Visitors Welcome!

Eye spy Vancouver! 

It seems that we have hundreds of new visitors this week. That's wonderful and welcome! Perhaps there's a common desire to escape this polar vortex and get away somewhere warm? I know I feel it!

If you're new here, first know I'm not trying to sell you anything. Simply, I'm a travel junkie and when I spy these deals and can't go myself, I do take comfort and it warms my heart (awwww!) knowing that someone else might be able to go and benefit from the deal.

Why do I look for deals? I'm a Manitoban. Enough said?

What is a bargain? To me, a bargain is something that I would gladly pay more for. It is also good value. Value is a personal and subjective term. But just because something is cheap does not mean it's a bargain. If it seems sketchy, or can't be recommended on Trip Advisor, I'm not interested. I live for the 5 star holiday at the 2 star price.

How do you find the bargains? For the most part, I stick to three bargain hunting principals:

1. Go when others aren't going. (Like stocks, buy low and sell high.) This is as simple as travelling after major holidays like Christmas or Thanksgiving.

2. If a market is being advertised, they want tourists. When they want you to visit, there are incentives. And competition among providers (like hotels) makes for better sales.

3. Keep your eyes and ears open. Twitter and other sources like airfarewatchdog.com provide some great tidbits. (Like when AFWD said flights to Boston were on sale from LAX, YVR & DEN, I thought, I wonder if they are on sale from our market too? The answer was yes.) You then just have to follow the trail that leads to the deal.

I have a job and family life, like everyone else, so I typically end up reading, researching and writing late in the evening. So watch for posts in the morning, that way YOU can capitalize on the bargain before the deals disappear.

Prices are time sensitive. That's why I use screen shots, to prove it was there. Prices can change daily or hourly. If you are prepared to act quickly, you get the best prices. As in the old Wheel of Fortune game show motto "once you buy a prize it's yours to keep!"  Meaning:  Once you click confirm and pay for your flight/hotel/package, it's done. That price/bargain is yours to keep - even if it was simply a typo or #deltaglitch. And you can buy the deal anywhere. Click expedia.ca or phone your favourite travel agent. It's up to you. Again, I'm not on commission or affiliated with anyone. Unless YOU want to hire me or pay me to travel and write about it.

I don't get paid to write, but that doesn't mean I don't know what I'm talking about. I might have been a best-selling author at one time, or I might be in the future. I have certainly travelled a fair bit in the last 5 years, and for the last year been documenting it here. Actually, this is an anniversary of sorts, a year blogging about travel bargains. That's 150 posts.

150 posts means there is quite a bit of solid reference material. If you wonder what bargains might appear this April, go back and read last April's blog. History often repeats itself.

I welcome your feedback and interactions. I am media friendly. Simply leave a comment, tweet me or track me down through the friend who sent you here. Whether it's 90 seconds on the radio, or a guest blog post, or even speaking at your staff meeting, we can talk.

I also LOVE MANITOBA. It's a wonderful place to live, work and raise a family. But it's cold, and I strongly believe that every time you travel, and for whatever reason (work, family, entertainment) you learn something and you bring that home with you and enhance your own community.

If you want to read about my finds regularly, please sign up for the e-mail notification. It's not me e-mailing you, it's the blogger system. I won't be using the addresses for anything. I definitely don't post even half my bargains on Facebook or Twitter.

What can you do for me? Share these posts, comment here and give me encouragement to keep doing this. And definitely, give me leads and recommendations on trips you've enjoyed yourself. I'm always searching for new warm and affordable destinations.

Thanks for stopping by. Stay warm!

@cdntripseeker