FareFinder: Wednesday April 29

Miley Cyrus (aka, Hannah Montana) and Atlantis, Paradise Island are teaming up for the "Miley Cyrus Weekend in Paradise" package, which includes accommodations and tickets to an exclusive Miley Cyrus concert on May 16. Rates start at $499 per person, $209 per child (ages 11 years and under). No word on whether Jaimie Foxx is scheduled to appear.

Princess Cruises' Escape the Economy sale going on now. Offers include 2-for-1 deals on select cruises and free upgrades.

The state of Colorado wants you to visit, so much so that the state's tourism board has launched HOTDEALSCOLORADO.com, providing vacationers easy access to more than 250 great vacation deals from throughout the state.

Your weekly Continental.com last-minute airfare deals include roundtrip airfare from Houston to Acapulco for $159. Combine that with some really great deals on hotels and you've got a cheap vacation all set.

Delta.com's weekly web fares include LA or San Francisco to Kennedy for $99 each way.

Southwest Mystery City Sale: Bay Area

On the final day of Southwest Airlines' Mystery City Sale, the low-cost carrier provides you with not one, but three cities to choose from.

The San Francisco-Bay Area and its three airports -- San Francisco International, Oakland International and Mineta San Jose International -- are the focus of the final day of Southwest's four-day Mystery City Sale.

Like the other days, you must book your flights today and fly between May 4 and June 10. The only blackout dates are May 21-25 (Memorial Day Weekend).

Over the course of the four-day sale, Southwest has offered 50% off flights to Philadelphia, Nashville and Albuquerque, so it wasn't a stretch to think that it would head to the West Coast for the final day. But to provide three airports for their half-off sale? Kudos to Southwest for providing four days of great savings.

Southwest Mystery City Sale: Albuquerque

First Philadelphia, then Nashville. Now, Southwest Airlines' Mystery City Sale heads west of the Mississippi to Albuquerque.

That's right. Home to BioPark, Sandia Crest and Route 66, Albuquerque flights are 50% off today at Southwest.com. Today is the third stop on the airline's Mystery City Sale Tour, which will end tomorrow. Based on the trend, we might see someplace on the West Coast (Burbank, anyone?) end up as the final destination.

Come back tomorrow for the final destination. 

Southwest Mystery City Sale: Nashville

Yesterday, Southwest Airlines brought you to Philly for 50% off. Today, they're taking you to Music City.

Nashville, TN, is the second stop on Southwest Airlines' Mystery City Sale. Just book today for travel between May 2 and June 10 using promo code LUVBNA to receive half-off your flight. That means, for example, a four-day trip from Baltimore to Music City at the end of May (Thursday through Sunday) costs around $136 including taxes.

One note we didn't mention yesterday -- none of the Mystery City Sale fares are valid during Memorial Day weekend travel (May 21-25). But other than that, every day is fair game. 

Philadelphia Southwest Fare Special -- Wanna Get Away Sale with Southwest

Fans of Southwest Airlines already know what a great deal it is. Now there's even more of a reason to love the multi-colored and recognizable airliner.

Starting today, Southwest is running a four-day Mystery City Sale, where they'll discount airfares up to 50% off for one city, each day. Today's city's Philly, with fares half-off for people flying to and from the City of Brotherly Love between May 1 through June 10.

We'll keep you posted about what other cities Southwest plans to unveil as they are announced. In the meantime, get booking!

FareFinder: Tuesday, April 21

MSC Cruises has rolled out its lineup of Theme Cruises, which include a Baseball Greats cruise, Golf cruises and cooking cruises. Also, the cruise line's Balcony Bonanza promotion for European sailings has been extended through May 31.

Aer Lingus Vacations is offering an Ultimate Affordable Luxury package that includes roundtrip business class airfare to Dublin, six nights in a suite at the Ritz-Carlton Powerscourt, full-size rental car for a week with unlimited mileage and GPS Navigation, dinner at celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay's restaurant at Powerscourt and more for $2,999 per person.

Your Continental.com last-minute airfare specials for the week, plus some from JetBlue and Delta.com.

Last-minute cruise special from Royal Caribbean: Three-night Bahamas cruise departing Miami on Friday for $249, or a seven-night Caribbean cruise departing San Juan on Saturday (disembark in Norfolk, VA) for $549.

FareFinder: Tuesday, April 14

Walt Disney World offers up The Magical Mother’s Day Weekend Package, starting at $499, and includes three-day/two-night stay at the Swan and Dolphin Resort, a 50-minute Swedish massage for mom and more.

The Buckingham Hotel in NYC offering two art lover's packages, one for the Museum of Modern Art and another for The Museum of Arts and Design. Each include accommodations and tickets to museums and start at $249 a night.

Princess Cruises offering specials on its 12-day Emerald Isles & Russian Splendors May sailings onboard its Tahitian Princess, starting at $799 with promo code UEF. Ask an agent for details.

Your weekly Continental.com airfare specials.

