Beat the system and save some money

I love to find a good deal when traveling.  There’s something really satisfying about getting to somewhere for less than what the airline would like to charge, or staying at a hotel for a ridiculously low price.  Fortunately, priceline.com makes it possible to stay at a nice hotel for much less than you’d normally pay.  I used to avoid priceline because the whole bidding thing just didn’t make sense.  How are you supposed to know what to bid?  What do you do if they refuse your price?

Fortunately, the world of online travelers has made it much easier to know how much to bid, and what hotel you are probably going to get.  The two sites I’ve found to help make this possible are betterbidding.com and biddingfortravel.com.  Here you can find instructions on how to bid, lists of hotels in each city that are available on priceline or hotwire, and many posts from travelers who have won bids.  For example, we stayed at a 5 star hotel in Bangkok for $100 after reading the posts from other travelers, and we knew exactly which hotel we were going to get.

Some tips to keep in mind when using this method of booking:

1.  You can’t be guaranteed of a certain type of room.  You might get put in a room with 2 doubles, or an upper floor room with a king bed.

2.  Call ahead to make requests.  You can’t make requests during the booking on priceline, so after the reservation is accepted, call the hotel to ask for a non-smoking room or for a crib.

3.  Join the hotel’s frequent guest program, if available.  Usually these are free to join and they give you perks like free upgrades or room requests.  Recently, we stayed at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place in Chicago through priceline for $67, so I joined the Hyatt Gold Passport program which allowed us to check in 2 hours earlier than normal and put us in a high floor room.

On another travel-saving note, rental cars can be a big sink of money or save you a ton.  My favorite combination for saving about 50% on rental costs: join the National Car Emerald Club (sometimes available for free) so you can get any car in the Emerald Aisle no matter what you paid.  Then find a contract ID and coupon ID from fatwallet or flyertalk, book a midsize or lower online and save a bunch when you pick up your full size car.  We’ve even been given an SUV for a compact price a couple of times.  Now if they would only give us a break on the ridiculous charges for a car seat.

Do you have some tips for saving big on hotels or other travel?

Making Ourselves At Home In Istanbul

After 20+hours of traveling we arrived at our “home” for the week in Istanbul. We’ve rented a little flat from Manzara Holiday Apartments, a company that owns a number of apartments for rent to tourists in the residential neighborhoods surrounding the Galata Tower.  We sought out this company both for the comfort of an apartment as well as the authenticity of living in a local neighborhood, close to the tourist attractions but not set squarely in the middle of them.

Grace and Beth in the apartment’s tiny kitchen

We’ve rented their 2-bedroom St. George apartment. It’s small, tiny in fact, but so much more space than we’d have in even the best hotel. It’s simply decorated, mainly with Ikea furniture but also a few interesting old pieces like a trunk for a TV stand and a huge rickety cupboard for a closet in Grace’s room. It’s eclectic and suits our needs.

Grace checks out her new digs

We’re on the first floor, which in Turkey (and most of Europe) means actually the second floor (what we call the first floor, they call the ground floor). To get up to our apartment we have to ascend a steep, narrow, curved staircase. The paint is peeling in the stairwell and it smells musty, like very old building. I like that smell. Our neighbors seem to be several conservative families. Although Turkey is a secular country, it’s more than 90% Muslim. Most women we’ve seen around do not cover their heads but the women in our building do. One is even fully shrouded in black although her face is uncovered. The neighbors are kind but aloof. I’m sure they know we’re just another tourist family passing through their building, but they don’t seem to mind we’re here.

That’s not part of the living room, that is the living room

Stuffed eggplant and salad prepared for us by Manzara.  It was nice to have dinner ready when we arrived but at 25 Euro each, I think we’d find a local fast food joint next time.

We arrived here exhausted Sunday afternoon. Manzara had prepared a light meal for us and stocked a few groceries in the fridge, both at our request. We settled in, helped Grace get comfortable in her new room (including hanging a black sheet over the window to block out the very bright streetlight outside her window), and tried to keep ourselves awake until a decent bedtime. With the 10 hour time difference and almost no sleep on the plane, we were all exhausted but knew if we went to bed too early we’d be up in the middle of the night. We kept Grace up until 5pm, I konked out shortly after 6, and I think Steve managed to stay awake until 9pm.  It was a tough night for Grace but every time she woke up she’d go back to sleep quickly with her favorite lullabies. In the end none of us woke up until 7am so we truly made up for the lost sleep. We awoke to a cool morning and cloudy skies but that didn’t stop us from heading straight out after breakfast to discover this ancient city. More about Monday’s explorations tomorrow.

