I never had my own luggage until recently. In most cases I’d just use my parents luggage since we never really traveled together. I didn’t really have a need for my own. Then I realized it wouldn’t be a bad thing to have my own bags. The luggage that my parents own is great. It does the job and gets my stuff from one city to the next but it just doesn’t fit my style. If you picture an old couch from back in the day that would be the pattern/style of the luggage.

Having never bought luggage before I wasn’t sure where to start. I knew I didn’t want to spend an arm and leg since I don’t travel all that often but I didn’t want to limit myself to just one or two peices. I still wanted a full set and of course I wanted something that would last. That’s when I deceided to check out the Amazon Luggage Store. I’ve always found deals on things like movies and books, I’d figure what the hell. It wouldn’t hurt to look.

It didn’t take long to find some good deals. Some of the luggage sets I found were over 70% off! Not only that but with the Amazon review system I was able to find feedback on almost everything I looked at. Granted some products had more reviews then others but something is always better than nothing. Of course with using Amazon you can find a huge selection of brands. They have American Flyer, Coleman, Samsonite, Jansport and even some designer brands like Diane Von Furstenberg. Since they carry a ton of brands you’re bound to find something in your budget and because of the awesome deals they have you might even be able to afford something you might have been able to before. If you don’t believe me here are a sample of some of the deals and prices:

Diane Von Furstenberg Fence 4 piece set: $340 = 73% Off
International Traveller Aventura Frameless EVA 3 Pc Wheeled Expandable Luggage Set: $285 = 52% Off
American Flyer AF Signature 4 Piece Wheeled Luggage Set: $135 = 55% Off
Coleman Luggage High-Tech Lightweight 2-Piece Luggage Upright Set: $145.95 = 73% Off

As you can see just from that small sample, you can find all kinds of luggage on sale from complete sets to single bags. What did I end up buying? I bought the American Flyer Animal Print 5-Piece Luggage Set which I was able to score for $178.19. The list price was $500. If that’s not a deal I have no idea what is! I know you’re thinking shipping must’ve been pretty bad but the seller that used Amazon had free shipping. Be sure to check that out before you actually purchase your item! I had selected a different set of bags at first but quickly changed my mind when shipping was close to $80!

Now I’m not saying Amazon is the only place to find a great bargain or that the prices you find will be the lowest or best. You should always do research on prices before making a final purchase. A perfect example is when it comes to shipping. The set that would’ve cost $80 to ship might have had free shipping somewhere else but I didn’t want to bother looking. Instead I found something else that was similiar and had a better percentage off plus the free shipping.

In the end you have to make sure you’re comfortable with your choice and the amount you’re paying. It is your money after all!

When I started planning my South Beach vacation my friends suggested that we go out to have a fancy dinner for my birthday. I was all up for the idea which then lead into a massive search for the perfect place to have this dinner. The search lead me to TripAdvisor.

The reason I went with TripAdvisor was because it was regular people driven and free. I did keep in mind that you can’t go based on reviews alone and you do have to go with your gut on certain things. Basically I just kept in mind to take everything with a grain of salt. I wasn’t sure where to start and just started going down the list. I skipped restaurants that I knew I wouldn’t care for and tried to focus on places I knew I’d probably like. I mainly checked out seafood, italian, steakhouses and mixed restaurants. Once I found a few different places I checked out their websites and menus which helped me eliminate restaurants that were out of our budget, didn’t have anything that caught our eyes or didn’t seem quite “fancy” enough. When I finally got the list down to three places I read the reviews that were featured on TripAdvisor and did a general Google search as well to see what else popped up.

After what seemed like forever the three of us finally agreed on Texas de Brazil Churrascaria in Miami Beach. It’s rated #13 out of 398 different restaurants and #2 out of 17 steakhouses. The reviews were mainly positive with most being either 5 or 4 stars. After checking out the website and seeing pictures of Texas de Brazil Churrascaria we were sold. It’s “fancy” enough without being over the top but allowing us girls to have a nice night out all dressed up. It didn’t hurt either when I signed up for their eclub that I was emailed a 25% off coupon and I was able to make reservations online. Seriously, the easier it is for me to take care of business the more likely I am to go with your business.

Of course once I get back from vacation in December I’ll be sure to write up a review of the place. Be warned though that I’m not all that great at writing reviews.

VRBO is the first place I visit when I look for a vacation rental. In case you don’t know VRBO stands for Vacation Rentals By Owner. They started in 1995 and now have listings for over 150,000 properties all over the world. Yes, I said all over the world.

Their website is very simple to use and has various ways for you to search. You can search via state, city, country and more. Once you get to the location you need you can then search by price, specific location, number of people it sleeps, bedrooms and more. Next to each listing you’ll see a key that lets you know if the rental allows pets, what type of payment options they offer, if their listing has pictures or video and if anyone has left any feedback on the rental property. I feel the last thing I mentioned is very important. Just like with a hotel it’s nice to have reviews and feedback when selecting a place to stay.

When you select a listing you’ll see all kinds of information. In most cases you’ll find a very detailed description of the rental as well as the location. Some owners will let you know what attractions are nearby as well as some local places you should check out. Along with a detailed description you’ll find a section called “Vacation Rental Features” that breaks down everything you need to know. In this area they’ll let you know if the unit has a washer/dryer, what the kitchen features as well as what the rental has to offer outside like a patio or pool. Also you’ll find a breakdown of bed sizes such as if the property offers two queen beds, or a twin and a king or any other combination. Then of course at the end of the listing you’ll find information on the rates. Some are very detailed and others are basic.

