Affordable Travel Center

Peek Into Barcelo Resorts on the Riviera Maya

Just a hop, skip and a jump from Cancun at only one hour and fifteen minutes south of the Cancun International Airport,  past Playa Del Carmen, is the Riviera Maya.  

Take a quick tour of the Barceló Maya Beach and Maya Caribe resorts with travel pro Mark Murphy.

With 1,000 rooms split between the properties, shared pools, restaurants, and spa retreat, these two Barceló resorts represent a couple of the best value options available on Mexico’s eastern shore.

Explore Turkey's Ancient Ephesus

 

Ephesus is a city of Ruins these days, but once upon a time it was a thriving city full people and all their secrets.

From a dual purpose ancient library to the last house of the Virgin Mary, Ephesus holds spiritual significance to many people.

To everyone else, it is still must see while traveling in Turkey.

Culinary Travelers Get The Taste with LA Times, Food & Wine

The Los Angeles Times and Food & Wine will launched The Taste, an annual gastronomic event, in L.A. Sept. 2 to 5.

The Taste combines two previous culinary festivals -- Food & Wine presents: Taste of Beverly Hills and Los Angeles Times Celebration of Food & Wine.

The Taste will span up to nine events across Los Angeles, featuring the nation’s foremost culinary talent, a carefully curated list of L.A.’s best restaurants, and notable personalities, all converging for a festival expected to attract more than 20,000 guests throughout the course of Labor Day weekend.

Among the events will be restaurant tastings, cooking demonstrations, grand tastings, wine seminars and mixology performances. Celebrity guests and music artists will also be on hand, along with appearances by Giada De Laurentiis, Scott Conant, Art Smith, Ludo Lefebvre, Michael Voltaggio, Claire Robinson, Debi Mazar and Gabriele Corcos.

For more information,visit www.latimes.com/thetaste

BOOK FLIGHTS & HOTELS NOW

Rome, Florence & Venice Eight Day/Seven Night Custom Itinerary

Travel Impressions is offering an eight-day/seven-night customized itinerary to Rome, Florence and Venice.

This Italian getaway is priced from $1,753 per person double occupancy, and includes airport/hotel transfers in Rome and Venice as well ashotel accommodations for seven nights (Albergo Cesari in Rome, Grand Hotel Villa Medici in Florence and Luna Hotel Baglioni in Venice). Included is daily breakfast, one-way Eurail from Rome to Florence and from Florence to Venice.  Suggested tours (Rome by Night with Pizza Making Tour, Chianti with Wine Tasting Tour, Sightseeing on Foot and Gondola Tour) as well as hotel tax and service charges included.

Rates quoted are land-only, per person double occupancy, and are valid for travel July 16 to Aug. 31 and on new bookings only.

Additional travel dates are available with pricing varying according to dates selected and airfare can be added from gateways nationwide. Black-out, holiday, and peak season surcharges apply.

Admission to the Vatican Museum is not included in the rate nor are transfers to/from rail station and hotel. The program includes Rome, Florence and Venice. 

BOOK YOUR ITALIAN HOLIDAY TODAY

Omni Hotels Announces Memorial Day Weekend Package

Omni Hotels & Resorts is announcing a special Memorial Day Weekend offer great for a last-minute getaway.

Guests who book the Memorial Day Weekend package at select properties across the luxury brand will save 10 percent off a one-night stay, 20 percent off a two-night stay and 30 percent off a three-night stay.

The Memorial Day Weekend package is subject to availability with rates ranging from $139 to $229 per night and will vary by property and date. 

BOOK YOUR OMNI WEEKEND TODAY.

 

Lightning strikes airplane at Heathrow

Don't let a little lightning rain on your travel plans.

Although this video is striking and scary, it's a fairly common occurrence. according to air safety experts, and may have no impact.

It's pretty amazing to see nature and technology collide, don't you think?

For great airfafe and travel deals, visir www.affordabletravelcenter.com

Hotel.com mobile booking apps for iPhone, Smartphone

Hotels.com has launched two new smartphone applications for iPhone and Android.

With mobile bookings continuing to increase exponentially, hotels.com developed proprietary smartphone apps to make hotel search easy, quick and efficient while on-the-go.

Smartphone users can search and book more than 20,000 last-minute deals and search from over 135,000 hotels around the world on the hotels.com mobile booking apps.

Available in more than 30 languages, the apps allow users to sort and filter hotels, browse over two million user reviews, and find last minute hotel deals close to their locations.

