In super boring but totally relevant news, today is the day that airlines must advertise their airfares inclusive of taxes and fees. While this means no more "$9" sales from Spirit and truly cheap "Cheeps" on JetBlue, it does usher in an era of not having to click all the way through several screens to find out the real price of a flight. Also, you probably won't be as quickly excited as before.

The official rules behind the move are here, and Virgin America has even gone so far as posting this notice on their site, just in case prospective passengers see the new, full-fare pricing and think "whoa, what the heck?"

So really this is just a note to keep this in mind next time an airline runs a fare sale and the prices display a little higher than we're all used to seeing. In the end, you're not paying more; you're just seeing the total earlier on in the booking process.

[Photo: Spirit] ]]> JetSetCD 2012-01-26T09:36:55-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/10/25/93432/406

Big news for travelers in the south! Budget traveler favorite Megabus has just expanded their US route network to include a new hub in Atlanta, Georgia. From the ATL, Megabus will run to 11 cities, of course with all routes and all seats starting from their usual $1 (plus 50 cents reservation fee).

The 11 cities from Atlanta are: Birmingham, AL; Mobile, AL; Montgomery, AL; Charlotte, NC; Chattanooga, TN; Knoxville, TN; Memphis, TN; Nashville, TN; Gainesville, FL; Jacksonville, FL; and Orlando, FL.

That's a lot of Alabama and Florida! With the news comes a giveaway, naturally. Megabus has 10,000 free seats on the new routes, for travel from November 16 to December 16. Enter promo code ATL10K to knock the cheap fares down to FREE. ]]> JetSetCD 2011-10-25T11:14:16-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/10/20/22436/606

Disregarding Scandinavia for a moment, one of the most expensive cities you can visit in Europe is Zurich, Switzerland. This is the land of $8 lattes, pay-to-pee portapotties and four-star hotels asking four digits a night. In other words, it's not exactly for the budget traveler...until we drop the secret that direct flights to ZRH from the US often feature in those crazily discounted airfare sales. Getting a roundtrip for $350 sure defrays the cost of eating pretty little Swiss sweets every day.

Luckily for Zurich (and the rest of Switzerland, really), the scenery and atmosphere is so appealing and so intoxicating that it's easy to be distracted from your fast-emptying wallet. That $8 latte? Get it and walk down the River Limmat, and you'll look up from your caffeine to the scene pictured above. $8 doesn't seem so bad all of a sudden.

What we're saying is: when faced with excellent travel deals to expensive destinations, don't write off the idea immediately. Instead, plan. Your travel budget will be lower, so prepare for a higher daily budget. And—this is huge—do not complain about the inflated price of McDonald's. TACKY, especially when someplace like this is likely just around the corner.

[Photo: Jaunted]]]> JetSetCD 2011-10-20T17:43:17-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/10/5/131751/873

Volunteer travel can be fulfilling, and costly. Some trips, depending on their location and duration, can cost do-gooders between $2000 and $3000 dollars, not including airfare.

But, Rustic Volunteer and Travel is now offering affordable volunteer travel opportunities in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, for a tenth of the price. One of Rustic's most popular volunteer packages to Atenas, Costa Rica, starts at only $357, including accommodations with a local family and 3 meals a day. ]]> cmb 2011-10-05T13:30:11-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/8/15/84648/4781
Yes, that is a donut on top of fruit salad

Sometimes in life, you just crave a nice, white-tablecloth meal with ice water in glass goblets and an attentive waiter who recommends the fish. Sometimes, however, you can't always indulge that desire if you also want to travel, buy nice things, pay rent/mortgage, etcetera etcetera. This is why we rejoice whenever Restaurant Weeks come around, when top-notch restaurants discount three-course prix-fixe meals to a level where it's totally cool to have a spontaneous date or skip the carry-out, opting instead for the white tablecloths and glass water goblets.

The next city to feed its foodies is Las Vegas, during their restaurant week(s) August 29 - September 11. Unlike the simplicity of NY Restaurant Week, Las Vegas will have different pricing levels based on level of restaurant and quality of meal: $20.10 & $30.01 Lunches and $30.10 & $50.10 Dinners. What you choose really depends on your budget and what must-eat-at restaurant you want to cross off your bucket list. ]]> JetSetCD 2011-08-15T14:11:11-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/7/18/201050/497

Humidity. Hordes of families and low-season bargain seekers. Thunderstorms. Rain. Yes, this is summer in Miami. But 'tis also the season to get your spa on, as Miami Spa Month is now underway.

The Restaurant Week-esque promotion, organized by the city's tourism board, actually runs for two months, but let's hold the 'can't they count in Miami?' jokes and just get to the good stuff, hmmm? That would be the $99 treatments—available at participating spas from South Beach to Sunny Isles—from now through August 31.

You can peruse the list of spas here—most of them are located inside Miami's best known hotels, which will help with your summer getaway planning. Being able to drift from your hotel room to the pool to the spa and back to the pool is one of the true joys of destination resorts, no?

]]> MsRebecca 2011-07-19T08:05:02-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/7/12/84723/9091

Huge news! Boston has announced the dates of their upcoming Restaurant Week. Okay, so you're like, "oh whatever, another Restaurant Week," right? While it's true that three-course dining on a budget does occur quite frequently around the country these days, Boston's Restaurant Week is special because it features many seafood restaurants...fresh seafood.

The dates to add to your iCal? August 14-19 and August 21-26, 2011. There's over 200 restaurants to choose from, and meals have more options and lower prices than you find at NYC Restaurant Week. It's a pretty worthy daytrip diversion if you don't live in Boston; we've done it before and you know we're already looking at BoltBus prices for this one.

Now for the pricing and featured restaurants: ]]> JetSetCD 2011-07-12T08:47:23-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/