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Q & A on Mexico (Baja and Cabo)

I haven't written about Mexico in quite some time - perhaps I take it for granted too much. (My brother just returned from a 2nd trip in the last 6 months to Mexico so maybe it seems like EVERYONE goes there already?)

Budget Travel has published a Q & A about destinations in Mexico from Baja California to the Mexican Riviera and I thought it would make for interesting reading even if you have been to Mexico. I myself have been all over Mexico but still I never made it to Baja or Cabo, so this article/post had interest for me as well. It is titled "Q & A on Baja and Cabo San Lucas" and though not a detailed article, it does ask a few common and relevant questions. and may be a good start for anyone just thinking about Mexico who has never been there before.

Super Bowl Hotel Info

All Right! You just were handed a pair of tickets to the 2010 Super Bowl in Miami. That's the good news. The bad news is how much it will cost you to use these tickets, especially given that the game is only days away.

It may be too late to find a great airfare ()my advice would be to fly into Jacksonville or Orlando and rent a car if Miami airfares are through the roof) but you CAN still find affordable hotels. An article I located on Peter Greenberg's blog/web site mentions hotels under $100 still available. Of course they are out of the immediate area and some hotels are 25 miles away (that's the beauty of flying into another city - you have a rental car!) but if you want luxury, you also have your pick of $300 plus per night resorts and hotels.

Check out the article here.

How Travel and Technology Have Affected Travel

I came across a great article from USA Today about how travel in this last decade had changed. Why? Because of technology and terrorism. The article will speak for itself but I wanted to add my 2 cents worth of experience as well.

Remember (for you older folks) when you could wait at a gate for a departing flight and if there were any seats available, get on as a 'Stand-By' for a great fare? I recall flying several times to L.A. in the early 70's (on PSA - Pacific Southwest Air which is now just Southwest) for $25. Those days are gone because now you can't get past security without a ticket and airlines don't issue standby seats anymore.

I used to take my skis and bags to the airport the night before a flight and leaving them in a locker for $1 so I didn't have to schlep them with me on the shuttle the following days. That too is now gone because you can't leave luggage in lockers anymore and the rare baggage storage services are only in the international terminal in San Francisco and cost about $25 per bag now.

You could enter and exit the boarding areas at will also as well as wait for friends or loved ones at the gates. Those days too are gone as without a ticket or special pass, you can't get through security without a boarding pass.

In the end, we are far safer and glad of it but it is fun to "remember when" once in a while.

Wacky Travel Tales from 2009

From my very own hometown paper comes this lighthearted review of some weird events that happened in the last year to travelers. I found it amusing and assume you will too.

You can comment as you go from tale to tale. I know I questioned at least one item (RyanAir requiring 'brides' dressed in wedding dresses to book an extra seat and list it as "Miss Extra Seat." Apparently, they do not match ID's with reservations because here in the USA, you would need ID that said "Miss Extra Seat".)

Titled Travel's Weird and Wild 2009, you will no doubt chuckle at the Swiss Air pilot who dropped trou at the security checkpoint, tsk tsk the Newcastle pub drinking competition and be annoyed at the surcharge one airline assessed for a child's teddy bear as carry on. The other high (or actually LOW points) you'll have to read for yourself. 

Exotic Accommodations

Recently, I wrote about out of the ordinary locations people might stay who have been everywhere and seen everything. Now, I found an article about exotic and off-beat accommodations available to those who have an entrepeneurial spirit about them.

For instance, how about cubicles in the middle of a field in Spain? Or a single red 'cube' in France? There are houses and cabins over water, even a Boeing 727 fuselage sticking out of a house in Costa Rica. (And at only a bargain $400 per day!)

Yes, you would have to perhaps be tired of being pampered in luxury suites and penthouses and most likely to want to splurge on somewhat rudimentary accommodations, but I suspect half of the fun is just getting there and then having a memory never to be forgotten. And one few others share.

Check out this article from the UK and enjoy.

If it Truly Is a Rat Race..