Users can book as a "guest" booker or create a mobile hotels.com account from inside the app. The "sign in once" feature remembers the email and password, which makes future sign-ins seamless.

In addition to the new mobile apps, hotels.com fans can begin their hotels.com digital experience at the hotels.com Facebook page, or with hotels.com on twitter at @hotelsdotcom, where fans and followers will receive exclusive offers on travel deals.

Need a reservation now, find great rates at www.affordabletravelcenter.com.

Here's an interesting travel start-up for the DIY traveler.

Unanchor.com offers downloadable itineraries for the footloose freespirit.

The site also is looking for travel writers to share their expertise as well. Pay is $100 for most destinations.

Please note this is a revenue-sharing site, so payment is based on sales of your itinerary.

Mexico Is Caliente!

If you didn't know it already, the Mexico Toursim Board confirms it.  Mexico is a hot spot for destination travelers.

The Ministry of Tourism recently reported that during the Easter holiday period, hotel occupancy in the inner cities reported a 4.2 percent increase compared to last year. Locations such as Merida, Leon and Queretaro all reported significant increases of over 8 percent across the board. Additionally, hotel occupancy was up across many tourist destinations including Guanajuato (6.2 percent), Villahermosa (9.2 percent), and Aguascalientes (75.1 percent).

It is also worth noting that several major hotel chains are investing in Mexico and are set to open new properties in the near future. Just this past week, the W Hotel Chain announced plans to open properties in Mexico City and Riviera Maya by 2014, and Hilton Worldwide signed a franchise development deal with GS Consorcio Hotelero S.A. de C.V. for the DoubleTree by Hilton Queretaro. This four-story, new-build property, which is scheduled to open in the second quarter of 2011, is anticipated to be the first DoubleTree by Hilton hotel to open in Mexico, followed by additional locations opening later this year in Merida and Mexico City.

Currently, Mexico is the second-most-visited country for cruise travelers. In February 2011, the average expenditure of cruise travelers to Mexico was $90.70, an increase of 4.2 percent in comparison to the same month in 2010, and an increase of 12.4 percent compared to February 2009.

Several airlines, including Virgin America, recently launched nonstop flights from San Francisco International to Cabo San Lucas back in December 2011. Many airlines are considering increasing their routes to Mexico, including American Airlines and Continental.

Mexico continues to be the number one destination for Americans. As the U.S. Department of State has noted, "millions of U.S. citizens travel safely to Mexico each year," including "at least 1 million U.S. citizens who live in Mexico". The current travel advisory in place is an extension of the advisory that was issued in late 2010. Authorities in Mexico are working closely with the destinations pointed out by the travel advisory to ensure that there is necessary infrastructure in place to address any safety concerns. Last year, more than 22 million foreigners visited Mexico.

Most of Mexico's tourism destinations are located many hundreds of miles away from the Mexico/U.S. border where the majority of the reported incidences have occurred. The country asks all visitors to exercise the same safety precautions they would use when visiting any tourism destinations within or outside their own country.

At this time, Mazatlan and Acapulco are currently undergoing a period of transformation as infrastructure modernization, security and business development continue to be a key focus. "We recently found that of our foreign tourists that visit Mexico in 2010, 98 percent of those travelers often return and recommend Mexico as a destination of choice," said Rodolfo Lopez-Negrete, chief operating officer of the Mexico Tourism Board.

"We encourage anyone considering a vacation in Mexico to speak to any of the millions of visitors who chose to vacation at our destinations last year, and are planning on visiting again next year."

For more information, visitwww.visitmexico.com.

Viva Mexico!

U.S. Issues Worldwide Travel Alert After Bin Laden Death

The U.S. Department of State on May 1 issued an alert to U.S. citizens traveling and residing abroad about the enhanced potential for anti-American violence after U.S. Special Forces killed Osama Bin Laden, the head of the Al-Qaida terrorist group, in Pakistan.

The department said that given the uncertainty and volatility of the current situation, U.S. citizens in areas where recent events could cause anti-American violence are strongly urged to limit their travel outside of their homes and hotels and avoid mass gatherings and demonstrations.

U.S. citizens should stay current with media coverage of local events and be aware of their surroundings at all times.  This travel alert expires Aug. 1, 2011.

The U.S. said embassy operations in affected areas will continue to the extent possible under the constraints of any evolving security situation.

U.S. government facilities worldwide remain at a heightened state of alert. These facilities may temporarily close or periodically suspend public services to assess their security posture.

In those instances, U.S. embassies and consulates will make every effort to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens. U.S. citizens abroad are urged to monitor the local news and maintain contact with the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate.