Tracking flights through YAPTA

As per a recommendation by a user, I have now logged onto YAPTA, a website which allows you to track the price of flights you might want to take in the future. I am hoping to go to England at some point within the next four months, so all I did was enter the details, save the trip, and allow the website to find good fares for me. I guess this concept works best if you're flexible with your trip and can plan ahead. If I do get a ticket and register those details with YAPTA, they will notify me via email if there is a price drop for which I get credit I can use toward a future flight. Sounds good. Let's see how it works out over the next few months.

YAPTA

10 savvy travel sites

This slide show from fastcompany.com caught my eye. Introducing some great travel sites, I wonder if anyone out there has actually used ones like YAPTA or DOPPLR. For future posts, I hope to review some of these on this blog, and perhaps, even use them. The all-time favorite Tripadvisor, is not surprisingly, also on this list.

If you have used one or more of these websites, leave your feedback here.

'10 Hot Travel Websites'

Bar with a view in San Francisco

p.s. This image is courtesy of the Grand Hyatt website.

Apparently there are lots of swanky high-rise bars in the city of San Francisco, such as the famed Harry Denton's Starlight Room, or the Top of the Mark for instance. While I planned to research other similar swanky hot spots and visit the aforementioned, my discovery of the Grandviews Lounge atop the Grand Hyatt near Union Square was quite accidental.

After having a reasonably nice dinner in Chinatown one Friday evening, and with plans of having a drink before we left for the suburbs, we gasped at the sight of a very chic lounge bar steps from Chinatown, only to be politely turned away because it had just closed. It was 9:50 pm! While why most eateries and bars close so early in SF is an intriguing myster, and fodder for another post at some future time, this disappointment spurred us on to a most wonderful discovery.

In a much earlier post, I had reminisced about discovering a wonderful lounge serving late night desserts and wine at the five star rated Peninsula Hotel in Chicago. I hoped to discover the same in San Francisco, and there it was - at the Grand Hyatt, on Stockton at Sutter.

The night was indeed very young, and we were very glad to find out that the Grandviews Lounge was open till about 2 am. Perched up on the 36th floor, the elevators opened up into a hallway, and then muted lights, marble, house music, cacophony, and oh..grand views.

We walked towards the bar and found a table with a view. Service was very fast, given how busy it was. Clientele were a mix of hotel guests, and people like us who were simply looking for something decent open past 10 pm. The age group was 25-40.

We ordered a Bailey's Irish Cream Creme Brulee at $12. Beautifully presented, it was heaven melting on your taste buds. Coupled with the fantastic views, it became a night to remember.

Another tip: If you're driving into the city, do use the Sutter-Stockton garage, which also happens to be across the street from the Grand Hyatt. After 6 pm, it only charges a maximum of $7.50.

The Grand Hyatt and Grandviews Lounge

How to make it to your Time Square Party!!

You've got the tickets. Whew! Now you hear the ticket clerk say to get there really early, and maybe, just maybe you'll make it. Funny they didn't have that disclaimer on their website when they were selling the tickets! "It's all up to New York's finest - if they want to be a******s, they might not let you in" came back the cheery reply from the clerk.

Things are, I'm glad to say, not that dreary. If you follow a few simple rules. Like many others, we were understandably anxious about whether we could actually get in to our pre-booked party in Times Square, given the entire area starts shutting down from around 4 pm in preparation of one of the world's greatest New Year's Eve parties.

Leaving early is always a good thing. Let's say your party starts around 9 pm. Follow the simple rules to make sure you make it:

• Listen to the local NYC news on the morning of the 31st, or search online for all information on local transit closures and times. This will form the basis of your journey plan.
  
• Leave as early as you can - around 7 if you're staying in Midtown, earlier the further away you are.
• Don't forget to take your tickets and any associated receipts, and keep them handy! This is what you'll need to show to the police.
• Get as close to your venue as possible, and then locate the police, and ask them (very nicely) about how to get to your venue. Show them your tickets.
• If you're lucky, you'll be personally escorted as close to your venue as possible. If he or she's a grouch, excuse yourself politely and locate another officer. Especially one who looks like they're having a good time!
• Even if you get to your party well ahead of time, line up. If you're with a group of friends, take turns to keep your places in the line, as it might be pretty cold at the time. Speaking of which, wrap up as warmly as you can!
  

Honestly, this simple approach works. Don't leave for your party at the last minute, because the more people descend upon Times Square, the harder it will be for the police to give you their attention, and they might just ignore your request! You don't want that to happen now, right?