Then at some point, we must learn to live like rats. Well, if not rats then hamsters at least. And the never to be outdone French have kindly allowed us to do just that - sleep like hamsters.

Now open in Nantes is a hotel that took a room and converted it to a hamster cage. Only the Hamster Hotel is not for your favorite traveling pet - but for YOU. A room complete with hamster running wheel and head pieces made to look like mouse ears so you can truly live and act like a rodent. Included in the price of 99 Euros (about $150) is grain to eat, hay to sleep on and a make-shift fountain of water. According to the owners, the price will go up when Wi-fi and HiDef TV are installed.

Take a look at this video courtesy of the Huffington Post. It features a French couple enjoying the cage (and no - not for breeding!). 

Which makes me wonder - what do hamsters tell other hamsters they are living? The human race?

Why PrePaid Hotel Reservations Are To Be Avoided

I have written several times regarding the risk versus the benefit of pre-paying hotel reservations. Most recently it was a post last March regarding the additional small discount you receive when you pre-pay but as a general rule, it does not make good financial sense to pay $100's if not 1,000's of dollars up front for an agency or hotel to use for months ahead of your arrival.

Here is yet another reason to think twice about pre payment for hotels. This sad story was printed by USA Today out of Hawaii about a Canadian couple who lost their pre-paid vacation because the hotel went under. As opposed to Third Party travel sites (which would re-book you somewhere else), there is no recourse when your chosen hotel goes bankrupt. With the elevated number of loan defaults and bank foreclosures lately, there is a greater chance of this happening than any time since the Great Depression.

IN my opinion, if you are pre-paying one night only, it might be OK to risk losing your money. But for this couple having paid for a MONTH? And now losing it all?

Not worth the risk in my opinion. But if you DO decide to take such a rosk, I always suggest you consider travel insurance and make sure your policy covers bankrupt hotels, etc.

2010 Air Fare Sales from SFO

An excellent present for 2010 was offered by Virgin America recently - low, low sale fares not only through Jan 31st, but for only $10-$20 more, for ANY date in 2010. The only restriction is no travel on Friday or Sunday.

But for those hankering to go to Boston next summer, how about $119 each way? Or only $39 to San Diego until Jan 31st? LA and Orange County are only $49 ALL YEAR after Jan 31st - only $39 until 1/31.

It looks like some airlines are not going to fool around trying to convince everyone they mean business this time and raise rates grudgingly for only a month at a time. Virgin will likely only be the first to slash fares for all of next year. I would suggest however that there are likely only limited seats so it isn't as if you could wait until June to book a end of June flight to N.Y. at only $119 - I suspect those seats will be gone BEFORE the Spring thaw.

But for those who plan ahead and know when they need to go AND are flying out of SFO, check out the sale here.

Exotic Places to Visit

Last month, a headline story on Yahoo caught my attention. Titled "Most Unique Places to Visit", the article went on to mention some truly unusual places to visit in the world that are not heavily traveled to. Granted, they are almost ALL in remote locations requiring a bucketful of dollars to get to, but if you are one of those that has been everywhere and /or seen it all, you may want to read this.

Other than salt flats in Argentina, I found the other locations very appealing. Trees that look like mushrooms, a monastery on a cliff - these are places I would love to see. Unfortunately, other than one site in Canada, none are close to home, unless you live in Bhutan or Socotra. There is even one spot in Siberia (not kidding).

If you go, send me a postcard!

Best Apps for Travel

 
U.K. based Globe and Mail asked 3 'experts' what were the top travel apps for Blackberries and iPhones. Because the answers even surprised me, I thought it would be worth passing along to you.

I was surprised from the get-go by realizing these new iPhones are replacing laptops in many cases for travelers. I should have known that since my brother constantly played with his new phone when we went camping last summer and he doesn't even have a computer. In fact, I am supposed to be the computer literate one and I don't have an iPhone or Sprint Phone or anything that even has apps on it.

The article mnetions apps that are sure to strike a chord with any traveler. Currency conversion, hotel reservations, maps, sports are just a few they recommend. You can see the whole article here.