Traveling Mamas

Can you spot the travel deals with all the emails being sent to your inbox? Andre Moreau of WAFB TV in Baton Rouge, Louisiana asked this question and we tried to help him find out how to book the travel deals and how to avoid the scams. (Watch Money Monday Travel Deals video on WAFB.com)

The Deals

CheapCaribbean.com – This site advertises vacations starting at $249 with air. The $249 is a starting price and there are taxes and other fees that will be tacked on to your total price. This price is for departures from certain destinations and is for lodging at the Viva Wyndham Fortuna. I went to TripAdvisor.com to see what the reviews state, and I didn’t see anything horrible, just that it is a three star property and has a gorgeous beach.

Expedia.com – Andre found some packages that offer $50 back in the form of a credit card. There are tons of packages on the site for whatever destination you are dreaming of.

Travelocity.com – The airfare deals from New Orleans were astounding for the holiday season. A roundtrip flight from New Orleans to Boston was $108 plus taxes. There were so many destinations to choose from with airfare at an average of 40% off.

The Scams

Have you ever walked into the office and noticed a flyer on the fax machine advertising a trip to Orlando, a trip to Daytona Beach, a Bahamas Cruise, AND a bonus trip to Hawaii? All these trips for one low price of $199.

If it’s too good to be true, it probably is.

Today is the biggest online deals day of the year – Cyber Monday. We’ve got a few travel related gadgets that you may have on your holiday wish list, either for yourself or someone special. Here are some of the top items that are being searched for this holiday season, but they all have a travel twist.

E-Readers

Amazon started the trend with the Kindle and other companies have followed with their own portable e-readers. They come in handy for the traveler who is an avid reader yet doesn’t want to lug around an entire library. The Kindle is available on Amazon.com all year round, but is on special right now.

Handheld Digital Video Cameras

The Flip – I’ve been a big fan of The Flip cameras since they arrived on the scene and have the Flip Ultra and Flip Mino HD. The only downside to the camera has been a lack of an external mic jack. The sound quality on The Flip is horrible if doing interviews with people, unless you get right in their face. Fortunately, The Flip is now offering an expanded line of accessories, including Mikey for Flip, an external microphone (will be released early 2011) and s Scosche wireless microphone.

Kodak Zi8 – ThemeParkMom turned me on to this style of camera, which offers external mic jack and remote. The price is comparable to current Flip offerings and records in HD. The sound quality on interviews with an external microphone is pretty darn good! Add this with the remote capabilities and you’re on your way to producing some amazing online travel videos.

Solar Power
The Scosche SolBat II Solar Powered Backup and Charger provides battery charging capabilities via a USB port. This product comes in handy if you find yourself at a destination where electric power is hard to come by. Plus, the size and price are just right for the pocket.

The links to these products are affiliate links.

Did you miss out on traveling during the Thanksgiving holiday? Travel deals during the holiday season can be tough to find and book. It’s the time of year when everyone seems to be traveling from one end of the country to the other. We’re always on the lookout for travel deals and cheap airfare to help YOU save money so that you have a little extra in your pocket for shopping, once you reach your destination.

Back in September Bing issued the 2010 Bing Travel Holiday Forecast to give travelers an idea of what to expect when traveling this holiday season. For people who still haven’t booked Christmas airfare and are feeling a little unsure about what to expect, not to fear! Bing has everyone covered. Their Fareologists have done some number crunching and below is their updated travel outlook for Christmas.  Check out Bing’s Price Predictor, which will give you an idea of whether to buy airfare now or wait.

For last-minute travelers, there are still airfares to be found and the pricing remains relatively favorable, although you’ll still likely pay more than you would have if you booked early.  Find the best fares at www.bing.com/travel.

Travel during Christmas 2010 is looking a bit better than last year – great news for the frugal travelers out there! Holiday airfare to domestic destinations averages $400, down 7 percent from Christmas 2009, but 7 percent higher than 2008 fares.  With Christmas landing on a Saturday this year, the ticket for the most popular Christmas itinerary — Wednesday departure, Monday return — could cost $381 on average, up $14 from 2009. If your planned itinerary includes Thursday departure, Monday return you will likely find that your flight is a bit more expensive as this specific itinerary averages $408. If you’re looking to save money, your best option is to depart on Wednesday and return on Sunday. This option averages $343 — which is $57 less than the national average. If you’re not ready to shop yet, it’s still a good idea to set up a Fare Alert, so you can see the prices every day. Maybe you’ll see a deal you can’t resist!

Travel Deals:
If you aren’t planning on heading home for the holidays but want to get out of the cold, here are some notable deals this holiday season:

Christmas
• New York, NY (JFK)  – Orlando, FL (MCO): Average Christmas airfare is $272, down 28% from Christmas 2009
• Philadelphia, PA (PHL) –  Tampa, FL (TPA): Average Christmas airfare is $240, more than $66 less than Christmas 2009
• New York, NY (LGA) – Miami, FL (MIA): Average Christmas airfare is $320, down 22$ from Christmas 2009

*Please note all figures represent average holiday airfares observed as of Nov. 11 as compared to the same relative date in 2009

Southwest Airlines has announced a new fare sale today. One-way flights start at $59 to many destinations.

The sale is on from today (Nov. 9, 2010) through Nov. 22, but many routes may sell out, so you probably want to act quickly.

The cheaper airfare is available for travel on most days between Dec. 1, 2010 and Feb. 16, 2011.

Why not plan a January girlfriend getaway to Las Vegas or a romantic escape to Baton Rouge for Mardi Gras festivities?

My best tip for getting in on this deal is to be flexible. If you aren’t finding the sale fares for the dates you want, experiment with other dates close by.

Just in time for Veteran’s Day this month, Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort have introduced new discount offers on theme park tickets and hotel rooms for active and retired U.S. military personnel.

These offers are good through Oct. 1, 2011, and can be purchased by either the military personnel or their spouses. Active and retired members of the U.S. Coast Guard, National Guard and Reservists are eligible.

And the tickets aren’t just for the military personnel. Each eligible person can buy up to six tickets to be used by the military personnel and family and/or friends.

Here are the Disney Parks ticket offers:

Walt Disney World

• Disney 4-Day Military Promotional Tickets with Park Hopper Option for $138 each, plus tax
• Disney 4-Day Military Promotional Tickets with Water Parks Fun and More Option for $138 each, plus tax
• Disney 4-Day Military Promotional Tickets with Park Hopper and Water Parks Fun and More Options for $165 each, plus tax

Disneyland Resort

• Disney Military Promotional 3-Day Park Hopper Tickets for $99 each

It’s important to note that these tickets do have a few black-out dates where they will not work at the parks, namely right around Christmas and Spring Break season, and on July 4. Those are the most crowded times at the parks, so it’s best to try to avoid those times anyway.

As for hotel rooms, Disney is offering 40% off on rooms at certain hotels at both Walt Disney World in Florida and Disneyland Resort in California.

For information regarding Disney 4-Day Military Promotional Tickets for admission to the Walt Disney World Resort, or to make room reservations at the Walt Disney World Resort, military personnel may call (407) 939-7830 or participating U.S. military base ticket offices. For information regarding Disney 3-Day Military Promotional Tickets for admission to the Disneyland Resort, or to make room reservations at the Disneyland Resort, military personnel may call (714) 956-6424 or participating U.S. military base ticket offices.