Having revealed our inner cheapskates in a recent Globe Travel piece not only got us a slew of hate mail (sample eloquence: “PIGS! PIGS! PIGS!”). It also garnered a lot of thank-yous and some suggestions for additional cost-cutting. One reader called our attention to the relatively new website BerkshireCoupon.com http://berkshirecoupon.com. While it’s primarily aimed at cost-conscious residents of Berkshire County, some of the online coupons are very useful for leaf-peepers and other travelers, especially the discounts on hotels, motels, and restaurants. Who knows? That $20 off motorcycle service could also come in handy.

Posted by Patricia Harris and David Lyon, Globe Correspondents

Southwest has sprung a 16-day sale for travel through Feb. 11. Sale fares from Logan run as low as $59-$149 each way and reservations must be made before Oct. 16.

This sale, while not offering the kinds of reductions we saw in July, is unusual for a couple of reasons. First, travel dates for these kinds of deals are typically restricted to Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, which reflect an attempt by carriers to fill seats on the slowest days for business travel. But this sale is available every day, except Fridays and Sundays.

And many sales in this time period black out days around Thanksgiving and Christmas. For this offer, seats appear to be limited but have not been taken off the table.

"Is this Southwest's best sale ever? No.,'' said Rick Seaney, CEO of Farecompare.com, an airfare comparison shopping site. "But will people pay about $40-$50 less than they would have the day before the sale? Yes.''

The Samoset Resort in Rockport, Maine, has got a leaf peeping deal for you! It's PGA 18-hole golf course is ranked one of New England's premier resort golf destinations. The course will delight both serious and recreational players as it meanders along coast and through the lush woods, boasting seven oceanside holes and ocean vistas from 14 holes. The package being offered this autumn is an Unlimited Golf Package including: 2 nights accommodations, breakfast for two, UNLIMITED golf for two, golf carts, and a golf related gift from the pro shop. Here's the sweet part -- rates start at just $299 per night. Package is available now through Oct. 31, and excludes taxes and gratuities. Booking code is GCGOLF. Reservations for tee times must be made separately by guests directly with the pro shop. For more information and booking, please visit online or call 800.341.1650.

Photo courtesy The Samoset Resort

Sunday River and Sugarloaf have teamed up with three smaller Maine ski areas to launch a unique – and what we expect to be wildly successful – way to encourage and create new skiers and riders this winter.

The new "Maine Learn to Ski and Ride Card" will allow novices the opportunity to experience skiing or snowboarding over a two-day period at one of the state’s less-intimidating mountains - Lost Valley, Titcomb, or Camden Snow Bowl - before graduating for a day at one of Maine’s larger resorts, Sunday River or Sugarloaf. At $89, for three days of skiing, rentals, and a lesson, it’s a great deal.

The card will provide the following:

Day 1: Ticket, rental, and lesson at Titcomb, Lost Valley, or Camden Snow Bowl

Day 2: Ticket and rental at Titcomb, Lost Valley, or Camden Snow Bowl

Day 3: Ticket and rental at either Sugarloaf or Sunday River.

The cards will be available for purchase at Camden Snow Bowl, Titcomb or Lost Valley. For more information, visit www.sugarloaf.com or www.sundayriver.com.

The Smithsonian is free every day, so in the spirit of sharing the wealth Smithsonian magazine has once again organized its annual free museum day this Saturday at hundreds of participating cultural centers around the nation. To attend, you must go to the event website, fill out some basic information -- like your name and address -- and print out an admission card, which will be good for you and a guest. Three caveats: The offer is good for Saturday only; the limit is one per household; and the card can be used just once -- so forget any plans for a day of museum-hopping.

Even with those restrictions, this is a great deal. In Massachusetts, for instance, there are more than 50 participating locations, including the MFA, Museum of Science, JFK Presidential Library and Museum, New Bedford Whaling Museum, Worcester Art Museum, and Heritage Museum and Gardens. Here's the complete list.

