airfare

10 Architectural Gems of the Resort and Hotel World

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 07:52:13 PST

These are locations that will provide an experienced or modest traveler with a one of a kind stay. Enjoy!

Gamirasu Cave Hotel

Gamirasu Troglodyte Hotel is located in the heart of Cappadocia, Turkey near Urgup. The hotel boasts 18 rooms that have been completely restored and reopened in 1999. The hotel is situated in a retreat that has been there for over thousands of years. This hotel is a perfect honeymoon and wedding destination.

Marqués De Riscal

This luxury hotel located in Elciego, Spain is nestled in the "City of Wine". There are 43 guest rooms, including 11 suites that overlook the spectacular views of the country. There are fantastic restaurants, an indoor swimming pool, indoor Jacuzzi, and 14 spa rooms specializing in "wine therapy" treatments.

Blue Lagoon in Iceland

This lagoon is one of Iceland's most inimitable attractions. The lagoon uses geothermal seawater that is scientifically known to clear the complexion and aid in healthy skin. The trip will be a purely spiritual one filled with nature, scenery, and air that is clean and fresh.

Daintree Ecolodge

Located in Queens land, Australia, this resort is nestled in one the oldest living rain forests boasting 15 lovely villas in a tree house setting. It perfectly secluded for romantic honeymoons and secret rendezvous'.

Magic Mountain Hotel

Located in Panguipulli, Chile this lovely secluded hotel contains 13 rooms, and 11 cabins that can easily accommodate 4-6 guests. The name of the hotel was derived from Commander Pepe who called this hotel his home in the 70's and 80's.

Machu Pichu Sanctuary

This ancient hotel boasts some of the most spectacular views of this historical Inca settlement in Cusco, Peru. The lodge is the only hotel located within the sanctuary of the Manchu Picchu Ruins. It has 29 rooms and 2 suites which have the most spectacular views of this sacred place.

Woodland Park: The Hobbit Motel

Located in Otorohanga, New Zealand, Woodland Park is more like a motel for the more modest traveler. Woodland Park has 3 amazing options for sleeping quarters that include a "1950's Bristol Freighter Plane fully refurbished into 2 beautiful self contained motel units." A 1950's Rail Carriage spectacularly redesigned into a completely self enclosed unit.The last sleeping quarter is an underground motel known as the "First Hobbit Underground Motel" with spherical glass windows.

Quinta Real Zacatecas

A part of history is reborn in Zacatecas, Mexico where the 17th Century San Pedro bullring has been converted into a luxurious hotel. The hotel faces the city's primeval vaulted suspension bridge.

Hotel Puerta América

Located in Madrid, Spain this hotel boasts a different design on every floor depending on the taste of the guest. There are 12 floors and each and every room was created by a different designer so make sure you do your research before visiting. The front desk will provide a list of different floor plans when you check-in if you are unsatisfied with the room you were assigned to.

Kakslauttanen Hotel and Igloo Village

Located in Lapland, Finland these glass globes are offered for guests that would prefer a cold or warm night sleep. There are 31 cabins that are situated quite close to the Arctic Ocean and the Urho Kekkonen National Park

Propeller Island City Lodge

Located in Berlin, Germany this hotel is packed full of amazingly designed architectural rooms. There are 30 rooms that are all instinctively unique. Depending on your idiosyncratic and adventurous taste, you will choose your ability to have a one of kind stay.

Check out 10 Spectacular Resorts around the Globe for some more Travel destinations.

Travel Cheap. One Month. Japan. $2000. How I Survived. Lodging

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 04:02:41 PST

Having a place to sleep at night can either be the most or least expensive part of your trip. I never spent more than $15 a night on lodging, many nights spending nothing. Couchsurfing.com is a great community of backpackers from around the world, willing to give up a place on their couch, floor, bed, etc. If you're traveling with more than 2 people it's usually hard to get everyone in the same place.

Hostels are key. Get a hosteling card. HiUsa.com has great resources for international and domestic hostels. Most hostels I stayed in were very accommodating, you may have to sleep in a 28 person room, but if you like to travel, this isn't a problem, your never there but to get some shut eye. Hostels are also flexible about dates and some are flexible with prices!

Many nights I slept in train stations and bus garages. I'm not advocating this for everyone but I traveled with a friend and Japan is a very safe country. The best way to do this is to pack light and put your backpack behind you, lock it with a zip tie or combo lock and put a strap around your wrist so no one can pull anything out while you sleep.

When traveling around the country, save money by taking buses instead of trains. A great method if your only traveling a few hundred miles is to take an overnight bus, while saving money on a hostel for that night and awaking at your destination. I went from Osaka to Tokyo on an overnight bus costing $50, and saving an extra $15 by not spending it on a hostel.

