Travel Tips

Travel Deals: Ski Savings Plus Fall Foliage & Mayan Specials

Locations in this article:  Santa Rosa, CA

French VineyardYou might not be online in time to catch our Daily Deals every night, which is why we’re rounding up the week’s best offers into one large travel deals column. This week, we have deals that will take you through until the end of the year. Keep reading for ski specials, 2 for 1 cruise packages and fall foliage offers outside New England.

Harvest Season in Wine Country

Savor the cooling autumn weather in Santa Rosa, California and stay at the Vintners Inn for two nights. Rates start at $580 and run from now through October 31. Included in that price is a split bottle of Vintners Inn Fumé Blanc, an $100 gift certificate for dinner at John Ash & Co. restaurant, and a turn-down service with freshly baked cookies. To make reservations call 800-421-2584 or visit their website.

Winter Wanderings

Get away to Park City for a ski trip and stay at the Hyatt Escala Lodge for as little as $117 per person per night for a three-night stay. Included in the deal is a dog sledding trip for four, a one-day lift ticket for four people, and a $50 food and beverage credit. For reservations, call 800-233-1234 or visit online.

Finding Foliage Outside New England

We’ve told you about fall foliage specials in Vermont and New Hampshire, but New England does not have the monopoly on leaf peeping. In North Carolina, the Grand Bohemian Hotel Asheville has a package designed to let you take advantage of the seasons changing down south. The “Picnics on the Parkway” package includes overnight accommodations, breakfast for two in the Red Stag Grill, a gourmet picnic basket with fresh southern ingredients handpicked from local farms, hiking for two along the Appalachian trail, a pocket guide of North Carolina birds, a 3-D topography guide map to the Blue Ridge Parkway and more. Plus, in Ashville in the fall, you’ll find a vibrant farmer’s market, apple and pumpkin picking and scenic Appalachian hikes and drives along the Blue Ridge. Package rates start at $394, per night. For more information or to book, visit them online or call the hotel directly at 828.505.2949.

Culinary Weekend in Baja

Instead of just waiting in line to dine at a celebrity restaurant, today’s daily travel deal goes even further and lets you spend the weekend with three acclaimed chefs. Rancho Pescadero in Baja California has created a 4-day/3-night weekend package hosted by Executive Chef Rodrigo Bueno and Guest Chefs Tim Goodell (Public Kitchen & Bar and 25 Degrees) and Kelly Liken (Restaurant Kelly Liken). It’s a weekend to eat some locally inspired dishes, taste some of the best Baja wine, take part in the Todos Santaos taco tour and pick up a few tricks of the trade at cooking demos and classes. The culinary weekend is set for November 29 through December 2, 2012. The culinary highlights include welcome cocktails and Chef Bueno’s Favorite Baja Antojitos, a garden tour with Head Gardener Catalina Edwards, cooking class and lunch with chefs Kelly Liken and Tim Goodell, Baja wine tasting, seafood dinner on beach, a multi-course gourmet dinner with wine and cocktail pairings and the Todos Santos taco tour. The package also includes 3 nights’ accommodation, daily breakfast, morning yoga and a welcome basket with amenities. Rates start at $1,740 (double occupancy). Click here for more information or call (910) 300-8891

Make Your Next Vacation Mayan

You have probably heard that December 21, 2012 is considered to be the end of the Mayan calendar (and perhaps the world)…so why not celebrate? Expedia has more than 100 hotels throughout the Mayan world that have deals of up to 40 percent off from now until March 2013. You’ll find savings in Cancun, Cozumel, Riviera Maya, Merida, Guatemala, Belize, and El Salvador. That’s not all. With 11 hotels, you’ll actually pay $0 rates on the date of the Mayan calendar reset, December 21, 2012. Hotels include Gran Meliá Cancún, Intercontinental Presidente Cancún Resort, GR Solaris Cancún & Spa, Hyatt Regency Cancún, Villa del Palmar Cancún, Great Parnassus Resort and Spa, Golden Parnassus Resort & Spa, Flamingo Cancun Resort, Jade Riviera Cancún Resort & Spa, Sapphire Riviera Cancún, and GR Caribe By Solaris Deluxe. Head to Expedia for all the information on this offer.

Windstar Cruises Offers 2-for-1 Special

Want to find winter savings? Plan ahead and hit the seas. Book before October 27 and you can take advantage of Windstar Cruises’ two-for-one fare as well as additional savings of up to $1,000 per stateroom on select tropical itineraries. Rates start at $1,299 per person, double occupancy, for three select sailings. There are itineraries that explore the Caribbean, starting in Dutch St. Maarten and visiting Le Marin, Pigoen Island, Roseau, Les Saintes and St. Kitts. Another option is “Jewels of the Windward Islands” sailing on the Wind Spirit where you visit Barbados, Bequia, Tobago Cays , Mayreau, Pigeon Island and St. George’s. And lastly, “The Passage Through Panama” is a 7-day cruise that sails through the Panama Canal and visits Isla De Coiba, Golfito, Bhaia Drake and Puerto Caldera. To make the deal event sweeter, this winter season the $18 million renovation of the entire Windstar fleet will be complete. To book, call Windstar Cruises at 800-258-7245.

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