Honeymoon to Halifax

[Slipery]

Hi everyone,

I am hoping to go for a honeymoon to Halifax this summer. We'll be flying out on June 4th and returning on the 11 or perhaps the 12th. The original plan was to spend 4 nights at a B&B in Halifax and then 4 nights at a B&B in Cape Breton, but my fiance preferred staying at a vacation rental or a hotel rather then a B&B for the honeymoon.. I think I should be able to manage planning out all the activities. I am just wondering about what would be the best time to book flights and how should I book everything? Is Expedia the way to go? One thing that always kind of bugs me is that I always see people saying that they got a hotel room at a certain hotel for $80-90 a night on tripadvisor when the cheapest I can find is $150 for a night. Where do people find these super deals on hotel rooms? Also, the cheapest flights I can find so far are about $335 taxes in per person for return flights from Ottawa to Halifax. Will I be able to find anything better or should I book now before it is too late?

This is my first large trip that I actually have to plan ahead and book a flight and everything for so I just want to make sure that I don't waste any unnecessary money since the budget is tight ($2500 for everything for the 8 nights).

[sarnya]

Porter flies from Ottawa and Halifax... they have a 20% off sale right now. You could go r/t from Ottawa to Halifax for as cheap as $281 inc. tax per person. They're a great airline, plus they feed you and give you beer or wine on short haul flights. That might be nice for a honeymoon.

If you miss this sale (it ends in 5 days), they tend to have them every 4-6 weeks...always 20% off. They're typically associated with holidays (right now it's a Valentine's sale... I'm sure there will be a March break sale next month and an Easter sale after that).

You might see people getting cheap hotel rooms through Priceline or by making a non-refundable booking. I believe websites like Priceline work better for larger hotels and bigger cities. It's great to use if you want a cheap room near Times Square in NYC but a B&B on Cape Breton... probably not.

Personally, I wouldn't book anything through Expedia or any websites like that. I find it easier to book directly through the hotels, rental car agent or airline. It doesn't hurt to email the hotel and ask them for a discount or free upgrade because it's your honeymoon.

My wife and I were just on our honeymoon in South America and got upgraded to a nicer room doing this and one place had a bottle of wine waiting for us. It doesn't hurt to ask.

Get onto www.vrbo.com for vacation rentals.

Have fun planning it all... I'm sure it'll be a great time.

[Slipery]

Hey Sarnya,

Thanks so much for the reply. I am just curious how you found that $281 deal because I already applied the promo through porter and the cheapest I got was $638 for a 7AM leave time (a bit early) and $690 for an afternoon leave time which is $345 per person. Also as far as emailing the hotel... I just email and say "Hi, I am wondering if there is any way I could get a discount on your price or an upgraded room for the same price because I am on my honeymoon"? That seems to me like it won't work, couldn't people make up all sorts of reasons to ask for a discount?

Thanks

[sarnya]

Hey Sarnya,

Thanks so much for the reply. I am just curious how you found that $281 deal because I already applied the promo through porter and the cheapest I got was $638 for a 7AM leave time (a bit early) and $690 for an afternoon leave time which is $345 per person. Also as far as emailing the hotel... I just email and say "Hi, I am wondering if there is any way I could get a discount on your price or an upgraded room for the same price because I am on my honeymoon"? That seems to me like it won't work, couldn't people make up all sorts of reasons to ask for a discount?

Thanks

I just priced it again with your dates and got $281 again... leaving on the 4th and returning on the 11th. Sunday the 12th was a little pricier.

Even $638 isn't too bad... that still leaves you $1900 for a week of traveling. Keep hunting for a deal if you want... I'm not sure how much you'll see the price go down. That route you're flying is likely filled with business and government travelers who aren't keeping an eye out for deals.

I would email a hotel or B&B and ask for availability... I just said I'd like a room for 5th-8th, it's our honeymoon, is there anyway we could get a room upgrade or a discount? Some places didn't care, some places did... It likely depends on how booked up they are.

[pnorris3]

In terms finding a good deal on a hotel people use http://www.priceline.com/ but you should go to http://www.betterbidding.com/ first to find out how priceline works. I would think you should be able to get a hotel like the Westin for around $90 per night. Another possible website to consider when booking a hotel is http://www.hotwire.com/ but I would also check you the better bidding website before using it as well.

[Slipery]

Hey pnorris3,

Thanks for the advice! I got the 4 Star Marriot Waterfront for $100 a night! ($120 taxes included).

Priceline is fantastic. If I had booked it through expedia it would have been approx $2000 for the hotel for 7 nights. I got it for $850. I did have to bid on Friday separately though so I have to stay at the Westin on the Friday because of the way Priceline works. Still.. This puts me at $1500 because the flight was $652. I have $1000 left to spend on food and outings =) It will be a great honeymoon. Thanks for the help everyone