We’re booked!
Anyone who’s been getting updates from Travelzoo or read any recent news articles knows that there are some great travel deals out there.
Last week United offered a tware (online fare posted on Twitter for 2 hours) for roundtrip between SFO and Sydney for about $650. It seemed like a great deal, until I looked into the domestic flights which were going to total about $800. If I booked the whole thing through Qantas, it was going to be about $1200. Turns out it was a good thing I waited because this week Qantas is offering deals for $458 roundtrip from SFO to Sydney. Since we’re wanted to visit Melbourne and Cairns as well, this bumps up our flight cost quite a bit, but we were still able to book our trip for well under $1000 including taxes and fees. Curiousity got to me so I checked our itinerary again today and it looks like the best deal is about $60 more than what we paid. Still a good deal, but I’m glad we bit the bullet and bought when we did.
I also used another one of my favorite travel sites today to book our hotel in Sydney. I have had good luck with the Name your price option on Priceline when looking for rooms in other big cities (LA, Chicago, New York, San Francisco), so I decided to give it a try. I feel comfortable bidding because you can choose your neighborhood, and I always pick 4 or 5 star hotels to ensure reputable places. I also like the excitement as you’re waiting for your bid to go through…it’s like you’re waiting to win a big jackpot. My bid didn’t go through for a 5 star hotel, but I bid for a 4 star at a little lower price and found a hotel that seems to be in a great central location and is almost 60% off the next best price I could find online.
More details to come but as for now, it’s official…we’re going to Australia for our honeymoon!
