Great Holiday Gifts For the Traveller

With Christmas just around the corner, you might be starting to feel some of that holiday stress. There just never seems to be enough time to get all the shopping done, not to mention all the money that just seems to keep flowing out of your pockets and with crowds of people all out doing the same thing as you, it's enough to drive the sanest of us insane!

Well today, we're going to help you with that by pointing you in the right direction for holiday gifts and ideas for the traveller and the best thing about them is that you don't even need to leave your house!

As a frequent traveller, let me tell you that I LOVE recieving anything that is going to help me simplify the travel process, or upgrade it for that matter! There are all kinds of cool travel gear and accessories that are available these days.

Have you checked out the online coupons site that I told you about yet? If not, then check it out right now because this is where you're going to find all kinds of great gifts and deals for the traveller in your family. Not to mention, most of these places are offering free shipping. So...there's going to be no trekking out to a 'real' store and no worries about shipping; now this is how you shop for the holidays!

So go on and get your coupons and when you get there, just click on the travel section on the left hand side.

Here are a few places that I really liked and recommend for their travel accessories:
Ebags
For really great accessories there, click on the 'travel accessories' link at the top of the page, you'll get a ton of links to their different accessories directories. There are some really cool ideas there, especially in the 'more' section!

Here's another great place:
Irv's Luggage Warehouse who also offer a lowest price guarantee. If you find an item priced lower at another place, simply tell them and they'll match it!

Remember before you go to make a purchase, make sure to get your discount coupons to save even more from these great online sites with the Coupon Chief!

Happy travels!

Top Caribbean Travel Destinations - Get Luxury For Less NOW

Top Caribbean travel destinations are here for the taking right now! Did you know that for the next 4 weeks, vacation prices are going to be at their lowest?

You'll find from Thanksgiving through to Christmas; resorts, cruise ships and flights to these destinations will empty out and if you've been dreaming about a Caribbean vacation, you'll want to take advantage of these great bargains!

Also, if you're looking to venture further out, you'll find the same for the major tourist cities in Europe and also Asia.

If you're looking for luxury, it is definitely available at a low cost in many top Caribbean travel destinations.

For example, in the Dominican Republic there are 4 luxury hotels that are being operated by Spain's Bahía Príncipe group and are opening in November where during these first weeks, 3 of these 4 star all-inclusive resorts are charging less than $200 per person!

Finding great bargains is all about timing. If you're looking for great top Caribbean travel destinations, now is the time to find it! This is the time of year that taking a last minute vacation to the Caribbean will pay off!

For those in the US try these CheapCaribbean.com Vacation Specials

For the UK I recommend thomascook.com

And for our fellow Canadians, I really like itravel2000

Happy travels!

A Thanksgiving Day Wish

For all of our subscriber's in the United States, we would like to send out a Happy Thanksgiving Day wish!

Be merry, safe and eat well!!! Have a GREAT day and ALL the BEST.

Happy Travels.

Airline Flight Delays - Avoiding It In the US

On Nov. 16 there were 2496 airline flight delays on that day alone! This week actually marks the busiest travel week of the year in the US and that number will likely only go up.

There is a great website that you can go to that helps us travellers avoid airline flight delays by providing historical data of the past year so that you can get a good idea of which flights, airports and times of the year to avoid.

Why are last year's statistics a good predictor for this year's airline flight delays?

Because air traffic activity follows cyclical patterns, it makes comparisons with the same month last year a Better predictor of performance than using last month's data.

For instance, last November the 5 most delayed airports were Chicago's O'hare, Newark, LaGuardia, Detroit and Midway. The worst time to fly into either O'hare and Newark was between 7-8 pm.

Be sure to visit www.avoiddelays.com to keep yourself informed to make better decisions when it comes to booking your flights and to also give you real-time information on delays and which flights are the most delayed.

Happy travels!

