Travel to Beautiful Mexico

Mexico has always been a popular destination for tourists, expecially those from North America. Its close proximity, along with its rich culture make it both convenient and somewhat exotic, allowing for a real feeling of escape from everyday life.

Most tourist destinations in Mexico are in found on the edges - Mexico enjoys some of the most spectacular coastlines in the world. Tourists flock to Mexico for the stunning beaches, majestic mountains, world-class diving, deep-sea fishing, mystical ancient ruins and even whale-watching in some places. Mexican resort areas boast a multitude of excellent quality all-inclusive and upscale resorts, as well as myriad other options such as time-share condos, rental suites and basic hotels and motels.

Mexico takes tourism very seriously, and they carefully plan and monitor many of their destination areas for best use of resources. They have been busy lately with a sweeping ad campaign, enticing travelers to visit their beautiful home, and many are reconsidering their usual Caribbean destinations in favor of Mexico.

Here is a list of the most popular and up-and-coming Mexican destinations:

EAST COAST

• Cancun: The original planned community developed by FONATUR (Mexico's Trust Fund for Tourism Development), Cancun lies on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. It quickly became popular, and in fact is Mexico's number one tourist destination. Set on an island-like peninsula, Cancun's hotels enjoy miles of powdery beach. Cancun is great for nightlife and scuba diving.



• Cozumel: Cozumel is an actual island just off the coast south of Cancun, and is known for spectacular diving. It is quieter and offers less hotel choices than Cancun, and Cozumal fans love it that way.



• Mayan Riviera: The area along the coast south of Cancun contains many small communities and is home to an uninterrupted line of spectacular beach. Many of these smaller communities are being purposely and carefully groomed for tourism, and areas such as Playa Del Carmen have fast become a luxury destination with world-class shopping and many elite visitors.

From all of these destinations, the Mayan ruins of Chichen Iza and Tulum are accessible. There is a water shuttle which runs from Cozumel to Playa Del Carmen (weather depending, it takes from 1/2 hour to 45 minutes).

WEST COAST



Many of the popular west coast destinations are cities, with tourist areas clustered mostly on the beach.

• Acapulco: Popular for vibrant nightlife and a variety of hotels, Acapulco offers water-and landsports aplenty. This may be the least 'Mexican' experience you can have while visiting Mexico - it is quite tourist-oriented and msot of the cultural references are rather commercialized.



• Puerto Vallarta: Made famous by the move 'The Night of the Iguana,' this coastal town has grown into a full-blown tourist destination over the past 30 years. Beautiful beaches, plenty of watersports, excellent food and nightlife options, along with a vast array of hotel choices make Puerto Vallarta a perennial favorite.



• Huatulco: This destination is in the soutehrn Oaxaca region and is much quieter than the cities mentioned above. Situated in a series of secluded bays, Huatulco boasts beautiful hotels and timeshares and is a lovely, fairly exclusive area. The beautiful scenery, golfing and diving draw discerning clientel and its popularity grows every year.



• The Mayan Riviera/Costa Maya: This catch-all phrase applies to a number of smaller communities which are quickly becoming world-renownedRiviera Maya

BAJA PENINSULA



Technically separated into the North and South regions, Baja is on the extreme west coast, south of California. Amazing deep-sea fishing, kayaking and whale-watching are all popular activities here.

• Los Cabos: This area on the southern tip of the peninsula has come to the attention of international travelers in a big way in the last few years. This stunning location boasts many upscale hotels, including Four Seasons, One & Only and many more. Many of the high-end patrons come here for the spectacular scenery, but also for its exclusivity and relative privacy. You may have neard of the popular Cabo San Lucas in this area.



• Loreto: This is an up-and-coming area mid-peninsula, renowned for unrivalled whale-watching opportunities. Originally a colonial village, this community expansion is being planned and promoted by FONATUR. Look for increasing popularity and many new hotels here over the next decade.

Find out more at www.VisitMexico.com and Cancun-Travel-Guide.net.

Save Money on Four- and Five-Star Hotels

As we all know, travel can get expensive...even more so these days with higher fuel and operating costs being passed on to consumers.

For those of you who are always looking at 'retail' search sites for deals, there are other options.

One such alternative is Priceline.com. Priceline is a website based on a bidding process, and they have a unique proposition for you: if you have a set date and destination in mind, and know which type of hotel* you'd like to stay in, they can get you a deal. Priceline customers need to be flexible about the exact hotel desired, and be able to travel with relatively short notice.

*While we will focus today on hotel room bidding, you can also use Priceline to get deals on flights and rental cars.

