Cheap Flights - Travel Deals

If you want to go to one of Europe’s hippest and most happening places than you should take a good, hard look at taking a trip to Barcelona, Spain. Situated on the Mediterranean coast, Barcelona has something for just about everyone. If you are a foodie, you’ll love the cuisine. If you like the sun, you’ll love Barcelona’s climate. If you like to party like a rock star, you’ll fit right in with the city’s vibrant nightlife. If you like culture and history, Spain’s second largest city is also the place for you. If architecture is your thing, you can spend days admiring the unique and diverse buildings in Barcelona. In fact, the only way you won’t enjoy Barcelona is if you are someone who determined not to have fun.

I trust that you aren’t a curmudgeon and that Barcelona is a destination you would like to visit. I also trust that you would like nothing more than to find a cheap flight to Barcelona. Rejoice, good people, airfare to Spain is super cheap at the moment. I’m talking $400 or so for a round-trip ticket. That is at least a couple hundred bucks cheaper than what you will find at other times of the year.

When the temperatures start to feel crisp, the leaves begin to turn and the kids once again pile on to the yellow school buses, my thoughts inevitable turn to Germany. Autumn is a wonderful time to visit the heart of Europe. The weather is pleasant, the summer tourist season is over, and the beer is plentiful. Yes, let’s talk about the beer.

Oktoberfest is in full swing at the moment, which means unless you book a quick flight on a whim you are likely to miss the 2007 version of the event in Munich. Don’t despair, my friends. Germany has beer all year round. In fact, if you visit the same beer halls in Munich in, say, November, not only will you have less people bumping into you, but you will find the beer prices to be cheaper. And, yes, the beer will taste just as good a few months from now as it will right now.

If you are looking for cheap flights to Germany this fall or any time of the year, you might want to check out the deals on Condor. Their advertised rates on flights to Germany are among the most competitive you’ll find on the Web.

People who in London and New York City have it pretty darned good. Not only do they get to experience two of the world’s great cities on a daily basis, but they also seem to get the best deals on airline flights. I guess we can begrudge them the savings because they have to pay 20 dollars for a hamburger or 20 pounds for a martini.

Even if you don’t live in New York or London, you can still benefit from their cheap ass flights that depart from and arrive in those cities. For example, British Airways has a deal until September 27, 2007 where flights from the Big Apple to London are a mere $179 one way. As a general rule of thumb, if you can get a ticket to London for less than $400 round trip you are getting a very good deal.

Another rule of thumb. If you are paying $20 for a hamburger or 20 pounds for a martini, your stomach better send you a thank you note.

For more cheap flights to England or cheap flights to New York, cross your fingers, click on the links and be prepared to jump for joy.

Raise your hand if you woke up today and thought that it would be a nice time to visit Haiti.

Seeing no hands raised, I am going to assume that there aren’t many of you dreaming of visiting the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. That is a shame because not only are there really cheap flights to Port au Prince, Haiti being offered by American Airlines, but it is also a country that could be a fascinating place to visit for those inclined for an adventure.

You know the reasons why you shouldn’t visit Haiti. It is poor, it is violent, it is unstable and it is lacking a tourist infrastructure. But what about the reasons you should visit Haiti? For one, you will likely be the only one of your friends to ever go there. For another, it is a beautiful country once you leave the capital. For yet another, the Haitian people will welcome you with open arms and the money you spend while staying there will help an economy that sure needs helping.

If those reasons aren’t enough, I suggest you read Tracy Kidder’s inspirational book about Haiti – Mountains Beyond Mountains. It made me want to wake up this morning and travel to Haiti.

As much as I wanted to hate Hawaii I could not. I wanted to hate it because it is such a popular destination resort. I wanted to hate it because I had read the words “Hawaii” and “paradise” next to one another in about a gazillion travel guide sentences. I wanted to hate it because my idea of a vacation does not usually entail sitting in a stupor on a beach.

Despite my best efforts to dislike the 49th state in the United States, I walked away from my vacation there as enchanted as the people who wrote those gazillion travel guide sentences. Sure I found plenty of obnoxious tourists and yes I lasted on the beach for about 20 minutes and no I did not think that it was paradise on earth, but nevertheless I had a very enjoyable vacation on the islands.

The secret for me was getting lost. Taking the turns I was not supposed to take and doing the things that weren’t mentioned in the travel guides. Yes, this sounds cliché, but in my case it helped to discover the Hawaii that I didn’t want it to be. A place that is full of beauty and tranquility even if most visitors never set eyes on it.

You can discover your own private Hawaii thanks to some seriously cheap flights to Honolulu and Maui being offered by United Airlines.

You can learn just as much spending a couple of weeks in Paris as you could spend an entire semester in college. Your art education can be achieved by visiting the city’s many museums. Your culinary degree can be earned by enjoying some of the world’s finest restaurants in the world. Your physical education needs can be met by watching other people play soccer or ride a bicycle. Your foreign language requirement is more than fulfilled by speaking French to, you know, actual French speaking people.

Indeed, Paris is a city where one can learn about another culture and about herself. And it is also a place where you can let your hair hang loose and have a kick ass time. From music venues to nightclubs to hostels where the partying doesn’t stop, Paris has a nightlife that will complete your educational experience.

Flying to Paris can be done of the cheap, especially if you are a student. STA Travel has some outstanding deals on flights to the City of Lights. Even someone without an advanced degree can recognize that going to Paris while you can still get a student discount beats waiting until you have to pay full price.

For more insight into what to do in France’s capital, visit the Paris Travel Logue.

Student flights to Paris from $270 RT

I had a near death experience once. No, I wasn’t in a terrible car accident nor did my heart give out while walking up a flight of stairs. My brush with death took place in a comfortable middle class home in Scotland. That is where I was fed the traditional Scottish dish called Haggis.

For the uninitiated (otherwise known as the ‘lucky ones’), Haggis is made with the following ingredients sheep’s ‘pluck’ (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock. It is traditionally boiled in the animal’s stomach for approximately an hour.

I’ll take a moment to let you clear the vomit off your computer screen.

Now, why do I bring up such a vile dish that nearly killed me? Because it is part of the experience of travel. You go to Scotland, you eat haggis, you get sick and you remember it for the rest of your life. Such is the nature of travel. It is the odd foods and the odd experiences that are what make it different from everyday life.

Of course, if you take advantage of these great prices on flights to Scotland you’ll also remember the many wonderful things about your adventure. Assuming the haggis doesn’t kill you first.