Archive for the 'Boston' Category
Paul Revere slept here, and more Boston sights
September 20, 2009 1:40pm
Get a free pass to the past during fall getaways to Boston, where a special program offers Freedom Trail guidebooks, walking tours, entrance to historic sites and hotel packages.
The Freedom Trail, a 2.5-mile path, leads to 16 significant historical landmarks, including the home of patriot Paul Revere and sites of events such as the Boston Tea Party, the Boston Massacre and the Battle of Bunker Hill.
Twelve hotel packages, starting at $169 per night, include extras such as free breakfast and parking, in addition to Freedom Trail activities. All the hotels are on or near the trail.
Contact: The Freedom Trail Foundation, (617) 357-8300.
— Rosemary McClure, Special to the Los Angeles Times
[Photo: Statue of Paul Revere stands outside the historic Old North Church, one of the stops on Boston's Freedom Trail. Credit: Julia Malakie / Associated Press]
Golden Ticket awards honor top amusement park rides of 2009
September 10, 2009 5:43pm
Amusement Today magazine awarded the Golden Ticket today to the Prowler wooden coaster at Worlds of Fun in Missouri as the best new amusement park ride of 2009 in the United States.
The Voyage at Holiday World in Indiana remained the all-time favorite wooden coaster, with Prowler claiming the eighth spot in the Top 10 wooden coaster list.
Diamondback at Kings Island in Ohio was named the best new steel coaster for 2009, moving into the seventh spot on Amusement Today’s all-time Top 10 steel coasters list. Bizarro (formerly Superman – Ride of Steel) at Six Flags New England in Massachusetts maintained the all-time top spot in the steel coaster category.
Schlitterbahn water park in Texas snagged best new water ride of 2009 honors for Congo River Expedition.
Three airfare sales: Take your pick — JetBlue, Southwest or Virgin America
September 8, 2009 6:41pm
Fresh from the long Labor Day weekend, Southwest and JetBlue launched new sales this morning. Fares are just as cheap on Virgin America too. Great timing, because I bet travelers are either thinking about the great holiday they just took and realizing they ought to take breaks more often, or had to forgo a weekend getaway and are still hoping to pack in an escape before the end of the year. At our convenience are three airfare sales.
JetBlue: The R&R sale has flights starting at $29 each way, pre-tax. I found flights between Los Angeles (LAX) and Boston (BOS) for $109 each way or $239 round trip, after taxes. When I checked Long Beach (LGB), there were flights to San Francisco (SFO) and Las Vegas (LAS) for $39 each way, pre-tax. I also saw flights to Seattle (SEA) for $69 each way and Washington (IAD) for $109 each way, pre-tax. Purchase your tickets by Sept. 10 at 10:50 p.m. for travel through Dec. 16. Some blackout dates and restrictions apply.
Southwest: Check out the Click ‘n Save 3 Days of Deals sale with fares starting at $49 each way. I found flights between Burbank (BUR) or Los Angeles (LAX) and Las Vegas (LAS), Oakland (OAK), Sacramento (SAC) and San Jose (SJC) for $49 each way, pre-tax. I also found flights between Burbank (BUR) and Seattle (SEA) for $69 each way, or Chicago (MDW) for $94 each way, pre-tax. Purchase by 11:59 p.m. on Sept. 10 for travel through Dec. 17. Travel valid every day of the week, some blackout dates and restrictions apply.
Virgin America: I found $39 one-way main cabin fares on Virgin America between Los Angeles (LAX) and San Francisco (SFO), and $69 one-way to Seattle (SEA) midweek. There were also $39 flights between Orange County (SNA) or San Diego (SAN) and San Francisco (SFO). I also found cross-country flights between Los Angeles (LAX) and Washington (IAD) starting at $99 each way. All prices noted were pre-tax. Purchase by Sept. 22 for travel between Sept. 12 and Nov. 18, Dec. 2-16 or Jan. 6 - Feb. 10. Some blackout dates and restrictions apply.
— Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel & Deal blogger
[Photo: In this July 19, 2005, file photo, a JetBlue Airbus flies over a pair of Southwest Airlines' jets from Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, bound for New York's JFK Airport. Credit: Associated Press / Reed Saxon, file]
How much are flights on JetBlue from LAX to New York & Boston? Plus JetBlue charity auctions
June 17, 2009 1:35pm
JetBlue fans are happy to have their favorite airline flying out of LAX in addition to Long Beach as of today. But how much will all that extra legroom cost the transcontinental flier? Service between Los Angeles (LAX) and (BOS) starts at $154 each way, pretax. I found a one-way fare for even less — $149, departing Saturday, July 4. The lowest fare I could find between Los Angeles (LAX) and New York (JFK) was $134 one way, pretax.
JetBlue is celebrating the launch of these routes with a campaign called “Let the Music Play.” In partnership with VH1 Save the Music Foundation, they are willing to match up to $30,000 in donations to help support music education in Los Angeles’ public schools. All you have to do is text LAX to 84465 to donate $5 to VH1 Save the Music. The charge will show up on your mobile phone bill.