Best Caribbean Vacations - Finding a Holiday That's Right For You and Your Budget

How do you find the best Caribbean vacations within your budget?

Well there's a few things that you can do like knowing the best time to book and also, the right place to book from!

Getting the best Caribbean vacations for the least amount of money, means that you're going to want to travel when most people don't want to. Of course, you can travel during the off-season but since you're probably wanting to escape the winter blues, there are a few tricks that will help to save you money.

*First, you want to try booking mid-week. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the best days to fly to the Caribbean and as an added bonus, you'll miss the weekend crowds.

*Try getting either a really early morning flight, or a really late night flight.

*Also, being flexible with your dates is going to greatly increase your chances of getting the best deal.

Now as for finding the best Caribbean vacations, I've got a few suggestions for you that we think will get you great deals. When it comes to booking Caribbean getways, I strongly suggest visiting the sites that offer you package deals VS air only. These are much cheaper and better all around due to the fantastic, all-inclusive resorts.

Here a couple of sites that we recommend you check out.

For the US try CARIBBEAN Travel Deals

For flights departing from the UK to great beach holiday destinations try thomascook.com

If you've got a site that you'd like to recommend for us, please post it so that we can include it with future publications!

As always, Happy travels!

Voicemail Delivered to Your Email - Never Worry About Missing Messages While on Vacation again!

Voicemail delivered to your email in .wav files; have you heard of these services before? I hadn't but when I learned about it, thought that our subscriber's would be interested in it too. There are actually free services that will convert your voicemails from your landline and cell phones into .wav files and deliver them to your email box.

While this isn't the typical sort of blog that I do, I thought that it was a service that would be great for traveller's alike.

Why?

Because by having voicemail delivered to your email when you travel, now you don't need to worry about your messages from home and paying long distance charges to recieve them. Now you can just go, sign up for these services, set it to check them once a day, on weekends or just once if you want. Also, if you get a message that's really cute or just special to you, you can keep it forever! Just download the file and it's always there for you.

No matter where in the world you are, by having voicemail delivered to your email, you're only an internet connection away from home! Here's one that you can try out and of course, it's free. www.gotvoice.com

Happy travels!

Travelocity Coupons - Look For a Discount Here Before You Buy

If you're like us, you might not have realized that you can get free online coupon codes for your travel needs! You can find great discounts for things like Travelocity, travel accessories and even Amazon so that you can buy your favourite travel books for a better price.

So where do you find these great coupon codes?

You can get them right here by clicking on this link coupon codes.

What can you expect to find there?

The first thing that you should do is look at the column on the left hand side and click on travel and luggage to get a full list of travel companies with coupon codes for various deals.

For example with Travelocity coupons right now, you can find deals on domestic travel, 10% off of Las Vegas package deals and round trip holiday vacations!

If you're looking to travel and you're going to purchase from online, I highly recommend that you check out www.couponchief.com and see if you can't find a deal for you!

Happy Travels!

Marriott Residence Hotels - A Great Inn For an Extended Stay (Part 2)

Currently Jason and I are staying in the Marriott Residence Inn in Harrisburg, Pa and as I mentioned in our previous post, it's fantastic! Staff are extremely laid back, give great customer service and I think that part of this is due to the very comfortable atmosphere here. Even though it is a luxury hotel, the staff here don't have to wear stuffy typical hotel uniforms, they can wear what they want, even jeans! And that's just to help you understand what the atmosphere here is like; it's really a home away from home.

Here, you are very much encouraged to mingle with other guests, with their evening receptions and if you are fortunate enough to travel here during the summer, it would be just a FABULOUS little getaway. There is an outdoor pool, jacuzzi, basketball court, volleyball and even a barbeque so that guests can have their own little poolside party where you can make some great new friends! If you're looking for a healthclub, there is one located just a few miles from here and you can get free passes from the frontdesk.