Grace and Beth outside the St. George apartment Monday morning, ready to take on the day.

Tegucigalpa’s Offerings For Families

The last week of our trip to Honduras was spent in the capital, Tegucigalpa, or “Tegus” for short.  This was a return visit to Tegus for us, and it seems to have improved with time.  The airport is newly renovated and a much nicer experience.  The streets seem cleaner and better organized, even with political campaigns in full swing.  Truth be told, though, Tegus is probably not somewhere you’d seek out for a vacation as the culture and vibe is not quite the same as you might find in Antigua, Guatemala.  But, if you find yourself with kids in Tegus at some point, here’s our experience.

First, it’s hard to find a decent hotel with enough comfortable space for kids.  We’ve stayed at Leslie’s Place in the past before Grace, and it’s really nice but doesn’t have any suites available.  Fortunately, Humuya Inn is the top ranked hotel on TripAdvisor and deservedly so.  It’s in a quiet residential neighborhood, run by competent and attentive American expats, beautifully appointed and has huge 2 bedroom apartments for a reasonable price (and smaller hotel style rooms are available as well).  The kitchen is decent and flexible too.  Humuya staff also arranged a daily driver with van for us, which was a positive experience and well worth the moderate cost.

Humuya Inn

In Tegus itself, the highlights for us included El Mirador del Picacho, a park with huge Christ statue overlooking the city.  The overlook is next to a somewhat-maintained park commemorating the United Nations and some playground equipment.  There’s also a nearby zoo which apparently has seen better days (we gave it a miss).

Another worthwhile outing with kids is the Chiminike Children’s Museum, a fairly new site with a good variety of hands-on exhibits that appeal to a broad spectrum of ages.  Vacuum tubes, water games, karaoke, and a walk through the human body kept Grace entertained for several hours.

One of the most popular day trips from the city is Valle de Angeles, a small town about 40 minutes drive from Tegucigalpa.  While sometimes touristy, it’s still a pleasant colonial village with a profusion of leather shops, wood handicrafts, traditional pottery, a nice plaza and church, and cool breezes.  The bustling groups of people on the weekend provided an entertaining distraction for Grace.  We were pleasantly surprised to find a unique shop off the main street selling interesting ceramics, iron sculptures, and a plant nursery.  Called Hierro Barro y Verde, we found some beautiful ceramic Christmas tree ornaments, tiles, a cross, and iron hanging card holder to take home.  It’s a new shop, run by mother and daughter, is only open on weekends at this point, and is across the street from the Museo Santa Maria de los Angeles.

While in Valle, we made a return visit to a restaurant we discovered on a previous trip called El Turistico (not as bad as the name might suggest).  It’s on a hill overlooking the town, has great anafre (melted cheese appetizer) and well priced steak.  I would be remiss if I didn’t also put in a plug for the venerable chicken institution in Central America, Pollo Campero, which has several locations around Tegus.

Hopefully this brief overview of Tegus’ possibilities is helpful for your next visit there with kids!  Have you found other good spots for kids in Honduras?  Please share!

Barefoot Cay – Perfect Accomodation For Families Visiting Roatan

Barefoot Cay is an exquisite piece of paradise in the otherwise rough-around-the-edges island of Roatan. For Thanksgiving our extended family of seven (including our two-year old, Grace) traveled there and had almost the whole cay (tiny island) to ourselves. We took over three of the four bungalows and enjoyed getting to know the handful of other guests who were staying in the fourth bungalow, in several yachts at the marina and in the new lofts the resort has built on the mainland.

Some of the best amenities of this beautiful little cay include the palapa on a dock out over the water, the clear blue water, delicious, well-prepared food in an intimate dining area, and the well-appointed bungalows completely furnished down to the food processor and blender! We felt very comfortable at Barefoot Cay with our 2-year old, Grace. The staff went out of their way to fix special meals for her, entertain her, and suggest outings for the whole family she would also enjoy.

We were overwhelmed by the wonderful staff at Barefoot Cay. Mel and Fernand at the front desk were there for every little need we had, from taxi service to laundry to ideas for where to go out to dinner. Owners Milesse and John made us feel like personal guests in their home, not as paying guests of a resort. Staff in the dining room, dive shop, housekeeping, and spa were all so friendly but always professional. We have stayed elsewhere in the Caribbean with very little contact with resort staff, but everyone at Barefoot Cay was always happy to see us and so warm.

