Most of us like to travel. Whether it just be a couple hundred miles in the car for a weekend getaway, or clear across the globe for a summer in Italy. Naturally when we venture far from home we must turn to air travel. So the search begins for low-priced airplane tickets. Sometimes I can't help but wonder if there truly is such a thing. Even after scouring the web, I often come up empty handed. Please tell me this is not just a dilemma exclusive to me. No offense to the "deal sites," but sometimes they just don't come through.
You have travelocity.com, orbitz.com and cheaptickets.com. I won't even try to name them all. The goal of these websites is to provide folks like you and me with low-priced airplane tickets. Or is it? You know how they tell you to name your price? Well, that routine just doesn't seem to work for me. Oh I name my price alright, but it never lets me purchase airplane tickets for that desired cost. And I'm not saying that I punch in something ridiculous like two dollars. I think I put in a fair price, but it's always been rejected thus far. Maybe I've just chosen the wrong times to look. In all honesty, I'm surprised that airplane tickets are as high as they are these days. They were low for a while after 911, but then the shot back up. Considering all the hassles of flying now, I'd think airlines would cut us a few deals. I'm not too crazy about that x-ray machine that basically strips you nude. Although I do see the purpose behind it, I think they should work to come up with an alternative machine. One that allows us a little dignity when flying.
There are prudent times and bad times to purchase airplane tickets. Anyone who's currently scrambling to get spring break airplane tickets just might as well forget it. Well, that is unless you want to be charged an arm and a leg. The beaches are already packed and the hotels are booked. Trust me on this one. Purchasing airplane tickets to these hot spots should be done far in advance. The same goes for lodging reservations. Then just maybe one of those "deal sites" will actually have a deal for you.
Is it Possible to Get a Good Discount Cruise?
My friend Ryan is famous for his discount vacations. He is practically the king of last minute vacations. Sometimes it will be something classy like a cruise, other times it will be a stay in a hovel-like hotel in Mexico. Either way, he seems happy. The amazing thing about it is that he can afford vacations at all. Ryan has always struck me as someone who lives above his means. He makes a decent living as a teacher, but it is nothing to write home about. Nonetheless, some of his discount vacation trips are pretty impressive. He took a cruise up to Alaska one year, and another year he stayed in a castle in Scotland. He is gone several times a year, and for the life of me I can't figure out how he manages it.
I finally was overcome with curiosity, and I asked him about his discount vacations. He smiled at me, and said that his secret was smarts. When I wasn't satisfied with this vague, infuriating answer, he finally leveled with me. He didn't do anything unusual, he just made finding discount vacation packages his hobbies. If you look at enough places, you can always find an extremely affordable last minute trip one way or another. It is just a matter of keeping an eye out.
When I begged and pleaded, he finally showed me his method for finding discount vacations. I was a little bit surprised by a lot of it. I had figured that it would mostly involve Internet vacation deals, but that only accounted for about half of his trips. He actually spent a lot of time dealing with legitimate vacation travel planners. He had several contacts in the travel industry, and all of them knew to call him when something special came along. He was known for being willing to take vacations anywhere. His only priority was that they were inexpensive and exotic.
Surprisingly, this made him a good client for several of his business contacts. Travel agents are always looking for ways to sell discount vacations. They get big kickbacks, you see, from the tourist industry in regions of decreasing popularity. If they can get people to come to an area that depends on tourism, but that has recently fallen out of favor for one reason or another, they can make a lot of money. Although Ryan's discount vacation trips were never very expensive, combined they accounted for a lot of cash flow. This is why the travel agents were always willing to set up discount vacations for him.
I finally was overcome with curiosity, and I asked him about his discount vacations. He smiled at me, and said that his secret was smarts. When I wasn't satisfied with this vague, infuriating answer, he finally leveled with me. He didn't do anything unusual, he just made finding discount vacation packages his hobbies. If you look at enough places, you can always find an extremely affordable last minute trip one way or another. It is just a matter of keeping an eye out.
When I begged and pleaded, he finally showed me his method for finding discount vacations. I was a little bit surprised by a lot of it. I had figured that it would mostly involve Internet vacation deals, but that only accounted for about half of his trips. He actually spent a lot of time dealing with legitimate vacation travel planners. He had several contacts in the travel industry, and all of them knew to call him when something special came along. He was known for being willing to take vacations anywhere. His only priority was that they were inexpensive and exotic.
Surprisingly, this made him a good client for several of his business contacts. Travel agents are always looking for ways to sell discount vacations. They get big kickbacks, you see, from the tourist industry in regions of decreasing popularity. If they can get people to come to an area that depends on tourism, but that has recently fallen out of favor for one reason or another, they can make a lot of money. Although Ryan's discount vacation trips were never very expensive, combined they accounted for a lot of cash flow. This is why the travel agents were always willing to set up discount vacations for him.
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