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25 January 2009

Cheap travel advice - warm climate →[More:]
Heya.

I may have a chance to travel somewhere warm for 3-4 days, around 24-28 February. I'm trawling travel-package sites but I was wondering if anyone has a hot tip on cheap places to go that time of year

From my preliminary searches it seems Vegas is the cheapest. I've never been there, but looking at average temperatures it doesn't seem crazy warm. An average high of 17º (63F) isn't really gonna cut it, though cheapness rules all in this scenario. And if anyone's from there, please let me know if that's not the best representation of the latter weeks of the month.

So I'll hand it off to you, helpful bunnies who love a challenge -- where can I go very cheaply?

Here are the stats:
- Departing from Montreal/YUL
- February 24-28, possible to move it a couple of days later but no more
- I can go anywhere a Canadian passport will take me
- There would be two of us (me and my mom), any kind of occupancy is fine
- Prefer hotel+air packages, but whatever's cheapest -- if we need to build a trip, that's okay. Again, this is a "cheap as possible"-type thing, and if it's too much, we won't be able to do it at all. I'm not picky about luxury hotels or anything like that, and we use public transit and shuttles and stuff, so no personal vehicle is necessary.
- It's gotta be sunny and reasonably warm, ie. 20º+ (68F?+) Warm enough to sit in the sun. Remember that Canadians are a little less demanding about heat than people who are accustomed to hot climates this time of year. But the point of this jaunt would be to cure latent SAD and make it through the rest of this crappy motherfucking winter.

Any tips, advice, price points welcomed and appreciated!

post by: loiseau at: 12:17 | 33 comments

Oh, and for what it's worth, I could conceivably fly out of Burlington, VT, or from Ottawa, but I don't know if that actually helps.

posted by loiseau 25 January | 12:21

At this time of year, a hot destination in the northern hemisphere will be hard to find. Can I suggest Florida? Average temperatures will be around the 68F mark, and although it's a longer flight than Vegas by a couple of hours, if it's warmth you're looking for, Florida is probably going to be your best option within your timescale.

posted by essexjan 25 January | 12:32

Vegas in late February can be quite variable, but even in the 50s and protected from the wind, sitting in the sun can sometimes be quite warming.

Otherwise, your options are going to be San Diego or Miami, possibly Daytona, Phoenix or New Orleans. Maybe Texas but I have no idea what you could do there.

posted by Ardiril 25 January | 12:34

what's your basic price point?

posted by Stewriffic 25 January | 12:34

I've got a $400/per person for those days traveling to tampa, FL. staying in the Day's Inn North of Busch Gardens.

I know nothing of the public transportation,t hough

posted by Stewriffic 25 January | 12:40

Lastminute.com is showing vacation packages in Cancun from $334 per person for airfare and hotel, but they only go two weeks out.

Their list of package destinations from Montreal is here. Maybe you could look through that for other ideas and general ideas on price range?

posted by occhiblu 25 January | 12:46

oh, occhiblu that looks like something I want/need to do. i'm freezing today, despite having made aloo gobi.

posted by Stewriffic 25 January | 12:49

Thanks, y'all. Florida's not bad, though y'know, it's Florida. (No offense, LoriFLA!) I'd prefer to go somewhere else, but I'm really open.

I don't really care if there's much to do, in the typical way. I like challenges!

I guess I'd like to find something under $500. I don't have a particular price in mind, but it seems like a challenge to find something that low. Maybe I should wait a couple of weeks and go last-minute. I like surprises. Has anyone ever bought one of those last-minute deals?

posted by loiseau 25 January | 12:52

My friend used selloffvacations.com to no ill effects.

posted by typewriter 25 January | 12:57

If you are in the Carolinas you are officially disallowed from complaining about the cold WHAT THE HELL IT'S ONLY 3º THERE??? This surprises me. Are you having a cold snap? It's only -2º here and this is MONTREAL.

Occhiblu, I did look at lastminute.com yesterday, but it seems to restrict you to (no surprise) the next couple of weeks... I'm going to keep an eye on it though.

posted by loiseau 25 January | 13:00

One thing to keep in mind: If you're really dealing with SAD (as opposed to just an "OMG I need to see the sun" sort of thing, which is also valid!), then Vegas could be complicated.

