Vacation Packages - Travel Deals

Say the words “vacation package” to a bunch of travelers and you’re likely to get a mixed reaction. Some will shun them regardless of the details because they prefer to strike out on their own. Some only book vacations as package deals because they’re too busy to do the research themselves. Most people fall somewhere in between, booking vacation packages when it makes sense schedule-wise or it saves money.

The problem is that so many vacation packages advertise themselves as being big money savers when they’re not – especially when those packages are around a big event like the NBA All-Star Weekend. The good news is that you can do a pretty good job of figuring out whether an NBA All-Star Weekend vacation package is really saving you money. The bad news is that you’ve got to do some math in the process.

I know, I’m sorry.

It’s not as bad as it sounds, really. There are no spreadsheets or complicated formulas involved, and you don’t even need to get down to super-specific numbers. You do, however, need to break down the vacation package into its individual components. Here are the things to remember when you’re trying to figure out whether that NBA All-Star Weekend package vacation is a good deal or not.

>> The NBA All-Star Weekend in 2012 is February 24-27 in Orlando, Florida.

While some people consider travel planning to be half the fun of travel, if you’re planning a trip for a family group it’s often that much nicer when you can get things done more quickly and with fewer steps. It’s not a research project you’re always looking for, after all – sometimes you really just want a vacation. Which is one of the many reasons all-inclusive package trips are so popular for family travel.

But it’s important to remember that just because a package trip calls itself “all-inclusive” doesn’t mean it will be cheap, or even that everything is included! When you’re hunting for all-inclusive family package travel deals, you need to make sure you know what the details are before you get too excited or hit the “buy” button. Here are some of the things to look for when you’re considering all-inclusive family package trips.

Budget travelers are always looking for ways to save money when they venture out into the world – and smart budget travelers know that sometimes booking a vacation package is the best way to do just that. Anytime there’s a big event – in this case, I’m talking about the World Cup – the travel industry comes out in force to provide more vacation package options than you can shake a stick at, and many of them look really tempting. But are they really the great deal the ads say they are?

Vacation packages make travel shopping easy, it’s true – you get everything booked for your trip in one fell swoop. Vacation prep, done and dusted. But they’re counting on you thinking like that instead of stepping back for a moment to compare package prices with what it would cost to book each piece of the deal individually. Unfortunately, as boring as this might sound, it’s exactly what you need to do to make sure you’re actually going to save money by booking the package.

In the end, if the convenience factor means more to you than the budget factor, then a package might still be the way to go regardless of the savings (or lack thereof) – but this is definitely something to be aware of when you’re shopping around.

>> The next World Cup events are: Women’s World Cup in 2011, Men’s World Cup in 2014

Since tracking all of the latest and best travel deals out there is part of my job, the fact that you can get some really amazing deals at all-inclusive resorts right now certainly has not escaped my notice. Pair a rough economic climate with fewer people traveling with hurricane season and you have the makings for some too-good-to-be-true sounding deals on all-inclusive vacations in Mexico and the Caribbean. In fact, Cheap Caribbean is offering up deals on some all-inclusive vacations starting at just $49 per person/night—and that includes not only lodging, but meals, beverages and activities too. “All-Inclusive Resorts for $99 or Less”

You may have avoided going anywhere this summer to save a few extra bucks and keep those dollars in the bank account instead of in someone else’s pocket, but you are probably realizing by about now that staycations, well, suck. And, with some really great travel deals around this fall, it may be time to huck the money saving plan out the window and plan a cheap getaway that’ll wash the taste of not traveling this summer out of your mouth. Southwest Airlines Vacations. Affordable vacation packages to destinations from coast to coast.

It is certainly no secret that with the economy down, airlines and hotels have been hurting. Special promotions, great travel deals and coupon codes have made travel deals a plenty lately. This tough economic climate has also made Priceline THE place to score some really amazing deals on hotels. Since hotels are often left with a ton of empty rooms right now (which are then auctioned off at low prices on Priceline), you can score some really amazing deals on nice hotels by biding on them on Priceline right now. Since booking a room for a way discounted price is better than leaving it empty, even 4 and 5 star hotels have been auctioning off rooms at stunningly low prices. See Winning Hotel bids in Top Cities from $28 per night!

I have been known to suffer from some pretty serious post-travel blues. Despite the fact that almost no one will ever feel sorry for you after you return from a long and fabulous vacation and head back to work, it can be really tough dealing with being back from you adventures and sitting back in a desk chair. This is why I often find myself needing little weekend vacations peppered throughout my year to tied me over until the next big trip (one of the great suggestions in the article 10 Tips on Beating the Post-Travel Blues). Especially with 3-day flight and hotel packages for less than $300, you can also totally afford these little getaways while still saving for the next adventure. Flight+3 Night Hotel Vacations from $299