We left early enough and were extremely lucky to have several police escorts walk us to our venue. We were really overcome with their friendliness, and could not believe it when they actually walked us right in front of the ball drop. There were hardly any people congregating there at the time, and we saw the TV and live band crews setting up frantically. The crystal ball was there right at the top of those billboards, glowing brightly. It was surreal.

Though this advice may be a little late, I hope it will come in handy for all those planning to visit the Big Apple next year. I spent quite some time online looking for similar information last week, but was disappointed. And so I hope this helps someone.....

How to party in Times Square (NYE) and beat the cold!

It sounds so sexy and exciting, doesn't it? Watching the ball drop in Times Square has got to be one of the best ways of spending New Year's Eve. Well, not if you're not a teenager anymore. Not if you haven't loaded up on the hot dogs and beer, and aren't really in a mood to scream your way into the new year, just to keep yourself warm, along with a million other die-hard revelers.

Many of us are enamored with the idea of being in New York, in Times Square and watching the crystal ball drop live. I am one of those people. But I am also one of those people who are not excited about the prospect of standing in the freezing cold for hours. So if you're like me, and realize that spending those few extra dollars could make a difference between having a really good time and having an anti-climactic and miserable time, then read on.

What I am suggesting is to check out the gazillion parties going on around the Big Apple. As a starter, I can suggest the pretty comprehensive site below. You can check out offerings from multiple cities around the US, but go over to New York, where there are about 150 listings (when this article was written).

Be it the Meatpacking District, Greenwich Village, Midtown or Bryant Park, there is something for everyone. There is something to suit all budgets too. Most offer a live broadcast of the ball drop, even those near or in Times Square. It's fascinating just to find out about all the parties!

So this is what we did. After spending a good few hours on this site in conjunction with Google Maps, we figured that a good choice would be the bar at the Paramount Hotel. On 46th St and minutes from Times Square, this nightspot offers passed hors d'oeuvres, a champagne reception, a 3 1/2 premium open bar - all for $79! And get this - you do have the option of stepping out to catch the ball drop live since its minutes away, or if you can't stand the cold, to just stay in and catch it live on the screens. The best of both worlds!

Then there's a general admission at most of these places for around $30 after 12:30 am. So say if you did opt to stay out most of the night, but then wanted to have a drink or two after it's all over, it doesn't have to break the bank!

So there you have it. You could have a fabulous night drinking top shelf stuff, nibbling on goodies, keeping warm, and being near it all. Caveat: Not all general admission prices are in the $80 range, so shop around! The bigger name clubs and nightspots may have general admission tickets from $150 upwards, but they may offer more than some of the more reasonably-priced places. Go for something which suits you, in terms of budget, what's included in the price, and location. And remember that the experience will last you a lifetime. You will have some good stories to tell, and glamorous memories to hold on to!

If you do decide to give this a try, or have done so already, don't forget to drop in a line here. But whatever you end up doing, have a great New Year's Eve!

The New York City 2008 Party list

The Top 25 travel web sites

Wanted to share this very comprehensive resource with you I found on CNN.com about Travel & Leisure. A recent article by Travel & Leisure (see link below) includes mini-reviews and links to what it considers to be the top 25 travel sites.

Since Expedia and Travelocity exploded onto the online travel scene all those years ago, sites have had to evolve in their offerings, as travelers become more and more discerning. ( I still remember the excitement and awe I felt when I booked my first flight online in 2000, from London to Zurich).

There are gazillions of travel sites out there, and not all great! Which is why this article is useful if you've decided to ditch your agent or simply want to see what else is new out there in the world of travel.

Several sites stood out for me. Farecast.com looks at historical price rises and falls, and helps you to decide when to buy a ticket by allowing you to access little charts indicating price variation. If it thinks a price will fall, it will tip you to wait. If you select a price, it will take you straight to the carrier's website you selected. Cruisecritic.com is not a booking site, but a comprehensive one-stop-shop on all things cruise! Xe.net is a great site for doing those quick currency calculations, real-time of course. Farecompare.com does exactly what it says in its URL..and more. Flycheapo.com educates you about all the low-cost carrier airlines in Europe, who flies where, but not the prices. and last, but by no means least, I really like the look and feel of Chowhound.com, a super-information packed website about food, user generated unique recipes, various places across the country and their best edible offerings, videos, blogs, forums etcetera.

