Old man winter is still biting the proverbial nose of many that live in the northern sections of the United States. Sure there have been some lulls in the ice and cold, but overall the wind is blowing and the cold is very cold with a high degree of what some call a “wintery mix”. Some kind of in between cold precipitation that isn’t quite snow, which is at least pretty, and it isn’t quite rain, which is found in warmer temperature. It just hurts and makes the ground freeze.

So what is the proper way to handle all of this? How about a vacation to a tropical paradise? Sure simple enough, but isn’t life’s problems usually a simple solution away. Where to start?

The first place on our list would have to be Orlando Florida. Sure this is a destination that may not be considered “tropical” because of it’s location in the central inland of the state, but trust us, there is a lot of fun in the sun. A second suggestion would have to be Cancun Mexico. Cancun is known as one of the hottest party spots on the planet. The resorts that make up the “scene” in and around Cancun are famous for all-inclusive vacation packages. These are packages that include the root to the fruit….airfare, accommodations, all your meals and drinks, just bring yourself. If that’s not enough why not Acapulco Mexico. This fabulous location is a little more upscale than Cancun and if you have the means to pay for the packages there you get a whole lot more for your money.

There are literally 100’s of great locations to think about when the phrase “tropical vacations” comes to mind. The internet is being barraged with bargains, discounts and budget offers for every type of name you can think of from Bermuda, to Hawaii, to Bora Bora. The down economy is forcing many of these providers to lower prices and rates so there are plenty of bargains out there for a great Tropical Vacation.

Pigeon Forge Tennessee is a great vacation destination. Actually, it’s the perfect “All American Family” vacation destination in our opinion. Wholesome activities, attractions and events await all those who plan a visit to this wonderful town located in the Ozark Mountains.

Reserve Vacations offers two great hotel properties that provide vacation packages to suit just about any type of taste.

First let’s start out with the Microtel Suites at Music Road, located at 2045 Parkway in Pigeon Forge. The site has complete coverage of this property, but here’s a little bit more of a summary so you can plan a vacation, should this be of interest. Visitors and guests to the Microtel Suites at Music Road will be pleasantly surprised to find they are right across from the Miracle Theater and the Black Bear Jamboree. Actually just so there are no surprises, the Miracle Theater offers shows that depict Jesus Christ in spectacular form. Again, Pigeon Forge is a wholesome town, so this is what you get when you visit there. The Microtel Suites at Music Road offers two great vacation packages. First the Pigeon Forge Taste of Culture package offering a 3 Days and 2 Nights for $129 plus 2 tickets to the Cirque de Chine event. Upgrade to a 4 Days and 2 Nights package with the Pigeon Forge Heck of a Weekend Package, for $289 you get 2 tickets to two different shows. The first to the Comedy Barn and the second to the Country Tonite Show.

Reserve Vacations also has the Fairfield Inn and Suites Pigeon Forge Hotel where two great vacation packages are offered. The first package is $129 and offers 3 Days and 2 Nights plus two tickets to the incredible Dixie Stampede, produced by Dolly Parton’s Dollywood. Then the Fairfield Inn and Suites offers the Family Free For All Vacation. This package gives you a 4 Days and 3 Nights of accommodations plus 2 tickets to the Black Bear Jamboree and 2 tickets to the Hoot and Holler Dinner Show all for $289 !!!

Pigeon Forge is waiting for you. Don’t miss out with these great discounts.

There has never been a better time to take advantage of deep discounts for traveling to Cancun Mexico than it is right now. Here’s a few great events coming up in Cancun that might be worth planning a trip and/or vacation. 

On September 1st, 2009 Autumn Equinox at Chichén Itzá will be taking place.  The Autumn Equinox at Chichén Itzá takes place at one of the world’s most famous architectural achievements and a signature of the lasting impact of the Mayan Civilization. Be sure to be there for when the sun casts it’s rays on the pyramid located at the site where the illusion of a serpent moving down the steps appears. Call for information at +52-998-881-2745.

Viva México In Cancún  is another great event that is just awesome and the highlight of September in the Cancun area. During this event a whole calendar of cultural events are produced to celebrate the Independence of Mexico. You’ll be able to find everything from authentic Mexican food, music concerts, film festivals and a whole lot more.  For more information about the festival of Viva Mexico in Cancun call +52-9980-881-2745.

Reserve Vacations offers three great hotel properties with accompanying premiums where the rates are significantly discounted. The average rate per package for each of the three properties is $189 to $549 for vacations lasting up to 7 days !!! Check out specific deals for the Ocean Spa Hotel, the Laguna Suites Golf and Spa and the Holiday Inn Express Playa Del Carmen. Each offers their own specific and unique bit of Cancun so check which one fits your tastes the best.

Enjoy Cancun and all the fun that the natives have celebrating their lives and their culture.

