Need help from Minnesota, please

oceandreaming · 02-08-2004

HI, hope someone can help me. I'm from Manitoba and its our 25th Anniversay this summer. It seems to make alot more sense for us to drive to Minn and fly out to Playa then transfer out of Toronto...alot cheaper too. We've never been before, actually have never been to any resort in the summer months before. So, my question is...Are there good deals from Minn to Playa in the summer? Seems rather expensive right now, are there good last min deals? Should we wait? Do the planes fill up quickly in the summer as I assume there are not as many flights going out. thanks for your help

**Bumper** · 02-08-2004

Oceandreaming;

Can't say about the summer (Boy, you're brave. I can't imagine what the heat will be like in Playa in the summer!! Too warm for me.) but we're flying Northwest out of Winnipeg in a couple of weeks to Minneapolis then on to Cancun. Saving $350 per person from what we paid last year on Air Canada, and without having to spend a night in Toronto going down, which added about another $100 to the bill. It's also all in one day, which is an added bonus. There are also charters that run out of Winnipeg to Cancun, but I don't know if they go in the summer or not, being as how Cancun is very much a winter-time destination from up here on the tundra. All this is Canadian dollars, of course, so it's not like it's real money. :lol: Enjoy your trip, and happy anniversary. You're going to a great place to celebrate.

oceandreaming · 02-08-2004

Hi Bumper,

Nothing flies out of Winnipeg in the summer, lol, thats the problem. We usually do charters in the winter to hot spots, we got a fantatic deal to Cuba in Jan. We try to hit different places and haven't tried Mayna yet. It oftens hits in the 30s here...do you really think it will be that much hotter there?

**Bumper** · 02-08-2004

I guess it depends on your expectations. It will be hotter than you're used to at home on the prairie, but I'm sure if you do some cruising around on the web you can get some pretty specific information about climate. Look at the "Read More" icon on the top of the page under "practical info" to get a general overview. Areas like this tend not to have the enormous range of temperatures we "enjoy" on the prairies, like -50 in the winter to +30 in the summer, but it does get pretty toasty in the warm months. Our Northwestern flights, by the way, aren't charters, but scheduled runs, so they would likely run in the summer time as well, though perhaps on a reduced schedule.

Mave · 02-08-2004

There are several charters that sometimes have good last minute prices out of Minneapolis. I don't know about reduced schedules in the summer, but try Sun Country Airlines. ATA also flies out of Minneapolis and has deals sometimes. Good luck!

Mave

JimmyMN · 02-09-2004

I'm in the Minneapolis area and I rarely see any good deals beyond the middle of May. Last year (2003) was an exception when MLT (worryfreevacations dot com) had a couple of $200 flights in late June and early July. If any charter was to have some last minute deals, they'd be the ones.

Jimmy

oceandreaming · 02-09-2004

Thanks for all your help. I've been checking worry free vacations, they seem to have the best prices. I've never paid any attention to summer prices. I guess there aren't to many deals with it being the off season. Thanks again

Sue · 02-09-2004

I agree with Jimmy on SunCountry. Try Sun Country, MLT Vacations, or a local travel agency here, Hobbit Travel. Everytime I've flown out from Mpls, I've found the best deals at threse three places. By the way, my husband and I were married in Playa on June 26, 1999. We try to go back every year to celebrate our anniversary. It is hot in June, but I don't think it's unbearable.

JimmyMN · 02-09-2004

A little more insight into Sue's mention of Sun Country Airlines...

In the Minneapolis area, Hobbit Travel is the most aggressive discount travel agency. (hobbittravel dot com) I think there's been major fallout between them and WorryFreeVacations (MLT) over commissions, as they no longer list ANY last minute deals offered by them on their website. They seem to lean more towards offerings from Sun Country and Transglobal Vacations, the other two local charters. Now comes the weird part. If I visit either the Sun Country or Transglobal websites, it will always cost me more to book the flight there than if I went through a local travel agency like Hobbit Travel. To make it even more confusing, they seem to use a middleman (Trilogy Tours) to get the really good deals.

One last thing, I usually use a smaller travel agent in my neighborhood (Sunsational Travel) because I like to support the local guy (actually a women run business). I get the same exact price as listed on WorryFreeVacations website but generally pay an additional $10 ticketing fee for each person traveling.

Hopefully this information will clarify the nature of the beast in Minneapolis and St. Paul.

