A room that multitasks: The conference suite at Sheraton Suites Plantation, Ft. Lauderdale West.
By Mara Tilen
We get it. Spending your work week in hotel rooms can get monotonous after a while, but look at the bright side: Sometimes that hotel room is a gateway to a cheap vacation. Case in point: South Florida, a sunny, affordable destination that begs to be explored when the client meetings are said and done. With a thriving nightlife scene, serene spas and a 600,000-square-foot convention center, you’ll feel that much more productive in beautiful surroundings. (more…)
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that Florida is proud of its offbeat status — and cheap vacation deals. Where else would gators, Goths and bats share the same real estate? Expand your Floridian context beyond a Disney vacation this year to experience the sandy underbelly, and go back to your home state with a few quirky tories and a better tan. (more…)
Fertile grounds: Ixchel Beach Hotel in Isla Mujeres is ripe with cheap hotel deals -- and breathtaking views.
By Valerie Moloney
The Mayans were onto something when they named this 5-mile-wide island after the goddess of fertility. With sugary beaches and water tinted the perfect aquamarine, it’s easy to see how lovers could lose themselves in a sea of coral, fresh ocean eats and tequila.Well here’s another reason: price. Isla Mujeres, or the Island of Women, rules as a budget beach destination. Think boutique hotels with some of the same amenities as pricier Cancun hotels – sans the partiers – and on a stretch only accessible by ferry. (more…)
You won't be surfing Oahu's Banzai Pipeline like the pros, but that doesn't mean you can't get your feet wet. Credit: surfglassy.
By Amy Drew Thompson
Okay, sure. It doesn’t hurt to be born and raised in Hawaii (or blessed with natural talent), but Oahu native John John Florence — at 19, the youngest-ever champion of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing — still had to practice. Where can you get your start? On a cheap Hawaii vacation, of course, learning from natives in the waves where many believe the sport was born. You might want to avoid the monsters at Sunset Beach and the Banzai Pipeline for now, but there are plenty of kinder, gentler beaches for beginners getting their sea legs. And it never hurts to get a lesson.
Gray whales near Baja, Mexico that interact with humans are called "friendlies." Credit: Jim Dorsey.
By Blane Bachelor
When it comes to whales, especially gray whales, Jim Dorsey knows his stuff. The Los Angeles-based naturalist is trained by the American Cetacean Society and for 15 years has been the resident naturalist in the Gray Whale Nursery of the pristine San Ignacio Lagoon in Baja, Mexico. A popular destination for cheap Mexico vacations, the Baja Peninsula also boasts some of the world’s best whale watching, as its warm, protected waters draw thousands of once-endangered gray whales from January through April. Here, Dorsey offers his years of experience on how to get the best out of any whale watching excursion. (more…)
The Chinese New Year Parade is just part of the month-long celebrations in Honolulu. Credit: Valdezign.
By Erin Behan
Hear that roar? It’s a month of Chinese Lunar New Year festivities in Honolulu getting off to a good start. The year 2012, of course, is the Year of the Dragon, and the celebrations run from Jan. 6- Jan. 21 in Chinatown. The best part about entrance to each of the month’s Chinese New Year events (besides getting in touch with both Chinese and Hawaiian culture)? They’re all free. (more…)
Local restaurants cook up specials for Wailuku's monthly street party.
By Erin Behan
There’s nothing wrong with feeling like a tourist in Hawaii, but every once in a while it’s nice experience something like a kama’aina or local, and Wailuku First Friday fits the bill with plenty of local flair. (more…)
Pretty in paradise: Explore Kualoa Ranch's lush landscape via horseback or ATV tour. Credit: mporter5.
By Amy Drew Thompson
Recent weeks have seen gas prices dropping, even in the Rainbow State — where fuel costs rank among the country’s highest. In Honolulu, prices have dipped below $4 per gallon, making conditions ripe for cruising the scenic Kamehameha Highway to hit out-of-town attractions on a self-guided loop that’ll have you back on the beach for dinner. Fuel up and say aloha to cheap Hawaiian vacations with these Oahu attractions:
Make the season merry and bright with a cheap Caribbean vacation to Point Pleasant Resort.
By Valerie Moloney
A girlfriend spent the days after Christmas and before New Year’s with her entire family — 2 brothers and their girlfriends, 3 sisters and their husbands, parents, 2 nieces and a nephew – in a Los Cabos hotel. While my first instinct was shock at the thought of all of them traveling at the most stressful of times, she countered with, “It was the best vacation of my life.” No baking. No cleaning up after themselves. Just sun, sand and catching up. (more…)
A shore thing: The laidback charm of artist enclave Laguna Beach. Credit: Lavender Dreamer.
ByStephanie Toller Negrete
Seaside mansions. Tan, buff bodies. Convertibles and high-end boutiques. Sure, they’re all part of the California dream, but only part of the reality. In the O.C., embrace a more laidback lifestyle, especially in the fall when the summer crowds are gone and the weather is just gorgeous. Enticing lodging rates help, too, so that we can all coast to a cheap Orange County hotel during one of the best seasons of the year. (more…)
The bargain-hunter's resource for the most noteworthy CheapTickets travel deals, including hand-picked hotel offers, new sales, last-minute discounts and money-saving travel tips.
