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Best winter travel deals
Many hotels and airlines are pulling out all the stops to offer great bargains
 Courtesy of G.A.P. Adventures Up for a camel caravan through Morocco? |
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Baby, it's cold outside! Looking for a shot of sun, and maybe a refuge from your 401(k) statements? We could all use a vacation — and no, holidays at the in-laws' doesn't count.
Cheer up: 'Tis the season for amazing travel steals and deals. Hotels and airlines aren't exactly raking in the bucks right now, either, so many of them are pulling out all the stops, offering some of the best deals we've seen in years.
Whether you're looking for just a fun-and-sun weekend getaway in Florida or Hawaii or an extended journey to an exotic cultural destination like Morocco or Malaysia, we've got advice on how to escape those winter doldrums on the cheap. But just like the economic free fall, these deals won't last forever — so start packing.
Note: The packages and deals posted here may be subject to availability, blackout dates or other restrictions.
For a complete slideshow of the best winter travel deals, click here.
1. Hawaii
Rule of thumb: Look for bundled air and hotel packages for the deepest discounts.
Why here? In October 2008, occupancy in Hawaii dropped to 63 percent of available rooms — the lowest level since just after Sept. 11, 2001. The state's economy depends on tourist dollars to stay afloat, so all sorts of deals are popping up to lure travelers to the Aloha State.
Best bang for your buck: Online travel retailers such as Expedia, Orbitz and Travelocity sell packages that include flights, accommodations and sometimes even car rental. Hotels prefer to discount this way because then you don't know by exactly how much they're lowering their nightly room rate. This means you can reserve a five-night stay at Oahu's four-star Turtle Bay Resort ("Forgetting Sarah Marshall" was shot there, and "Lost" is filmed among the property's banyan trees), including round-trip flights from Los Angeles on Hawaiian Airlines, for just $778 per person through Orbitz. Rooms normally start at $230, and airfare in January is usually around $400, so with the package you'll be saving about $400 a couple.
Travelocity has four nights at the ResortQuest Waimea Plantation Cottages on Kauai and round-trip air from L.A. for $703 per person. You can also book packages directly from a hotel chain's Web site. A mid-January weeklong stay at the Hilton Hawaiian Village and roundtrip flights from San Francisco on United Airlines, for example, costs $2,048 for a couple when booked on hilton.com but more than $2,300 when booked separately.
2. Sedona, Ariz.
Rule of thumb: Search out added incentives dangled by hotels that don't want to reduce their nightly rates. Even if the total is more than the basic rate, the value of the add-ons usually outweighs the increase.
Why here? For spa-goers, this desert town is massage heaven. You can get your fix at the Amara Resort, a blissful getaway along burbling Oak Creek yet still close to downtown.
Best bang for your buck: The Amara's Outer Radiance package starts at $445 for a night but includes a $260 credit to the spa. That'll pay for a 90-minute custom massage (including tip) or a massage lesson for two so that you can continue to work out the kinks back at home. You'll also find a bottle of wine and a fruit-and-cheese plate in your room when you arrive.
Not a massage fanatic? Try El Portal instead, a romantic hacienda-style hotel in the heart of downtown. If you're willing to take a chance and are planning to stay two or more nights, wait until the day before you arrive to book a room — if you call less than 24 hours in advance, your first night will cost only $99, Sunday through Thursday. Those more risk-averse can book ahead online and get a 10 percent discount through December. Rates start at $250 in the high season, but only $179 until March (excluding Christmas).
Amara
Tel: 800-815-6152
El Portal
Tel: 800-313-0017
3. Mexico
Rule of thumb: Where the dollar is strong, look for hotels that list rates in the local currency.
Why here? The dollar is at its all-time high against the Mexican peso. Provided you choose your hotel wisely, you'll pay less than ever before.
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Courtesy of Turtle Bay Resort Look for bundled packages so you, too, can surf outside Turtle Bay, Oahu. |
This Orient-Express property takes up five colonial mansions near the city's main plaza, with fountains and gardens hidden throughout. Every Tuesday, the chef offers a two-hour market tour and a cooking class for 600 pesos, or just $45. The cheap peso makes the dollar go farther in restaurants, too, of course. La Capilla, a moody, romantic former chapel, is the fanciest place in town, and now more reasonably priced.
Bonus: You'll also find the dollar climbing against local currency in Brazil and Argentina. Latin America has never looked so good.
Casa de Sierra Nevada
Tel: 800-701-1561
La Capilla
Tel: 52-415-152-0698
4. Naples, Fla.
Rule of thumb: The period between Thanksgiving and Christmas is always a slow travel time, so hotels sweeten the deal to bring in guests.
Why here? Early December is a perennial no-go zone for vacationers, and popular resort areas like Florida can't depend on business travelers — particularly this year. That's why hotels, even those that rarely discount, are pulling out all the stops.
Best bang for your buck: If you've got a few vacation days still to use this year, many Florida hotels will reward you for taking some time off between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort in Naples, for instance, is offering a Holiday Reconnect package: For $309 per night, you get a resort-view room, full breakfast for two and a $100 credit that can be used at the on-site restaurants, spa or shops. The 295-room hotel has two golf courses designed by Greg Norman and five restaurants. Guests can also hop a free shuttle to the other Ritz property in town, which abuts the beach.
What else is there to do while in Naples? Take care of any last-minute Christmas shopping at the Waterside Shops, an open-air mall where palm trees grow outside Saks Fifth Avenue. Or head to the Philharmonic Center for the Arts for a Holiday Pops concert by the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra.
Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, Naples
Tel: 239-593-2000
Philharmonic Center for the Arts
Tel: 239-597-1900
Tickets from $47
5. California wine country
Rule of thumb: Consider traveling midweek, when hotels that cater mostly to weekenders lower their rates to fill rooms.
Why here? Come Saturday, Napa and Sonoma buzz with tipplers from San Francisco, even in the winter off-season. But during the week, you can have the valleys to yourself, and at a very nice price.
Best bang for your buck: The Sonoma Creek Inn's Carpe Diem package includes a bottle of wine, two wine-tasting passes and a room upgrade for just $75 for one night or $145 for two, Sunday through Thursday. Request a room with a private patio.
Over the hills in Napa, the Art Deco El Bonita Motel in St. Helena has rooms for $99 midweek — a steal in a valley where even the deli sandwiches are overpriced. You'll find some of the friendliest pourers in the state at the tasting salon at Ceja Vineyards, which is run by a Mexican-American family whose parents immigrated to work in the fields.
And why not take advantage of a business hotel's reduced weekend rates in San Francisco after your weekday wine tasting? The Omni San Francisco Hotel, a road-warrior mainstay in the Financial District, costs $299 during the week but just $189 on weekends. Plus, staying over a Saturday night will help bring the price down on those airline tickets.
Sonoma Creek Inn
Tel: 888-712-1289
El Bonita Motel
Tel: 800-541-3284
Ceja Vineyards' Wine Tasting Salon
Tel: 707-226-6445
Omni San Francisco Hotel
Tel: 888-444-6664
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