Personal Finance

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Vacation deals abound if you know where to look

By: Tracy Sherlock

Posted: 02/4/2012 3:16 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

VANCOUVER -- Once the glow of the holidays has worn off, many people will be interested in seeking some sunshine with a winter's holiday.

Travel expert Claire Newell says the best deals can be found at resort destinations through charter airlines and vacation companies.

"It's always cheaper if you can do it as a package -- air, hotel and transfers, or air and seven nights in an all-inclusive resort," Newell said in an interview. "If you can stick to those windows, you'll often find the best deals."

Charter airlines and vacation companies include Sunwing, Transat, WestJet Vacations and Air Canada Vacations. Charter companies fly to popular resort islands such as Hawaii, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Cuba and the Mexican resort destinations.

If you're flexible on dates and location, you can save a lot of money.

"If you're one of those people who want to go to a beach... but you want the best value, you can wait for a last-minute deal up to even two or three weeks prior and get a really great deal," Newell said. "You may not get the resort or the flight times that you want, but you'll get a great bargain of a deal."

For those of us who are not that flexible, Newell recommends booking as early as possible to get the best deals.

"If you're pigeonholed, like teachers or families with Christmas or spring break off, I would recommend booking as soon as you know, because it will sell out for those really popular dates," Newell said.

Other popular dates are university reading break in mid-February and the end of April when university exams finish. "If you can, avoid those times, as you will have a lot more flexibility," Newell said.

"If you have a destination that you really want to go to, find out what days of the week (the charter airlines) are flying, then take that time off, then wait until maybe a month or three weeks prior."

Newell, of the website Travel Best Bets (www.travelbestbets. com), said the best times of the year to get a deal on travelling are mid-November to mid-December or the last three weeks of January.

"There's already some sweet deals for January," Newell said when we spoke in December, citing a Mexican Riviera seven-night cruise for $548 plus tax, all-inclusive seven-night deals to Puerto Vallarta for $599, and a 14-night Hawaiian Island cruise for $1,299 plus tax.

Waiting until the last minute can save you big money if you're planning a flexible trip to a sunny destination where the charter companies go, because they often buy blocks of rooms ahead of time and pay for the rooms whether or not they are used.

"That's why you sometimes see these crazy last-minute deals, because anything is better than nothing because they're paying for them anyway," New-ell said.

"The tour operators with these packages have massive buying power."

Newell said she recommends always signing up for preferred customer programs for every single company you use. "Even your first time, you will be a loyal client, and you will get some benefit," Newell said. "It might be an upgrade, it might be discount, or it might just be collecting reward points, but you will get some benefit and it costs you nothing."

-- Postmedia News

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 4, 2012 B12

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