Starting June 28, Southwest Airlines flies from LaGuardia to Chicago for $89 each way and Baltimore/D.C. for $49 each way. And the flights are filling up fast.

FareFinder: Thursday, April 2

Time sensitive special from JetBlue: $14 flights from San Fran to JFK or Long Beach. Today only, so act quick. If you miss that deal, then check out their Spring Sale, which also ends today.

InterContinental Chicago offering a baseball lover's special that includes accommodations, rooftop seating across from Wrigley Field and an open bar for $249 per night, per couple. That and other specials available online.

Southwest Airlines redesigns its Special Offers page. And by the way, it has really good specials through Monday.

Luxe Hotel Sunset Boulevard in L.A. offering a "Doggy & Me" package that includes accommodations in a Junior Executive Suite on the Spa Level, in-room massage for guest and their four-legged loved one, dog treats specially created by OnSunset restaurant’s Executive Chef and more for $575 a night.

FareFinder: Monday March 23

(Ed. Note: This was scheduled to run on Thursday, and we apologize for the delay. My bad.)

Golf.VisitNC.com offers a sweepstakes for golf lovers. Enter to win the dream golf getaway now through March 31.

Radisson Edwardian's 12 hotels in London and Manchester are offering an Advance Purchase promotion, which gives you 20% off the best available rate.

Divi Carina Bay Resort & Casino in beautiful St. Croix offering specials during the St. Croix Food & Wine Experience, which is April 14-18.

South African Airways once again offering its "Planes, Trains and Safarimobiles" special for September, which is basically a 10-day all-inclusive vacation in South Africa (airfare, most meals, accommodations, tours, etc.), for $2,999 plus tax.

FareFinder: Thursday, March 12

Divi Resorts offering a five-day Girlfriend Getaway Package at its Little Bay Beach Resort on St. Maarten starting at $585, which includes a $100 spa treatment, a $50 gift certificate at the resort’s on-site jewelry store and a $100 boat trip to island-hop over to St. Barthelemy for the day.

MSC Cruises extending its Caribbean Spring Sale aboard the MSC Liricia's March 24 and April 13 eastern Caribbean sailings. Interior cabins start at $60 per person, per day for the 10-day itineraries. Plus, kids sail for free when traveling with two adults.

Last-minute airfare deals on Continental and Delta for this weekend.

With March Madness one week away, tickets are still available for 2009 NCAA Tournament games in Greensboro, NC (first and second rounds) and Indianapolis, IN (Sweet 16 and Elite Eight).

FareFinder Extra: JetBlue one-day sale is crazy good

JetBlue is always trying to stay ahead of the curve. Whether it's additional legroom, free Dunkin' Donuts coffee or the ability to check out ESPN on the TV at your seat, they're always looking to one-up the competition.

Now, for one day, they're doing it on price. And you better hurry, because that one day is to-day. Flights for March 10-April 1 (flying out Tuesdays or Wednesdays) are going for $29-$99 each way.

In all, 21 destinations -- including the New York City-area airports, Washington, D.C., Cancun, Las Vegas and San Diego -- with cheap-o airfare. For example, here are the flights from JFK that are one sale:

• $29* to Pittsburgh, PA (PIT), Portland, ME (PWM), Raleigh-Durham, NC (RDU), Richmond, VA (RIC), Rochester, NY (ROC) and Syracuse, NY (SYR);
  
  
• $59* to Fort Myers, FL (RSW), Orlando, FL (MCO), New Orleans, LA (MSY), Tampa Bay, FL (TPA), West Palm Beach, FL (PBI) and Long Beach, CA (LGB);
  
  
• $69* to Nassau, Bahamas (NAS), San Francisco, CA (SFO) and St. Maarten (SXM);
  
• $79* to Oakland, CA (OAK), Ponce, Puerto Rico (PSE), San Jose, CA (SJC) and San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU);
  
  
• $89* to Chicago, IL (ORD), Las Vegas, NV (LAS), San Diego, CA (SAN), Salt Lake City, UT (SLC) and Seattle, WA (SEA);
  
  
• and $99* to Phoenix, AZ (PHX) and Puerto Plata, DR (POP).

So hurry -- you have until 11:59 p.m. MST today to book these deals.

Ryanair Charges for Bathrooms, Eliminates Check-In Counters

Ryanair just can't stay out of the news. The discount airline made headlines earlier this week when it publicly lambasted a blogger for pointing out a flaw in their website's design. While they were at it, they decided to lump all bloggers into a collective group, kindly referred to as "lunatics."

More negative publicity followed as the Irish airline announced that it was considering charging passengers to use the bathroom.

Ryanair could begin charging passengers to use the toilet. That's direct from the mouth of Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary, who made the comments this morning to BBC television. "One thing we have looked at in the past and are looking at again is the possibility of maybe putting a coin slot on the toilet door so that people might actually have to spend a pound (about $1.43) to spend a penny in future."