Remember when staying in a hostel to bring a small combination lock for your locker. Make sure you lock things up when your not in your room, even if you are using the showers.

While you lodge, instead of spending money on washers and dryers bring a small clothesline and hand wash your clothes in a sink and let them dry on a clothesline in a bathroom or outside, depending on hostel and time of year.

My friend only brought 2 pair of boxer briefs with him, he would take a shower with one pair on, then let them dry while wearing the other pair during the day, and repeat this every day. Might sound weird but he always had clean boxers and saved room on packing!

View the rest of this series on my $2000 trip to Japan, with tips of lodging, travel packing, and eating.

Safe Travels.

Travel Cheap For One Month in Japan, $2000: How I Survived. Airfare

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 04:00:38 PST

When I got my ticket, I had a general range of dates I wanted to travel. I wanted to leave sometime before the Christmas rush to beat the price hike and return sometime in January. Make sure when you travel to allow 3-4 days before and after major Holidays to buy tickets and it's always a plus to be flexible with your dates.

When it comes to finding the cheapest ticket, check all the travel websites first, like Kayak, Travelocity, Orbitz, StudentAirfare, Hotwire and so on. Begin to do some more research now that you have a base price and range.

Check airline websites directly, bypassing the bulk sellers of tickets, sometimes you can save a couple hundred dollars by going directly to United Airlines website for example. Ultimately I found the cheapest airfare through a travel agent, booking the flight for $630 round trip, total.

I flew Chicago to San Francisco to Osaka, previously I've flown direct O'Hare to Tokyo for around the same price.

To make some extra cash while traveling, when you get to the airport, go to the gate and ask the attendant how well sold the plane is. Airlines typically overbook 5% or so depending on flight. Put yourself on a list for overbooking, so if the flight is overbooked you give up your seat for someone else, get a couple hundred dollars in cash, a night in a nearby hotel and usually fly out the next morning. You can't beat this, if you do it on the way there and back you can pocket some extra cash, sometimes up to $200 each way.

One last tip, when searching for a flight avoid the summertime, it's always busier, pricier, and slower. Fly in downtimes and check for flights with crazy layovers. I saw flights to Tokyo that had a 20 hour layover in Rome. This may not be for everyone but you get a cheaper flight and enough time to run around Rome for a day.

View the rest of this series on my $2000 trip to Japan, with tips of lodging, travel packing and eating.

Safe Travels.

Fly Away! The Ultimate Guide to Budget Airlines Travel

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 11:13:55 PST

In the past, traveling by air was often considered a luxury because of the fact that airplane tickets cost such a substantial amount of money. Now, almost everyone can allow themselves to fly to their desired destination with the lowest airfares available. Using these great tips and links, airfare packages have never been easier to find cheaply

The concept of low cost airfares is not surprising, and it has become a new trend and phenomenon in the world of traveling. This concept has been well received by low and medium income families who can now also fly to their desired destinations. The foremost aim of the low cost airfare concept is to enable even more people to travel a great deal more often.

How Can Airlines Offer Such Low Cost Airfares?

The low-cost airline's main mission is to offer a more inexpensive, convenient and simpler form of transportation to its travelers. To achieve this mission, the airlines have to cut their costs to a minimum by eliminating some unnecessary expenditure.

The main feature of low cost carriers is that their airfares are extremely lower than other big-scale airline companies. In Europe, for example, their airfares are half or less than that the larger airline company's airfares. Many of these airfares are often lower than train tickets. Despite lower airfares, the profits of these airlines are often higher than larger airlines, with their sales profits going as high as 20 to 30%.

Low cost carriers do not use the major airports, instead they fly to and from secondary airports that are not necessarily the busiest. These secondary airports usually have lower operating costs than bigger major airports. Furthermore, the secondary airports are less congested and their “turnaround times” are shorter for the flights. Many European cities have more than one airport and for many small cities that are adjacent to the major cities, they often have their own airports. Because Europe's railways and highways use a very developed network, the passengers do not usually feel any inconvenience if the airports are located a little farther away from the major cities.

Low-cost carriers maintain lower labor costs because they mainly engage in short-distance business trips, and the pilots and crews do not stay overnight. Their wages are much lower than larger airline companies, and yet the average flying time is much longer. As the routes are allocated for only 2 to 3 hours for the short-haul flights, passengers are not usually provided with free meals. All foods and drinks sold are an addition.

No seats are reserved or allocated for passengers and so they will have to take any seats available, but luggage is allowed to be checked-in and taken on board.

