Travel News: Last-Minute Memorial Day Deals Under $400, European Summer Savings, and SF’s North Beach Festival
From the dizzying heights of San Francisco’s hills to the streets of London, Paris, and other European cities, from this year’s Memorial Day festivities to the Swiss countryside, this week’s travel news delivers a bunch of deals you’ll want to pounce on.
LAST-MINUTE MEMORIAL DAY DEALS UNDER $400
Got no plans for Memorial Day Weekend? No problem. Our friends at Skyscanner are delivering a range of fun, easy, and affordable last-minute U.S. flight deals under $400 for the weekend of Friday May 25 through Monday May 28. Here are some of our favorites:
- Boston to Orlando, where you’ll beat the summer crowds at popular theme parks like Disney and Universal.
- Chicago to San Antonio, in time to raise a glass to the Texas city’s 300th birthday and the range of celebratory events happening there all spring and summer.
- Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., where you can participate in annual Memorial Day commemorative events, soak up art, culture, and history at the free museums, and party like a boss in cool neighborhoods like Adams-Morgan and Dupont Circle.
EUROPEAN SUMMER SAVINGS
We’re all about helping travelers “see more for less,” and Rail Europe’s summer savings may inspire you to start packing your bag. The company, the largest distributor of European train tickets, passes, and tours in North America, has a range of offers for Europe’s classic destinations and journeys. Save up to 65 percent on rail travel from France to Switzerland, whether you’re traveling from Paris to one of Switzerland’s beautiful cities (including Zurich, Geneva, and Basel) or between the south of France (Marseille, Avignon, Aix-en-Provence) to Switzerland; bargain fares are available for travel from July 2 through August 29. Save up to 30 percent on the extraordinary 2-hour-and-15-minute Chunnel ride between London and Paris, Brussels, Lille, Calais, and, now, Amsterdam and Rotterdam, including comfy seats and complimentary light meals; bargain fares must be booked by June 18 for travel between July 16 and November 11.
SAN FRANCISCO’S NORTH BEACH FESTIVAL
It’s hard not to have a good time in San Francisco. It’s even harder not to have a good time in San Francisco’s “Little Italy” neighborhood of North Beach, where you can take your pick of bustling eateries serving up authentic Italian cuisine, desserts, and coffee; echoes of SF’s bohemian heritage like City Lights bookstore; and pinch-me views of the San Francisco Bay, Coit Tower, and the skyline of nearby downtown. The 65th annual free North Beach Festival celebrates all of this and more on the weekend of June 16 and 17, with 125 arts and crafts booths, food, two stages offering live entertainment (including circus arts), poetry readings, chalk art for kids, and the neighborhood’s legendary “blessing of the animals” ceremony at the Vallejo Street shrine of the city’s namesake, Saint Francis of Assisi. Insider tips from a former local, Budget Travel editor in chief Robert Firpo-Cappiello: “Take public transportation (a MUNI streetcar or bus into North Beach; or BART light rail to the Powell Street station, then a cable car up the hill), and stop and say hello to our friends at the decidedly European San Remo Hotel, on Mason Street.”