The current thinking is that SAD is caused more by shorter daylight hours, rather than just lack of warm weather (I'm having a horrible time struggling with it now, and it's been 70 degrees and sunny for most of the time here; it's just that the sun sets at 5pm and I start going slowly insane). All the casinos in Vegas seem to be designed to make you think it's some sort of eternal 6pm twilight, and when I was there it really kicked my SAD into overdrive because it was so time-disorienting (it felt like the sun was *always* disappearing!). Plus, pretty much everything we wanted to do was inside, so despite being in a sunny desert, I wasn't getting much actual sunlight.

If you just want to *see* some sun, or you're planning on spending most of your time outside by the pool, it might be fine. But I wanted to at least mention that "Casino owners who never want you to have a sense of where the sun is in the sky" + SAD can be a bad thing.

posted by occhiblu 25 January | 13:00

I hate the selloffvacations.com jingle so. much. But I will look -- thanks typey.

posted by loiseau 25 January | 13:01

And no, I've never used lastminute.com, but I had a friend who loved Site59.com, which got bought by lastminute.com. So that is my connection to it -- tenuous, at best. :-)

posted by occhiblu 25 January | 13:02

Noodling around the site with Toronto departure point, I could only get packages between 475 - 550 when booking for the next weekend. Any later, and the prices jumped. If you can't afford anymore than that, is it worth the risk to wait until the week before?

(Also those prices did not include taxes. :/)

posted by typewriter 25 January | 13:03

WHAT THE HELL IT'S ONLY 3º THERE???

last weekend it was -11º C. Yes, very cold for here. Brrrrr.

posted by Stewriffic 25 January | 13:04

Central America!
Costa Rica, if you can get a good airfare, would be the spot to go. Once you're down there, public transportation is easy, and lodging + food is pretty cheap. The country is also very safe.

posted by special-k 25 January | 13:05

Any family/friends you can visit in a warmer climate? That might be the cheapest way to go if nothing else pans out.

posted by typewriter 25 January | 13:06

If you see any packages for Puerto Rico, I might grab that. My friend's mom owns a travel agency, and she swears by Puerto Rico as her favorite sun destination. Plus, mofongo.

posted by Pips 25 January | 13:24

Speaking of LoriFLA, has anyone heard from her recently? She usually posts more often.

posted by altolinguistic 25 January | 13:43

My family is all here, except for some very distant relatives I've only heard about who migrated to South Africa to work on the railroad there a million years ago. Oh, plus the ones in Scotland.

I've never been diagnosed with SAD, although I feel vaguely like I have those seasonal swings, and I have had depression on and off. Winters can be bad for me, but it could just be a coincidence that a lot of shitty stuff happens in the winter and not as much in the summer. I guess I feel like I need a sun injection, and to break up what is currently a very monotonous routine.

Typewriter: Toronto's not such a good departure point, because it's 5-6 hours away and I'd have to get there, which would cost, plus might not work schedule-wise if I have to be there early in the morning to fly out. It would have to be quite a bit cheaper to make good sense.

Pips: I don't know what this mofongo is, but I'm slightly afraid. (I'm a vegetarian, too, which usually precludes enjoying Caribbean delicacies.)

posted by loiseau 25 January | 13:44

have you looked up Belize? gotta be better than Vegas or Florida, hands down.

posted by UbuRoivas 25 January | 14:05

Nobody has mentioned Cuba? I know a family of four that just came back from a week and it cost less than $2,000 for all of them, all in. My friend just left yesterday from Toronto for Vegas, $450 all in for four days.