Why don't you make up your own mind about which sites you like the most? Have you used some of the sites already? Tell us about them! Good or bad experiences, we want to hear from you here.....

Top 25 Travel Web Sites... according to T&L

How to guarantee a good hotel at a great price!

In this post, I will keep it short and sweet, and try to point you in the right direction of ensuring a great hotel at a good price:

1. Open up multiple tabs on one browser window.
   
2. Enter the addresses of the popular websites on each - Expedia, Orbitz, travelocity, tripadvisor etcetera and any others that you may use to book hotels.
3. Generate searches on each of the above websites using your criteria (the same criteria for easy comparison).
   
4. Narrow down the list to the hotels you feel are going to work for you, and compare the prices/package on each tab if offered by multiple sites.
   
5. Now search those hotels on Tripadvisor, and see how others have rated it.
6. If you are happy with what you've read, go to the hotel's website itself, and check if they have the same package you want at a lower price. If so, book with the hotel itself. Otherwise, go ahead with the best-priced travel website offer.
   

Other methods:

• Check the local press (travel supplements in newspapers) for any discounts.
• If you do not really care about the exact location of the hotel, sites such as Hotwire and Priceline may work for you. Visit betterbidding.com which will advise you about possible hotels in a category for your city, and what a reasonable bid may be. I was able to secure a 4 star hotel in London two months ago for $80 on Priceline after consulting with this website - an absolute steal!

Any other tips from readers are most welcome.

How to score tickets to Wimbledon?

Where you love tennis or not, this is an experience in itself. If seeking Britishness is what you're after on your next trip to Blighty, this is the place. As you may know, it takes place during June and July, and if you're lucky, you may even get a sunny day or two. No, it needn't cost an arm and a leg. Another popular misconception about London.

What you have to have is a willingness to line up for a while. About 5 hours, maybe 6. Your chances are higher earlier in the tournament and on a weekday. I have managed to be at Wimbledon and see great matches for 5 years, and cannot wait to get back. If you get there really early, the box office may offer you tickets to Center court and Court No 1; otherwise just the ground pass.

But don't knock the ground pass just yet - apart from Center and No 1, it offers you access to all other courts, and early in the week, you're bound to see some big names at the smaller courts. The cost is between 5 and 20 pounds, depending on the day of the week and time of entry - check the Wimbledon website for more on this. A pretty good deal.

Also, being in the line is part of the experience. Everyone's there for the same thing. People of all nationalities feel bonded because of this common goal. There are mobile hot dog and burger stands, kids selling the paper and Wimbledon T-shirts, policemen and volunteers sharing good-natured banter with the people, and groups playing frisbee when the line comes to stand still.

I believe that they open the gates around 10 or 11, so after that, the line moves along nicely.

So, if you're on a shoestring budget (and especially as an American feeling the pinch of the weak dollar), here's what you do:

1)Make sure you're in London during Wimbledon!
2) Take cash with you - I'm not sure if the ticket office accept credit cards.
3)Get there on a weekday, and around 5 am - YES, 5 am. Believe me, there will be about five thousand people before you still, but you will have a good chance.
4)Have fun!

Check their website as well for more details. The nearest tube station is Southfields, zone 3.

Can I have a window seat please...?

is sometimes not the only question you should ask a travel agent, even though that is the only question which usually comes to mind. Very few of us even use agents to book trip nowadays, but it helps to be really geeky this once and know your flight's seating configuration, if you are really picky about where you sit.

I recently came across a website called seatguru.com and it was a revelation. You choose your airline, the aircraft type, and voila! - you have a seating chart. But it doesn't stop there! You can hover over seats using the mouse and see descriptions of whether there's limited legroom, whether the toilets are nearby, what the seat width is, whether or not the seat even has a window (believe me, there are 'window seats' on certain aircrafts without a physical window, I was in one on a long haul flight once and it wasn't fun!).

You will see a legend on the top of the page for each craft type, which indicates whether the seats are good or poor, and there is also information on whether the seats have their own in-flight entertainment systems or have an outdated central system (an important fact often overlooked when booking cheaper flights).

Of course, you're thinking, how do I know what aircraft type my flight uses? It says AA 55. Is that it? No, that is your flight number, not the aircraft type. When you book your flights online, you should be able to drill down to the level of detail where it mentions a flight type such as Boeing 767 or Airbus 330. That is the flight type. Or just ask your agent about it if you book offline.

Of course, there are no guarantees that you will get your dream seat, but it won't hurt you to try either. Good luck.

Seat Guru