One highlight for our party was the dive shop. None of us were divers before but three of us did the Discover scuba class and were amazed by the personalized, professional service of the instructors at the dive shop. Most of the time we had a one-on-one ratio instructor to student, and at one point we even had two instructors to one student. They made us feel so safe and comfortable with the new sport.  We were lucky to have grandparents along to watch Grace while we were out diving.

Another daily highlight were meals. We ate about half of our dinners in the resort dining room and they all were deliciously prepared, including the special meals for Grace. The rest of the time we cooked for ourselves in our bungalows after stocking up at a nearby grocery store.

The only downsides of Barefoot Cay are not actually the fault of Barefoot Cay. They are the same downsides we posted previously about all of Roatan. Here they are: 1) garbage floating in the water 2) sand flies and mosquitoes and 3) the ugly shipping dock next door. The reality is, Barefoot Cay is in a developing nation. Garbage-polluted water is a problem in every developing nation. It wasn’t always an issue at the cay but seemed to be worse after heavy rains. We’ve heard it’s not a problem at all in the dry season (first part of the year). As for the bugs, Barefoot Cay staff work tirelessly to keep the bugs down, spraying day and night with non-toxic sprays and handing out complimentary bug repellent to guests. Still I think they’d have to drop a pesticide bomb on Roatan to get rid of them all. The one or two times we forgot bug spray resulted in literally hundreds of sand fly bites on all of us, which are still itching a week later. Finally, there is a ship yard next door but it really isn’t that bad. It never bothered us but you may want to look the other way if it bothers you.

All in all, we LOVED Barefoot Cay and highly recommend it to families traveling to Roatan. Milesse, John and their staff have obviously worked incredibly hard to create a beautiful spot in a harsh environment. It’s a wonderful destination for the whole family if you’re looking for a Caribbean destination off the beaten path, but still comfortable and affordable.

Photo Gallery of Barefoot Cay

Grace exploring the new garden area, including a tortoise-shaped pond

The pool area, taken from the resort’s dining room

Our 2-bedroom bungalow with a patio opening directly onto the water.

View of the resort as you approach from the mainland.  The cay is separated by narrow canal from the mainland but this small separation makes it completely private.

Steve and Grace enjoy a quiet moment on one of the cay’s many hammocks.

An RV Plus Toddler Plus Canada = Unforgettable Adventures!

Every adventure-loving family needs some good adventure-loving friends. For us, those friends are Son and Heidi plus their adorable two-year-old, Josh. We’ve traveled domestically and abroad with these guys (Canada, Honduras, many a camping trip) but for some reason they didn’t invite us along on this one. Go figure? At least they shared their story with us though. Read on for their adventures exploring Canada this summer in an RV.

Written by Son Cao, world traveling dad

It sported a full kitchen, full bathroom, a slide-out bedroom, and eight cylinders of Detroit’s finest to grind up mountain passes. It had a TV, an antenna and possibly its own satellite. Hungry for both food and adventure, we secured our toddler son into the carseat, cranked up the ipod, and peeled out of the RV rental parking lot. Just two hours before, we had landed in Calgary airport, were picked up by a driver from AlldriveCanada.com and delivered to our new home for the next two weeks. After stocking up at Safeway, we pointed Beast westward and lumbered toward the Canadian Rockies.

Interior Configuration

In the Canadian Rockies, an RV was an ideal way for us to travel, allowing us to take in many of the contiguous national parks while still providing a consistent environment for our toddler. Accommodating for small children may take some creativity but it’s possible. Some lessons learned about reserving an RV when traveling with kids:

Before you book, spend a few minutes on the phone with the rental agency to get a clear understanding of the floorplan and seatbelt configuration. Unlike the passenger car market, the RV market is very segmented and a wide variety of floorplans exist. Information on websites only provide a brief description and often leave out information important to parents. Ask where a carseat could go during the day and where a pack-and-play could fit in the evenings. Even though our RV was a 2005 model, it had seat belts a la 1964 lap-style in the back. We secured the carseat to the bench seat but it was not within reach if we wanted to hand our son a snack. In the evenings, we set up a pack and play on what would have been a twin bed (we slept in the fold-down couch that turned into a queen bed).

Ask about the specific model of RV and if time allows beforehand, visit an RV dealership to check it out. This helps you plan and also gets the kids involved in the anticipation of the trip.

If you plan on parking your RV at the site and not moving it until you leave, then the size of the RV is less relevant. We wanted to drive to trailheads each day so we opted for a smaller vehicle that can pack up quickly and that was not a nightmare to park. Another option for those who like to leave the RV and take excursions is to rent a truck and trailer combination, also available from most RV rental places.