Screw the economic down turn !!! Did you all hear me !!! I’LL SAY IT LOUDER THAN !!! SCREW THE ECONOMIC DOWN TURN !!!  We’re Americans !!! We’re fighters and believers in a life better than the drudgery that others in the world are forced to deal with day in and day out. Quoting from a movie I just love, and giving the proper acknowledgement and citations it’s from the motion picture “Stripes”..”We’re Americans…We’ve been kicking ass for over 200 years…”…We’ll with the sentiment I agree. 

Sure money is tight, there is no doubt about it. Yet, this post is about finding the fun in life while we can. That’s why I chose the destination of Orlando to feature for a great vacation. I know maybe it’s kind of random, but back in 2001 and right after 9/11 a close friend of the family had a vacation planned to Disney World. When I found out I implored him to not go, saying we’re in a state of emergency. His retort, “If I do that haven’t the terrorists won already”…I was floored. Well I say the same applies now and today. Our enemy is much harder to define and pinpoint, but if I must, I’d say it is despair.  How does one defeat despair? Very simple. Get up and fight and swing and go out and enjoy life. Breathe it all in and enjoy it with the ones you love. 

An Orlando Vacation offers so much for so many. Yeah, sure it has Disney World and Universal Studios Florida Escape theme parks, but that’s just the tip of the ice berg. The Orlando Florida area is filled with world class golf courses, award winning restaurants, and world renowned cultural venues. Reserve Vacations offers an amazing number of great vacation packages for a trip to Orlando, that come with discounted accommodations and additional premiums such as complimentary day passes to the top attractions in the area. Great properties include the Silver Lakes Resort, the Holiday Inn Express Kissimmee, and the Legacy Dunes Resort. Check out the complete list of Orlando Hotels by checking out the Orlando page on Reserve Vacations.

So get off the couch and get off the proverbial sideline. Don’t let life pass you by and book an Orlando Vacation Today.

The casinos in Las Vegas are dealing with a terribly declining economy as is much of the world. To many, some may say, why even spend money on a trip to the casinos with such uncertainty in the market place? For whatever reason the casino industry in general has some special staying power. No doubt a lot of it probably has to do with the fact, whether, people in the casino industry like it or not, that gaming is a vice. There are 1000’s of studies that point to the fact this conclusion is far from being in question.

Today, Las Vegas Casino revenue and win is about 10% down from last year, which in fact started a downward trend in the economics of the casinos in Vegas. So things aren’t good. Add in the fact that there is also a 4% decline in the number of people that have visited Las Vegas over last year and you can see the troubling trend.

To combat this fact many of the casinos are offering major reductions in the pricing of their rooms. This is a 180 degree change from what was “business as usual” for casinos. That is, casinos in Las Vegas would price their packages very cheap, offering almost break even pricing on entertainment and food and beverage, but make it up on the price of the room. That most likely is that rooms are fixed. You can always buy more food and drink. Today, rates have dropped almost 50% where you’ll find daily rooms anywhere from staggering $25 up to $100 and these are for good rooms.

Reserve Vacations is offering several Las Vegas Casino Vacation Packages that are really worth taking a look.  The two properties that RVI offers these vacations are the Hilton Garden Inn Las Vegas and the Cancun Resort Las Vegas. Check them both out as each are priced between $99 to $150 for standard vacations.

One of the toughest things to do, it seems, whether it be a holiday at home, or a trip, is to stay regimented with diet and exercise. In my opinion there is no doubt that the trip away from home is just awful when it comes to staying fit.

Why is this? Well if you’re in a hotel you have that damn candy and soda machine right down the hall from your room. Oh, yeah, don’t get me started with going on a cruise because the word buffet is synonymous with cruises. 

Ok, so what do we do when we go on vacation to keep fit and on the right track. Well let’s stick to doing it with the hotel travel.

1. Pack the running shoes and the work out clothes. This makes the ability to get to the gym much easier.

2. Try and find hotels that offer fitness centers. Also, make sure that the fitness centers are what you need. Not a medicine ball and a thing to stand on that vibrates a belt. 

3. Refuse to get the key to mini bar in the room. Lot’s of empty calories my friends. 

4. Pack some healthy snacks that won’t go bad. Protein Bars, a bag of almonds, you know what’s right. Fruit may be an issue.

As you see going away does not have to throw you off from being healthy. You just have to plan to beat the vacation bug of being bad.

Myrtle Beach is well known for it’s 100’s of golf courses, but the area is also know for a lot more. Many may not realize that to be true, but Myrtle Beach is an all around great place to travel to or vacation. One such resort and hotel property, the Wild Wing Golf Resort in Myrtle Beach offers packages to embrace not just the golfer out there but to the “other” factor. That is someone looking to take a trip but where golfing isn’t necessarily on their mind.