It is a great location. At first, we weren't sure because it is in a more remote location, alongside industrial type places but really, it IS good. They have absolutely beautiful landscaping, with a courtyard and walking paths between all of the units and it is Very nice. It is also in close proximity to restaurants, shops and city center is only 10 minutes away. Not to mention that Hershey, the infamous chocolate city is a mere 8 miles away where there are chocolate tours, a zoo and a great big amusement park for kids and adults alike! Oh and plenty of factory outlets, which I'm pretty happy about but I'm not sure that I can say the same for Jason!!

While it is a bit more pricey to stay here, all in all, it is worth the extra money. Especially when you factor in the daily complimentary hot breakfast and the reception meals during the evenings Mon-Thurs...that alone can save a significant amount of money for food and since you have your own kitchen, you can really eat healthy AND be on a budget!

Do keep in mind though, that if you are here in the summer it is VERY busy because it's a pretty popular place and you can see why! So you'll find that during your breakfasts and evening meals, it's going to be very busy in the dining area and you may find that you'll be waiting for seats and standing in lines for the buffet style meals. If you're not one who likes to be around a lot of people, it may not be the best time for you. You could consider a trip during the off-season where of course not all of the great amenities are available but you will pay a bit less, have very attentive staff and hardly ever have to wait in a line!!

Overall recommendation for Marriott Residence Hotels?? GREAT!

We will let you know if our reccommendation for this chain stands when we travel to our next one in another week!

Happy travels!

Marriott Residence Hotels - A Great Inn For an Extended Stay

Jason and I have stayed at an abundance of hotels over the years and I've got to say that the Marriott Residence Hotels are at the very top of our list! We are currently staying in the Marriott Residence Inn in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and from the beginning it's just been a pleasure to be here.

Many times when you stay at a hotel for an extended period of time, as we often do, it gets very tiring and after about a couple of weeks or so, you just can't wait to get back into your own comfort zone. Our experience in the Marriott Residence Hotels has not felt that way at all! We LOVE it here!

The Residence Inn truly captures the home away from home feeling. With suites that feature a full kitchen, a living room complete with a fireplace and super comfy beds, what more could you ask for??

Well...every morning we get up and go to the buffet area in the main lobby where we are given a complimentary hot breakfast, and let me tell you, it's not just an ordinary continental breakfast; it's very far from that! In fact, it consists of a smorgasboard of absolutely wonderful food that is served by staff who truly go above and beyond. In the evening from Monday-Thursday we are also welcome to take part in the evening reception where we are also given complimentary foods...it's just fantastic!

Above all, we have not EVER received such fantastic service from a hotel, including other 5 start Marriott hotels that we've stayed in! So far, we do not have a single complaint and would highly reccommend this chain of Inns if you are looking for an extended stay.

If you're like us and your pet is an integral part of your family, you can't travel without them and you need pet-friendly locations; well this is it too. Pets are welcome as they are an extension to the family! There is even a large pet walking area that we've thoroughly enjoyed...I love being able to take our dog out and not have to keep her on a leash knowing that she can run freely and not have to worry about her at all!

Tomorrow, I am going to give more information about the amenities of this Marriott Residence Inn and also, the best times of year to visit and why! You can also look forward to another review of the Marriott Residence hotels when we travel to our next one in Philadelphia in just a few weeks! We'll tell you how their standards compare to this one and if we think that it's a safe bet to say that all of the Marriott Residence hotels uphold this level of OUTSTANDING customer service!

Happy travels!

Lufthansa Airlines - Our Travel Experience With a Great Airline

Just a couple of days ago, Jason and I flew overseas yet again. This time traveling from Europe back to North America for a stay in the United States before we head back home to Canada. We've flown with Lufthansa Airlines quite a few times and have always had good experiences but this time we just had to share why we think it's so fantastic and what makes a Lufthansa flight stand out for us.

