Archive for the 'Spring' Category
Orbitz and Hotwire chart travel bargains for spring break and all year long
March 15, 2010 8:58am
If you’re looking for an affordable trip, here’s some help: Orbitz and Hotwire have researched top travel destinations for spring break and all year, focusing on spots that stretch your travel dollars.
The Hotwire Travel Value Index factors in low rates on airfare, hotels, car rentals and entertainment. It ranks Atlanta as 2010’s top destination. Orlando, Fla, is nipping at Atlanta’s heels, however, and Phoenix and Dallas-Fort Worth are not too far behind.
As for spring break, Jeanenne Tornatore, Orbitz Travel Insider, had this to say:
“While destinations like Las Vegas and Cancún dominate as the most popular spring-break vacation spots, travelers will find that some of the biggest savings can be found in equally appealing hot spots like [Mexico's] Riviera Maya and Cabo San Lucas. Mexico, in particular, is such an attractive destination for travelers this spring, with low hotel rates, inviting weather and new beaches.”
Shroud of Turin to get a rare showing in Italy
March 14, 2010 9:56am
One of Christendom’s most sacred relics, the Shroud of Turin, will be displayed to the public for the first time in a decade in Italy. The exhibition, at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Turin’s historic center, will run from April 10 to May 23, with Pope Benedict XVI making a special pilgrimage to see it on May 2.
Yes, this is the famous, much-debated linen cloth that has been kept in Turin’s cathedral since the 16th century and is thought to have wrapped the body of Jesus Christ after his execution. The faint image left on the shroud, of a man whose wounds are consistent with those inflicted by crucifixion, has won it legions of believers, while naysayers point to results of radiocarbon testing in 1988 that suggested the fabric was made in the Middle Ages.
Either way, the exhibition is going to be one very hot ticket in Italy this spring. Reservations are required, online or by phone at 01180007463663.
The cathedral is currently closed in preparation for the event, but the Holy Shroud Museum in the nearby Church of S.S. Sudario 28 Via San Domenico, remains open. During the shroud showing, Turin will mount a series of related events, including an exhibition on the image of Jesus Christ in art at the Reggia di Venaria, a 17th century Savoy family royal palace about three miles northwest of the city.
—Susan Spano, Special to the Los Angeles Times
Photo: Giuseppe Ghiberti, vice president of the Shroud Exhibition Committee, shows a picture of the Shroud of Turin during a news conference in Rome on Feb. 17 to announce a new showing of the relic. Credit: Domenico Stinellis / Associated Press
Colorado: 25% off Mesa Verde hotel + cliff dwelling tour package
March 12, 2010 5:56am
Surely Ken Burns’ PBS special “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea” inspired you to take at least one trip to a national park this year. Of course, there is always a lot of attention paid to the Grand Canyon, Yosemite and Yellowstone, but why not consider something different? Mesa Verde National Park in southwest Colorado is home to more than 4,400 known archaeological sites, including 600 cliff dwellings.
To celebrate the season opening of the Far View Lodge (April 22), there is a spring hotel + tour package that explores the park’s world-renowned cliff dwellings. The rangers on the tour provide interpretation and insight into the archaeology and culture of the ancestral Puebloans.
Deal: The Spring into Mesa Verde package starts at $139 and offers 25% savings on a standard room (normally $116) at the Far View Lodge and two seats on the new ranger-guided Classic Pueblo tour (normally $35 each). The three-hour tour includes Triple Cities, Square Tower overlook, Sun Point, Sun Temple and a walking tour of Cliff Palace dwelling. Some taxes, fees and entry into the park are not included. Use promo code: Spring10.
Spring travel deals: 30% off (or more) and $30 gift cards from Hotels.com
March 11, 2010 4:11pm
You don’t have to wait until Daylight Savings Time begins March 14 to clean up on great spring hotel deals. Hotels.com announced a Spring Sale with savings up to 30% off, a $30 gift card or both, but I found even bigger savings there too. Generally, the way this deal works is the longer you stay, the more you save.
Sample tested hotel deals:
San Francisco: I found rooms at Kimpton’s Serrano Hotel (pictured) for $99 per night, pretax, March 17-20. Booking through the Hotels.com website customers would receive a $30 retail gift card within 10 days after the booking. Book by April 6 to get the deal. But watch out — valet parking is $40 for a 24-hour period and $50 for oversized vehicles.
Chicago: The James Hotel was available for $133 per night March 17-20 when I clicked the Midwest deals under the 30% off section of the Spring Sale. If you were to only book one night, the price was $199, pretax.
Las Vegas: Caesars gets a new Garden of the Gods pool oasis, tourists get a great deal
March 11, 2010 5:58am
You might wonder why Caesars Palace has remodeled its pools, since it already had one of the most elaborate pool layouts on the Las Vegas Strip, but don’t think about it too hard. Just be thankful that Garden of the Gods, the new and improved 5-acre pool area at the casino-resort, is a playground fit for a Roman emperor or any luxury-loving tourist. Five of the eight pools (Fortuna, Apollo, two Bacchus pools and Jupiter) are new and will debut March 19. But you don’t need the wealth of a Caesar to experience this oasis.
Deal: Use promo code “PKGCGOG” to get the “Garden of the Gods Pool & Hotel Package.” It includes a three-day, two-night stay; $25 Garden of the Gods pool credit (can be used for food, drinks, merchandise or cabanas); and a pool bag with towel and other items. Rates start at $110 per night. Requires a two-night minimum.