Let's say you're planning to do a little leaf-peeping this weekend. There are other participating museum around New England. In Little Rhody there are more than a dozen; New Hampshire has eight; Maine ;21; Vermont 17; and Connecticut 20.

Globe staff file photo of Museum of Science in Boston

Southwest Airlines says it will launch service from Boston to Denver with two daily nonstop round-trips starting Jan. 10.

The announcement marks the second addition the Dallas-based, lower-price carrier has made to its offering of destinations at Logan International Airport since it began service here Aug. 16.

Southwest has begun taking reservations for flights and is offering introductory fares from Boston to the Denver International Airport as low as $99 each way.

Airline representatives say that the speedy addition of flights is a result of the fact that Boston "continues to exceed our expectations.''

But they also note that the move is part of a push the carrier is making into the Denver market. Besides Boston, Southwest also plans to to add one daily nonstop from Denver to Spokane, Wash., and one to Reno/Tahoe.

"Denver, like Boston, is a good market for Southwest,'' said Rick Seaney, chief executive of Farecompare.com, an airfare comparison shopping site.  . "There are a lot of business customers there. They think they can go head-to-head with United,'' which is the top dog in Denver.

This summer Southwest made a $170 million bid to buy Denver-based Frontier Airlines, eventually losing out to Republic Airways. Had Southwest been successful, the deal would have combined the number two and number three carriers in Denver and left Southwest with 36 percent of passengers there, compared with about 37 percent for United, airline analyst Darryl Jenkins of The Airline Zone told a local Denver television station.

"We have been competing with Southwest in a number of cities for a number of years,'' said Robin Urbanski, a spokeswoman for United. "The key for us has been to offer competitive pricing and better service.''

"We think Denver is a vibrant market with both a number of business and leisure customers,'' said Chris Mainz, a Southwest spokesman. "It also make sense in our schedule for customers going coast to coast or anywhere east to west. And to be a player there we need a significant presence if we're to be at all successful.''

The annual Pumpkin Festival in Keene, N.H., is always a hoot, with more than 20,000 jack-o’-lanterns glowing away. It’s such a big deal in southwestern New Hampshire that hotel rooms are in short supply for 50 miles around. The best location of all, the E.F. Lane Hotel in downtown Keene, is usually booked two years ahead. But when we were talking to the hotel over the weekend, the assistant manager mentioned that a tour group had unexpectedly canceled, leaving a block of rooms available for the October 17 event. Even after filling the wait list, some rooms remain, but move fast. Call at 888-300-5056.

Posted by Patricia Harris & David Lyon, Globe Correspondents

Photo by David Lyon for the Boston Globe

JetBlue plans to begin flights to Montego Bay, Jamaica, starting Jan. 9. The carrier will offer Saturday-only nonstop service, subject to the approval of Jamaican regulators. Montego Bay will become the 33d destination from Logan for JetBlue, which is set commence daily nonstop service to Baltimore on Sept. 9.

You’d never know it by the sober front of the Amtrak.com website, or the big-city promotions splashed all over the Amtrakvacations.com site, but there’s a quiet bargain available for traveling between Boston and Portland on the Downeaster: a genuine two-for-one sale. Admittedly, trains are limited to a few of the morning and early evening trains, but if you time it right, you can leave North Station in the morning, get to Portland well before lunch, visit the Museum of Fine Arts, shop, and come home after an early supper. Here’s the URL for that nearly hidden page.

Posted by Patricia Harris, Globe Correspondent

All things must end. Citing heavy demand, JetBlue stopped its all-you-can-fly offer nearly two days before it was set to expire.

Last Wednesday, the discount carrier launched the deal, which allowed travelers to fly virtually as often as they want to any JetBlue destination between Sept. 8 and Oct. 8 for $599. When I blogged about it last Wednesday I pointed out that that the airline said the offer would be available till Aug. 21 "or while supplies last.''

Sebastian White, a JetBlue spokesman, said that sales for the passes were brisk right from the start and the company slammed the brakes on the deal last night because "we wanted to make sure that those who had bought passes would have a good chance to be able get seats to places they want to go.''

