Archive for the 'Pacific Northwest' Category
Before Winter Olympics, travel to Vancouver via 25%-off Amtrak
November 20, 2009 5:57am
If you’re heading to Vancouver, B.C. for the 2010 Olympic Games, you’ve probably (hopefully) got your travel plans in place. But if you’d prefer a quieter visit, get there well before Feb. 12, which is when the Games begin and crowds descend.
Amtrak’s Cascades service provides an especially enjoyable means for pre-Olympics travelers to reach this “freewheeling and offbeat” destination. Direct services link Portland, Ore., and Seattle — among other places — to Vancouver, but the discounts currently on offer for the route may provide Southern California travelers incentive to craft together a trip too.
Deal: Amtrak is offering 25% off coach fares for Cascades passengers traveling between now and Jan. 31, 2010. You must book by Dec. 31, 2009. Discounted one-way fares from Portland are as low as $34.50 total per person; the trip takes about eight hours. I easily found availability on certain dates at this price. Read the rest of this entry »
Washington: Clam-digging season underway; scheduled digs and hotel deals this winter
November 12, 2009 11:18am
Are you manic for mollusks? Then head north, dear adventurer, as clam-digging season is underway in the Pacific Northwest.
Among upcoming clam digs in Washington is one on Nov. 16 at Olympic National Park’s Kalaloch Beach, scheduled by the National Park Service. The search at this coastal site, presumably popular with clam-digging types, will be for razor clams during the evening tide, with digs restricted to the period between noon and midnight. Other tentative dates for the season, meant to coincide with clam digs in other parts of the state, are Dec. 4-5, Dec. 31 and Jan. 1.
Helping to make such an excursion easier to plan, Kalaloch Lodge, a remote hotel within the park which Times staff writer Christopher Reynolds visited on a road trip in July, is offering related deals.
Deals: Kalaloch Lodge’s “Clam Digger” package features one night’s accommodations, a bucket, shovel and net, and breakfast for two for $169 per night (pre-tax). The equipment will be yours to keep. Experienced clam-diggers with their own tools, however, can opt to skip the equipment component and pay just $129 for the room and breakfast. Read the rest of this entry »
Seattle’s Inn at Harbor Steps hotel deal: Stay one night, get the next night free
November 9, 2009 8:25am
If you are planning your first trip to Seattle, staying downtown is a must. Inn at Harbor Steps, a Four Sisters Inn property, is right between Pike Place Market and Pioneer Square. Check out its specials page. There are several deals available, but I liked the “Stay One Night, Receive Your Second Night Free“ deal best. The rate for the guest rooms also includes full breakfast and afternoon wine and hors d’oeuvres. The offer is good Sundays through Thursdays, with rooms priced at $200 for a queen bed, $225 for two queen beds (no fireplace) or a king bed, and $250 for a king bed with a jet spa tub and shower.
Tested: You can view the deal online, but call the hotel to get the special rate. Just tell them the name of the deal when you make your reservation to get the discount. I called and checked dates for Feb. 21 to 23, and there was plenty of availability. Under the deal, the bill for two nights in a room with a queen bed came to $219, including tax, or about $110 per day. Note that there is only self-parking ($18 a day). There is no charge for Internet access, but you have to get a cable at the front desk; there’s no WiFi. Also, when I called (several times) after 5 p.m., my call did not get answered.
When: Good for stays Sunday to Thursday, through March 31. Blackout dates apply.
Caveat: There are a lot of blackout dates. See the full terms and conditions page before you call.
Contact: Inn at Harbor Steps, (888) 728-8910 or (206) 748-0973
— Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel & Deal blogger
Photo: Inn at Harbor Steps guest room. Credit: Four Sisters Inns
JetBlue 1-day sale: $24 to $49 one-way fares from Long Beach (LGB)
October 15, 2009 6:20am
If you thought Wednesday’s $44 airfare sale wasn’t cheap enough, you weren’t alone. Apparently, JetBlue also thought that was hardly impressive. The JetBlue Sample Sale has fares as low as $24 one way, pre-tax. Even better, of the seven flights on sale from Long Beach, none of the fares are over $49 each way. So, what will it be, a quickie getaway to San Francisco for $29 each way, or how about Seattle for $10 more?
Starting fares in the JetBlue Sample Sale from Long Beach, CA (LGB) :
$29 to Oakland, CA (OAK)
$49 to Portland, OR (PDX)
$39 to Sacramento (SMF)
$49 to Salt Lake City, UT (SLC)
$39 to Seattle, WA (SEA)
$29 to San Francisco, CA (SFO)
$24 to San Jose, CA (SJC)
When: Book by 10:59 p.m. Oct. 15 for travel between Oct. 22 and Dec. 16 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
For Pinot, go to Willamette Valley, one of North America’s best wine regions
October 12, 2009 1:02pm
It being harvest season, good wine has been on the minds of many of us. If you’re thinking about a real wine-tasting getaway, you’ve probably already considered Napa Valley and Sonoma, popular spots that rank No. 1 and 2, respectively, on TripAdvisor.com’s recent list of top 10 wine destinations in North America.
