Blue Jays vs Yankees?

If your idea of an epic sports trip is watching the Blue Jays vs the Boston Red Sox, you're in luck.

If your idea of an epic sports trip is watching the Blue Jays vs the NY Yankees, you're in luck.

If you're idea of EPIC is seeing all this in one weekend, you better sit down, take a deep breath and then find your credit card.

Will there be another year when the rivalries are this heated? Will the Jays be contenders next year?

Check out this schedule:

Now, since you're going to need some money for tickets and souvenirs, you might want to save $300 on flights, and instead of paying retail, cash in your Air Miles for the flight. (If you pay retail for the flights it's $420 if you book asap) 

Cashing in your Air Miles will be at a very affordable rate of 1600 Air Miles and just $123 in taxes. You can put the savings towards tickets or the hotel. 

A quick glance at Stub Hub says you can have game tickets for about $30 each. They won't be great seats, but you're in the building. (Also check Ticketmaster.ca for seats)  So 3 games for about $100, plus flight tax, and hotel (split with a buddy) $300. Plus hot dogs ($11 each) and a few beers ($12 each) I'll estimate $650 for your epic weekend per person. 

Worthy of the EPIC WEEKEND title, if you're a baseball fan.  

Don't wait on any of this. as the pennant race heats up, so will ticket prices, hotels etc. 

I've actually done this Blue Jays trip before and watched them play the Boston Red Sox, so if you have any questions, I have the personal experience to answer them. (We stayed at the Doubletree Hotel, a place we picked up off of Hotwire.)   We had a great time, of course, there's something special about an MLB game that you just have to experience for yourself. 

Wow yourself in Europe

There's a new budget airline on the market and they are out to WOW you, literally.

Wowair.com is a new airline from Iceland that is connecting Europe to the United States, through 2 east  coast cities. They are flying direct to several European destinations from BOS (Boston) & BWI (Baltimore) airports.

Their introductory prices are burning up the Internet. $99 from Boston to Amsterdam?  Wow!
They are also showcasing their fares in really nice visual graphs to show you at a glance when the best deals are. I definitely like the ease of finding the bargain fare. It's like they want you to find it.... which is, of course, quite contrary to the big airlines and how they present their deals.

There are low cost add ons for insurance and extra baggage.

But Cathie... I don't live in Boston!  These deals aren't relevant to me. 

Well, did you know it only takes 2500 Airmiles & $150 to get a roundtrip ticket from Winnipeg to Boston? Maybe you'd like to add an NFL football game to your itinerary while you're in Boston?  Now you're thinking like an adventurist!

Where do you want to go now?

Under $400 to Boston

Would you like to take in a Red Sox game this spring?  There's fabulous savings through Air Canada on flights to many US cities including Chicago, Boston, Washington and New York, if you book before February 9th. Sale dates through May 2015, holiday black out periods do apply,

Promo code is 30PROMOEU

$350 to New York City (are 2 airports to choose from on sale) 

$424 to Baltimore, Maryland

See the Boston Red Sox

Are you a baseball fan? Wouldn't it be amazing to see the World Series Champion Boston Red Sox play at Fenway Park?  Yes it would! And if you start planning the trip now, you'll nab a bargain.

Delta Airlines has Boston (BOS) Logan Airport on sale NOW. This is true for dozens of departure cities across North America.  In some cases, flights are about 40% off. Sale dates appear straight through until August.

Sales and preferred dates don't last long. I'm guessing you have a 2-3 day window to book your flight. After that you can take your time booking the rest of your baseball dream trip. You might even want to rent a car for a day or two and see Cape Cod and the ocean. How about a seaside lobster roll? Doesn't that sound like a well-rounded week? Now you can sell it as a couples' vacation to your spouse! LOL

Step by step: 

1. Go to the Boston Red Sox schedule and pick the game(s) you like. Baseball often plays 2-4 days in a row at home. This should give you a chance to pick a couple different opponents you wish to see. (Make sure your dates don't align with major holidays/events, unless you wish to pay more)

2. Run your dates through an iphone app like "On The Fly" to get flight prices. (See screen shots below.) Or, go straight to Delta.com. You can then book through whatever travel service you like. If you want to double dip.... go to airmilesshops.ca and then click through to expedia.ca. You will be booking through a trusted operator, plus collecting Air Miles on the value of your purchase. (Which of course, when accumulated can later be used towards a different trip. See how I do this? )

3. Get tickets to the games. Cheapest thru the Boston Red Sox site, but you can also use Stubhub.com if you are looking to score particular seats or a game that is normally hard to get tickets to. Expect to pay more.

4. Watch for hotel deals near Fenway. This is the easy part. No rush...though good to start looking now and watch for loyalty specials with your favourite chain.

Total estimated costs per person:

Flights: $365
Tickets $100 (2 games)
Cabs to/from airport: $35*
Hotels 5 nights $300*
-----------------------------
$800

*Cost split between 2 people
Food/souveniers/tours extra

For my examples I have searched and chosen May 28-31st games. You could see the Atlanta Braves and the Tampa Bay Rays.  There are substantial savings with this flight sale. Best rates are out of GFK. You can choose flight times in both directions that do NOT NECESSITATE an overnight stay in Grand Forks. Awesome flight times available. ***If you don't already have a Delta Skymiles loyalty account. Make sure to sign up first. It costs nothing!

Now that you're booked, enjoy! You've got something amazing to look forward to this summer!