Also, Westjet has expanded their inclusive vacations offering (not Cuba though) and apparently there aren't as many travellers this year so there might be some good deals with them. I'd book last minute if I were you. If you are completely flexible on just any sunny place I think you would get a pretty good deal. I too have heard good things about selloffvactions despite that annoying jingle.

posted by saucysault 25 January | 14:06

I couldn't get the site to come up with anything in the 500 range from Ottawa or Montreal. :/

posted by typewriter 25 January | 14:08

I love love love Belize, and it's cheap as dirt once you get there (depending on where you stay, but my cabana on the beach in Hopkins was $17.50/night USD a year ago and I even found a place on Caye Caulker touristland for about that price with no advance booking), but in my experience the flights are really expensive unless you book 8 months in advance. If you can find a cheap one, though, do it.

posted by elizard 25 January | 14:10

Pips: I don't know what this mofongo is, but I'm slightly afraid. (I'm a vegetarian, too, which usually precludes enjoying Caribbean delicacies.)

Yeah, I thought that picture was a might scary, too, but it is delicious, so I hear (not for vegetarians, though, since it's shrimp or pork filled).

Maybe a 3 or 4 night Royal Caribbean cruise to the Bahamas? Pair it with a cheap flight to Miami (or another port, possibly) and you'd have yourself a nice, no fuss fun-in-the-sun excursion (with midnight buffet). Don't know if cruise ships are your thing, though. I've always wanted to try it myself.

posted by Pips 25 January | 14:32

Nobody has mentioned Cuba?

Well, a lot of us are American and our government makes it very difficult to enjoy what Cuba has to offer.

Going to Cuba is a pretty big deal for most Americans who don't have family on the island. Given the choice between risking $10,000 fines and, say, the Bahamas, most of us will pick the Bahamas.

Wait . . . now that I think of it, I believe there are restrictions on Cuban-American travel as well. Like, one trip every two or three years but that might change under the current administration.

That might be why no one's mentioned Cuba.

posted by jason's_planet 25 January | 14:58

Loiseau's canadian, so she'd have no problems traveling there. But for sure that's why the americans didn't think of cuba.

posted by Stewriffic 25 January | 15:09

Specific Licenses to Visit Immediate Family Members in Cuba: OFAC will issue to immediate family members who are nationals of Cuba specific licenses authorizing travel-related transactions incident to one visit lasting no more than 14 days per three-year period. For those who emigrated to the United States from Cuba, and since that time have not visited a family member in Cuba, the three-year period will be counted from the date they left Cuba. For all others, the three-year period will be counted from the date they last left Cuba pursuant to the pre-existing family visit general license, or from the date their family visit specific license was issued.

posted by jason's_planet 25 January | 15:57

(So . . . three years.)

posted by jason's_planet 25 January | 15:57

I would love to go to OMG EVIL COMMUNISTS Cuba. I know some folks who've been there. It didn't turn up on any of the travel-package sites, but maybe it's because most of them actually are US companies with Canadian branches? Good thought though -- I'll see if there are specific Cuba-friendly sites.

I think if I was travelling right now, I'd definitely be able to hook up something cheap, but in just another four weeks the prices seem to jump.

But yeah -- maybe I will try to wait and check once a week for more last-minutey stuff. I really don't care where I go.

(I must admit I enjoy a visit to Target when I get a chance, and I have a guilty affection for Forever 21, neither of which exist within several hours of here. Why doesn't Vermont have any Target? Is there a law against it?)

posted by loiseau 26 January | 08:54

Oh, and yes: I am Canadian!
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posted by loiseau 26 January | 09:05

I was surprised no one else had mentioned Cuba because I didn't think you and I were the only Canadians here. Going there this year is my current goal - seriously, of the dozens of people I have talked to that have been NO ONE has had a bad time. I'm sure you will get a better rate closer to the date, travel agencies are keeping their prices up in hope that the slow season will pick up the longer this snow keeps up. Be sure to send a postcard!

posted by saucysault 27 January | 09:05

Oh, I almost forgot: before you book, check out the place you'll be staying at tripadvisor.com. I've gotten good information from that site many times, saving me a stay in insalubrious digs or steering me to a good deal.

Yep, this place is full of Canadians. Keep it quiet, but we've even infiltrated the exalted ranks of the mods. Ssssshhhhhh. Dunno why I didn't think of Cuba, either.

posted by elizard 27 January | 09:49

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