24 Hours In Niagara Falls With Teens

Niagara Falls is one of the world's three great waterfalls and should be on everyone's bucket list. More than 3,000 tons of water pours over the falls every second. Four of the five great lakes drain into the Niagara River. The city of Niagara has gone through a metamorphisis of circus atmosphere to souvenir central to national park. 

Be sure to check out Niagara Falls at night. You can see Toronto, Canada in the background. We did not cross the border, but I would highly recommend spending an extra few days in Toronto. 

We found a hole in the wall stuffed burger place called Rock Burger.  If you like crazy burgers, then this is your place. 

There are a lot of inexpensive hotels in the city of Niagara. Check awardmapper.com to see if it's worth using points. All the major chains are in Niagara. We stayed at the Wingate by Wyndham Niagara Falls which included breakfast and cost $100. It was quite nice and a few blocks from the falls. We paid for the room instead of using points because Wyndham was running a promotion where you stayed for 2 nights and earned 15,000 points. The nights did not have to be consecutive or even at the same hotel. 

There are tons of activities in Niagara Falls from the Maid of the Mist (boat tour of the falls), walking tour of Goat Island (top of the falls), Canadian side of the falls, American side of the falls and The Cave Of The Winds (self guided walking under the falls). You know us well enough to know that's what we decided to do. 

We got there early because we were worried that would be a line, but apparently we were the only ones who were concerned. Before you head to the falls, there is a nice exhibit demonstrating the history of the falls. There is also a short movie. Then the fun begins. The tour includes ponchos and sandals. 

You take the elevator down to the bottom of the falls and then walk and get wet, really, really wet. Best bet wear your bathing suit. 

The tour lasts about 1 hour and costs Adult: $17 Youth (Ages 6-12): $14. You cannot buy tickets online. If you plan to experience several activities, take a look at the Discovery Pass.  You can look at the falls from several sides for FREE. 

Southwest Holiday Promotion Targetted Offer

The holiday season is starting and that means extra miles and points so get ready! Southwest sent out this targetted offer this morning. Though it's only a 2,000 bonus, you might as well activate the offer. They give you 3 months to spend $4,000 so if you aren't working towards other bonuses or if you need to top off your account or if you are pushing for a companion pass, it might make sense for you.
If you were to buy 2,000 points from Southwest, you would spend $60.
Remember you will get the 2,000 bonus plus 4,000 for the spend.
Make every purchase count, that's how we do it at almost free family travel.

Alaska Airlines West Coast 2 Day Sale

One of my favorite travel deal sites is Travelzoo and today the site launched a 2 day west coast sale with Alaska Airlines. I checked a couple of same fares and the deals are pretty good. 

San Diego - Newark $119 one way

Los Angeles - Las Vegas $42 one way 

This particular sale ends Oct. 18th.

NEWSFLASH™ - VIP Edition

From the Travelzoo Newsdesk

SoCal 2-Day Flight Sale, from $37 (One Way)

By Jessica McNally

Alaska Airlines launched a two-day fare sale with flights from southern California starting at $37 one way. Deals for one-way flights include: Burbank to San Jose from $37 Orange County to San Francisco from $49 Burbank to Portland from $52 LAX to Cabo from $99 LAX to Baltimore from $109 San Diego to Newark or Baltimore from $119  Travel from Nov. 1 - Dec. 13 (blackout dates: Nov. 16-28).  Book by Oct. 18. Check out it out and even better join their mailing list so you are the first one to know about great sales. If you are not sitting on a pile of points or if you need to get the last few family members flights, this might be the deal for you.

Southwest Flys To Hawaii - Aloha!

Southwest announced plans to fly from the mainland to Hawaii in 2018 at the . Tickets will go on sale in 2018. Right now, Southwest is starting the process to request permission to fly to Hawaii. Southwest is able to do this because Boeing was able to create the 737 MAX plane that can handle longer routes.
The governor of Hawaii called it a game changer.
Southwest also launched a new reservation system recently that can handle more complicated bookings and overnight flights.
The approval process can take up to 18 months.
For almost free family travel, start planning how to earn that companion pass next year so you can say Aloha!