There are also seven JetBlue themed auctions online at charitybuzz. Bid on a VIP Boston Red Sox package for four, four nights at the Sheraton in Nassau including flights on JetBlue, and a flight and hotel package at Miami’s South Beach Marriott. Those are just for starters — with all winning bids being given to VH1 Saves the Music with JetBlue
– Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel & Deal blogger
Spooky seafaring with Mark Nesbitt on fall ‘ghost-hunting’ cruise
June 12, 2009 1:14pm
We’ve heard about vampires slated to hit the high seas, so news of this ghost-hunting cruise didn’t surprise us. This fall, on Royal Caribbean’s Jewel of the Seas, Mark Nesbitt — historian, former park ranger, tour guide and author of the “Ghosts of Gettysburg” series — will headline a themed cruise meant to send chills up your spine.
The five-night New England/Canada cruise, Oct. 17 to 22, arrives and departs from Boston. Ports along the journey include Portland and Bar Harbor, Maine, and Halifax, Nova Scotia.
On board, Nesbitt will tell scary stories, but it sounds like the frightful fun begins in earnest off the ship. In Portland and Bar Harbor, participants can opt to join “spooky” tours, and a “ghost walk” is scheduled for Halifax. Other add-ons include an overnight stay at the allegedly haunted Park Plaza Hotel in Boston, and led by Nesbitt, a tour of Boston, with due mentions, of course, of Lizzie Borden and the Boston Strangler. Read the rest of this entry »
Tour the Northeast by rail with Amtrak summer sale
May 22, 2009 10:08am
If you’re planning to spend time on the East Coast this summer, consider doing some touring by train. Amtrak is offering discounts on its Northeast Regional line, which stretches from Boston down to Newport News, Va. Cities along the route offer countless lures — from the must-sample Manhattan museums and Baltimore crab cakes to unique events such as the National Capital Barbecue Battle in Washington, D.C., in June.
Deal: For one-way coach-class fares, get 25% off the lowest available rates through this current sale. Sample fares from New York City include $41 to Providence, R.I.; $48 to Baltimore; and $49 to Boston. Read the rest of this entry »
Underrated places: the Phillips Collection and Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
April 21, 2009 10:33am
This week, the Travel section regaled readers with places we felt were highly underrated — an eclectic list that includes spots as diverse as Carpinteria, EuroDisney and Goblin Valley State Park in Utah.
I have two art museums to add to the underrated list: the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. In each museum, you feel like you’re in someone’s home as you move from one painting to the next.
The Phillips is a far cry from the land of the huge Smithsonian buildings on the National Mall; instead, it’s tucked in a somewhat residential neighborhood near Dupont Circle at 1600 21st St. NW.
Its most famous painting by far is Renoir’s “The Luncheon of the Boating Party” (above), an enormous painting that founder Duncan Phillips bought in 1923. (Check out “Who’s Who in the Boating Party” at the museum’s website that identifies Renoir’s pals).
[Do you have a favorite underrated travel spot? Send us a comment]
Get on that JetBlue $39 sale
March 30, 2009 2:59pm
JetBlue continues to keep the competition hot for low spring fares. Flights start at $39 each way, pretax.
This latest sale is good most days of the week (Friday and Sunday excepted) with a 10-day advance purchase. Book your tickets by April 8 for travel April 29 to June 17.
Sample fares, one way, pretax:
$39 | Long Beach to Las Vegas and several California destinations, such as San Francisco (SFO), Sacramento (SAC), Oakland (OAK) and San Jose (SJC).
$69 | Long Beach to Portland (PDX) or Seattle (SEA) was only $69 each way.
$99 | I also found a cheap flight from Burbank (BUR) to New York (JFK) for only $99 one way.
$99 | Long Beach to Boston (BOS), New York (JFK), Washington (IAD). It was $10 more to fly out of San Diego (SAN) to New York and Boston.
Contact: JetBlue, (800) 538-2583
— Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel & Deal blogger
Roundup: Southwest tests Wi-Fi, Virgin America launches service to Boston; TripperBus has Wi-Fi too
February 11, 2009 8:19am
Good morning, travelers! It’s Wi-Fi Wednesday for all you road warriors out there.
Airline news | Southwest Airlines has started testing their in-flight Wi-Fi with Row 44. Jaunted has the scoop and makes a prediction that their Internet routes could include Vegas, Chicago-Midway and Phoenix. If you fly Southwest regularly, tell us what routes you’d love to see get connected.
Meanwhile, Virgin America is already catering to Web-addicted laptop travelers. They launched their California service to Boston today, on which there will be Wi-Fi on every flight. Virgin America will have three daily flights between Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and BOS, and two daily roundtrips between San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and BOS. They are using Gogo in-flight Wi-Fi, $12.95.
Fare wars – would you rather fly on JetBlue or Virgin America LAX-BOS?
February 4, 2009 6:18pm
On Tuesday we talked about the Virgin America airfare sale, but today JetBlue announced its $105 one-way price to Boston and New York. JetBlue is celebrating the launch of its new service between Los Angeles and the East Coast (twice-daily service to JFK and BOS), which begins June 17. Virgin America, which launches its LAX-BOS service Feb. 12, matched the $105 fare without fanfare. (Tip: plug in the same dates as the JetBlue deal on the Virgin America site and you’ll see the $105 rate).
“With taxes and fees, a Southern California traveler will be able to fly nonstop to the East Coast for as low as $231 round trip this summer. It’s the lowest such price the industry has seen in recent memory for high-demand summer travel,” said Los Angeles Times staff writer Peter Pae in his article “JetBlue, Virgin America announce low fares from LAX to East Coast”
When the prices are that cheap, how do you choose which airline to fly on?
Here are some comparison points between flights from Los Angeles (LAX) and Boston (BOS) on the two airlines.
