Gourmet Travel

An El Cid vacation is really different from any normal family vacations that we are used to – it is a fun filled experience that lingers in the memory of each member for a very long time. The club provide adventures and extravagance to its members; this is necessary for family reunion and bonding. It makes each family on board, to have a rare experience which creates a lasting memory in their minds.

There are special packages available for families, but the experimental vacations offer members of El Cid vacation club to experience different cultures and beliefs and the opportunity to meet different people; all these while having immense fun. This is specially designed to create a loving atmosphere amongst the members of the family thereby establishing bond amongst them. Another package available is the family collection which is dedicated to create a loving atmosphere through games and adventures.

And due to its flexibility; El Cid vacation club operates a point-based system where points are redeemed by members to plan and at the same time, pay for their next vacation. Points can be used for experimental vacations and other options (hotel accommodations, rental cars and airline tickets). With this type of system, it makes it easy for members to have their prices slashed by the points gained on their previous vacation. This is one of the strategies used to control the budget of its members thereby making them satisfied and happy.

(ARA) – As temperatures drop, and leaves begin to turn, most of us are thinking of woolens and storm windows. But for some fortunate folks, it’s time to pack up and hit the road for sunnier climes. Across the northern latitudes of North America, the annual snowbird migration is set to begin. Dictionaries define “snowbird” as “one who moves from a cold place to a warm one in the winter.”

For those who travel by car, the trip to the Sun Belt means an exhausting drive on a busy highway, punctuated by nights in cookie-cutter motels. Consider enhancing your trip — or at least your accommodations — by staying in bed & breakfasts or country inns along the way.

“Bed & Breakfast Inns ONLINE offers a service designed for snowbirds in search of charming places to roost en route,” says Randy Fought, BBOnline founder and CEO. “Our unique Snowbird Route mapping feature makes it easy to locate interesting, luxurious places to stay on a long car trip, so people don’t have to settle for the ubiquitous chain hotels that cluster along the highways,” he explains.

Snowbird Routes make it easy for travelers to locate bed & breakfasts and small inns close by every major North-South Interstate highway. “Southbound travelers can plan their route, explore nearby B & Bs and communicate with innkeepers, all from a single starting point,” says Fought.

The system is simple to use. Starting from the Bed & Breakfast Inns ONLINE home page, click “Locate a B & B,” and then the Snowbird Routes link, which lists 20 Interstate highways. Click your route, and find a convenient stopover in the list on the left side of the page. Click “Draw a Map,” and your map appears on the right, showing all the inns within a radius of 25 miles of the town you chose. Beneath the map are links to photos, rates, directions and innkeeper contact information, and often a form for reserving a room online.

BBOnline’s Snowbird Routes cover 20 North-South Interstate highways, including Interstate 35, running from Duluth, Minn. to Laredo, Texas; Interstate 95, from Maine to south Florida; Interstate 75 from Sault St. Marie, Mich. to southern Florida; and Interstate 5 from northern Washington to the Mexican border.

Travelers can also locate inns with special amenities and features, such as those that offer discounts for midweek or extended stays, inns on the National Register of Historic Places and properties that offer extras like flowers or gourmet cooking classes.

The traditional gifts for a tenth anniversary are tin or aluminum. Not particularly exciting gifts. Expedia.com is forgoing the tin or aluminum for their tenth anniversary and giving what they call “incredible deals” on their top ten destinations. Get it – 10 year anniversary, top 10 destinations?

In addition to the incredible deals on the top ten, each week for ten weeks, the travel website will be featuring a limited-time offer on one special vacation spot. This week happens to be Mexico. From now until August 28th, you can save $100 instantly on a flight to Mexico and a hotel stay of six nights or more. After August 28th, presumably Expedia will choose another of their top ten destinations to discount even further.

So I thought I’d do a little comparison shopping to see how Expedia’s 10th anniversary incredible deal to Mexico stood up against one of its competitors – Travelocity. I picked a random Mexican destination – Cozumel; a random hotel in Cozumel – The Reef Club; and a random city to fly to and from – Philadelphia. I shopped for flight and hotel from September 4 – September 11 and choose the same exact flights.

The winner? Expedia did come in lower. At $2.068.73 (after $100 instant savings) their anniversary price was $120.27 less than Travelocity’s price. Both prices included discounts for booking air and hotel together and both included all taxes and fees.

So it seems Expedia’s anniversary deals are worth looking into. Here are the destinations that Expedia is offering discounts to during their anniversary.

Mexico – Choose from Acapulco, Cancun, Costa Rica, Cozumel, Los Cabos, Mazatlan, Mexico City, Puerto Vallarta, and Riviera Maya. And don’t forget – if you book your Mexican trip by August 28th and use coupon code MEX100 when you check out you can save an extra $100.

Las Vegas – Here are just a few of the hotels Expedia is offering their deal at – Sahara, Excalibur, Bally’s, Treasure Island, MGM Grand, Mirage and Mandalay.

Orlando – You can take the family to Walt Disney World, Epcot, Sea World, Universal, and Disney’s Blizzard Beach when you stay at local hotels such as Ramada, Lake Buena Vista, Royal Plaza, Hyatt Grand Cypress and The Florida Hotel. Stay three nights, get one free.

Los Angeles – There are 18 hotels to choose from with Expedia’s Los Angeles packages including Comfort Inn, Wyndham, Marriot Marina Del Ray, and The Tower Beverly Hills.

Caribbean – Choose from Antigua, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Cayman, Domincan Republic, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and USVI.

Hawaii – Choose from the islands Oahu, Maui, Kauai, and Big Island.

New York City – Take in a Broadway show while you stay in hotels such as The Pickwick Arms, Woogo Central Park, Salisbury or The Mansfield.

San Francisco – While in the city by the bay you can stay at one of fourteen hotels including The Bay Bridge Inn, Monarch Hotel, Miyako, Bay Landing, or Sir Francis Drake.

Washington D.C. – Fifteen hotels are available in the nation’s capital including Geroge Washington Inn, Washington Court, Lansdowne, and the infamous Watergate Hotel.

Europe – Some of Europe’s most popular destinations are included in Expedia’s tenth anniversary deal including London, Rome, Paris, Amsterdam, Munich, Barcelona, and Dublin.

In addition to their anniversary deals, Expedia is also giving away a $50,000 vacation and other weekly and daily prizes for those who choose to enter their contest