GoAwayTravel.com Blog

What A Deal For 2009 Travel to Disney

It’s the Disney vacation sale you simply can not miss. Buy a 4 night vacation package and receive the next 3 nights FREE. You will also receive 3 days FREE on your Theme Park Tickets and up to a $300 Disney Gift Card* (Date Specific).

This special must be booked by 12/20/08. Looking for an unforgettable holiday gift? Give the gift of Disney!

Please contact me if you have any additional questions about this special! Contact Suzy

Punta Espada Golf Course

by Bradley S. Klein - Senior Writer - Golf Week

The defining color of golf throughout the Caribbean and Mexico no longer is just green. Increasingly, it’s blue, as in the stunning azure of the oceans, seas and lagoons that lap the region’s finest courses.

That’s particularly evident at our No. 1 course, Cap Cana-Punta Espada in the Dominican Republic, where the confluence of land and water produces great golf. The second hole of this new Jack Nicklaus design, a 611-yard par 5, starts atop a limestone cliff and tumbles down to a tidal lagoon, with the green set on a peninsula and the Caribbean lurking behind. All told, eight holes play right on the water’s edge, and when the wind howls, as it did during the Champions Tour’s Cap Cana Championship in early April, you know you’re in a special place.

Water and wind have been powerful factors since the region’s first great course, the Mid Ocean Club in Tucker’s Town, Bermuda, debuted in 1921 as a showcase for the bold talents of Charles Blair Macdonald and Seth Raynor. It holds up well, as its No. 2 rating attests. So, too, does our No. 3 layout, Casa de Campo’s Teeth of the Dog, a Pete Dye-designed course in La Romana, Dominican Republic. When the course opened in 1969, the country’s southeast coast was virtually unreachable to the tourist trade. Now the area is booming, and Casa de Campo also has three other highly rated Dye courses on site: Dye Fore (No. 7), La Romana Country Club (No. 19) and the Links Course (No. 37).

Golf has flourished in the region for several reasons. The first is an abundance of coastal land with suitable contours. The second is the cultivation of a reliable turfgrass, Seashore paspalum, that’s hearty enough to thrive in an area where fresh water is scarce and water with high salt content is abundant. It helps, too, that governments have signed on, making golf-driven tourism a major engine of overall economic development.

“Blue fairways” now drive upscale real estate and resort development in previously isolated areas such as the southern end of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula, overlooking the Sea of Cortez. The breakthrough project there was our No. 4 layout, Cabo del Sol’s Ocean Course in Cabo San Lucas, designed by Nicklaus in 1994. That was followed in 2000 by our No. 5-rated course, the Tom Fazio-designed Querencia in San José del Cabo.

Not surprisingly, modern courses (built since 1960) dominate the list. Only four classic-era (pre-1960) layouts are in our top 50. Among modern architects, Nicklaus leads with eight courses, followed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. (7), Robert Trent Jones Jr. (6), Dye, Fazio and Robert von Hagge (4 each) and Tom Weiskopf (3).

Golfweek’s Best Courses of the
Caribbean & Mexico

On the afternoon of Friday, September 26, an off-property storage facility used for Couples Tower Isle renovation materials caught fire.   Included in the list of destroyed items were new furniture and fixtures, bedding, flat-screen televisions, ceiling fans, carpeting and tiles.  As a result of this unfortunate event and the time it will take to receive the new materials, the re-opening of Couples Tower Isle must be postponed to Saturday March 14, 2009.

All guests currently booked and confirmed at Couples Tower Isle from December 21, 2008 to March 13, 2009 will be protected at one of the other three resorts in a room with a similar view and amenities. Reservations received after October 1, will not be eligible for any relocation protection.

Should guests decide to cancel, a full refund of the hotel portion only will be authorized. Please be advised that the relocation protection is subject to availability at the time of request and all requests must be received no later than Friday, October 17, 2008. Requests received subsequent to October 17 may be rebooked at the sole discretion of Couples Resorts. 

Guests who are in possession of a Norovirus compensation letter with travel expiring on March 31, 2009 may extend their travel to December 15, 2009, excluding CSA and CNG anniversary weekend of October 9, 10, 11, 2009.  All other terms and conditions listed in the Norovirus compensation letter remain unchanged.  Couples Resorts will not be responsible for any airline change fees and/or penalties.

We just received feedback on the Port of Galveston from the Director of Sales at Royal Caribbean…

As of  yesterday, we have been told that the port will be ready to accept the Voyager as scheduled in December. The terminal did sustain 3 feet of water damage, but the building has been deemed structurally sound. Over the next two weeks they will be replacing carpet and counters that have water damage. The electricians are working today, and there is hope that they will have power next week. (The port is on the same transformer as the hospital). The waterway is clear of all obstacles and a Navy ship will be coming in this weekend to provide lodging and support to the city.

Royal Caribbean is offering great promotions on the Voyager of the Seas sailing from Galveston December through April.

Please Contact Suzy for pricing!

Please be advised that Beaches Turks & Caicos  is now not accepting any arrivals until Friday, Sept. 26^th.  The cleanup that is needed, from the effects of Tropical Storm Hanna, is greater than originally expected, and will take some time to be completed.

Check back here for updates: http://www.goawaytravel.com/blog/

Attention All Chicago Bear Fans

Apple Vacations is hosting a 7 night trip to Jamaica with the Chicago Bears in March of 2009. This special includes round trip air from Chicago on 03/02/09, hotel stay at the brand new Riu Montego Bay for 7 nights All Inclusive, plus special engagements with the Chicago Bears! These include a Bears Superfan private welcome party and autograph session and special group activities and surprises with your Bears hosts. The rates are as low as $1449.99 per person, plus tax.

Please contact me if you have any additional questions about this special! Contact Suzy

It’s still raining in the DR, and Jamaica will get some as well.  The Caymans are under a hurricane watch at this point.

We’ve gotten the latest policies from the following airlines:

No evacuation order has been given at this point from the Caymans, but we will keep everyone updated as we get more information.

•   The Ritz Carlton Grand Cayman is not taking any new reservations until Saturday, Aug. 30^th.   The hotel is waiving all cancellation penalties for guests scheduled to arrive between now and Saturday, Aug. 30^th.  Although the island is not evacuating at this point, the beach will be closed on Thursday and Friday (August 28 and 29) and there will be limited dining options. 
•     Comfort Suites  is currently closed for sales from August 26 to August 31, 2008.  At this point in time we will be open for sales beginning Monday, September 1, 2008.  For anyone that is scheduled to arrive between Aug. 26^th – 31^st, they may cancel without penalty. 

 More updates will be posted here as they become available!