Watch For A Special Offer For A Southwest Companion Pass With Just One Purchase!

 One of the best ways to get almost free family travel is to earn a Southwest companion pass. You receive a BOGO pass when you earn 110,000 miles in a calendar year. The BOGO pass is valid for the year you earn it and the following year. I have had a pass for the past 2 1/2 years and been able to take my kids with me for FREE on lots of trips.
Now we heard today that some of our readers in California, Phoenix, Atlanta and Denver are receiving a targetted email offering a credit card that comes with a BOGO companion pass valid until Dec. 31, 2018 with just one purchase and a $69 annual fee.
Amazing offer.
There is a lot of fine print so read carefully.

But if you qualify, this is a pretty good one! Let us know how it works out.

Southwest Launches Biggest Sale Of The Year!

Southwest launched its biggest sale of the year this morning. Flights from $49. Fares below $100. The sale is launched this morning and lasts until Thursday. Fares are good for travel between Oct. 31 and Dec 19 and Jan 3 through Feb. 14.
For Florida and Nevada, sale flights are only good on certain days.
International flights are blacked out Nov. 21 and 22.

I checked out a few sample fares and found:

San Diego - Cabo San Lucas $100 each way
Orlando - Washington DC $55 each way


Check it out and let us know what you do. If you have the companion pass, this could mean almost free family travel - woohoo!

Explore Krakow With Teens

Main square in Krakow

The Barbican sits just outside the old city walls

 Next stop, Krakow, Poland.
Poland has been at the top of my list since I was kicked off the train en route to the country 30 years ago. That's a whole other story.
And I must say, Poland lived up to my expectations.
Krakow like Prague is quaint and historical. Unlike Prague, Krakow was destroyed in World War 2. It has been rebuilt to look exactly like it did before the war. The Poles like the Czechs have been governed by many different countries and the architecture, food and culture reflect that mix.

Wawel Castle 

 The old city is small walkable area from the main gate to the castle. There are carriages with horses and a nice trolley system to get around. We stayed at the Hilton Hampton Suites Krakow .  The hotel served a wonderful breakfast, clean rooms and secure location and the best part is it costs just 5,000 Hilton points per room per night. If you pay for a room, it costs just $75 per room per night including buffet breakfast.
The one negative is that this hotel is NOT walking distance from the old city. It is on a trolley route that leads directly to the old city and train station.
But if location is key for you then this may not be the right hotel. The trolley is very inexpensive and runs often. Food in Poland is cheap as well. Polish food is very good and there are lots of inexpensive Polish restaurants.

Locks on the bridge near the Jewish Quarter

For teens, I highly recommend the Wieliczka Salt Mines. It's approximately a 3 mile walk deep underground through the mines. Parts of the mines have been formed into huge ballrooms, pools with monuments and much more. You can book your tickets online and take the train or bus from the Glowny main train station. They are having reduced train in Fall 2017 so you can check this website for updates. 

Inside the main ballroom of the Salt Mine

By Cezary p at the Polish language Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2810301

The other day trip from Krakow is a visit to Auschwitz. Auschwitz was the main concentration camp during World War 2. The tour is approximately 3 hours long and the bus ride is 1.5 hours each way so this is an all day excursion. It is sold as a day tour from Krakow, but you can easily do this one on your own and save a ton of money.
I recommend buying your entry tickets online in advance so you get the time that you want and you don't have to wait in line at the entrance. You will choose your time and language when you buy tickets. The tour guides are trained for at least 1 year so they are very knowledgable. The tour is heavy, but moving and really, everyone should visit at least once.
You can reach Auschwitz by public bus from the bus station behind the Glowny train station. The cost is about 15-20 Zloty.

Poland is off the beaten track and wonderfully affordable. That's how we do it at almost free family travel.