Archive for January, 2010

If Valentine’s Day has put romantic getaways on your mind, check out this deal: up to 45% off a trip for two. Plus, get a $50 Restaurant.com gift card when you book a hotel or package in Jamaica, Cancun, Riviera Maya, Paris, San Francisco or Washington DC by Valentine’s Day. From the adults-only Aventura Spa [read more…]

Get 15% off Super Bowl tickets on tickets.orbitz.com. Catch all the gridiron action in Miami, as the New Orleans Saints take on the Indianapolis Colts on February 7, 2010.

When you book a room at one of the many Cancun hotels, you may look forward to feeling the sand between your toes as you stroll along the beach. Well, the beach along the popular Cancun hotel zone has changed quite a bit. Here’s what it used to look like: class=”aligncenter But since the start [read more…]

By Joe Brancatelli After the first full year of charging checked baggage fees on flights, the five remaining legacy carriers are racking up huge annual losses. American Airlines, for example, reported a full-year 2009 loss of $1.5 billion, and Continental reported a 2009 loss of $282 million. On the other hand, Southwest Airlines, the lone [read more…]

By Alison Ulrich It is about that time of year to start planning a family vacation for spring break. I’ve been trying to decide between a family cruise and an all-inclusive resort. I have done a bit of research and wanted to share what I’ve learned. Check the cost for children When pricing out family [read more…]

By Lena Katz Fact: Women love romantic gestures, and that most definitely includes being spoiled like a beloved goddess queen on Valentine’s Day. I always get in trouble when I make generalizations like this, but I’m doing it anyway, on behalf of all the women (and men!) who would so dearly love to be swept [read more…]

By Mark McCullough Our family vacation involves a trek to Grandma’s place in Florida each year, and we make a point to search out the “real Florida,” which means bypassing the theme parks. On our most recent Florida vacation, we visited the manatees at Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park on the Gulf coast. Florida is [read more…]

By Joe Brancatelli Immediately after the “underwear bomber” struck a Northwest flight headed to Detroit on Christmas Day, the United States demanded more security checks on incoming flights from foreign destinations. The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA), Canada’s equivalent of the Transportation Security Administration, acted immediately. It tightened controls at its security checkpoints at [read more…]

  By Ari Bendersky When people think of California wine country, first thoughts often move toward Napa. The Napa Valley has been on most people’s radars for a few decades, but great wine is produced all over California. Instead of hitting the obvious, next time you plan a California vacation, think about visiting one of [read more…]

By Melissa Martinez My adventurous cousin who loves scuba diving, is an advanced open water diver and has a really great divemaster for a friend, convinced me to become certified in first level open water diving on my recent Florida vacation.  Destination: Key Largo. Key Largo is the northernmost island of the Florida Keys island [read more…]

By Alina Motin Since I work for Orbitz and live in Orange County, I often help family and friends plan their California vacations. I think Orange County has a lot to offer for romantic getaways, family vacations and everything in between — there’s the ocean, Disneyland and of course, warm temperatures year ’round (as I [read more…]

Whether you want to try a black-diamond run or just soak up the apres-ski scene, there’s a ski vacation for everyone, and the season is definitely here. If you need help deciding where to go, read on: Orbitz has identified the top 10 ski vacation destinations for 2010. For the third year in a row, [read more…]

Skiers and snowboarders, we’re hosting a live chat with Away.com’s Pieter van Noordennen tomorrow, Jan. 21, 2010, from 6 a.m.–12 p.m. ET on the Orbitz Facebook page.

By E.C. Gladstone Despite plenty of advance notice and digital renderings, when it comes to Las Vegas hotels, you can never tell what a new property or expansion is going to be like until you’ve actually walked through it, sat down to dinner, and spent a night in a room. I thought I’d said all [read more…]

American Airlines is the last of the so-called legacy carriers to increase its checked baggage fees. Starting with tickets purchased Feb. 1, checked baggage fees will go up to $25 for the first bag and $35 for the second. The fees apply to economy class flights within and between the 50 states, Puerto Rico and [read more…]

US Airways is the latest carrier to increase its checked baggage fees. Effective today for flights on or after Feb. 1, checked baggage fees go up to $25 (each way) for the first bag and $35 for the second. Travelers who check bags in advance through the airline’s Web site pay slightly less : $23 [read more…]

By Joe Brancatelli AIRPORT REPORT Comings, goings, changes and moves: While our attention was diverted by the holidays and the terrorism chaos, a lot of airport-related news came in over the metaphoric transom. Ready for the full report? We’ll go fast. AirTran Airways is bringing its flights back to Gulfport-Biloxi, Mississippi. AirTran returned to the [read more…]

By Joe Brancatelli HOTEL HOT SHEET Another burst of hotel openings around the world: The supply of new hotels seems endless, even after a year of (bad) records for the lodging industry, which recording steep declines in average daily price and occupancy rates. Still, more supply is good for us and, let’s be honest, we’re [read more…]

The U.S. State Department has issued a travel alert for Haiti in the wake of Tuesday’s earthquake. The alert, in effect until March 13, urges citizens to avoid travel to Haiti. The 7.0 magnitude earthquake near Haiti’s capital, Port Au Prince, has left widespread damage throughout the country. Preliminary reports indicate that electricity and phone [read more…]

By Susan Levin Traveling solo is grand. You can go where you want, when you want. If you want to eat Cheetos in the hotel for dinner, you may (although you probably won’t want to). When you are done with that museum exhibit, it’s on to the next one — no schedule to worry about. [read more…]