we have been watching the price for a TTR trip in september for 8 nights for over two months and it was consistently $982 with one connecting flight....well, this past tuesday when i logged on and checked, it was $876. in an economy where fuel prices are skyrocketing (causing airfare to go up on a regular basis), we found it pretty amazing to see over a $100 price drop per person. long story short, we booked it...fly out at 6am, connect in atlanta, and arrive in cancun at 1130am, should be at the resort by 1pm at the latest....cant wait
Yeah Air fare sucks. Too early==Too late your just f'd basically. We thought we were doing good til we met a couple that got the rate half what we paid by doing LAST MINUTE. I don't want last minute MAYBE STATIS. So I guess I pay for it.
It pays off when you are checking prices 6 months in advance and watch the ups and downs of the market, then pounce on the best deal, nice work.
That's how we did it too -- We had a date range (e.g., we wanted one week somewhere between the dates of May 12 and May 25) and LITERALLY almost every night while we were watching TV I'd price the trips out, just chilling. I even had a quick chart I made in Word to keep track. Then I'd price it out based on the available flights (e.g., if we could fly in and be at the resort by about 1pm I counted that as a full day, but if would be arriving at the resort anytime after 4, then that didn't count, etc) and divided that into my daily cost. It was AMAZING the array of prices -- basically from $4000 down to $1800 for the two of us including flights. I had a set price point where I decided if I can find it for $X with good flights, I"m grabbing it; otherwise, screw it, we'll go to Key West where we always go. Even when I'm not trying to budget I do this sort of thing because (1) I'm an organizational nerd and (2) I hate giving airlines and hotels more money than I have to -- it cuts into my drinking budget!
I lived in Key West for several years and living some place is always different than visiting, of course. It's become more "family" oriented -- in fact, my favorite male/female clothing optional resort was leveled and is now condos. :-( But I still find the atmosphere -- during Fantasy Fest, Biker Week, etc -- really frisky and fun and sexy and when we go we stay at a resort that is a lot like TTR (but it's men only) and we go on a snorkel trip that is clothing optional and full of liquor and fun (but again, men only). And I love too that as gay men, we can go to the straight end of Duval Street and party and drink and carry on and never have a problem. I love that b/c it really is about the fun. And I just love the general atmosphere in Key West -- the city motto "one human family" sort of plays on the TTR "no one knows you and no one gives a shit"; we may move back in the next couple of years. But I have a feeling TTR will be different because it is so concentrated (one resort).
