This weather has us seriously bummed: the rain combined with the temperature dropping to the 30s tomorrow - and staying there for the foreseeable future - makes us worried for our Vitamin D levels. Add in the fact that the sun seems to be going down immediately after lunchtime, and Seasonal Affective Disorder seems like a very real, and dreadful, thing.
So we scratched our regular Trip Pick and made this week's recommended destination an easy one: Miami. This weekend. We've found airfare that isn't exactly cheap but neither is it prohibitively expensive. We've also rounded up our favorite hotel choices for every budget, making this spontaneous splurge feasible for those who have a little cash to invest in their mental well being...
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An exception you make when traveling: I indulge in a great many things in the course of my daily life so I can't say there is anything particular to travel but if there's a
See's Candies at the terminal or a
Chick-Fil-A I will go in and get revolting. That has much more to do with geographic specificity/rarity than being on holiday though.
Most spontaneous trip: My favorite spontaneous trip ever was to
Saratoga Springs from Christmas Eve to Boxing Day. My best friend had
just suffered an EPIC breakup and was in a really sinister and twisty
headspace so we just got the hell out of dodge, booked a hotel room,
had burgers at
Chez Sophie
and martinis at
9 Maple for Christmas dinner, smoked our faces off,
went thrifting at this spot called
Reruns that has an incredible
collection of '50s dresses and coats, and bought a cheapo DVD player so
we could do nothing but watch multiple seasons of
House. It was our
gift to each other and to date my happiest Christmas.
Ever rented or swapped your apartment for vacation? Nope, my home is filled with too many secrets...
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This week's travel deals focus exclusively on airfare specials because we found some seriously low prices on flights around the globe. Better yet, all the fascinating destinations we're featuring are perfect for a get-out-of-a-rut fall or winter adventure.
Also, we have to give a shout-out to
Airfare Watchdog here - they're the site that we use to find the majority of the unadvertised sales that we share with you. If you haven't checked them out, definitely pay them a visit.
Finally, please also note that, all our listed flights are roundtrip, all-fees-and-taxes-included, and non-stop (unless otherwise noted). We detest stopovers!
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The Top 10 Flight Deals of the Week
- West Coast for Less: A sale we mentioned last week with flights to SF, Las Vegas and LA has been extended with prices at a super low $238 for winter and spring travel.
- Champers to France: This airline serves Champagne in coach and their fares are low until March 28th (with blackout dates around the holidays, naturally). Fly to Paris and Nice for just $695 this winter.
- Chinese New Year in Hong Kong: Fly to Hong Kong for $965 nonstop with an award-winning airline on select dates in January and February. Book soon as fares are selling out fast.
- Business Class to Europe for Less: Fly to Europe for New Year's in one of the nicest Business Class seats out there for just $1490. There's a stopover involved, but when you're flying fancy, who cares?
- Winter in Ireland at Very Cool Prices: It's just $558 from JFK to fly to Ireland on weekdays till March 28th. OK with stopovers? You can fly to London for $552.
- Barcelona Bargain: Fly to Barcelona for $570 from now till March 28th, with some blackout dates around the holidays.
- Bahama Blowout: It's under 3 hours from New York to Freeport, and only $312 this winter.
- Cancun - It's the way to Tulum: Tulum is one of our favorite places to escape the New York winter, and flights to its nearest airport, Cancun, are just $291 this January and February on multiple airlines.
- Miami in 2010: It's this week's last minute Trip Pick, but airfare prices for Miami are way better (duh) when you buy them in advance. The lowest we found? $214 for January weekends, leaving early Saturday mornings and returning Monday nights. Plan your first getaway for the New Year now!
