Archive for the 'Cancun' Category
Where Americans die abroad, and why: By the numbers
November 9, 2009 5:58am
Of course you should beware of crime while planning and making your next international trip. But the numbers say that if you’re among the unlucky few to die, a car, bus or motorcycle is more likely to kill you.
Death by traffic is a recurring theme in a fascinating State Department Web page that I came across last week.
For instance, by the department’s count, of at least 126 Americans who died of “non-natural causes” in Mexico in the first half of 2009, at least 45 perished in vehicle accidents. The figure for homicides: 36. The figure for drownings: at least 22, 10 of them in Baja California Sur (which includes Los Cabos and La Paz) and seven in the state of Quintana Roo (which includes Cancun and Cozumel). Other types of accidents, and suicides, accounted for the rest.
Keep in mind that during that spell from January through June 2009, about 2.6 million Americans boarded flights to Mexico and many more visited by car or ship. The odds overwhelmingly suggest that your vacation will be nonfatal.
Mexico: Top-rated luxury resort in Riviera Maya offers half off and other perks
October 16, 2009 12:03pm
The consensus on Banyan Tree Mayakoba, a new-ish luxury resort on the southeast shore of Mexico’s Riviera Maya? Phenomenal, if you’re basing it on on TripAdvisor.com reviews.
The resort, which opened officially on the luxury development Mayakoba in March 2009, ranks No. 1 of 179 hotels in Playa del Carmen (Mayakoba is about six miles north of Playa del Carmen). Review descriptions include such comments as “best of the best” and “heaven on earth.”
Yes, this piece of luxury on the Caribbean coast is the kind that you pay a pretty penny for, but a stay here may have just become a little more accessible for some, with a current promotion meant to lure visitors before the holiday rush.
Deal: With the online-only special, book a three-night-minimum stay this fall and receive 50% off of the best available rate on the lowest price-level room, the “garden pool villa.” The starting rack rate on these rooms is $655 per night, pre-tax, so half off that means you pay $328 per night. The special also includes a complimentary daily breakfast buffet at the onsite Oriente restaurant for two people, and one 60-minute massage (plus 30 minutes of spa “relaxation time”) for one person. Read the rest of this entry »
Last-minute Club Med resort deal in October: Mexico, Bahamas, Caribbean
October 7, 2009 11:09am
There are still three more weeks in the month. Consider that when you hear that Club Med is offering a last-minute travel deal to Mexico, Bahamas and the Caribbean. Three-night getaways with departure dates this month start at $249 per person for its resorts at Cancun Yucatan and Ixtapa Pacific, Columbus Isle and Punta Cana, and Turkoise (adults only). But the sale is good for stays up to six nights, plus the seven-night Bahamas special.
Deal or no deal? When the sale crossed my desk, the first thing I noticed was that it was offering flights to the Bahamas for only $1 on Spirit Air. My gimmick detector went off, but I couldn’t help testing it anyway. The deal is valid on seven-night trips to Columbus Isle for flights out of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., (FLL) on Oct. 24 and 31 and Nov. 7. I tested booking the trip online for a departure on Oct. 24, and the total price for the all-inclusive trip including the flight for one person came to $1,352. Note that in this deal the single supplement is being waved for select room grades.
SkyTeam’s new Mexico Pass a boon for intra-country travel?
September 17, 2009 2:04pm
To see a whole lot of Mexico in a little bit of time, you’re probably better off traveling by sky than road. To help make ventures by air easier, global airline alliance SkyTeam has just added a Mexico Pass to its cadre of discounted-flight packages for various countries and continents internationally (like Italy and Asia, for instance).
Though the Mexico Pass program doesn’t seem to be up and running smoothly just yet, those eager for a long-winded, exploratory look at the country — rather than a quick one-resort stay — might want to keep this option in mind for future travel.
The pass allows passengers from the U.S. and other international departure points on any SkyTeam airline to obtain discounted intra-Mexico flights on Aeromexico. To take advantage of the special rates, you must buy at least three flight coupons for travel within Mexico (there is no coupon maximum), and these can be booked anytime before your departure to Mexico. All coupons must be booked outside of Mexico.
Some of the 42 destinations included in this pass offer are Acapulco, Cancun, Campeche, Cozumel, Guadalajara, Los Cabos, Mazatlán, Mexico City, Monterrey, Oaxaca, Puebla, Veracruz and Zacatecas. Read the rest of this entry »
Club Med: Get 7 nights, but pay for only 3 in Cancun, Ixtapa, Caribbean
September 17, 2009 5:55am
Club Med, the well-known, all-inclusive vacation resort with properties worldwide, is willing to give you seven nights for the price of three. They are calling it a 7-Day Weekend — but you still have to work for it. The cost? Agonizing over whether you bring the kid(s), ditch them for a lovers’ escape or skip out on your spouse and high-tail it to a sunny beach with your friends. Still single? No worries. You can take advantage of this deal too. See what I mean? Tough decisions to make. Then your next task is to decide whether you want to go to Mexico or the Caribbean.
Here’s how the deal panned out when I tested it.
Deal: Prices for the Club Med 7-Day Weekend start at $799 per person. For the family resorts, kids are 50% off. The offer is good at Cancún Yucatán, Ixtapa Pacific, La Caravelle, Buccaneer’s Creek, Turkoise and Sandpiper resorts, with limited availability. I started checking dates and couldn’t find the low rates. Apparently the deal is harder to find as you get closer to the holiday rush. If you are looking for the lowest price, try traveling in September or October.