When: For travel through Oct. 31.
Tested: The lowest rates in the package are for Caesar’s older “Classic” rooms. However, the recently renovated Forum Tower rooms are also available, along with the Palace Tower and Augustus Tower rooms. Many of the larger executive and emperor suites are not available.
Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve: Visitor center to open March 13
March 7, 2010 6:57am
Stalk the wild bunch this spring at the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve, where several types of wildflowers are beginning to appear. The Lancaster reserve’s roads are now open, and its visitor center will open for the season March 13.
Forecast: It’s still too early to predict how good the poppy season will be, said Milt Stark, vice president of the Poppy Reserve Mojave Desert Interpretive Assn., but several other wildflower species have started to bloom. A moderate number of poppy plants have been seen, and their flower buds are just beginning to form. It may not be until mid-April that large fields of poppies blanket the park’s rolling hills.
When, where: The visitor center will be open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends during the wildflower season. Fees are $8 per vehicle; $7 for vehicles carrying a senior (62 or older.)
Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C.: Travel tips, parade, fireworks, bloom watch
March 4, 2010 11:41am
If you are thinking about going to Washington, D.C. ,to see the cherry blossoms, plan a whole holiday around it. The city organizes three weekends of events, March 27 through April 11, with fireworks, a family day, a gala dinner cruise, Japanese street festival, cultural performances, a festival parade and more. Hotels have rates starting at $99 per night during the festival on Washington.org , and the National Cherry Blossom Festival has its own website packed with visitor info.
Here are a few basics to get you started:
When:
March 27: This is the best weekend for family travel. March 27 is called Family Day. There are lots of activities for children at the National Building, plus the festival’s opening ceremony with live entertainment.
April 3: Fireworks show on the Southwest Waterfront, with a lantern-lighting ceremony the next day.
April 10: The National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade
For more events and detailed information, visit the National Cherry Blossom Festival Events page.
Hotel deals: On Twitter, @washingtondc pointed me to three hotel deals at the St. Gregory, Beacon and Hotel Rouge, with rates starting at $114 per night. That sounds great, but if I wanted to go on the last weekend to see the parade, I had to test some dates to see what it would cost me. Hotel stays between Friday and Monday, I found, were often cheaper than stays Thursday to Sunday. Here’s what I liked for April 9-12.
> The Liaison Capitol Hill, an Affinia Hotel offered a weekend special of 30% off for three-night stays. So April 9-12 came to $375, pre-tax, instead of the regular $537. After taxes, the three nights in a room with a king bed for two people totaled $444.
Italy: Amalfi coast air + hotel + car for less than $1,500
March 3, 2010 6:00am
If you’ve wanted to explore Italy’s scenic Amalfi coast, above, or see the ruins of Pompeii, this deal positions you nearby, in Sorrento on Italy’s southwestern coast, not far from Mt. Vesuvius. Plus you get a car to take you wherever you want to go.
Deal: Sceptre Tours’ “Amalfi Coast Package” includes round-trip airfare to Naples, Italy, on British Airways; a six-night stay at Hotel Gardenia in Sorrento; and a manual car rental. The base price per person, double occupancy, pre-tax, from Los Angeles is $1,029 for March, $1,229 for April and $1,329 for May; add $130 to $200 per person for airline taxes. The lowest prices are for midweek travel.
For $99 more per person, you can spend your last night at Villa Franca in Positano, a town carved out of the mountains along the Amalfi coast.
Dates: For stays through May 31, depending on availability.
Spring break: Last-minute travel deals for students
March 2, 2010 2:28pm
If you’re in college, you’ve been counting the days until spring break begins. But not all students have the money to book a trip in advance. If you’re looking for some last-minute deals that fit within a budget that’s already strapped by books and dating, here are some low-priced getaways sure to provide an escape worth bragging about.
Top five bargain destinations for spring. “For college kids, I recommend Jamaica for cheap airfare, post-Olympic Vancouver/Whistler for deals, and Panama City Beach since it’s easy to get to and quite affordable,” said Anne Banas, executive editor of Smarter Travel.
Smarter Travel’s list of spring travel bargains includes sunny spots such as Jamaica, Hawaii and Panama City Beach, Fla.; Toronto, a less than weather-friendly city; and the under-the-radar locale of Gatlinburg (hint: it’s in Tennessee).
HAWAII DEAL: Three-night, $349 flight + hotel deal to Hawaii (departing from San Francisco).
Hawaii — is it high season? Great hotel + flight deals exist
February 25, 2010 5:58am
It’s hard to tell that it’s high season for Hawaii right now. Normally we’d expect to see higher prices through mid-April, but there are some great rates for flights and hotel rooms right now and through spring.
Hotwire Travel-Ticker pointed us to a great sale that claims to offer up to 65% off at 23 Outrigger and OHANA resorts on Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the Big Island. In addition, the AirfareWatchblog shows flights between Los Angeles (LAX) and Maui (OGG) for $386 round trip, including taxes. Pair those deals together and you have yourself an affordable, tropical spring break.
Deal: There are 11 hotels and condo resorts, such as OHANA Waikiki West on Maui, that start at $79 per night, the lowest rate in the Hotwire Travel-Ticker sale. Nearly all the lodgings listed cost considerably less than $180 per night, but the Outrigger Waipouli Beach Resort & Spa on Kauai starts at $215 per night. With so many properties to choose from, the best thing to do is read up on them individually and match them with activities that you’re looking for.
