I assume you’re going to pit yourself for being such an idiot as to book the hotel before getting the ticket?
That sucks.
What motel did you pick by the way? It may be one I’ve heard of.
Well, the alternative was to get the ticket before finding if there would be a room available, right?
The Dolphin Inn. A little pricier than I’d been led to believe (I booked it for a few bux over 100 per night, when I’d read on-line they had rooms for 89 per night, or even 69 per night.
Ever hear of it?
If it’s the one on Estero Blvd, I know of it but have only driven past it. I rarely get down to Fort Myers Beach anymore.
That’s the one.
Well, unless there was only one room left in the entire area, you could have said “okay, thanks, let me book my flight, I’ll call back in half an hour.”
Well, my boss is a cheap sunnybeach …
When are you planning to go and what airport do you want to fly out of? $1200 for NYC to Florida strikes me as a huge rip-off, unless you have to go tomorrow.
I tried to book on New Year’s Day (figured that a lot of people would be hungover and unwilling to fly at dawn) and am returning about a week later to and from any airport within driving distance of NYC. (I live halfway between JFK and LaG, and my gf lives near Newark.) 1200 bucks is totally out of the question, though.
Are your dates flexible, as in, could you go a week or two later? In my experience, you’re kind of in the “you’re screwed” pricing window right now. You’re less than 2 weeks out, but still far enough out that you’re not going to snag a last-minute deal. Plus, the airlines have been cutting back on the number of flights and seats, so when you’re this close you don’t get a great choice on availability and the direct flights are full. They also may be upping the price because it’s a holiday.
For a short trip like this, my rule of thumb is to let price and the availability of good flights dictate where I go, within reason). By good, I mean get there are early as possible and leave as late as possible to maximize my time there. And direct flights if possible.
For what it’s worth, I found an itinerary for $339 on United’s website that has you leaving LGA at 10am on Jan 1 and getting into Ft. Myers around 5pm with a layover in DCA. Return can be on the 7, 8, or 9th for the same price, also through DCA.
Once you identify your flights, check on United’s website to see if they offer any vacation packages to your city. They may have some special offers. I rarely fly UA, so I have no idea. Otherwise, look at hotels.com and other travel sites like orbitz to see what hotels are in your area. You should be able to specify near the beach. Use Google to see if there are any coupon codes you can use to save $50-75 on a hotel stay of at least x days. If something looks interesting and in your price range, check it out on Trip Advisor.
For that hotel you already booked, look at their site online and see if they say anything about a $50 cancelation. If they don’t, demand not to be charged when you call and cancel. Most hotels don’t charge if you cancel more than 48-72 hours in advance, but maybe they have a special policy in place because of the holiday.
Have you considered a cruise? You can use your voucher to fly into Miami or Fort Lauderdale. Then take a cruise to Bahamas or Caribbean for 3-7 days. Your lodging and food is all covered up front, you’ll have pools and activities on the boat, and you’ll have beaches wherever you stop for the day. I’ve heard there are some great cruise deals out there right now. Check out cruise.com and also check out Travelzoo for cruise and hotel deals.
I told YA to come to Pensacola…but NOOOOOO…you had get all fancy schmancy on me 
United doesnt fly there 
Here’s a pretty good site for finding fares and learning who flys where:
http://www.farecompare.com/maps/compareDestinations.html?departure=NYC
Some of the fares look great but aren’t always bookable because they are sold out, or in the case of international fares, are missing fees/taxes. This site just shows what’s possible, not always what’s actually available. If I see something I like here, then I try and find it on a site like travelocity or orbitz.
Thanks to SmellMyWort, I’m now booked on a direct Jet Blue flight for $325–I feel warmer already.
Mini-Dopefest, anyone? Jan 1-Jan 5, Fort Myers beach.
Glad it worked out for you!
Even if you aren’t coming here to Pcola
Its a bit far, about 120 miles, but the Salvador Dolly museum in Tampa is absolutely amazing. And I say that as somebody who goes to most art museums and is bored and underwhelmed most of the time. So, if you have a bad weather day, that might be a neat thing to go do. Then hit Ebor city, the “cuban” section of town for some interesting atmosphere and good food.
The excitment of getting on an airplane to go somewhere neat, gawd I love that feeling !
Have a great time.
Pcola, next on my travel list, maybe even later this spring. (I still have that stupid $200 voucher.) I love Tampa, so that’s later on my list. Thanks for the kind words.
I’m just about the only doper out this way. So it would be a microdopefest.
Glad it worked out for you PRR. We just got dumped on again here in WI so somewhere warm sounds pretty good.
For what it’s worth, Hypno-Toad, I spent a great 4-day weekend in Pcola a few years ago and would love to make it back.
I think he’s in Ft. Myers. If anyone wants to come by the Dolphin Inn, I’ll buy yiz a beer. That constitutes a micro-Dopefest, I think, especially if it’s a micro-brewed beer.