Spend One Month In South America, FIRST CLASS, For Under $6000! That's For Two!
Oct 27 '02
The Bottom Line Take the time to be your own travel agent. Plan your trip from start to finish, and you can save half!
So you think the title of my review is not possible? Well, it is, and I am going to show you just how I did it.
First of all, most people enjoy traveling. There are two big stumbling blocks and the first is money and the second is time. We all know that money is tight for most of us, and time is an issue for those that are still working. However, let me show you how I planned this trip without the help of any travel agent, using only the Internet, and will be spending less than $6000 for two persons, going first class all of the way!
AIRLINE TICKETS: How many of you never sign up for your frequent flier miles? There are a lot, no doubt. Did you know you could acquire many miles without even getting on a plane? There are always promotions for double miles, shopping miles, etc. Check out the airline that you fly the most, see all the promotions, and sign up for them. For example, you can get miles from Northwest Airlines by shopping at Eddie Bauer, Lands End, and many other stores. Sometimes they give you a much as ten miles per $1 you spend. The first step of our upcoming month in South America was to get there. We had 35,000 miles each in our accounts, which is what you need on Northwest Airlines. I booked round trip from Minneapolis to Buenos Aires and Santiago, Chile to Minneapolis for a mere $75 each in taxes. Grand total $150 round trip airfare for two.
HOTELS: We will be in Buenos Aires for several days, and although we had been there before and stayed at the now Four Seasons Hotel, I shopped for a rate from about 20 different five star hotels. Remember this was all done on the Internet. My best “deal” was at the Intercontinental for $139 per night. I booked under the “Business Options” plan, and was able to upgrade to the Executive floor at no additional charge. The hotel has confirmed that in writing. We will stay there two nights, have breakfast included, snacks in the afternoon, and drinks and more food in the evening. This will most likely cut our food bill those two nights down to about $50 per day for the two of us. Our hotel bill for two nights total with 21% tax will be just under $340, add the $100 for food, and our total will be just under $450 for three days and two night in Buenos Aires.
AIRPORT TRANSPORTATION: Don’t believe the $60 transportation quote that I got from some hotels for transportation from the airport in Buenos Aires. I received a confirmation number from the Intercontinental, and the price is $20 for the two of us.
CRUISE: Okay, for the next two weeks we will be on a repeat of a cruise we took a couple of years ago from Buenos Aires to Valpariso, Chile. The “sticker” price on this was nearly $4000 per person, but I was able to get a terrific rate, including port taxes, from www.moments-notice.com for just over $1300 per person. There will be no additional cost for food, and we are not big on taking cruise tours. The cruise is 14 days, so if you add $20 per couple for tips per day you have raised your two-week total by $240. Allow another $200 for wine and a martini daily, and you are at a grand total of $3040 for two people for two weeks.
AFTER THE CRUISE: We will be staying in Chile for two more weeks. At this point we have only spent $3540 for the two of us. When we arrive in Valpariso we will be taking the bus to Santiago which is a mere $5 per person, and then the first class sleeper bus to Pucon, Chile for nine nights at Hotel Antumalal. The sleeper bus has only 17 seats, serves meals, drinks included, and is less than $25 per person. If you want to check out the hotel website enjoy the visit at "http://www.antumalal.com". It is a very unusual hotel and rated as one of the finest in all of Chile. It has been in business for fifty-two years. We have a suite reserved, and since we were staying that long, the owner gave us one night free. The rate is $190 per night, multiplied by eight nights. The hotel rate includes a full American breakfast, so that total is $1520. We have budgeted another $400 for meals.
AFTER PUCON: We will return to Santiago on the sleeper bus for an additional $25 per person, and have reservations at the new Ritz-Carlton. They goofed on our reservation in Sydney, Australia, and have offered to pay for the three nights in Santiago on the Club Floor. Again, this means free breakfast, snacks, drinks, and heavy evening eats. Our three nights in Santiago should cost us no more than $150 for food.
TO THE AIRPORT: Transportation to the airport from Santiago will be about another $20.
So, my story is, if you are willing to take your “free” time, plan your trip yourself, you can go just about anywhere without going into the poor house.
GRAND TOTAL FOR ONE MONTH OF LUXURY IN SOUTH AMERICA IS:
FIVE THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED FIFTY DOLLARS! Try and get that rate with a travel agent!
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sweetsue_98
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"Still More George W. Bushisms: 'Neither in French Nor in English Nor in Mexican'"
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