It's two-fer time at Myrtle Beach

Discounts at Myrtle Beach? This is the time of year to look for them ‑- when the big-venue holiday shows are done and before Can-Am Days -- March 14-22 this year -- officially opens the 2015 vacation season for frost-bitten refugees from Ontario.

VacationMyrtleBeach.com, a group of 14 oceanfront resorts, is pushing a Stay+Play Free Family Fun promotion: Book at one of the hotels and get free or two-fer admission deals to various area attractions.

The details:

Buy one, get one Legends in Concert ticket for stays through May 31.

Buy one, get one ticket to Alabama Theatre‘s  “ONE the Show” for stays through March 31 and for May 1-31.

Buy one, get one free Banana Boat ride in the Atlantic with Downwind Sails for stays April 1-May 21.

Buy one, get one free ticket to WonderWorks museum (shown at the top of this post) through March 15.

One free entry to select House of Blues events, including March 14 Badfish concert and March 21 Local Brews, Local Grooves event.

Check out the promotion here.

The 14 resort hotels: Beech Colony, Beach Cove Resort, Captain's Quarters, Caravelle Resort, Carolina Winds, Crown Reef Resort, Forest Dunes, hotel BLUE, Landmark Resort, Ocean Creek Resort, Palace Resort, Palms Resort, Sea Watch Resort and South Wind on the Ocean.

Check out the resorts here. And keep your eye peeled for off-season lodging discounts.

Will flying cost less this Labor Day weekend?

Flying away for Labor Day weekend?

The online travel agency  CheapOair said last week that its data is pointing to a lower demand -- and possibly some lower prices -- for domestic destinations for Labor Day vacationers.

CheapOair says these are the most  popular U.S domestic fly-tos (Denver tops the list), what the average round-trip fare is for Labor Day weekend, and how the airfare price has changed from the same weekend in 2013 (the percentage of change is in parenthesis):

Denver: $268 (up 40 percent)

Orlando, Fla.: $269 (down 15 percent)

Tampa, Fla.: $276 (down 6 percent)

Washington, D.C.: $289 (down 16 percent)

Boston: $293 (down 32 percent)

Fort Lauderdale, Fla.: $310 (down 26 percent)

Miami: $336 (up 10 percent)

Los Angeles: $339 (down 19 percent)

San Francisco: $354 (down 19 percent)

Seattle: $369 (down 1 percent)

The devil, of course, is in the details: The farther you are from your destination, the more expensive it will be. And what kind of routing is involved? What about departure/arrival days and times go with it?

Consider a quick trip to San Francisco (the Golden Gate Bridge is shown above).

Checking CheapOair at 3:30 p.m. on Aug. 11, there were two round-trip fares between Charlotte (CLT) and San Francisco (SFO) at $436.70, including taxes -- one-stop flights via JetBlue. Both leave Charlotte at a reasonable time: 12:12 p.m. or 4:20 p.m. on Aug. 29; on the way back on Sept. 2, they leave San Francisco at 10 p.m. and 8:45 p.m.

The catch? Your one stop is in Boston, where there's a two-hour layover in either direction... making for an eight-hour flight either way.

That said, Labor Day is considered a "drive" holiday, and if airline demand is indeed down this year -- and you don't mind taking a longer, round-about, one-stop journey -- you may find deals out there from discounters or  airlines.