November 7, 2003 - Poor Richard, wooly worms and grandpa's gout are all predicting a worse-than-usual winter across most of the US. Whether you're a detailed early planner, or a spur-of-the-moment vacationer, we've got some surf and sand offers that will help you escape to sunnier climes.
Northwest Airline's vacation packager, Worry Free Vacations, has a series of air and hotel packages to Mexico, Hawaii and the Caribbean that are being discounted by 20% when you book by November 15, use a special discount code and can depart out of any of the following: Dallas/Ft. Worth, Denver, Detroit, Las Vegas, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Oklahoma City, St. Louis, or Tulsa.
Travel is between December 1, 2003 and March 18, 2004 for any of these deals, all include roundtrip airfare and hotel. Airport taxes and security fees are additional. The sample prices listed below include the 20% discount:
From Denver
- Honolulu from $620.99 (seven nights in November); from $687.99 (six nights in March); from $710.99 (seven nights in April and May)
- Cancun from $446.99 (seven nights in January)
- Puerto Vallarta from $564.99 (seven nights in February and March)
From Detroit (all seven-night packages):
- Honolulu fom $512.99 (December - March)
- Cancun from $494.99 (January)
- Cozumel from $454.99 (January)
- Puerto Vallarta from $584.99 in (in January).
- Montego Bay, Ocho Rios or Negril from $513.99 (February and March)
- Nassau from $590.99 (January)
From Minneapolis/St.Paul:
- Honolulu from $689.99 (seven nights in December)
- Mazatlan from $327.99 (three nights in February and March)
- Cozumel from $450.99 (three nights in February)
- Cancun from $478.99 (seven nights January)
- Jamaican destinations start from $582.99 for March travel
- Costa Rica from $690.99 (seven days in December)
For specific details, visit this page on Worry-Free's site or phone them at 888/225-5658. You must refer to discount code DWFNW4431 when booking to take advantage of the 20%-off offer.
11th Hour Vacations
Last-minute types should look to 11th Hour Vacations, which is offering a "Free Airfare" component to many of its packages. This really boils down to a 30% credit for airfare based on the price of your hotel arrangements booked through the company. For example, if you book a $500 package for two persons totaling a $1,000 (the minimum you have to pay to qualify) you get up to a $300 airfare credit. The credit rises to as high as $1,800 for a total of $6,000 in hotel bookings. The firm will help you find the lowest possible priced airfare for your package, so it's possible that you won't have to pay for airfare at all. Improbable, but possible.
To qualify for the "free" roundtrip airfare, you must book a vacation at your choice of SuperClubs or Occidental Resorts listed on the 11th Hour website, in such places as Jamaica, Mexico, Aruba and more. The rules are explained at www.11thhourvacations.com/resorts/rules_all.php, where you can also make your reservations. Their Travel Support Center phone is 888/740-1998.