The seating space in the plane is usually narrowed to allow more space for accommodating more passengers on board the flight. In this manner, their revenue can help in boosting their profits by at least 10%. Because flights are generally shorter, the passengers can easily accept the narrow distance between the seats.

These low cost airlines usually sell their air tickets via travel agents, travel-based search engines, and the internet, and do not need to rent a huge office space which may incur higher costs. By booking flights via internet or through an airline's call center, you do not have to pay a travel agent any commission, which would otherwise increase the airfares. You will end up saving even more money by not using travel agents to book a reservation.

Most low cost carriers cut their costs because no arrangements are made with any airline companies on flight transfers or connecting flights which would otherwise be reflected in the airfares. They employ pilots, flight attendants, operations personnel and mechanics who are specialized in a single type of aircraft, which saves the expenditure of re-training the staff, instead of maintaining a stock with parts for different types of aircraft. These are some of the reasons why the pricing is more affordable, economic and extremely low.

7 Essential Tips To Getting Low Cost Airfares

The low cost airline companies will catch your attention with extremely low airfares banners or advertisements that require you to book the tickets 6 or 9 months ahead of the traveling date. You have to grab these opportunities by making a reservation from their respective websites. These airfares get sold very fast.
Once the tickets are sold out, the low-cost seats will not be available anymore and you will have to pay more if you purchase the ticket later. You have to book the ticket immediately as it will last only 24 hours. In other words, you have to plan your trip earlier and book the ticket in advance. By doing this, you may be able to get the best deal that is worth every penny.
Now, you need to get a list of low cost airlines. You may use the suggested list attached in this article to choose your desired traveling destinations. E-mail the airlines to obtain some details on when their companies offer a promotional trip package, when the low cost airfares are on sale, and when to look for seasonal or discounted airfares. Once you get a list from them, you can familiarize yourself with the low cost airlines that fly from your local or nearby airport to your desired destination. This information may also be included on your local airports website.
With these e-mail lists at hand you will be one step closer to getting to know which new destinations are launched that can generally offer discounted or low airfares as an added promotion to attract tourists to visit those places. They also offer numerous packages which can include car rentals and hotels. This way, you can save money instead of paying for each particular aspect of the flight individually.
Browse through the dates on low airfare searches in order to find out how much you can save. You will be surprised to find out that the rates for weekdays, weekends, school holidays, public holidays and seasonal holidays all have different rates. You should try to travel during the off-peak seasons in order to get the discounted or low cost airfare packages.
Because flights are usually not fully occupied during the off season, you will receive better discounts. The airfare in general, is also less for morning flights than for evening flights because the airlines want to make sure the flight will be fully occupied before the plane takes off.
In some cases, you will have to be patient while you wait for the release of cheap airfares. Some big airlines buy tickets in bulk and resell them at lower rates through the internet. This is because they want to sell as many tickets as they can to make sure that their flights are fully occupied.

It is important to do some research trying various sources while looking for cheap airfares. The information is usually available at sites set up by airlines, travel agencies, or travel-based search engine sites. Internet is by far the best option to let you to search through as many sources in the fastest and most most effective way to let you obtain all the information you want. Search engines like Kayak, Expedia, Travelocity or Mobissimo enable you to search travel sites for the cheapest fares by simply entering the date of travel and the destination. After you hit the Search button, all related flights information will be displayed on the screen. If you are happy with the airfare, you can book your ticket immediately.

Remember, do not make a quick decision. You should always check on multiple search engines like Kayak, Cheapflights, Iwantthatflight, Attitudetravel, Qixo, Whichbudge, Cheapair, SKYSCANNER, Wikipedia or Bookingbuddy to compare the airfares. The travel agencies can have prices much higher or much lower than another. Make sure that you check with the airlines about whether the airfare includes routes (direct flights, stopovers or connecting flights), refunds or extra charges, and if their rules for cancellations before buying the tickets suits you.

A hotel plus air package is often worth buying because the prices are offered at a rate lower than the airfare without the hotel accommodations. Lastminute.com has been found to have some of the the best deals in this field. The Travelocity who owns Lastminute is one of the best options for you to book your last minute travel reservations while still helping you save money.

Always make sure that you keep abreast of the different airfares offered by various airlines companies. The prices fluctuate like the stock market and the airlines may update their domestic fares up to two or three times a day. If you are serious about saving your money, you should really check them out regularly.

Try to combine two separate fares rather than buying an individual airfare which will probably cost you more. Travelocity or another travel-based search engine may provide you with even more information regarding combining fares.

Where to Get an Affordable, Economic and Low Cost Airfare?

The links below offer some of the lowest operating costs for airlines in Africa, Asia, Europe, America, Middle East and Oceania regions and were compiled from various resources.