When you pick up the RV, a technician will spend about 20 minutes going over the operation with you. Unpleanstries like emptying the sanitation tank are discussed. As far as I can tell, all RVs have the same type of hookups – electrical, water, and sanitation. If you get confused while on the road, ask a fellow camper at the site. The main systems on an RV include the fresh water tank, the sanitation tank, and an electrical system you can plug in at a site. The tanks lasted about 3 days before needing tending.

Traveling with children inevitably means traveling with an abundance of “stuff”. Since the RV doesn’t have much storage space, we unpacked into the RV while at the rental lot and stored our empty suitcases at the agency, saving us lots of room in the RV.

My son is used to 3-hour drives in his carseat but even he was starting to fuss toward the end of the trip. Fortunately, my wife had the foresight to pack a bag of surprises, which she doled out every few days to keep his interest. It can be anything from small books to toy cars or trucks that he hasn’t played with in a long time. A DVD player also helped pass the time as a last resort.

The Canadian Rockies

If you’ve been to majestic Glacier National Park in Montana, you got a glimpse of what the Canadian Rockies are like. However, in Canada, this scenery expands over a couple hundred miles. An RV is ideal because it allowed us to take in 6 national parks in the vicinity within a two-week period. When not parked at the camp-site, we searched out trails to enjoy the incredible scenery. Here are some things that worked for us.

We used an Ergo Baby Carrier that Beth and Steve lent us. It was incredibly comfortable and, best of all, easy to pack. Our son quickly grew attached to it.

We got into a routine of downing a quick breakfast and getting to the trailhead no later than 10am, for two reasons. 1) We beat the crowds and tourbuses and 2) we could get back to camp in time for a mid-afternoon nap. Seriously, the trails we recommend below were popular (and rightly so because they were beautiful) and an early start made a real difference in the enjoyment of the hike. It was also easier to find a place to park the RV.

We used the Moon Canadian Rockies: Including Banff and Jasper National Parks (Moon Handbooks)as our guide. While it pointed out some great hikes, specific hours and prices of amenities were not reliable. Whatever book you use, confirm information at the visitor center.

If you plan on spending more than a week in the national parks, consider purchasing an annual family pass at the first gate you enter for about $140. This pays for itself after about 6-7 days.

Banff

Tunnel Mountain Campground has full electrical, sanitation, and water at each campsite. This was by far the toniest campsite we found. Ask for a spot in the 100 row for a view of Mount Rundle. Avoid taking the RV into town after 10AM because parking will be difficult to come by. We recommend hiking the Hoodoos Trail and also stopping by the Fairmont Banff Hot Springs to view a real luxury hotel. The town of Banff is super-touristy but has any amenity you might need. We also recommend the Johnston Creek Canyon Trail if you get there early. If you pack a lunch and start early, take this trail to the Ink Pots for a gorgeous 360-degree mountain valley view.

Tea House at Lake Agnes above Lake Louise

Lake Louise

From Banff, we drove to Lake Louise along the Bow Valley Parkway, which is much more scenic than the TransCanada Highway. Odds are high that you’ll spot bighorn sheep, elk, and bear along this stretch.

Our favorite hike experience by far has to be the Lake Agnes hike starting at the famous Fairmont Lake Louise Hotel. The climb is steady enough to deter the D&G-sunglass-toting crowd spilling out of the tour busses. A few kilometers up the trail is a tea house overlooking a waterfall and Lake Agnes. Plan your hike to arrive at 11AM when they open their doors. Sure, you pay more but how often are you going to have soup and tea in the midst of gorgeous mountain peaks next to a glacial lake?

 

Maligne Lake

Jasper

Heading to Jasper from Lake Louise takes you over the Icefield Parkway. We visited the Columbia Icefield, home to 5 (shrinking) glaciers that empty into the Arctic, Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans. Standing on the shrinking icefield brought home the impact global warming on our water supply.

Jasper itself is a vibrant small town in the same vein as Bozeman, MT and Boulder, CO. Dining options and greenspace for kids are widely available. Maligne Lake in Jasper National Park offered incredible scenery. Here you can spot elk and even herds of caribou. An additional bonus is that most of the crowds encountered at Banff and Lake Louise do not make the trip north to Jasper.

Overall, we had a great time absorbing unbelievable scenery of the Canadian Rockies. Our son loved the mountains and waterfalls and came to expect them daily. The RV added to the adventure, while providing comfort and consistency.

