If you like staying at the same hotel chain each trip so that you can earn free nights, points, or just to get something out of being loyal to one hotel chain, you might want to take a look at Choice Hotels. They have hotels such as the Comfort Inn, Quality, Sleep Inn, and more. Right now, they have a great deal going on where if you stay two times, you’ll earn a free night at one of their hotels. Since it usually takes a lot longer to earn a free night, this is great if you plan on going away a few times.

The great thing is that Choice Hotels are nice, clean hotels, and you know that you won’t have to spend a lot of money to stay there.  We stayed at a Comfort Inn just a few months ago, and the hotel was nice, clean, and in a great location in the city we were staying in.  We would definitely stay at another one, and have stayed at other locations previously.

Even if you don’t travel that often, sometimes it can be worth it to be loyal to one type of chain (or a company that owns a lot of chains, like Choice) so that you can eventually add up all your points, and get something free out of it.  And if Choice hotels wants to make it easier for you to do so, that’s even better!

If you’re looking for some hotels with great prices, but that are also in great locations…and are nice hotels, take a look at these hotels.

They are all really great hotels, and are usually in the perfect location. They also guarantee that you will get the lowest internet rate by booking through them directly…so you don’t have to worry about spending hours on the web trying to find the best price online.  You know that you’re getting the best price, without wasting any of your time.

In the past year, I’ve stayed at a Holiday Inn Express, and really enjoyed my stay. It was in La Jolla, California, and it was a really incredible hotel room. I would stay there again in a second if I knew I was going to be anywhere in the area again.

In the past I have also stayed at other Holiday Inn Express hotels, as well as a few of the others, and they were all good trips.

If you’re looking to save money, but still stay in a great hotel, I’d take a look at these.

After watching all of the snow fall today, I am ready to Escape the Winter! I’d be happy to go anywhere that’s warm, sunny, and where I didn’t have to shovel!

Orbitz is currently having an Escape the Winter Sale, with up to 50% off on hotels worldwide. Wherever you want to get away to, you can save money while doing so.

This is going on through March 29th.

When traveling, you’ve probably heard that you should be extra careful with your belongings. No one wants to lose their passport or money while having a good time on vacation. Most of the time you hear about people wearing money belts, or something else under their clothing. I recently found PacSafe purses, which seem like they will be a perfect solution for when I travel. I will report here after I use one on my next trip abroad, to let everyone know how I liked it. I have a feeling I will, since all of the reviews seem positive.

It looks just like a regular purse, but has a lot of anti-theft features so that it would be a lot harder for someone to take stuff out of it while you’re walking around. Below is a video showing exactly what their features are. If you’re interested in seeing more of the bags they have, (they have many sizes and styles), eBags.com has a large selection.

Rick Steves is a great resource when it comes to travel. He has written many guidebooks, leads tours, and even has his own travel products. Since he travels often, he knows a lot about packing for a vacation. Here is a short video where Rick Steves shares his packing tips.

Norwegian Cruise Line has just announced the name of their new F3 ship. It will be the Norwegian Epic, and will start sailing in the summer of 2010. While many of the details of the new Norwegian Epic are still kept under wraps, here are some of the things that will make this ship unique.

• A true Ice Bar
• A POSH Beach Club with an adults-only setting at the top of the ship
• Halo, the Uber Bar, a private bar and lounge
• Bliss Ultra Lounge, an all-day entertainment and nightclub complex with a 4-lane bowling alley and an adults-only aft pool deck experience
• New Wave rooms including curved walls
• …more to be announced

They have also announced their itinerary for their inaugural season. They will be doing 2 cruises, a 7-Day Eastern Caribbean from Miami (including stops at Phillipsburg, St. Maarten; St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands; and Nassau, Bahamas), and a 7-Day Western Caribbean from Miami (including stops at Costa Maya, Mexico; Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras; and Cozumel, Mexico).

