[nelie]

Originally Posted by PhotoChick

Well, yes and no.

I travel a lot for my work and I go to Vegas every year for an industry convention. I can fly to Vegas from the east coast for a little over $200 round trip if I watch the airlines and catch the sales. I can't fly to SF or LA for double that, even tho it's only a state away. Vegas may be more west coast than east, but it's a destination location and there are tons of cheap flights there ... which was my point.

In fact, it's often cheaper for me to fly to Vegas than it is for me to catch a flight from Atlanta to NYC.

.

I think it depends on where you are coming from because I fly to CA twice a year and well this is the only year I've had trouble finding tickets for $300 or less and I travel at high volume times (Christmas, etc).

Vegas is cheap though, flights and hotels are generally cheap although I haven't been in years (and have no interest in ever going again).

[McKenziesmomma]

Originally Posted by McKenziesmomma

At first I ruled out the group thing because in order to get the group deal I thought you guys would have to send me your money cause to get the discount I would have to book the whole group at once....and let me just say NO ONE SHOULD EVER EVER send money to anyone they don't know or can not confirm is a valid business!!!!!!!! However....I have thought about going to a local travel agency to see about getting group deals and see if they can set up a group account for us and everyone here can send their money to the travel agency.....and I can give you guys the address and the web addess and tax ID number so you can investigate it and check with the better business bureau and such before you send your money so you feel comfortable!

Guys I need to quiclkly clarify something.

First of all I do not personally know Belinda. She owns a travel agency business and from time to time has put in some of her expertise advise (which is greatly appriciated). The reason I said what I did in the quote above about the tax ID number and verifying the business is because no one here knows who I am or who she is...or if we know each other or not....and whatever business we use in booking this as a group (if we do) should be able to be verified by everyone and therefore make them feel comfortable enough to send that company their money.......

Sending your money to a company without verifying their validity as a company would be no different than sending your money to a perfect stranger hoping to get the results you desire......

I'm in no way questioning the validity of her business.....I just wanted to let everyone know this!

Thanks

[McKenziesmomma]

Originally Posted by PhotoChick

Well, yes and no.

I travel a lot for my work and I go to Vegas every year for an industry convention. I can fly to Vegas from the east coast for a little over $200 round trip if I watch the airlines and catch the sales. I can't fly to SF or LA for double that, even tho it's only a state away. Vegas may be more west coast than east, but it's a destination location and there are tons of cheap flights there ... which was my point.

In fact, it's often cheaper for me to fly to Vegas than it is for me to catch a flight from Atlanta to NYC.

.

WOW that is awesome...please please share you secrets!!! That will greatly help people flying!

Originally Posted by JamieJo

SUPER DUPER cheap because they do not have a liquor license nor a gambling licence. They did have free round trip busses to the strip every half hour. B E A U T I F U L rooms...like the big rooms with full kitchens. I want to say that we spent like 75 bucks a night there and we went in March. It had two pools, one for families and one for adults...just NO nightlife or anything like that. Oh, AND, someone IS going to the Thunder From Down Under with me if we go to Vegas... hehe!!!

That hotel sounds good...find out the name please...I will check it out and put it on the list of hotels should Vegas get picked......

What is the "Thunder From Down Under" I plan on bringing my hubby with me so no male strip clubs (which I wouldn't do anyways cause I wouldn't want him to do me that way..LOL!) I'm assuming that is what that is???

Originally Posted by nelie

I think it depends on where you are coming from because I fly to CA twice a year and well this is the only year I've had trouble finding tickets for $300 or less and I travel at high volume times (Christmas, etc).

Vegas is cheap though, flights and hotels are generally cheap although I haven't been in years (and have no interest in ever going again).

Dang you and photochick need to share the secrets!