Many industry experts have wondered if the move would backfire for Ryanair. According to British Aviation officials, there is currently no legislation mandating toilets be available on board aircraft, so if the airline does decide to include one, they can rightfully charge for its use.

Ryanair's most recent announcement concerns airport check-in counters. The discount carrier will eliminate all check-in counters by the end of 2009.

The Dublin-based discount carrier plans to get rid of its ticket counters, shifting some of those employees to staff drop-off stations for passengers' checked bags. Ryanair has released few details of exactly how the ticket counter elimination would work, but CEO Michael O'Leary told the Daily Telegraph that the airline ultimately wants only 20% of its passengers to check bags.

It's unclear yet how passengers would respond to the move. Thus far, no airline has ever eliminated 100% of its check-in counters. Although self-service has been a growing trend in many industries, especially air travel, many remain skeptical that Ryanair will be able to make it work.

Despite the numerous headlines and incredulous responses to pay-toilets, blog-hating and mandatory self check-in, no one should really be surprised. Ryanair has a history of taking a different approach than other airlines. For proof of Ryanair's independent-thinking, look no further than their Calendar of Scantily Clad Flight Attendants (hey, at least it was for charity).

FareFinder: Thursday, February 26

Sandals Resorts offering last-minute getaways, including four nights in the Bahamas for as little as $2,100.

Hurtigruten slashes prices on 17- to 21-day Greenland cruises, including airfare from NYC.

In response to AirTran specials, airlines rush to discount competing fares. Case in point: this Continental flight from Raleigh-Durham to Newark-Liberty.

Five-star Dolder Grand Hotel in Zurich celebrates it re-opening anniversary with buy-one, get-one up to four nights.

Today is Carnival Cruise Line's one-day sale. Specials include a 5-day Caribbean cruise from Galveston for $279.

FareFinder Extra: Summer price wars beginning early

It's no secret that the airline industry is hurting for business. More and more airlines are slashing prices and offering weekly specials and Web fares.

Now, according to the Associated Press, Atlanta-based AirTran Airways is about to jump-start a price war that will give consumers even more of a reason to fly:

In a sign of great uncertainty about demand for air travel this year amid the deep U.S. recession, discount carrier AirTran Airways launched a fare sale to all its destinations Tuesday for flights through the middle of the fall. ... AirTran, a unit of Orlando, Fla.-based AirTran Holdings Inc., said its sale fares, starting as low as $39 one-way, are available for purchase through March 5 for travel through Nov. 4. The biggest discounts are for travel on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

According to the story, American, Continental, United, US Airways and Delta "quickly matched on routes where they compete with AirTran, and JetBlue said it would do the same."

Coupled with deep discounts from hoteliers, cruise lines and other industry services, there might not be a better time to travel.

FareFinder: February 10

With poor economy comes great responsibility. Or something ridiculous like that. Farefinder brings the best deals around the web to lighten the travel weight on your wallet. 

Continental.com specials for the week

Southwest Airlines Yes You Can! sale offers $49 one-way flights

NCL's Freestyle Resolution: Up to $250 on-board credit and $99 sailings

Princess Cruises continues its Balcony Bonanza deals

Single in NYC? Mandarin Oriental has a plan

Tips for traveling in a bad economy

Ramsey Qubein is Travelin' Light's on-the-road correspondent.

If your travels follow the direction of your bank statement, then read quickly and look South. The economic instability of the United States is not isolated to this great land. Over the past few weeks, the long-inflated Euro (to the dollar) has softened providing an ease on the pocketbook for American travelers while the Southern Hemisphere has become an amazing bargain seemingly overnight.

But, there are other destinations that provide more bang for the buck. While they require a bit more effort to reach, they can prove to be big money savers once one arrives. South African Airways and Delta Air Lines both fly nonstop to the African continent and frequently offer discounts (especially from Washington DC and New York where the competition is intense). South America often sees deals emerging from New York and Miami among other cities.

South Africa is the perfect example. As I write this post, the rand is 10 to the dollar, providing an incredible value. We’re talking an entire steak dinner (including an obligatory South African Meritage) for under $10!!! Add up local transportation costs, local hotel rates, and souvenirs and you arrive at a reasonable figure that competes with a European vacation while offering the cache and distinction of a more exotic locale. Imagine perusing the safari lands outside Johannesburg or strolling the V&A Waterfront of Cape Town for only a fraction of the cost. Now is the time to go.

Try a side trip to Namibia for the day or even for a few nights. The local currency is equally priced, and the locals are amazingly welcoming.

Another locale is the incredibly romantic confines of Buenos Aires where the economic instability has yet to catch up leaving prices severely undercut for the American traveler. The Australian Dollar is similar with record lows to the dollar equaling huge savings for Americans.

Even sunny Aruba has gotten in on the action with discounted fares and creative packages to lure Americans closer. They count on almost 70% of their inbound tourism as Americans meaning that when the USA has a cold, Aruba can quickly develop pneumonia so look south for vacation plans this year!