The All-Inclusive Resort – Good For Parents, Fun For Kids

By nature we are not “all-inclusive” types of travelers. We prefer the thrill of not knowing where or what we’ll eat for dinner until the time arrives, giving us the opportunity to discover a culinary treasure (or to end up hungry and disappointed!). While the latter may not be a big deal for most travelers, when children enter the picture meals, entertainment, lodging, transportation and other travel details are the last things some parents want to think about. The all-inclusive resort solves these problems by taking care of all these details for you (and you pay a handsome price for the service as well).

You won’t find us in a resort for every vacation but you will from time to time. Last Thanksgiving we traveled to the Caribbean island nation of Turks and Caicos. Ah paradise. We actually opted out of our hotel’s all-inclusive option, instead doing a combination of our own cooking, eating at the resort’s restaurant and dining outside the resort. Still the resort took care of our transportation and activities so we were well cared for and had to do very little planning on our own.

If you’re looking for a quiet, safe Caribbean destination we recommend Turks and Caicos. It’s far less touristy than many of its neighbors and it’s perfect for a family wanting a relaxing getaway for everyone. We stayed at the Ocean Club Resort on the island of Providenciales, which is accessed either through New York or Miami. There’s not much to do in Turks and Caicos beyond lay on the beach, snorkel, take a boat trip, scuba dive, or visit an island full of huge iguanas. We were looking for quiet relaxation so the island was perfect for us and the extended family who met us there. Our daughter Grace was 9 months old and loved splashing in the resort pools and digging in the soft white sand. What more does a baby need?

We recommend renting a condo with a kitchen rather than just a hotel room. Restaurants prices in Turks and Caicos are comparable to the U.S. or often more expensive, since they cater to wealthy tourists. Even groceries at the local IGA were expensive (everything is flown in from the U.S.) so we brought a suitcase full of non-perishables. We also brought enough diapers, wipes and baby food for the full week because we had heard these were expensive and hard to find, which turned out to be true. In some ways it was easier to do much of our own cooking and dine in our condo, along with our family in the condo next door. This way we didn’t have to figure out transportation to restaurants, worry about missing our infant daughter’s bed time or care if she got fussy at mealtime.

Do you have a favorite resort destination for your family? We want to know about it so leave a comment here.

Rental Apartments Vs. Hotels

One of the potential pitfalls to traveling with children is being cooped up in a small hotel room, tiptoeing around the room while they sleep or keeping all the lights out while you’d rather be doing something else. We have nearly given up on hotels when we travel because of these downsides. Instead, we have found it is more economical and spacious to rent an apartment, something the web has made quite simple.

Imagine these choices: get a hotel room in Buenos Aires for $150 a night with limited space and requires eating all your meals out, or spend about $120 a night for a two-bedroom two-bath apartment with a kitchen, living room and beautiful views which offers all the freedoms of living at home while traveling. You can imagine which one we chose. We have rented apartments in Vancouver, BC, Turks and Caicos, and Buenos Aires and have never regretted it. Apartments are often rented by a management company which provides additional services such as 24-hour emergency assistance, concierge services, and transportation.

In Buenos Aires, our daughter had her own room complete with crib arranged by the rental agency, and space for her to toddle around while we could read on the couch or use the wireless internet connection. Argentina is a perfect place to find a rental for your stay. There are many interesting parts of Buenos Aires, and easy access to supermarkets and restaurants makes choosing an affordable place to stay relatively simple.

We usually start looking for an apartment on the Vacation Rentals By Owner website, which has listings for apartments and homes all over the world. Many of the listings will link to a rental agency with their own website, which provided a good launching point for research. Other recommendations came from forums on Frommer’s website, which led us to ApartmentsBA.com. This is a well-regarded company with many rental options and helpful additional services such as arranging airport transportation and tracking down a Pack-and-Play (apparently not an easy task). The apartment we chose was half a block from a beautiful park where dog walkers being towed by 15 dogs at once entertained our daughter. It was also easy to walk 3 or 4 blocks to two different supermarkets, half a block to the laundromat (never more than US$5 a load), or countless banks and ATM’s. Most apartment buildings in Buenos Aires also have security guards, and our night watchman was friendly and helpful as well.

Our trip to Argentina provided a perfect contrast in lodging to reinforce our belief that renting an apartment is the best way to go. We chose to overnight in Mexico City on the way to avoid a red-eye flight, and the cramped quarters, hassle of getting a crib, and tiptoeing in the dark were good reminders of the benefits of more space in an apartment.

Have you had good (or bad) experiences renting your accommodations when traveling internationally? Any tips or good companies to work with?