[luvja]

I've always wanted to go to Vegas

[mountain mama]

everything sounds good to me so far.. Melissa.. let me know if you need any help with anything..

and know that im always up for that spa vacay whenever you are! hehe

[heather1979]

I still think Las Vegas is by far the cheapest to fly to. I agree with photochick, I dont really think it matters where your flying from your bound to find a deal to Las Vegas. You gotta look its not always right under your nose. Southwest is always really cheap, if you have DING! its something from southwest that lets you know when certain locations have deals. I have found that even if you take one flight there and a diffrent back its sometimes cheaper. I live in Illinois and flying out of Chicago to Las Vegas is cheaper than going to Florida or California. If you go to some travel sites if you find a deal you can save it and they cant change the price. I mean they will after a while but you have a week or so to buy it.
Flying into smaller cities tend to cost more.
I like the spa idea too! I always wanted to go to a spa. Wheres that spa in TN, Melissa? I can fly there and back for $120

[stacylambert]

I'll go to Thunder from Down Under with you! I wanted to go last time I went but I was with my husband. Needless to say he did NOT want to go. hehe.

[futuresize6]

I'd be sooooo interested in 2010 but I have to finish up school-I'm done in June 2010 and then I'll take the nursing boards some time over that summer. I'm in if it's after June 2010-def need to finish school.Please , please , please keep me updated. Thanks so much!!!!!

[happy1025]

I'd like to jump in and vote for Vegas

[Suzanne 3FC]

I would suggest making individual arrangements and not go through a travel agent if you choose Vegas. Vegas offers many, many specials so it won't be hard to find something affordable to fit your individual needs. An agent would be helpful if you choose a cruise though, and there are cruise specialists that can help.

Obligatory disclaimer: 3FC is not connected with the meet and greet, it is an unofficial gathering of friends.

[mountain mama]

yeah, i agree with suzanne.. if we all find our own way to vegas and have just the hotel booked for us all it would probably be less hassle with money going from hand to hand and stuff like that.

[PhotoChick]

As far as finding the best deals or my "secrets" ... I don't really have any huge secrets. I just keep an eye on airfares and rates. I use kayak.com to track airfares, I check travelocity, orbitz, and a few others. I mostly fly Airtran or Delta since I can usually find the best airfares that way. Sometimes I fly Southwest, but that involves driving to another state, so I only fly SW if I am saving a ton of money (esp. with gas prices the way they are now).

I always book my hotels via priceline.com - bidding on them, not via their regular reservations. I do my research via biddingfortravel.com and then bid at the 3* or 4* rate only. I've never gotten a bad hotel via Priceline as long as I've done my research ahead of time.

It's really all about research and spending the time. For me it's worth 3 hours of my time on the Internet to save several hundred $$$>

.

[JamieJo]

www.superclubs.com vacationstogo.com and orbitz.com have always been good to me.

Thunder from Down Under is the Austrialian Male Review. It's kind of a strip show but it's HALARIOUS more then "dirty." It's a show, not a strip club...but don't get me wrong...They end up in little short things! I LOVED IT!!!

Oh, and this is the off strip hotel we stayed at. BUT if you book hotel/airfare and get one of the strip hotels, the flights are usually cheaper.

Wyndham Grand Desert Resort
265. E. Harmon Ave.
Las Vegas, NV 89109

It sounds like many are interested in Vegas (which is awesome!) but if some others of you decide on that SPA thing too, please keep me in the loop. That is one thing I have never done before and am also interested in that!

[nelie]

I agree with just keeping your eyes open. Airline tickets fluctuate from day to day, week to week. If you have a specific timeframe, you just keep an eye open. Yesterday, I found tickets to CA during Christmas for about $300 which is about half of what it has been for the last 2 months.

[JamieJo]

Another thing to think about...I booked a trip through Orbitz for what I thought was the cheapest price possible ( I was working different internet travel companies and some in person travel agencies) Turned out that my IN PERSON travel agent could beat the orbitz price if I just would have showed her what I could get it for with orbitz... There are 8 of us going to Cabo in Jan. Four of us booked with orbitz and the others got it cheaper through the travel agent just by showing her what they could get it on orbitz for...