kuzenski vacation

Introduction

0My virtual vacation is a multi-city destination to the Western United States.

0My husband, John, will accompany me.

0We have a budget of $10,000 for a two-week vacation.

0Highlights of the trip will include:

0 The 2014 Las Vegas Star Trek Convention

0 A trip to the Grand Canyon

0 Sightseeing in Seattle, WA

0 Horseback riding on a ranch in Montana

First Stop: Las Vegas, NV

0Arriving on August 2

0 Spending two days at the 2014 Las Vegas Star Trek Convention hosted by Creation Entertainment ®

0Hoping to meet William Shatner, star of the original Star Trek series

0General admission tickets to the event are $149 each

First Stop: Las Vegas, NV

0 Sightseeing and gambling from August 4 – 5

0 “Must-See and Do:”

0 Stratosphere

0 The Venetian Hotel & Casino

0 The Golden Nugget

0 Buffets!

First Stop: Las Vegas, NV

0Grand Canyon Tour

0 August 6

0 Hosted by Canyon Tours

0 Pick up and drop off at hotel

0 $79 per person

Next Stop: Seattle, WA

0 Sightseeing in Seattle August 7 - 9; highlights include:0 Pike’s Place Market

0 Space Needle

0 Starbucks (the first location)

Next Stop: Seattle, WA

0Whale watching

0 August 10

0 The Victoria Clipper by Clipper Vacations

0 A chance to see Orca whales

0 Breathtaking views of the San Juan Islands

0 $117 per person

Next Stop: Seattle, WA

0Road Dogs Seattle Brewery Tour

0 August 11

0 $79 per person

0 Touring three Seattle breweries

Next Stop: Seattle, WA

0Winery tour

0 August 12

0 Bon Vivant Wine Tours

0 Woodinville Wineries

0 $89 per person

Final Stop: Whitefish, MT

0Bar W Guest Ranch

0 Meals

0 Ranch activities

0 Horseback riding

0 Fishing

0 Clay pigeon shooting

0 Wagon ride dinners

0 …and so much more!

Planning the Trip

0 Searching for hotel and air transportation using Kayak.com:

0 For air travel, I used Kayak.com’s “Multi-City” flight search feature and entered the airports near my destination cities.

0 Not only did I search for flights by lowest price, but I also filtered my search to not include “red-eye” flights to select from preferable landing times for each destination.

0 For hotel accommodations, I searched the lowest-priced hotels for each city I was traveling to using Kayak.com’s hotel search feature.

Air Travel: Multi-City Search

Air Travel: Search Results

Air Travel: Getting the Best Price

Kayak.com compared prices with other online travel sites and found that Orbitz had the best deal for me.

Lodging: Las Vegas

0 I narrowed my Kayak.com hotel search to include hotels that had an airport shuttle so I did not have to spend money on a rental car.

0My husband and I wanted to stay near the “Vegas Strip,” but we wanted to stay somewhere nice andaffordable.

0Although an older hotel, the Tropicana has been remodeled, is in a great location, and offered a low price!

Lodging: Las Vegas

Lodging: Seattle

0 Location is everything!

0Again, we wanted to stay in the heart of the city so we could walk everywhere!

0Guest reviews were important because of the number of nights we were staying.

Lodging: Seattle

Lodging: Whitefish

0 I conducted a specific Google® search for “Montana ranch vacations.”

0After viewing a few top search results, I investigated packages from the Bar W Guest Ranch.

0This ranch’s three-night packages were within our price range and all-inclusive with activities and meals.

Lodging: Whitefish

Ground Transportation: Las Vegas

0 Las Vegas:

0 Hotel provides shuttle from airport to “The Vegas Strip”

0 Grand Canyon tour is a bus trip: pick up and drop off at the hotel

0 I conducted my search for “Grand Canyon tours” using Google® because it was so specific

Ground Transportation: Las Vegas

Ground Transportation: Seattle

0 Since we were staying downtown Seattle, we chose excursions and activities that did not require us to provide our own transportation.

0We did not want to have to pay for parking or daily rates for a rental car.

0The only transportation we would have to provide for is a shuttle or taxi to and from the airport.

0 I conducted a Google® search for taxi services from the Seattle/Tacoma airport as Kayak.com did not offer this specific search.

Ground Transportation: Seattle

Ground Transportation: Whitefish

0 Because the Bar W Guest Ranch is approximately a 15-mile drive from the airport, transportation is necessary.

0 There are other tourist destinations within reasonable driving distance of the ranch such as Glacier National Park and the quaint town of Whitefish, MT.

0 By renting a vehicle, we could enjoy the scenery and take our time getting to and from the ranch and other local sites.

0 To find the most affordable rental car, I used Kayak.com and specifically searched for mid-size to full-size vehicle options as we would be enjoying longer drives and needed something comfortable.

Ground Transportation: Whitefish

Dining

0 I allocated the same amount for food each day of our vacation with the exception of our stay in Whitefish.

0 The higher budget for dinner may allow us some flexibility.

0 We do not have any specific restaurants in mind prior to the trip; however, we will rely on local recommendations.

Activities

0 Some major activities of this trip will include:0 The 2014 Las Vegas Star Trek Convention

0 Bus tour of the Grand Canyon

0 Whale watching in the San Juan Islands

0 Sightseeing in Seattle to include Pike Place Market, the Space Needle, and the first Starbucks location

0 Brewery and wine tours in Seattle

0 Two days on a ranch in Montana with horseback riding, fishing, hiking, and clay pigeon shooting

0 I searched for these activities using Google® search.

Activities: 2014 Star Trek Convention

Activities: Space Needle Admission

Activities: Whale Watching

Activities: Seattle Brewery Tour

Activities: Winery Tour

Landmarks

0 Landmarks of note will include:

0 The Grand Canyon

0 Glacier National Park (if time permits)

Conclusion

0Our total estimated expenses are currently $761.30 below budget! Unfortunately, this does not allow much flexibility with miscellaneous expenses.

0 It is remarkable to see that I planned this entire vacation without having to speak with a representative with the airline, hotels, or excursions—everything I needed was available online so I could conduct my research in the comfort of my own home!

Web References

0 Google Images0 www.kayak.com0 www.google.com0 http://www.canyontours.com/grand-canyon-south-rim-bus-tour/0 http://www.creationent.com/cal/st_lasvegas.html0 http://www.pikeplacemarket.org/0 http://www.spaceneedle.com/0 http://www.starbucks.com/coffeehouse/store-design/1st-and-pike0 http://www.clippervacations.com/destinations-san-juan-islands/0 http://www.seattlebrewerytour.com/0 http://www.bonvivanttours.com/0 http://www.seattleairportservice.biz/0 http://www.thebarw.com/index.html0 http://www.troplv.com/