If you live in the NY/NJ area, you might be interested to know that the New York Times Travel Show is only a few weeks away! This year it’s about a month earlier than the past few years, and will be going on February 6th - 8th at the Jacob Javitz Center in NYC. If you love to travel or even just dream about traveling, you will probably be interested in going to the Travel Show.

The main part of the show is the exhibitors. There are booths upon booths, and if you want to travel anywhere in the world, you’re likely to find a booth for it. They have whole sections on the USA, Europe, Cruises, Caribbean, Africa, Canada, and more. You will be able to talk to people that really know these destinations, and will be able to answer any questions you have.

While this is a great reason to go, there are also speakers that you can listen to that are included in your ticket (which are only $15.00 each). The speakers are mostly well known people in the Travel business, and you’ll know at least a few of them. This year Rick STeves, Arthur Frommer and his daughter Pauline, Samantha Brown, and Andrew Zimmern will be there, and those are just a few of the many speakers you will get to hear talk.

The whole thing is just a whole lot of fun, and I speak from experience. I’ve been going for quite a few years now, and have had a great time each and every time I went. If you love to travel, I really recommend you stop by the Jacob Javitz Center to visit.

Looking to find the best prices for your next vacation, but don’t want to spend the time searching yourself, or going to multiple travel agents? How would you like it if they came to you!

At Tripology, you enter in the details about the trip you want to take, and then up to 3 travel agents will come to you with their quotes. It’s nice and easy, and you know you’ll get the best price!

Pictures are a great way to remember your vacation for years after you have come back. While you’ll always have your memories, sometimes after a few years (or even a few months!) you might be fuzzy on a few of the details. Did you get to see x, y, and z? Or only visit x and y, and you saw z on another trip. Lots and lots of pictures are a great way to remember your vacation. You’ll get to show others all of the great things you saw while on your vacation.

You’ll also get to go back and “live” your vacation over again any time you want. I love being able to go through all of my pictures of past trips, remembering what we did that day, and all of the great things I saw, no matter where I was. It’s also fun being able to show people the cool things you saw, since some things are so beautiful that words just won’t do.

One thing I enjoy doing while on vacations is to make sure I get some perfect pictures so that I can blow them up and put them on my walls. Unfortunately, I haven’t had much of a chance to get the perfect picture, but I have been able to buy some really nice prints of different destinations that I have been to, so that I can remember my vacation while looking at a perfect photograph of the destination.

Because let’s face it…sometimes you just can’t get the perfect picture. There are people in the way, or the sun is too bright, etc…So while most of the time you can take the picture yourself, other times it makes more sense to buy a poster and hang them on your wall. Then anytime you walk into a room you can remember the trip!

When you go on vacation, you most likely will want to bring something back to help you remember the trip. It’s great to be able to look at something in your house, months after you’ve gone on a vacation and have memories come flooding back when you look at the item that you bought while away.

It doesn’t have to be expensive to get a souvenir that you will like, and that will help remind you of your trip. As a matter of fact, it’s most likely the lesser expensive items that you’ll use more often and will be more of a daily reminder of your trip.

The picture above is a great example. While I was in Walt Disney World in September of 2007, I bought a pack of 6-coasters at the gift shop in the Magic Kingdom. How much did it cost? $6.00. How often do I use them? Every single day. It’s great. Whenever I pick up my glass to get a sip of my drink while watching TV, I see one of the coasters, and it instantly reminds me of my Disney World vacation. I can remember picking them out, as well as how much fun I was having at the time, and for the rest of the trip.

Another great souvenir that I got was a spoon holder for while I’m cooking. It’s in the shape of Mickey ears, and cost a whole whopping $7.00. I use this a few times a week when I need to put the spoon down when I’m mixing things on the stove. It also reminds me of my trip, and didn’t cost much at all.

Don’t get me wrong, you can buy a lot of things that will remind you of your trip…I’m just suggesting that less expensive items that you will use often can really give you the most for your dollar, and help keep your vacation alive until your next trip!