How to Plan the best Vaca... EVER!

So, its almost the amazingly dreadful time of year. You know, the time when your super happy but really sad and nervous. When you want to be flawless but look effortless. It's the infamous "back to school" conundrum. 

You may be just starting college or getting ready to send the children off to school as they begin their journey into adulthood. Wherever you fall on this scale you have time. Time for what you ask, oh just to book the most amazing vacation ever!!! 

While most people are getting ready for back to school, I am getting ready for vacations. That's right I'm in travel planning mode and you can be as well. It's not too hard or overly complicated. In fact most websites or apps make it quite easy to book. 

Here is a quick and carefree guide to booking an amazing vacation. 

1. Pick your travel date/s 
You have to decide if you wan thanksgiving with the parents or Christmas in Cannes. Maybe you want to be close for the holdays so spring break is more ideal. Once you have your dates you can move to step 2. 

2. Pick a location 
In my opinion this is by far the hardest step. There are so many places in the world to explore how can you just pick one? Ummm easy, don't! You can book more than one vacation, or extend your vacation by having multiple destinations (it's not as expensive as the 'cha-ching' sound in your head is implying)

Looking for winter wonders check out this cool link 
Looking for Summer in the winter like me? Heat it up here

3. Book the flight/s
Now, this can be a bit overwhelming but I'll share my personal tricks for success. 


 I use hopper, this phone application is absolutely amazing. I select my dates and location/s and it notifies me when the flights are at their lowest and/or the highest. I fly to Japan round trip for less than $800!!!! Yea, you read that correctly. This application is my travel friend! Well, if apps had the capacity to maintain friendships (shrugs). 

I also LOVE LOVE LOVE JetBlue! They ALWAYS have travel deals on flights. Now, is the perfect time to take advantage. There's one way flights to Aruba from New York for less than $200 p/p! Don't believe me? Check it out below.

These are my two faves but there's more especially if you choose all-inclusive. Speaking of that let's detour..

3a. If you choose all inclusive cause you want tropical/carribean vibes. Here are some great websites to help with that. 

Cheap Carribean- it's the first site I used to book an all-inclusive vacation. They have an abundance of options, pick the country, pick the hotels and you can choose the amenities you want. It's AWESOOMMMEE! (and my personal go to when lookin for a quick getaway) 

Bookit- is also another great website. There are all sorts of great ways to save on this site. There are several ways to refine your search and get that perfect vacation!

4. Pick a hotel/Bed and breakfast or Air BNB: because Europe doesn't offer all-inclusive 

This step is usually the easiest for me. I know what my comforts are and what I like to have when I travel. Therefore, hotels are easier for me but, like most things this comes with time and learning through mistakes. 

Here's some options to help with those mistakes:

cheaphotels.org has super inexpensive deals for local and international destinations. The best part is, its NOT just hotels! Yes, that's right, there are apartments, rooms and homes for rent. So you can really pick what you like and not break the bank. 

TripAdvisor.com- is a great place to start if you are not sure what kind of hotel you are looking for. Once you find the hotel, you can check out other sites to see which one has the best rates for the dates of your choice. 

Often, times it might be best to book directly with the hotel. As they ay have special rates and offers not advertised on third party websites. 

Hey! Guess what? Once you finish those simple steps you've done it! That's right you booked your perfect vacation. 

Now, the only thing left to do is save the date and get ready to lice your best life. 

Let me know what places you use to book your vacations in the comments. 

Thanks for stopping by and Traveling with May

Remember That Time...

No, seriously, do you remember that time I made changes to JetBlue's Wikipedia page?

You don't? Well, check out my post I Think You Forgot Something. I totally explain how JetBlue leaves out some super fun stuff that has a major effect on their marketing.

Well, I recently went back to the Wikipedia page to see if my changes stuck.....





and....





the results are in.....







they did.....







NOT!




It's okay no worries. I guess JetBlue doesn't want the world to know about the super cool freebies they offer. Maybe JetBlue wants to keep it a secret to keep it free??? Maybe not.

Welp, we tried and we didn't last too long with this one but, there are more wikipedia pages and way more cool stuff to update.

Check out the JetBlue Wikipedia page here and tell me what you think in the comments below.


Thanks for stopping by to check in and Travel with May

I Think You Forgot Something

Being the travel junkie that I am, I tend to research airlines to see what changes are being made and if/when they will affect me. In my search for information on various airlines I found it quite interesting that there were, what I consider to be, major details missing from the JetBlue Wikipedia page. 


The quote below shows the information listed in the segment labeled "Services". 

==== Core ====
JetBlue offers Core (Main Cabin) seating across its fleet. In the Core cabin, Customers enjoy leather seats, the most legroom among U.S domestic carriers, free gate to gate wi-fi, free in-flight entertainment with [[DirecTV|DIRECTV]] and [[Sirius XM Holdings|Sirius XM Radio]] as well as unlimited complimentary snacks and non-alcoholic drinks. Customers can purchase or upgrade to an EvenMore® Space seat with more legroom than a Core seat in a better location in the cabin.

Clearly, for anyone who has flown with JetBlue we know the "Core" services offers more than wi-fi and Direct TV. JetBlue has snacks! AND... are you ready for this? The snacks are FREE! Do you understand how crucial this is for a traveler? Specifically, a traveler with a snacking habit that can't be shaken. 

I found it quite interesting one of the main attractions to the airline was neglected in their "Services" section. It seems the JetBlue Wikipedia page needed a bit of an update. So, of course, I did it. 

Check out the revision/update below:

JetBlue offers Core (Main Cabin) seating across its fleet. In the Core cabin, Customers enjoy leather seats, the most legroom among U.S domestic carriers, free gate to gate wi-fi, free in-flight entertainment with DIRECTV and Sirius XM Radio as well as unlimited complimentary snacks and non-alcoholic drinks. JetBlue's in flight snacks and beverages are offered by companies which have partnered with JetBlue. Some companies include Cheez-It® Crackers, PopCorners® Popcorn Chips, and TERRA® Sweets & Blues™ potato chips.

JetBlue also offers EatUp boxes for purchase ranging from $6 to $8, the boxes include cheese, protein bars and turkey jerky and vary per flight and season. In addition, to the EatUp boxes JetBlue offers EatUpCafe this includes sandwiches, pudding and salads, these are available on select flights from New York, Boston and Fort Lauderdale, and the selection does vary per flight and season. The items in EatUp Cafe are available for purchase and range from $6 to $12. JetBlue does offer alcoholic beverages such as beer, spirits and wine for purchase ranging from $7 to $9.

Customers can purchase or upgrade to an EvenMore® Space seat with more legroom than a Core seat in a better location in the cabin.

Revisions can be seen in the link 
"<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JetBlue#Core>"


Now, that you've read it, do you understand my bemusement? This is an amazing opportunity JetBlue is missing. As a traveler, it is important to know what you are able to receive, especially when it's free. It's vital to fully understand all of the pros when deciding what company to book with. 

Travelers, take the time to research the airline and hotel. Learn what they offer and compare it to other companies. Sometimes, it can be a very small thing, like snacks, that can make a huge difference. Furthermore, there are snack boxes that have full sized products for up to $9! That would get 1 bottle of water and 1 bag of chips in most airports. Save the time, on the line and your money on the overpriced snacks and get it on the plane. Enjoy it in the comfort of your seat while watching the show or movie of your choice. Doesn't that sound like a better experience? Yes, I thought you would agree.  

Snacks are an easy way to control hunger, especially during long flights or during layovers. 

Make sure you stay up to date with services offered... it all matters when Traveling with May