Last-Minute Vacation

[Elmorton]

Quick question: Has anyone ever booked one of those last minute vacation deals? Where did you go? What did you spend/how much did you save? Would you do it again?

Long Question: So, last winter I got pretty darned depressed due to a combo of no sun, constant snow, not enough work and not enough money. This winter, the outlook is much better, but I can't change the no sun and constant snow. The best news though is that I just realized that both colleges where I teach have the same spring break! DH and I still don't want to spend the $ for an all-out vacation because we just bought our first house, but we're thinking about stashing away some funds so we could fly somewhere for a few days on the cheap this spring.

We have good friends in Pheonix, Austin, and D.C. (not as warm, but I'm sure the Smithsonian has heat!), so those places are on the top of our list and I have a fare watcher on 'em. Other than that, we were trying to brainstorm where we could go (cheap) for a few days. I came up with Vegas (we're not really Vegas types, but I said if the place has sun and a pool, I'm good), San Antonio, Atlanta, and Orlando since those locations have relatively low rates from Chicago (or better, Moline IL).

Then I saw these "last minute deals" on Travelocity where you book a week in advance and get air and hotel - the prices were crazy cool, as in we could go to Niagra Falls this weekend for $462 (our air+hotel). We started thinking that it might be fun for DH to take off the work and then we'll just figure out where we're headed the week that spring break starts.

Has anyone ever taken advantage of something like this? Where did you go? How much did you spend/save? What site did you use? Are there good deals in the spring (I doubt a lot of people are traveling now, and I don't know if tix will spike during spring break time)? Anything we should know before planning to do this?

 

[MsP]

I''ve booked cruises last minute... most have been short weekend type things but a few years ago I booked a 17 or so day south american cruise about a week before it left. I think I paid around $700 for a cruise that most on board paid well over $4000 for. I''ve found that many times on these last minute deals on cruises, if you book an inside cabin, you''ll actually get stuck in a much higher class. However, if you care where your cabin actually is or if you want multiple cabins, probably not a good idea.

 

[neatfreak]

As a child my parents did this all the time. We''d decide on a week but wouldn''t know where we were going until we saw the last minute specials the week or two before. It was always a blast and we got to go to many places my parents couldn''t have afforded otherwise! As long as it''s a reputable company you''ll be fine.

 

[geckodani]

I have always wanted to try this and have always chickened out.

I''m impatient! I may try the same thing this year though. Take a weekend off and decide a few days in advance where to go. Those deals can be INSANE!

 

[MonkeyPie]

What are the best websites for this then? I don''t like the ones where you have to bargain and may end up paying way more than you wanted to.

 

[LaurenThePartier]

Not super last minute, but one of my favourite "last minute" vacation sites is www.funjet.com - we''ve been to a Jamaica and Mexico through them, and I was very happy both trips.

 

[LaurenThePartier]

For real Last Minute vacations, try former Site59 - http://us.lastminute.com/index.html

 

[Daydreamer7130]

A friend of mine goes on cruises ALL THE TIME... dirt cheap also. She uses www.vacationstogo.com
I''ve looked at the site myself and the prices are very very cheap. I''ll book my first cruise with them!

Cynthia

 

[Elmorton]

Thank you for the sites, Lauren and Daydreamer! DH and I have always said that we aren''t really cruising types but I''ll take any dirt cheap opportunity see more of this gorgeous planet I especially love the lastminutevacations.com rec - there''s a lot on there that''s stuff in driving distance, but some really fun destinations too - AND I love the feature for last minute Europe. I teased DH that we need to go to London this weekend (but I don''t think my passport is valid anymore after the name change..should probably get on that).

 

[NewEnglandLady]

I'd say the majority of our vacations are last minute--I find something really fun about deciding ot go on vacation and it happening within a week or two. We've gone to Aruba, Barbados and several U.S. weekend trips (love going back to DC!) last minute--and I'm pretty sure D booked our trip to Paris at the last minute (within a week of leaving). We found a cheap trip to Mexico over Columbus Day weekend and would have booked it, but I had to work on Monday. Mexico always seems to have cheap last-minute deals.

Needless to say, I love last-minute travelling. In fact, I prefer it, haha.

 

[somehowcollide]

I use travelocity too! Travelzoo posts some good deals as well. Have you considered Vegas? US Airways Vacations (formerly America West) publishes some good packages to Nevada, too.

