My new job doesn’t start until mid-February. I have about $600 disposable cash right now and am sick of the cold weather here in Northern Virginia. Thinking some beach in Mexico would fit the bill. Not interested in Florida or other US destination, want more rustic beach where I can snorkel, drink cheap beer, etc.
I can fly anytime, any schedule, any airline. Plan to do a cheap hostel type thing at the destination or even camp/backpack instead of using a motel.
I’d heard that sites like Orbitz and Travelocity can be scammy, but I spent a little time on them this morning anyway. Sure enough, confusing site, lots of ads, popups and other crap. But the main problem is that they would not let me browse fares until I chose a departure date. Like I said, I can go anytime this month, and am not restricted to any particular dates.
Are there any online sites where I can just say “Hey, I want to go to Cancun sometime in the next 30 days, don’t care when, just show me the very cheapest flight from my airport and I’ll be on it”?
Not sure why you don’t trust those sites, I’ve had nothing but good luck with them. However, I can think of two sites off the top of my head that allow you to find the cheapest time ti travel during a 30 day period. Orbitz and Travelocity.
Simply click on “Flexible Dates”, and use the “Flexible Stays” Option. With Travelocity, click the “Other advanced options” and then “Flexible Dates”.
I’m not quite clear what you want, since Travelocity and Orbitz both offer “flexible date” searches. On the Travelocity home page, look at the orange-brown search box on the front page; halfway down this box, you can select “Exact Dates”, “+/- 1-3 days”, or “Flexible Dates”. It’s the last option you want. On Orbitz, there’s a “Flexible Dates” link at the bottom of the blue search box on their home page.
Or am I misunderstanding the kind of search you want to do?
Just wanted to chime in and say I’ve also had good results with both of those websites. They’re both too popular to be scams. I went to Paris last year for a week for like $700 dollars, including airfare and hotel.
Unfortunately, I got this error message when trying to find the cheapest date to fly to Cancun anytime during the next 30 days: *** “Flexible date searches are only available for searches within the US and select international markets.”
***I guess Mexico isn’t one of their “select” markets…bummer.
One technique that you can use is to find prices on a site like Orbitz or Travelocity, then go over to the site of the airline that offers the cheapest/best price, and book through them. Having said that, I’ve booked through Travelocity, and my employer books through Orbitz (including my work-related travel), and I’ve not had problems with either.
No, I figured they’d be a lot more expensive due to their whole commission thing. Am I wrong about this as well?
Good news! Travelocity was a bust but on Orbitz, I was actually able to find a roundtrip flight to Cancun for a 4-night stay for $414!! Now I just gotta find a way to either camp or do the hostel thing plus eat and drink for about $40/day. This is kinda fun!
Thanks everyone, my ignorance re: online travel sites has been fought!
I believe orbitz and travelocity have become easier since they include all taxes and fees in flights, as required by new european union laws. Meanwhile, I was checking out a deal I heard on the radio from cheapflights.com advertising flights from Philadelphia to Dublin Round trip for $250. When I went to see it was true I saw the final price included an additional $400 in fees and taxes.
Yes, you are. The agent’s commission is paid by the airline/hotel. The customer doesn’t have to pay a cent. The online travel sites have the same sort of payment method.
Whether a travel agent costs more or less than online depends on many factors, and some can be to your advantage.
So the cost difference is minor (you’re probably going to get the same deal from a human agent as from Orbitz). The advantage of a human is that they can give advice about the hotels and additional ways to save money as well as information you may not know to ask about.
I’m not sure where you’ll be staying (and it sounds like you’re not, either) but if you get down to the hotel zone, the best and least expensive restaurant by far is El Fish Fritanga, on the lagoon side of Blvd. Kukulkan (km 12, I think). From 6am-4pm, the tiny shop up top serves tacos (10 pesos/pop, IIRC - at the current exchange rate, that’s around $.80 USD) and tortas (don’t remember, sorry). Fillings included shrimp, fish, carne asada, pastor, carnitas, chorizo, and a whole lot more. The convenience store next door is the go-to place for cheap beer and the lady running the taco shop will certainly allow you to bring your drink to the stand. The sauce served here is not too spicy at all, at least the salsa verde that I tried. The stand is usually packed with locals.
During the day and evening, you can head downstairs to the restaurant/bar that’s on the lagoon. It is a little more expensive with a different menu, but still retains the very local atmosphere of the shop upstairs. There are one or two staff members that speak decent English, but you’re way better off knowing at least enough Spanish to get fed. Oh, and the table sauce here is habanero and electric and gave me heart palpitations but I couldn’t stop eating it. Damn it was good.
ETA: sorry, I was basing that on the exchange when I went last month. It’s actually more like 75 cents, but probably rounds out closer to 80 in real terms.
Just vague stuff about hidden fees, impossible to get a refund, shitty customer service, spam, popups and really aggressive advertising. For awhile there, in my experience, Orbitz was the absolute WORST culprit for unwanted popup ads, and in fact their popups were what prompted me years ago to switch to a browser that blocked them.
If they offer good value, that is honestly a real surprise to me. Their business practices (obnoxious popups, etc.) indicated to me that they were scammy/spammy and could not be trusted. I’m still hestitant to actually give them my CC # and may contact a local travel agent to compare prices. But, it has been interesting playing around with their sites today. Thanks everyone for talking me into at least checking them out.
Ok, while we’re here, I’d like a suggestion for someplace in the USofA where I could get someplace fairly primitive on a tropical beach?
What do they call those little hut-like cabins?
Sure, there are issues with online travel sites but no more than any online (or brick-and-mortar, physical business) site. You’re probably putting too much stock into what the vocal minority complains about. I’ve exclusively used Travelocity and Expedia for booking my flights for the past several years. They’re easy, fast, and most importantly, cheap (virtually every travel website today has some kind of price/serviceguarantee, so that if you do find a cheaper price, they’ll match it and often give you an additional perk).
I’ve never used Orbitz personally, but I am aware of some of their sleazier practices…
Another site I’ve used for Mexican/Caribbean destinations, and have had good experiences, is cheapcaribbean.com - they usually beat Travelocity for Mexican destinations that I’ve compared.
Screw travelocity and orbitz. You want flights, you want http://www.kayak.com. No more waiting thirty minutes for it to check flights. Zero to cheap in five seconds.