Background

Many hotels, once they have sold all the rooms they feel they can within a given time period, offer their 'extra' unsold rooms to sites such as Priceline to sell. For this reason, almost all hotel deals at Priceline are found last minute; a day to within a few days of your expected travel. The deals are well worth the effort - they can often be at least 50% off regular hotel room rates.

Priceline offers hotel rooms on a bidding system, which works as follows:

• You decide on the dates and destination


• You decide the minimum level of hotel quality you'd like to stay at (3*, 5*, etc.)


• You bid on a hotel TYPE based on your preferences, and then are informed of the hotel you've been appointed.

With a system like this, you MUST know what you are willing to settle for, and accept what you get once a bid has been filled. Because you won't know WHICH hotel you are getting until you pay for your bid, you must be careful in your bidding, and you must accept what you get. For instance, if you enjoy staying only at 5* hotels, be sure and bid accordingly. If you are willing to be more flexible with your star level or location, your options open up further.

Some of the successful bids I have made in the last year serve as examples:

4* Hyatt in Downtown Miami - Rack rate $179 paid $60
4* Monte Carlo on the strip in Las Vegas - Rack rate $249 paid $69
3* Holiday Inn Airport Miami - Rack rate $129 - paid $50
4* Hilton Airport Chicago - Rack rate $279 paid $60

An alternative to priceline is Hotwire.com. In this sister site's system, you put in your criteria and a bid amount, and then the search engine will return with an offer or several offers. You WON'T know which hotel/s are bidding for your dollars until you accept an offer. Based on location and star ratings, you can usually have a fairly good idea which hotels are involved. I often use Hotwire and Expedia as testing gorounds to see what the going rates are, and then place my bid/s through Priceline.

IMPORTANT TIP: DON'T PAY TOO MUCH! Be sure and visit the forum site www.BiddingForTravel.com for further instructions and advice on using Priceline and Hotwire. You will find useful strategies discussed, as well as recent successful bid details, which can help you determine how much to bid.

Bon Voyage!

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Resort Ideas for Your Ski Vacation

Are you into skiing or snowboarding? If so, then you face a unique challenge when booking a vacation, as there are considerations that would not cross most people's minds...you are not just looking for a warm, sunny spot to park yourself. You're looking for somewhere cold, snowy and mountainous!

Here are three key issues to keep in mind when looking at your choices:

 Transportation: Will you be flying, taking a bus or driving? Whatever your mode of transportation, you have your skis or snowboard and all related gear and clothing to bring with you, as well as street clothing for evenings and time off the slopes or trails. Be sure and check beforehand that your airline or bus company of choice can accommodate your storage needs, and if taking a car, that your roof rack and vehicle can handle all the extra stuff you need to bring.

 Type of skiing: Do you want pure powder? Then you need good-sized mountains and maybe even helicopter access. Likewise, cross-country skiing requires groomed trails, snowboarding is great at resorts which allot specific slopes or courses to snowboarders, and beginner skiers need tamer hills and maybe ski instruction. Think about your needs and the needs of those in your party when booking your resort ski vacation.

 Lodging: Where will you stay when you get there? Your options will range from a local hotel or motel to onsite resorts dedicated to skiers, often with ski-out lodges where you can literally ski right out your front door. There are resort ski towns such as Aspen, Colorado, which are almost entirely dedicated to the ski community and offer myriad options, not only for sport but for après-ski and shopping as well.

Enjoy your ski trip, and be sure to use the many more tips you will find at Travel-Like-A-Pro.com.

Travel Tips for The 'Two Weeks a Year' Vacation

If you are one of the millions of people who have two weeks’ vacation per year away from the office, you undoubtedly want to make the most of them. You’ll want to squeeze every ounce of fun, enjoyment and relaxation out of your vacation, and here are some tips to help you do just that.

 Know what you want: Don’t leave it until the last minute and then scramble around to book a vacation. You’ll end up paying more, and the destination is not likely to meet all of your needs. Especially if there will be children coming along, there needs to be some planning involved to be sure you all have a great time and your money isn’t wasted. This planning should be fun, not a chore. Grab all the travel books available at your local agency, and enjoy some time reading through them to see what piques everyone’s interest. Narrow down your choices based on what really appeals to you.

 Know what you like: Are you a beach person or a mountain person? Would you love to backpack through Europe, or visit the outback in Australia? The cliché ‘life is short’ exists for a reason! Don’t leave all those ‘someday’s’ on the backburner. Know what you like and what you would love to see and do, and plan your vacations around accomplishing some of these dreams. Especially for people who get very limited time off each year, the temptation to just ‘get away’ because it is a relief often overpowers the dream list. Don’t let this happen to you. If you only get so much time off, then make it count. You’ll remember that mountain you climbed for the rest of your life, while that 3 star all-inclusive you may have settled for would have been long forgotten.

