BITE 5390: Virtual Vacation Assignment

2. Introduction
0 My virtual vacation is a multi-city destination to the
Western United States.
0 My husband, John, will accompany me.
0 We have a budget of $10,000 for a two-week vacation.
0 Highlights of the trip will include:
0 The 2014 Las Vegas Star Trek Convention
0 A trip to the Grand Canyon
0 Sightseeing in Seattle, WA
0 Horseback riding on a ranch in Montana

3. First Stop:
Las Vegas, NV
0 Arriving on August 2
0 Spending two days at the
2014 Las Vegas Star Trek
Convention hosted by
Creation Entertainment ®
0 Hoping to meet William
Shatner, star of the original
Star Trek series
0 General admission tickets to
the event are $149 each

4. First Stop:
Las Vegas, NV
0 Sightseeing and gambling
from August 4 – 5
0 “Must-See and Do:”
0 Stratosphere
0 The Venetian Hotel &
Casino
0 The Golden Nugget
0 Buffets!

5. First Stop: Las Vegas, NV
0 Grand Canyon Tour
0 August 6
0 Hosted by Canyon Tours
0 Pick up and drop off at
hotel
0 $79 per person

6. Next Stop: Seattle, WA
0 Sightseeing in Seattle
August 7 - 9; highlights
include:
0 Pike’s Place Market
0 Space Needle
0 Starbucks (the first
location)

7. Next Stop: Seattle, WA
0 Whale watching
0 August 10
0 The Victoria Clipper by
Clipper Vacations
0 A chance to see Orca
whales
0 Breathtaking views of
the San Juan Islands
0 $117 per person

8. Next Stop: Seattle, WA
0 Road Dogs Seattle
Brewery Tour
0 August 11
0 $79 per person
0 Touring three Seattle
breweries

9. Next Stop: Seattle, WA
0 Winery tour
0 August 12
0 Bon Vivant Wine Tours
0 Woodinville Wineries
0 $89 per person

10. Final Stop: Whitefish, MT
0 Bar W Guest Ranch
0 Meals
0 Ranch activities
0 Horseback riding
0 Fishing
0 Clay pigeon shooting
0 Wagon ride dinners
0 …and so much more!

11. Planning the Trip
0 Searching for hotel and air transportation using
Kayak.com:
0 For air travel, I used Kayak.com’s “Multi-City” flight search
feature and entered the airports near my destination cities.
0 Not only did I search for flights by lowest price, but I also
filtered my search to not include “red-eye” flights to select
from preferable landing times for each destination.
0 For hotel accommodations, I searched the lowest-priced
hotels for each city I was traveling to using Kayak.com’s hotel
search feature.

12. Air Travel: Multi-City Search

13. Air Travel: Search Results

14. Air Travel:
Getting the Best Price
Kayak.com compared
prices with other
online travel sites and
found that Orbitz had
the best deal for me.

15. Lodging: Las Vegas
0 I narrowed my Kayak.com hotel search to include
hotels that had an airport shuttle so I did not have
to spend money on a rental car.
0 My husband and I wanted to stay near the “Vegas
Strip,” but we wanted to stay somewhere nice and
affordable.
0 Although an older hotel, the Tropicana has been
remodeled, is in a great location, and offered a low
price!

16. Lodging: Las Vegas

17. Lodging: Seattle
0 Location is everything!
0 Again, we wanted to stay
in the heart of the city so
we could walk
everywhere!
0 Guest reviews were
important because of the
number of nights we were
staying.

18. Lodging: Seattle

19. Lodging: Whitefish
0 I conducted a specific Google® search for “Montana
ranch vacations.”
0 After viewing a few top search results, I investigated
packages from the Bar W Guest Ranch.
0 This ranch’s three-night packages were within our
price range and all-inclusive with activities and meals.

20. Lodging: Whitefish

21. Ground Transportation:
Las Vegas
0 Las Vegas:
0 Hotel provides shuttle from
airport to “The Vegas Strip”
0 Grand Canyon tour is a bus
trip: pick up and drop off at
the hotel
0 I conducted my search for
“Grand Canyon tours”
using Google® because it
was so specific

22. Ground Transportation:
Las Vegas

23. Ground Transportation:
Seattle
0 Since we were staying downtown Seattle, we chose
excursions and activities that did not require us to
provide our own transportation.
0 We did not want to have to pay for parking or daily
rates for a rental car.
0 The only transportation we would have to provide for
is a shuttle or taxi to and from the airport.
0 I conducted a Google® search for taxi services from
the Seattle/Tacoma airport as Kayak.com did not offer
this specific search.

24. Ground Transportation:
Seattle

25. Ground Transportation:
Whitefish
0 Because the Bar W Guest Ranch is approximately a 15-mile
drive from the airport, transportation is necessary.
0 There are other tourist destinations within reasonable
driving distance of the ranch such as Glacier National Park
and the quaint town of Whitefish, MT.
0 By renting a vehicle, we could enjoy the scenery and take
our time getting to and from the ranch and other local
sites.
0 To find the most affordable rental car, I used Kayak.com
and specifically searched for mid-size to full-size vehicle
options as we would be enjoying longer drives and needed
something comfortable.

26. Ground Transportation:
Whitefish

27. Dining
0 I allocated the same amount
for food each day of our
vacation with the exception of
our stay in Whitefish.
0 The higher budget for dinner
may allow us some flexibility.
0 We do not have any specific
restaurants in mind prior to
the trip; however, we will rely
on local recommendations.

28. Activities
0 Some major activities of this trip will include:
0 The 2014 Las Vegas Star Trek Convention
0 Bus tour of the Grand Canyon
0 Whale watching in the San Juan Islands
0 Sightseeing in Seattle to include Pike Place Market, the
Space Needle, and the first Starbucks location
0 Brewery and wine tours in Seattle
0 Two days on a ranch in Montana with horseback riding,
fishing, hiking, and clay pigeon shooting
0 I searched for these activities using Google® search.

29. Activities:
2014 Star Trek Convention

30. Activities: Space Needle
Admission

31. Activities: Whale Watching

32. Activities: Seattle Brewery Tour

33. Activities: Winery Tour

34. Landmarks
0 Landmarks of note will
include:
0 The Grand Canyon
0 Glacier National Park (if
time permits)

35. Conclusion
0 Our total estimated expenses are currently $761.30
below budget! Unfortunately, this does not allow
much flexibility with miscellaneous expenses.
0 It is remarkable to see that I planned this entire
vacation without having to speak with a
representative with the airline, hotels, or excursions—
everything I needed was available online so I could
conduct my research in the comfort of my own home!

36. Web References
0 Google Images
0 www.kayak.com
0 www.google.com
0 http://www.canyontours.com/grand-canyon-south-rim-bus-tour/
0 http://www.creationent.com/cal/st_lasvegas.html
0 http://www.pikeplacemarket.org/
0 http://www.spaceneedle.com/
0 http://www.starbucks.com/coffeehouse/store-design/1st-and-pike
0 http://www.clippervacations.com/destinations-san-juan-islands/
0 http://www.seattlebrewerytour.com/
0 http://www.bonvivanttours.com/
0 http://www.seattleairportservice.biz/
0 http://www.thebarw.com/index.html
0 http://www.troplv.com/