Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holidays. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Survey: Fall in gas prices doesn't translate into spike in holiday travel


Gas prices have plummeted... but is savings at the pump translating into increased holiday travel?

Not that much, according to a survey by GasBuddy.com, which monitors fuel prices.

The record-low gas prices are not affecting the travel plans for 77 percent of those surveyed --  but for the 23 percent whose plans have changed, 29 percent say they will be traveling greater distances.

The impact on lower gas costs translates into spending more on holiday gifts to 35 percent of those surveyed, spending on  "other" to 17 percent, and  spending more on accommodations to 8 percent.

In different question however, those surveyed were asked how they plan to spend extra money saved with lower gas prices. The most popular options: paying off some bills (45 percent) and saving the cash (38 percent).

According to the survey, slightly more than half of respondents (52 percent) play to travel anytime between Dec. 20 and Jan. 1;  of them, 30 percent plan to go 500 miles or more, roundtrip. Of all traveling for the holidays, autos are the preferred transportation mode (90 percent).


Other interesting findings:
The most popular day for hitting the road for year-end travel: Dec. 29 (29 percent).
Least popular day: Dec. 21 (7 percent)
Christmas Day -- Dec. 25 -- was second most-popular (23 percent) followed by Christmas Eve (19 percent).
Most popular day for starting your return home: Jan. 2 (24 percent), followed by Christmas Day (21 percent).
Least popular: Jan. 1 (6 percent)


The vast majority of those traveling cite "to visit family  and/or friends" (78 percent).

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Brookgreen Gardens rolls out holiday illumination Dec. 4


Brookgreen Gardens, just south of Myrtle Beach in Pawleys Island, S.C., is about to launch its annual "Night of a Thousand Candles" holiday presentation.

It's Dec. 4-6, 11-13 and 18-20, and is staged from 3 to 10 p.m. so visitors can better enjoy the outdoor illuminations, both candles (more than 5,500)  and displays.

New this year: an 80-foot holiday fir decorated with 60,000 lights; the switch is ceremonially flipped at 5:45 p.m.

More new highlights? The Peppermint Forest in the Children's Garden, the Ice Garden in the Lower Left Wing Garden.

Admission is $18, $10 for children; 3 and younger, free. Tickets are available at www.brookgreen.org, at the gardens, and by phone at 843-235-6016. All entertainment is included in admission; dinner there is available at an additional cost. 

Also new this year: a free mobile app that has performance details and info on food and beverage locations, a map for the event and more. Get it by searching Brookgreen Gardens in the App Store and in Google Play.

The event will draw crowds, and the staff there offers these suggestions:

* Carpool with family and friends. This makes for easier parking.

* Consider checking out the event on a Thursday evening ‑- Brookgreen Gardens will be less crowded.

* Arrive early between 4 and 5 p.m. so you can see the candles being lit. Dusk is also the best time to take photos. Also, a limited number of adult and child strollers are available at no charge on a first-come basis. Reservations for them are not taken, so get there early if you need one.


* Dress warmly and wear comfortable shoes. "Night of a Thousand Candles" is a walk- not a drive-through.

Monday, November 17, 2014

Try Norfolk, Va., for holiday fun


Norfolk, Va., is a gem of a town worth visiting most any time of the year. If you're heading north a state or two between now and Christmas, be aware of what's going on in Norfolk. Highlights include:

MacArthur Winter Extravaganza, through Dec. 24 at Norfolk’s MacArthur Center -- a large shopping mall right downtown. The Ice Palace -- a  30-foot globe encircled with majestic arches, the ethereal palace appears to be carved from ice -- is where you'll find a photo-friendly Santa. You can also enjoy a 7,200-square-foot outdoor ice rink offering  public skating sessions, ice hockey clinics and figure skating exhibitions (Nov. 22 – Jan. 19). The  MaAarthur Winter Carnival features classic amusement rides, like a ferris wheel and spinning tea cups.

Downtown Norfolk this year debuts its first Dickens’ Christmas Towne holiday celebration. The semblance of Victorian London involves carolers and merchants in period costumes, as well as a Victorian Father Christmas and a holiday train display. Dates: Nov. 21 – Dec. 14 and Dec. 17 – 28.

The Grand Illumination Parade the night of  Nov. 22 marks the 30th year of the skyline being officially lit for the holidays. (The visitnorfolktoday.com photo at the top of this post shows a float from that parade.)

The Norfolk Botanical Garden id dressed for the season for its 19th annual Dominion Garden of Lights. Nov. 27-Dec. 31, 5:30  to  10 p.m., drive the 2-mile through a display of a million twinkling lights.

 The first-ever BlueMoon Harbor Lights Half Marathon and 5K will be Nov. 21-23. The three-day event begins with a Sports & Fitness Expo followed by two runs that go through the scenic, historic downtown area and along the Hampton Roads Harbor. Adult participants can attend a post-race party with complimentary live music, food and beer.

Need another run? The Tacky Sweater 5K, staged the morning of Dec. 13, is a chance to show off over-the-top holiday-themed outerwear. Besides both races, the fundraiser offers s a tacky sweater competition.


 Details on visiting the Norfolk area: www.visitnorfolktoday.com.