In order to get accurate information about the rates you’ll need to use the form on the right hand side. It’s very simple and easy to use. You just let them know the dates you need and in most cases the owner gets back to you pretty quickly. Before you send an email though be sure to check out the calendar that lets you know when the property is available. This can be a huge time saver if the owner keeps the calendar up to date. If you see the time period you need is already booked you can then move onto the next property.

Having never used a vacation rental before I was nervous going into the process. I had no idea where to start or how it worked. Thanks to VRBO I now feel relaxed when looking and not overwhelmed by the process.

Today I received the invoice for the vacation rental. I’ve never been this excited to pay someone money before! It just makes everything feel more “real” I guess. We owe the balance by November 3rd and I’ll be using money that I earn from Amazon to pay my portion. After we pay we just have to sit around and play the waiting game until December 3rd when we’ll be hitting the airport and then hitting the beach!

I don’t think I’ve shared pictures of the rental. I’ll be taking some of my own of course once we get down there but for now here are some posted on Flickr by the owner. You can view them here. As you can see it’s very nice and close to the action!

I honestly thought that planning for Comic Con about 9 months in advance was plenty of time. It turns out I was wrong.

Since I had such great luck at finding an afforable place to stay in South Beach by booking a vacation rental I thought I’d have the same luck when looking for a place during Comic Con. Wrong. It seems that not only are hotels trying to make an extra dime, so are rentals. The demand during that week is extremely high and I found that out when looking. In most cases rentals were already booked for Comic Con week. This is 9 months in advance. Since I wasn’t having great luck with rentals I went back to old faithful and looked around on various hotel and travel websites. I found one hotel that was near the action for around $153 a night until I actually clicked on the hotel for more information. It jumped up to $259 a night. This seemed to be a common occurance as I browsed hotels.

While I was doing all the searching and requesting I was relaying all the information and prices along to my friend who was coming along on the trip. That’s when she mentioned that her Sister In Law might be able to help us out. She works for a hotel and was going to see if we could get the Friends & Family discount. I was worried seeing how a room for Comic Con was in high demand. I was concerned they wouldn’t have any rooms or if they did the discount wouldn’t apply. I was in for a big surprise though when my friend told me that her SIL was able to score us a room for $99 a night. When broken down that will only be around $228 a person when split between 3 of us. If we can find a 4th it’ll come down to around $171.

Here are a few examples of the per night rates that are running during Comic Con:

Hilton San Diego Bayfront: $269-$277
Doubletree Hotel San Diego Downtown: $359 – $559
Days Inn San Diego / Downtown / Convention Center: $310
Holiday Inn San Deigo On The Bay: $211 – $241
Ramada Inn & Suites – Gaslamp / Convention Center: $420.68

This is just a small sample of course and many hotels didn’t have rooms available during the Comic Con timeframe. I do believe Comic Con lists partner hotels on their website in May but from what I’ve heard it’s a pain to get through and I think they are some of the more expensive places around the convention center. Seeing how I don’t care if I stay at the same hotel as a celebrity I’m very happy staying 8 miles away and not having to deal with the crazy crowds. Plus I’d be very nervous waiting until May to book a place after seeing the prices and the fact that many places, both hotels and rentals, are booked.

All I can say is I’m glad I can now sit back and relax. Since I have a hotel and my Comic Con tickets the only thing left is airfare and I’m pretty sure I’ll be using Southwest when the time comes to book.

When I knew for sure that I’d be going to Miami the first thing I did was look up a place to stay. I figured the easiest way to go was to use a hotel like I have many times before. The only issue? Price. December in Florida is pretty much the “On Season” and because of that prices were very high. Granted, we only needed a place to sleep but even the lower end hotels were out of our range. Most places were around $250 /night and well, that was just not in the budget.

That’s when I got the idea to check out vacation rentals. I had never used one before but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to just look around. I went to a few different websites including VRBO, HomeAway and FlipKey. The main website that I used though ended up being VRBO. It was very easy to use and most people kept their listings and information up to date. After checking out a few listings and contacting different owners it didn’t take me long to figure out that using a vacation rental was going to be the way to go. Expect for a few rentals here and there most were very reasonable in price. After hearing back from a few places I finally found one that was in the location that I wanted and was within our budgets.

I ended up picking a two bed/two bath condo in the heart of South Beach. According to the listing it’s only a half block from the beach and only a short walk from some of the local hot spots. The listing had the price at $199 a night for the dates that we needed but after talking to the owner he offered $175 a night. That saves us a total of $96. It might not seem like much but when you’re trying to save money and still have a good time it’s huge. That’s $96 we can put towards a night out.

In the end each of us will be paying around $234. We tried to find 4th person but didn’t have any luck. I know that $234 sounds high but when you compare that to $505 a person for a decent hotel in the same area, it’s obvious that we came out on top and saved a load of cash.

The first trip that I have coming up is a vacation to South Beach, Florida.  I’ll be in Miami from December 3rd-7th which is a Thursday to a Monday. I’ve been to South Beach twice before and loved it. That’s why I deceided for my birthday I’d take a trip down there. It’s been a few years since I’ve been there and I really do miss it. I’ll be going on this trip with my BFF Manda and her sister Melinda.

Later this week I’ll be posting about where we’ll be staying and how we came upon the accomadations.  Let’s just say it’ll be a first time and I’m looking forward to the excitment of something different.

I was bored one night and thought I’d start up a little travel blog. While I don’t feel I travel very often I do have a few trips coming up soon and thought I could share more of the information about those trips here, instead of on my personal blog. Traveling more is a goal I have and hopefully the trips I have planned as of now will help me reach that goal. In between posts about my own trips I hope to share some useful links and information about traveling. Don’t expect anything exciting or brand new though. I’m not a professional traveler at all and this blog is just for fun!