But for something more adventurous, head farther north, to Oregon’s wine country. Willamette Valley, which ranks No. 3 on the list released by the user-generated-review site, boasts the largest concentration of wineries and vineyards in the state, according to the Oregon Wine Board.
The 150-mile-long valley, sitting between the coastal mountain range and the Cascades, is “a lush rural area” with a “gently curvaceous landscape shaped by volcanic events, then polished by abundant Pacific moisture,” said writer Patrick Comiskey in his article “Oregon’s lush Willamette Valley offers a vintners’ bounty.”
In the region’s 200 or so wineries, many of them small, you can sample wines produced from cool-grape varieties. And if you’re a fan of Pinot Noir? Read the rest of this entry »
Super-cheap hotels: TripAdvisor lists top 10 under $19
September 18, 2009 12:36pm
Remember when the Rancho Bernardo Inn got all the attention for its $19 “Survivor Package” in San Diego? The resort was dropping its room rates based on what kind of amenity you “didn’t need.” At the cheapest rate, you got a tent instead of a bed. It was amusing, and definitely got a bunch of buzz around its promotion. Now, TripAdvisor has put together a list of “Top 10 Hotels Under $19.” Before you start wondering which of your favorite hotel chains are considering taking away their toiletry amenities and linens, rest assured that these bargains are global treasures, not necessarily luxury resorts in Southern California.
The hotels on the list ranged from $6 per night (El Panchan in Palenque, Mexico) to the Tod Motel & Hostel in Las Vegas ($17 per night). Although it would’ve been nice to not have any hostels on the list, because many hostels offer beds for less than $19 per night, I found the list to be a good reminder for travelers to think outside the box for budget travel. I thought that the Shiva Guest House (pictured) in Kathmandu, Nepal, for $9 per night, and the Dai Hoang Kim Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, $12 per night, looked plenty comfortable for vagabonders and backpackers.
TripAdvisor always has intriguing lists for travelers. One is “2009 Dirtiest Hotels.”
– Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel & Deal blogger
Photo: Shiva Guest House in Kathmandu, Nepal. Credit: TripAdvisor
Free hotel nights this fall through Expedia sale
September 15, 2009 2:27pm
If you’re shopping for a hotel stay domestically or abroad, take a few minutes to peruse Expedia’s new sale before booking. Its “Fall Free Nights Sale,” though a little unwieldy at times to navigate online, is generating some good deals on numerous properties.
Deal: With this Expedia.com sale, you can reel in your last night for free at more than 1,700 venues internationally on certain multiple-night stays. Though the promotion states discount availability for stays of three, four and five nights, I found one “second night free” offer (directly below) in Mexico. Yet, for some other properties, the deals didn’t turn out to be as good as I’d expected.
Still, it’s a worthwhile exercise to compare current Expedia sale rates with what you’d pay directly with the hotel or elsewhere. I certainly found savings; see below.
* Puerto Vallarta, Mexico: At the 208-unit Playa Del Sol Costa Sur resort, you get every second night free under this deal. Read the rest of this entry »
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]
Alaska Air fall sale lists cheap flights to Mexico, Alaska, Montana, Oregon and Washington
September 1, 2009 8:02am
It might make for a tough decision: Head up to the Pacific Northwest before it gets too wet, or take advantage of cheap flights to Mexico. But wait — if you’ve always wanted to see Alaska in the winter, or visit friends in Montana, this could be a good time too. Alaska Air has a sale on right now with flights to Bend, Ore.; Flagstaff, Ariz.; Seattle and Santa Rosa, Calif. out of Los Angeles (LAX) starting at $69 one-way, pre-tax. If you feel like skipping the drive, Mammoth Lakes is also on that list. (Remember, service to Mammoth Lakes begins Dec. 17).
Several cities in Mexico are included in the Fall Sale. Flights from Los Angeles to Mexico start at $75 for Los Cabos and cap off at $139 each way for Manzanillo. But flights to popular south of the border cities such as Puerto Vallarta start at $109 and Cancun, Mazatlan and Mexico City all start at $119 each way. Note: The low-fare calendar wasn’t working for Cancun, La Paz, Puerto Vallarta, and it made it hard to search for the cheapest fares. You might want to call if you have a tough time finding sale prices online.
September marks the shoulder season for Alaska. If you have questions about when to go to Alaska, Frommers breaks down what you can expect weather wise by seasons and months. December through March sounds like a lovely time to visit Alaska if you want to see the Aurora Borealis or try some winter outdoor activities like skiing, snowmobiling or dog sledding. But note that the Alaska Air Fall sale is only good for flights through Feb. 10.
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 »