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Charleston's massive display of holiday lights celebrates 25th year




Charleston's holiday season kicks in on Nov. 14 with the opening of the Holiday Festival of Lights, at James Island County Park. It continues through Jan. 1 at the sprawling site, southwest of downtown. And it is sure to draw crowds.

The 3-mile drive-through tour takes you past 2 million lights worked into more than 700 displays -- from the expected Santas and reindeer to dinosaurs, space ships and more.

The event is celebrating its 25th year. Part of the local hoopla is the creation of a new display based on ideas offered by kids. The winner of this year's Light Display Design Contest, submitted by a 9-year-old, is of a seal pup.

The Nov. 14 6:30 p.m. opening is occasioned by live entertainment, various awards and a fireworks display that begins at 9 p.m.

Most stationary events at the festival are staged at Santa's Village. Check the website for special events on other days, like the Nov. 21 outdoor movie (they're screening a holiday-related film).

Hours throughout the run are 5:30 to 10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 5:30 p.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday.

Admission is per vehicle: $15 91-5 guests), $40 (hauling 16-30 guests) and $100 (31 or more guests -- in some kind of super humongous bus, I'd guess).

Sweetening the 25th anniversary pot? One guest each evening of the festival will receive a special gift valued at $25 as they enter the park. Charleston County Parks will also give away a five-night cruise in a no-purchase-required sweepstakes. To enter, go to CharlestonCountyParks.com/Sweepstakes between now and the end of the year.



Monday, August 11, 2014

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.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Holiday flight deals? Think ahead. Waaaay ahead

If you're thinking about great deals for a holiday flight somewhere, do your shopping next week.

Not for the upcoming Memorial Day weekend at the end of May -- but for a Fourth of July trip.

That's according to Hipmunk -- www.hipmonk.com -- a flight/hotel discounter. Its "2014 Summer Travel Survey" forecasts that travel for Independence Day will be heating up quickly, and that historical data indicates the best time to book such a trip is the week of May 26-June 1.

On average, the report says, those last year who booked the week of Memorial Day spent $417 in airfare... but those who booked three weeks later spent -- on average -- 31 percent more: $547.

With consumer money tight and airlines keeping a close watch on profits by upping their "load factor" -- filling as many seats as possible, even if it means reducing the number of flights --  there's little surprise that the search for holiday discounts is a hot topic.

Alison DaRosa, a veteran travel writer based in San Diego, wrote an article in early May for the online edition of the San Diego Union-Tribune  about timing your airline buys.

Drawing on a report released this spring by another discounter -- CheapAir.com -- she notes that "most flights open up for sale about 330 days in advance" and that "ticket prices for those individual trips will change an average of 92 times before takeoff."

You can find the CheapAir report at http://bit.ly/MAT3D.

The best time to buy?

"The simple answer," CheapAir reports, "is that in 2013 the best time to buy a domestic airline ticket was 54 days in advance, or 7 1/2 weeks on average."

It also states, "The worst time to book your trip was the last minute. No big shocker there. The day before was the single worst day, two days before was the second worst, etc. etc. all the way up to 13 days in advance."

Also bad? Booking too far in advance.

And the timetable for anything involving holidays seems to defy logic.

DaRosa's article notes that CheapAir found the best day to book domestic tickets for both Thanksgiving and Christmas this year will be ... June 4.


June 4, by the way is celebrated as  Independence Day in the Pacific island nation of Tonga.

If you were planning on attending those festivities, I really can't tell you if there would've been a "best day" to book that flight. For a trip that expensive, there might not be one.

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

A weekend in Fayetteville for holiday shopping -- and honoring veterans


Holly Day Fair


 Care to get a jump on the holiday shopping season? If you're heading over to Fayetteville Nov. 7-9, expect roughly 21,000 others at the Crown Expo Center for Holly Day Fair, one of the largest pre-holiday marketplace-style events in the Southeast.

It's staged by the Fayetteville Junior League, and the vendors are juried: Organizers say they select the 200 vendors with an eye toward creating an event that has appeal for all ages of shoppers (and all ages of people they're buying for) and which offers items not readily available in stores

Items include  holiday decorations, handmade crafts,  jewelry and clothes, children's toys and specialty food. (The photo at the top of this page, from the Fayetteville Area CVB, shows a previous Holly Day Fair.)

Admission is $9, at the door or, in advance, via www.Ticketmaster.com orwww.HollyDayFair.com. Hours are noon to 8 p.m. Nov. 7, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Nov. 8-9 and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Nov. 10.

To avoid crowds, head there Nov. 7 -- a Thursday -- from 9 a.m. to noon. There's a price for getting an early look at this less congested time: Tickets are $13.

Heroes Homecoming

Note that  Nov. 8-11 is also the long Veterans Day weekend -- and Fayetteville, home of Fort Bragg, takes it seriously, with the third annual Heroes Homecoming.
 It begins Friday evening (Nov. 8) with a Candlelight Tribute at N.C. Veterans Park, followed by a an 8 p.m. screening of the final episode of the ever-popular TV show "M*A*S*H."
There's a 10 a.m. parade the following day.
Among the Nov. 10 events is a 3 p.m. meet-and-greet at N.C. Veterans Park with some of the people who starred in "M*A*S*H."

For details on Heroes Homecoming events: www.heroeshomecoming.com.