 Do your homework: For each trip and each destination, there are usually various ways to make it happen, and various price points for the same features and details. By doing a little legwork yourself, you will not only save a great deal of money, you may even find something nicer than you would have otherwise found. As a little proof, I offer the story of a couple with three kids who searched around following this advice, and for the price of a suite for ONE night in Orlando, they were able to find a flight and accommodation package deal that allowed them to stay in a private villa with their own pool, in a 5 star resort community. This is not an exception – it’s the kind of deal you can expect to find when doing a little homework yourself.

 One final tip is to check out the travel insider secrets in the Travel Industry Secrets guide. There is nothing like knowing what the pros know, and it will save you money and hassle every time. After all, what’s your time worth?...

Have a great time planning your trip, and an even better time enjoying it. Bon Voyage!

P.S. To explore lightening your load and having more leisure time, try this infamous book by Tim Ferris, packed with brilliant ideas on how to work less and enjoy life more.

Honeymoon Cruises - Part II

When planning your honeymoon, a cruise holiday can be a great choice for couples who love to travel, and like some variety. Cruise ships come in all sizes and tour many different areas of the world, so you are sure to find one that is suitable for your needs, budget and wish list.

The following is the SECOND half of our general list of issues to consider when looking at a cruise honeymoon (please see Part I for the first half):

 Level of luxury: From barefoot Windjammer™ cruises, to very commercial mega-cruises that are sold at discounts and feature very basic rooms and food and cater to the masses, your options for level of luxury and refinement are many. At every size you will find more- and less luxurious options; it is simply a matter of taste and budget. Older, business-oriented people may prefer a higher-end cruise such as those offered by the Windstar™ cruise line, while younger people in search of a party atmosphere may not care as much about service, food and room quality and may opt for a Carnival™ cruise or something similar. Even within cruise lines such as Carnival™, there are higher-end and lower-end options, and those geared towards kids, vs. adult-oriented cruising. Do your homework, and select a vacation that suits your style and needs.

 Ports of call: Are you interested in the nightlife of cities foreign and exotic, or the waterfalls and mountains of a Caribbean hideaway? Would you rather spend your days golfing, riding horses on a beach, or shopping? Do your research and/or ask your travel agents about which cruises stop in ports of call that you would enjoy. While there is much to do on board, half the fun of cruising is enjoying the land-based activities available in the various ports you will stop at. If the activities or ports are not of interest to you, then you be stuck hanging out on board and not enjoying yourself...although for honeymooners this can be less of an issue than for others!

 Themes: Are you both vegetarians? Golfers? Waterfall lovers? Many cruises either cater to certain crowds, or have theme weeks. For golfers, for example, look for cruises that offer packages on day-trip golf games, onboard driving and putting ranges, and storage space catering to golfers. For those with food allergies or who need food prepared in certain ways, check into this before booking, as some ships do cater to such needs, and others will not as they simply do not have the time and resources required to devote to individual needs which vary from the norm.

 Daytrip Packages: Almost all cruises offer packages for trips to be taken in the ports of call. Cruise lines try to cater to as many passenger likes as possible, while at the same time covering the bases of each location. You will usually find at least a tour at each landing spot, and sometimes more elaborate choices such as diving, hiking or guided shopping excursions. Check into whether the tuor types meet your expectations and budget if you prefer to have your days planned. While many destinations are fun to explore with no planning, you can maximimize your time in certain cases by going with the pre-planned choices.

 Meal style: Many larger ships with hundreds or thousands of passengers organize meals by having pre-assigned seating times. In this way, they can serve a large number of people quickly, and then have a second seating and serve the same number again. The meal choices will usually be of decent quality but fairly limited as far as choice, to allow for efficiency. Most ships also offer more casual options such as buffet and outdoor grill-type restaurants and snack shops. In a smaller, more intimate setting, you may find you have the option of a 'normal' restaurant experience where they allow you to either reserve your dinner time each day or just show up when you are hungry and be seated to dine.

 What's included: From all-inclusive - which on a ship usually means all meals but no alcohol included in the price - to a la carte, where you pay at the end of your cruise for whatever expenses you incurred, be it spa services, meals, room service or day trips, be sure you book a honeymoon cruise that meets your budget. If you need your food to be included, make sure it is!


There you have it...some of the main things to consider when booking your honeymoon cruise.

BRIDES: For tips and money-saving ideas re: wedding planning, visit Wedding Planning Makes Perfect. Enjoy!