Labor Day weekend travel deals — discounts to San Francisco, San Diego, Cancun, Denver, Las Vegas
August 21, 2009 4:31pm
It’s not too late to book a Labor Day escape. After all, the long holiday weekend is meant to give you some rest and relaxation. Ditch the barbecue block party and give yourself a night (or three) away. Airlines are having sales. Hotels are having sales. Here’s a long list of resources as you consider the best way to get out of town. As a reminder, Labor Day is Monday, Sept. 7.
Airfare sales: United has a Labor Day sale for travel departing Sept. 1, 2, 5 and 6. Return travel is valid Sept. 5, 6, 8 and 9. I found the following low fares for the holiday weekend. Los Angeles (LAX) to San Francisco (SFO) $115, round trip including tax. Los Angeles (LAX) to Seattle (SEA) $211, Los Angeles (LAX) to Phoenix (PHX) $115. In some cases when I was testing dates it was easier for me to find these fares using Priceline and Kayak than it was to use United’s website.
Big savings at the big travel sites:
Priceline has up to 50% off Labor Day escapes. If you are gutsy enough to name your own price on flights you can save up to 50% off when departing within seven days. Also, you’ve got three days left to use its End of Summer Vacation sale to save $125 off seven-night flight + hotel packages. Only staying four days? Get $75 off.
Expedia is on the tail end of its biggest hotel sale ever. I checked out its Mexico/Latin America page and found hotels 70% off if you book by Aug. 31 for travel through Sept. 7. Say hello to Cancun with flight + four nights in a three-star all-inclusive hotel starting at $470. Hotel-only prices weren’t bad either. The first property I saw with a four and a half star rating was La Amada Hotel Playa Mujeres Cancun. For travel Sept 5-8 the price was dropped from $300 a night to $120 per night for two people, pre-tax. If 24-hour room service or all-inclusive pricing sounds stress-free to you, consider a Deluxe Room at GR Solaris Cancun & Spa for two people that was marked down from $315 per night to an average of $189 per night Sept. 4-7.
Mexico travel alert from U.S. State Department
August 21, 2009 12:16pm
Citing rising violence, the U.S. State Department’s latest Mexico alert urges travelers to delay trips to parts of Michoacan and Chihuahua states.
The alert, issued Thursday, advises U.S. citizens to delay unnecessary travel to those areas and to exercise “extreme caution” if a visit is necessary.
The alert notes the abduction and killing of two resident U.S. citizens in Chihuahua in July. It gives no details from Michoacan (which includes the city of Morelia and the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, which draws many visitors), and a spokesman said he was not immediately able to supply more than was in the posted alert.
Mexico: See monarch butterflies in their wintering grounds
August 13, 2009 9:52am
Every year, millions of monarch butterflies journey roughly 2,500 miles from Canada and the northern U.S. to central Mexico highlands, where they spend the winter around local flowers, mating and feeding.
Visiting the butterflies en masse in their wintering grounds is said to be a remarkable experience. You may get a chance to see so many butterflies at once, in fact, that “you can actually hear the beating of millions of tiny wings,” according to a trip announcement by nature-expedition operator Natural Habitat Adventures.
The travel company’s six-day “Kingdom of the Monarchs Adventure,” offered 14 times between January and March 2010, is one way to visit the butterflies in an environmentally sensitive manner while contributing to their conservation. And a recent promotion by the operator offers extra incentive to book for a couple of the tour dates.
Deal: The “2010 Economic Climate Change Stimulus Plan” offers a one-time $500 discount per person, for monarch-butterfly trips departing Jan. 10 or Jan. 18, 2010. Read the rest of this entry »
Pleasant Holidays offers cancel-for-any-reason coverage
August 6, 2009 10:26am
Pleasant Holidays, the giant package-tour operator based in Westlake Village, this week began offering cancel-for-any-reason coverage to customers who book its trips to Hawaii, Mexico, the Caribbean and Costa Rica.
Unlike its regular Protection Plan, which refunds trip deposits if you cancel for reasons such as illness, death or job loss, the new Cancel Anytime Protection Plan Plus covers you for virtually any unforeseen cause, said Jack E. Richards, president and chief executive.
The downsides: Cancel Anytime Protection costs more (starting at $119 instead of $89 per adult) and reimburses you for only 80% instead of 100% for many of the covered causes. And of course, as with all such plans, there’s plenty of fine print.
For plan details, visit Pleasant Holidays’ website, call (800) 448-3333 or contact your travel agent.
— Jane Engle, assistant Los Angeles Times Travel editor
Photo: Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve in Hawaii. Credit: Annie Wells / Los Angeles Times
Mexico: Swim with whale sharks in the Yucatan
June 28, 2009 10:33am
Whale sharks, the largest of the ocean’s fish, are spending time in the warm waters off the Yucatan Peninsula during these summer days. Can you blame them? Probably not. Wanna join them?
These flat-headed, gargantuan creatures (up to 40 feet long, according to National Geographic) snack on plankton and small fish — and not humans — so swimming with them, though they move around open-mouthed, may not be as preposterous as you might think.
With Rosewood Mayakobá, on Mexico’s Riviera Maya, you can embark on a half-day guided tour by private yacht to seek out whale sharks. Once they’ve been found, you get to swim and snorkel with the fish. Read the rest of this entry »