Jimmy

02-08-2004	#1 (permalink)
oceandreaming lost on fifth Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 24	Need help from Minnesota, please HI, hope someone can help me. I'm from Manitoba and its our 25th Anniversay this summer. It seems to make alot more sense for us to drive to Minn and fly out to Playa then transfer out of Toronto...alot cheaper too. We've never been before, actually have never been to any resort in the summer months before. So, my question is...Are there good deals from Minn to Playa in the summer? Seems rather expensive right now, are there good last min deals? Should we wait? Do the planes fill up quickly in the summer as I assume there are not as many flights going out. thanks for your help

02-08-2004	#3 (permalink)
oceandreaming lost on fifth Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 24	Manitoba Hi Bumper, Nothing flies out of Winnipeg in the summer, lol, thats the problem. We usually do charters in the winter to hot spots, we got a fantatic deal to Cuba in Jan. We try to hit different places and haven't tried Mayna yet. It oftens hits in the 30s here...do you really think it will be that much hotter there?

02-09-2004	#7 (permalink)
oceandreaming lost on fifth Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 24	Summer deals Thanks for all your help. I've been checking worry free vacations, they seem to have the best prices. I've never paid any attention to summer prices. I guess there aren't to many deals with it being the off season. Thanks again

02-08-2004	#2 (permalink)
Bumper Class Clown Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Winnipeg, Canada Posts: 9,662	Oceandreaming; Can't say about the summer (Boy, you're brave. I can't imagine what the heat will be like in Playa in the summer!! Too warm for me.) but we're flying Northwest out of Winnipeg in a couple of weeks to Minneapolis then on to Cancun. Saving $350 per person from what we paid last year on Air Canada, and without having to spend a night in Toronto going down, which added about another $100 to the bill. It's also all in one day, which is an added bonus. There are also charters that run out of Winnipeg to Cancun, but I don't know if they go in the summer or not, being as how Cancun is very much a winter-time destination from up here on the tundra. All this is Canadian dollars, of course, so it's not like it's real money. :lol: Enjoy your trip, and happy anniversary. You're going to a great place to celebrate.

02-08-2004	#4 (permalink)
Bumper Class Clown Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Winnipeg, Canada Posts: 9,662	I guess it depends on your expectations. It will be hotter than you're used to at home on the prairie, but I'm sure if you do some cruising around on the web you can get some pretty specific information about climate. Look at the "Read More" icon on the top of the page under "practical info" to get a general overview. Areas like this tend not to have the enormous range of temperatures we "enjoy" on the prairies, like -50 in the winter to +30 in the summer, but it does get pretty toasty in the warm months. Our Northwestern flights, by the way, aren't charters, but scheduled runs, so they would likely run in the summer time as well, though perhaps on a reduced schedule.

02-08-2004	#5 (permalink)
Mave beachaholic Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Iowa Posts: 431	There are several charters that sometimes have good last minute prices out of Minneapolis. I don't know about reduced schedules in the summer, but try Sun Country Airlines. ATA also flies out of Minneapolis and has deals sometimes. Good luck! Mave

02-09-2004	#6 (permalink)
JimmyMN party machine Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Minneapolis-St. Paul Posts: 2,484	I'm in the Minneapolis area and I rarely see any good deals beyond the middle of May. Last year (2003) was an exception when MLT (worryfreevacations dot com) had a couple of $200 flights in late June and early July. If any charter was to have some last minute deals, they'd be the ones. Jimmy

02-09-2004	#8 (permalink)
Sue añejo Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Minnesota Posts: 2,168	I agree with Jimmy on SunCountry. Try Sun Country, MLT Vacations, or a local travel agency here, Hobbit Travel. Everytime I've flown out from Mpls, I've found the best deals at threse three places. By the way, my husband and I were married in Playa on June 26, 1999. We try to go back every year to celebrate our anniversary. It is hot in June, but I don't think it's unbearable.

02-09-2004	#9 (permalink)
JimmyMN party machine Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Minneapolis-St. Paul Posts: 2,484	A little more insight into Sue's mention of Sun Country Airlines... In the Minneapolis area, Hobbit Travel is the most aggressive discount travel agency. (hobbittravel dot com) I think there's been major fallout between them and WorryFreeVacations (MLT) over commissions, as they no longer list ANY last minute deals offered by them on their website. They seem to lean more towards offerings from Sun Country and Transglobal Vacations, the other two local charters. Now comes the weird part. If I visit either the Sun Country or Transglobal websites, it will always cost me more to book the flight there than if I went through a local travel agency like Hobbit Travel. To make it even more confusing, they seem to use a middleman (Trilogy Tours) to get the really good deals. One last thing, I usually use a smaller travel agent in my neighborhood (Sunsational Travel) because I like to support the local guy (actually a women run business). I get the same exact price as listed on WorryFreeVacations website but generally pay an additional $10 ticketing fee for each person traveling. Hopefully this information will clarify the nature of the beast in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Jimmy

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