Our journey began in Warsaw, Poland. The first thing that happened was a flight delay. Since we were connecting in Frankfurt, we were worried because we only had a 2 hour layover there, which is generally just enough time to relax for a few minutes and then board your flight. We were also travelling with our adorable dog Cammy, who comes onboard with us :) and we were stressed enough as it was! Fortunately the flight was only delayed for a half hour, and from the time we boarded, the staff was nothing short of fantastic.

Customer service is where I feel a Lufthansa flight stands out.

The captain was very appologetic about the delay and during the flight, every single passenger who had a connection that they were going to miss due to this, was automatically booked for another flight to their destination! We thought, wow! Now that is customer service if we've ever seen it! This didn't actually affect us because we had just enough time to get to ours, in fact as we ran to board the next flight, they were getting ready to unload our luggage because they thought we weren't going to be there!!

Now we were feeling a little more stressed but ok as we start to taxi down the runway but almost as soon as we start, we're stopped! The captain informs us that they are experiencing 'technical' difficulties and are going to be delayed for more than an hour while the mechanics fix the problem. He appologizes for the delay but to make up for this inconvenience, flight attendants immediately went to work serving everyone drinks and snacks. Now we've been delayed onboard many times and let me tell you, it's not a given that staff will go to this length for you! Once airborne, again, anyone who could even Possibly experience a delay was automatically booked to another flight without having to worry about anything themselves.

Another thing that we saw and experienced was the way the staff handled the customers. They really went above and beyond their call of duty to provide great service. Whether it was an extra drink, to sitting down and speaking one on one with a customer about their upcoming flight and making sure to share with them in detail, all the knowledge that they knew about it.

Even through experiencing delays and general travel chaos, Lufthansa airlines are a cut above the rest in our opinion! Travel with them was as much of a pleasure as you can get when you're on a flight for over 9 hours straight!!

With a Lufthansa flight, you can expect to experience exceptional customer service with extremely friendly staff and also be rest assured that should something go wrong, that you are in good hands. This airline will without a doubt solve your problem for you and often before you'd even get the chance to do it yourself! Oh and I almost forgot...for airline food, it was pretty darn good! You definitely won't starve on a lufthansa flight and don't be surprised when you actually enjoy the meal!

Though Lufthansa airlines generally does cost a little bit more, if you're considering flying overseas, you won't be disappointed having chose it! For us, they are definitly worth that extra cost!

Happy travels!

Tips For Air Travel During the Holiday Season

Traveling during the holiday season means that there is even more potential for air travel delays and hassles in general. Besides flying on less hectic dates, there are a couple of tips for air travel that will help you to avoid these travel hassles.

Strategically book your flights.

If you can book the earliest flight of the day, then do it! That flight is the least likely to be delayed.

Be smart about your connecting flights.

Look for connecting flights in cities that are less likely to be affected by winter weather delays if you can. In the US these include destinations that are in the South and West such as; Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Franscisco.

If you can follow these 2 tips for air travel, you will definitely minimize your potential for experiencing typical holiday travel hassles!

Happy Travels!

Cheap Holiday Flights - Do They Exist?

Do we have a secret method for booking cheap holiday flights?

Actually, sorry but no! The truth is that flying during this time of year means that flights are fuller and during the holiday season, are always more expensive. Avoiding crowded flights and high prices is tough given the amount of travelers all competing for fewer seats, making cheap holiday flights almost non-existant.

Having said this, if you can be Flexible, we can tell you what the worst days to fly are and which are better so that you don't end up paying the highest prices.

The worse days that you can fly on are probably the days that you want to travel! They are December 21, 22, 23, 26, 29, 30, 31 and according to Expedia, you might want to add January 2nd to this list. The best days to fly on are December 17, 18, 19, 20, 24, 25, 27, 28 and also January 1st and 3rd.

If you're looking to save even more because keep in mind, while these dates are going to be LESS expensive, they are by no means cheap holiday flights; travel even earlier in December or later in January.

Happy travels!