Long weekend

We had a great trip in San Francisco.  We stayed at the Marriott Hotel in Fisherman’s Wharf and it was very nice.  The bed was super comfy. We enjoyed Pier 39,  street performers, the food, and the Go Tour Car that took us all over the city. We rode on the BART, Muni, Cable cars, and everything else they use there for transportation. They work great but the downfall of them is waiting for them to pick you up at stations and they were pretty packed the whole time.  If a bum got on the bus you knew it because they smelt so bad. 

We saw all the hot tourist spots and ate at some great places.  If you have not spent a long weekend there I would recommend visiting there soon.  Go spend your stimulus check on a trip to help the economy…

San Francisco trip

Happy May to you all.  This month my wife and I are taking a long weekend to San Francisco.  I have not been there since high school and she has never been.  Anyway, we already bought our airfare a few months ago through Southwest and got a smoking deal.  We are both flying round trip for $300.  We watched the airfare for a few weeks up to the day we bought it for a great price. 

Then we booked our hotel at a hotel in Fisherman’s Wharf. It was going to run us about $250 a night for a 3 star hotel.  Then I went on priceline for the last few weeks and was bidding on a better hotel for us.  I ended up getting us a 4-star hotel for only $122 a night and it is non-smoking. So we are going to save an extra $100 per night and have a better hotel.  So I cancelled my other booking because all along I wanted that to be our emergency hotel if we could not find a better hotel.  I am really happy we found a great deal and the trip is going to be great.  If you wait for the deals you can find them.  More vacations are to come this year.  I will keep you all posted. 

Travel time

As some know I am a pretty big fan of the Discover credit card.  No they didn’t pay me anything to say that.  Here are the current specials they have for January, February, and March to earn more money.  They have 5% back on Airlines, Cruises, Hotels and Car Rentals.  Sounds like some of you might be taking a Q1 trip this year.

Are you planning any fun trips for 2008?

Next big adventure

We all know someone who is good at recommendations.  If your car breaks down, friends and family can refer a place to get a fair deal to fix your car.   If you need to go to a specialist a family friend used someone that will help you.  What about if you need some yard work done? Someone will always be there to tell you who to use. Until my most recent trip the one thing that I never hear people telling others is to use a travel agent when it comes to travel. I went on a trip recently and priced it myself to the exact dollar.  I used all the fancy search tools online and coupon codes to find the best deal.  I finally gave in and was talking to my sister-in-law when she said email her travel agent and show her my price sheet to get a better deal. The agent emailed me back and saved me over $600 on my 2 week trip.  The agent did exactly what I said but she got a special rate that saved me money and totally a free service.  Travel agents do not get paid from me but from the services they sign us up for.  I recommend the next time you are planning a fun trip send your itinerary over to a travel agent and see if they can come back with a better price.  You have nothing to lose other than not spending 5 minutes emailing a travel agent and not saving some money on your next big adventure.