 

[somehowcollide]

Date: 10/15/2008 9:46:27 PM
Author: Daydreamer7130
A friend of mine goes on cruises ALL THE TIME... dirt cheap also. She uses www.vacationstogo.com

I''ve looked at the site myself and the prices are very very cheap. I''ll book my first cruise with them!


Cynthia

This site was great Cynthia!

 

[fieryred33143]

I booked a last minute vacation one year ago to New York with my FI.

We got our flights with Spirit Airlines red light deal for $14 ($28 in total) from Ft. Lauderdale to NY.

Then we got our hotel for $110 a night. The hotel was the Holiday Inn Express Chelsea which was about 10 minute walking distance to Time Square and was a brand new hotel (I think at that time maybe only 2-3 years old).

for deals

 

[somehowcollide]

Date: 10/17/2008 9:09:25 AM
Author: fieryred33143
I booked a last minute vacation one year ago to New York with my FI.


We got our flights with Spirit Airlines red light deal for $14 ($28 in total) from Ft. Lauderdale to NY.


Then we got our hotel for $110 a night. The hotel was the Holiday Inn Express Chelsea which was about 10 minute walking distance to Time Square and was a brand new hotel (I think at that time maybe only 2-3 years old).

for deals

WHOA! Great deal, I bet the trip was twice as fun because you knew you were getting such a steal! BTW, your new sig line is CLASSIC.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

My sister and DH just did this going to Mexico and were quite diasppointed. Great prices--but they got what they paid for...

cheers--Sharon

 

[geckodani]

Date: 10/17/2008 9:52:48 AM
Author: canuk-gal
HI:

My sister and DH just did this going to Mexico and were quite diasppointed. Great prices--but they got what they paid for...

cheers--Sharon

I worry about that, which is part of the reason I have never gone for it. Hmmm.

 

[meresal]

I am very adventerous and get these emails every week. I suggest Travelzoo and Sherman's Travel. They come out with their "Top 20" new deals every Tuesday. Some of them can be booked pretty far in advance though, so starting to look now could really pay off as well. I saw a 4 day/3 night (incl RT air) to the Bahamas for $259/pp, back in April and you could book it for select days thru September. You can also pick from a variety of hotels at different "package" prices.

I almost packed up and left after work one Friday because they had a deal to Belize for $150 RT. The way I see it, is if you're looking for 5-star service last minute, then you're probably going to be dissapointed. However, those that are fly by the seat of their pants, and make the most of every opportunity are going to have an amazing time, because you're just excited to be there.

 

[fieryred33143]

Date: 10/17/2008 12:17:28 PM
Author: meresal
I am very adventerous and get these emails every week. I suggest Travelzoo and Sherman''s Travel. They come out with their ''Top 20'' new deals every Tuesday. Some of them can be booked pretty far in advance though, so starting to look now could really pay off as well. I saw a 4 day/3 night (incl RT air) to the Bahamas for $259/pp, back in April and you could book it for select days thru September. You can also pick from a variety of hotels at different ''package'' prices.

I almost packed up and left after work one Friday because they had a deal to Belize for $150 RT. The way I see it, is if you''re looking for 5-star service last minute, then you''re probably going to be dissapointed. However, those that are fly by the seat of their pants, and make the most of every opportunity are going to have an amazing time, because you''re just excited to be there.

Just as a side "haha" note: they do that because in September is high hurricane season and the bahamas is always hit so they know the chances of those that book that end up not being able to go (but not getting refunded either) are much higher.

My boss booked one of those trips but she was able to go and they stayed in Atlantis!

 

[meresal]

Hi Feiry

I understand that August thru Oct is high hurricane season, but to clarify (I reread my post and it looked like a total scam, lol) this one was for select weekends from May thru Sept. Labor Day weekend was the last day you could book the trip for. We were actually looking to book it for the July 4th weekend.

 

[krispi]

My previous relationship was LD, and I booked a couple of these trips back then. I can''t remember if I used travelocity or expedia, but I think it''s pretty much the same deal with either one. If you really are planning last minute, these can save you a lot of money. In some cases, it was the only way that I can afford to go. The only drawback to planning to book something last minute is that the pricing and availability changes by the minute. Sometimes I would be on there looking at flights and between me selecting it and the next screen coming up, the information would have already changed! (Of course, once you pay for the trip, the price won''t change...)