The Wild Wing Golf Resort Myrtle Beach is located at 555 Wild Wing Boulevard in Conway South Carolina. Just so I don’t get the nit pickers out there all riled up because they see the city of Conway and not Myrtle Beach. Conway is just one mile away from Myrtle Beach and considered to be a part of the general regional area. In general the Wild Wing Golf Resort offers its guests a two bedroom villa which includes a full kitchen area, private deck, television, air conditioning and much more. 

The Wild Wing Golf Resort offers two main packages. The first is for the golfer and for $199 you get 4 Days and 3 Nights plus two rounds of Golf. The second is for $159 and for the non-golfer and for $159 you get 4 Days and 3 Nights plus two tickets to Dolly Parton’s Dixie Stampede Show. 

Don’t miss out on some great affordable vacations, especially when Myrtle Beach has so much to offer. Check out the Myrtle Beach official web site to see a full list of up and coming activities.

Williamsburg is certainly not a sunny weather destination to visit, but there are some very fun things to see and do while visiting this historic destination city. Our featured hotel today is the Days Inn Busch Gardens Williamsburg. If you haven’t guessed part of our post will be featuring the fun and good times that can be had at Williamsburg’s Busch Gardens. Let us begin.

The Days Inn Busch Gardens Williamsburg is located at 201 Water Country Parkway. Again if the name didn’t seem to clue you in, The Days Inn Busch Gardens Williamsburg is located very close to Bush Gardens Theme Park. It’s also located within close proximity to Historic Colonial Williamsburg. Anyway, the hotel has just about everything you need including a business center, a fitness and excercise room, a free continental breakfast each morning and an outdoor pool. Sure the pool would be nice to have all year long but that just isn’t the case. 

The Days Inn Busch Gardens Williamsburg offers several packages ranging from $70 to $129. For $79 you get 3 Days and 2 Nights including 2 passes to Historic Colonial Williamsburg. For $99 you get 4 Days and 3 Nights of accommodations and include 2 day passes to Busch Gardens. For $129 you get 4 Days and 3 Nights in accommodations plus 2 passes to Historic Colonial Williamsburg. Finally for $129 there is the Williamsburg Shopping Spree Vacation, where you get 4 Days and 3 Nights plus $100 gift certificate to be used at the Prime Outlets in Williamsburg.

So as you see there are several packages to suit almost everyone’s tastes.

When traveling to, or better stated, planning a trip or vacation to the Orlando Florida area choosing a hotel or accommodations can be a dizzying proposition. The number of hotel properties to choose from, let alone the various services that are offered at each can make the process overwhelming.

That being said, we, your faithful friends at Reserve Vacations, have a featured hotel property that we would like to offer for your consideration. That hotel property is the Caribe Cove Resort Orlando located at 9000 Treasure Trove Lane in Kissimmee Florida. The Caribe Cove Resort Orlando has several vacation packages that provide add ons and premiums including tickets to the Disney World Theme Park, but pricing changes on the number of days. We’ll get to them in a second, but let’s first talk a little bit about what the property offers.

The Caribe Cove Resort Orlando features 2 or 3 bedroom villas, a full service fitness center which also has a steam room and sauna. Want more? Well it has more. How about in room massage therapy services and a large infinity Edge Swimming Pool to boot. What’s more the property is just 4 miles away from Disney World itself.

As stated the Caribe Cove Resort offers several individual vacation packages. They are all basically the same but increase in price based on the number of days you wish to stay. Packages include accommodations in the 2 bedroom villa plus two (one) day passes to the Disney World Theme Park. Pricing for 2 nights, 3 nights and 4 nights are $239, $329, $419 respectively.

So if you’re looking for a great hotel and way to go to Disney World on the Cheap the Caribe Cove Resort is a great option.

Reserve Vacations doesn’t cover or package it’s own ski packages, but the desire and demand for skiing packages this time of year is pretty strong. We decided to do a little investigation about some areas that are excellent places to ski but also keep in mind that costs are an issue. So what have we found.

It seems like the costs for ski vacations on the east coast are, on average, much less in cost, than the cost of ski vacations out west in the Rockies. Our destination area of choice is the state of Vermont. The land of maple syrup and some of the most beautiful forests and trees you’ll find during the fall. A fews of the premiere ski resorts in Vermont Mount Snow, Killington, Burke Mountain and Mad River Glen. 

Now here’s where the incredible difference in price comes along. I checked out some rates for packages out in Aspen Colorado. One package had for $2,090 a 4 night 3 day package including ski tickets. Now let’s take a package for Killington Vermont. Accommodations plus sky packages for the same daily rate come out to be about $500 to $800. Burke Mountain, it’s anywhere from $300 to $750. The differences are incredible.

So if your interested in a ski vacation check out Vermont for all it has to offer, or call 1-802-223-2439 for more information.