you new to my blog, it's where I was able to book a 2-cent roundtrip to Vegas!

Some of the low fares today include: New York/Detroit for $6 roundtrip; Fort Lauderdale to Puerto Rico or Washington DC $16 roundtrip; Los Angeles to Fort Lauderdale for $110 roundtrip (even if it's not an almost-free fare like some others, $110 coast-to-coast sounds pretty low to me). Fares are for some specific dates, and taxes/fees are added (as with all airline tickets). Click on this link.

Spirit has also started something called the $9 Fare Club -- they have an even wider assortment of lower fares, but the club has a small membership fee: $9 for a 3-month trial and $29.95 annually. But as an example, in addition to the low fares above, a $9 Club member would be able to get some even lower fares today, such as Fort Lauderdale to Jamaica (Kingston or Montego Bay) for $2 roundtrip!

Anyway, travel bargains keep popping up, and I will try and pass some along -- there are so many that I'd fill up my blog if I tried and write them all. If you like looking for special travel deals and haven't subscribed to Travelzoo and Shermans Travel, I would do that. But sometimes these special offers pop up elsewhere too! So keep checking in often!

Travel Newsletters by Email -- great source of ideas (and daydreams)

In one on my earlier entries, I mentioned how I found a 2-cent round-trip airfare to Las Vegas when I saw a note on one of the travel newsletters to which I subscribe. I can't recall exactly when or how I first found the newsletters but they've been a blessing. I've gotten some great deals on trips I was taking anyway, found a couple of amazing bargains, and (if you love travel the way I do) gave me a chance to daydream about some great new destination I hadn't thought of.

The first one to which I subscribed was called Travelzoo -- every week they send an email with the best 20 travel deals they find. It's all text so it's pretty quick to scan. When you click on a link in the email it takes you to that travel deal so you can get the details and book it if the deal works for you.

Not long after I found Travelzoo I stumbled onto a second one called Shermans Travel. They function similarly, although they send out a Top 25 instead of 20 and their email includes some photos. Sometimes they will have several of the same offers but there are always some that one has and the other doesn't. So I think it's worth subscribing to both.

I like both of them because they are just providing me info, they don't seem to be pushing to make a sale. So it becomes fun just to look, browse, occasionally click on one just to see some more details and get ideas for future travel.

After I subscribed, I didn't notice any rise in commercial emails into my in-box so it doesn't look like this opens you up to lots of spam emails. But I know you can never be sure. So here's what I did and would suggest for people who want to keep some email sanity: for my commercial dealings, I got a second email address. There are many sources now for free email service (I use hotmail, my wife uses yahoo, and there's always google too). I set up a second box there, so the main address I give out to friends and family is one address, and there's a second address where emails from businesses etc come in. It can take a bit of time to look at two email accounts, but this way when I want to check on my more individual and direct email from people I know I use my main account and this system keeps it more free of commercial spam. And on the business/general email account I figure I'll get more spam but rely on the spam filters to at least keep it somewhat manageable.

So my advice: if you like to or need to travel, subscribing to Travelzoo and Shermans Travel is a no-brainer!