White refused to say how many passes were sold but suggested that JetBlue may make a similar offer again sometime in the future.

And he passed along this interesting tidbit: About half of those who bought passes have started booking flights, and of that group one of the two most popular routes is Logan-JFK, which is consistent with the airline's view that Boston is an active and important market.

Here’s a way to keep cool: Think snow.

Granted, for even for the most avid skiers, it’s tough to think about mid-winter snowstorms in late August, a month that has shifted this summer from one of constant rain to oppressive heat. But Killington is doing its best to get you ready for skiing with the first deal of the preseason. With the K50 ticket, you can ski the Vermont resort for $50 (including tax) up to four times this season. That's a $32 savings per day off the regular ticket window price. Tickets are on sale through Oct. 15 and do come with 17 blackout dates.

Of course, if that doesn’t fix your snow jones, head on over the web site for Loveland, where the Colorado ski area is counting down the days until the season’s first snowmaking (1 month, four days, and counting).

Southwest Airlines, which just commenced service from Boston, is launching a fare sale for the slower fall and winter seasons, with one-way prices starting at $59. Purchases must be made by Sept. 3 for travel from Sept. 9-Jan. 7 and days around the holidays and all Fridays and Sundays are blacked out. Here's the rest of the fine print.
Airlines, struggling with sluggish traffic because of the recession and volatile fuel prices, began fall price battles early this year -- in fact, Southwest fired the opening salvo in early July with a wide-ranging 48-hour sale. Since then, we've seen a steady stream of offerings for fall and now we're beginning to see offers pushing into winter.
It's a tricky time for travelers. Airlines are simultaneously scrambling to fill seats with limited, targeted sales and trimming schedules. If you are planning a trip and you see a good deal, jump on it. Waiting is probably not a good strategy as carriers appear to be moving aggressively this year to ensure that they fill seats as soon as possible, avoiding the dilemma of having to slash prices or fly planes with lots of empty seats.

Get ‘em while they’re hot – if not exactly cheap: Booking now at a new resort, Scrub Island Resort in the British Virgin Islands and which is still under construction, will save you some serious coin when the upscale resort opens Jan. 3.
Scrub Island, a free five-minute ferry ride from Trellis Island on Tortola for guests, and just across from Little and Great Camanoe islands, offers early-booking rates of $450-$1,175 per night for ocean-view rooms and suites, and up to $2,500 per night for very private hillside villas dotting the hills away from the resort proper. Booking must be made by Aug. 31 for travel dates of Jan. 3 through April 30. After that, rates shoot up: $650 and up for rooms, and upwards of $4,000 per night for villas.
The resort, which will have 26 guest rooms and 26 one- and two-bedroom suites, as well as a 31 two- to five-bedroom villas at build out in September of next year, sprawls over 230 previously undeveloped acres; legend has it pirates found it easy to put in here and scrub their boat hulls clean, hence the name. The island had been home to Donovan’s Reef for several years, a tiny bar/restaurant run by the McManus family of Pennsylvania, named for the patriarch’s favorite John Wayne movie.
If you’ve got the cash, it may be worth it – once completed. The resort in mid-July had a lot of work yet to be done, but the developers, Mainsail Development of Tampa promised all the main rooms and suites, and some of the villas, not to mention a complex of four restaurants, four white-sand beaches and 60 deep-water slips, some capable of berthing boats up to 150-feet long, will be good to go.
Scrub Island consists of two large chunks of land connected by a thin strip of land, with the smaller part housing the resort proper. The other piece, Big Scrub, as it’s called, is open for private ownership with 50 house lots permitted from 1.5 to 7 acres.
It would seem to be a huge leap of faith in a faltering economy, but Mainsail president Joe Collier said the wheels had been in motion since 2003, long before the economy tanked. He said sales have been brisk and interest strong in the resort, which tourism officials said is the first major development in the entire BVI in at least 15 years. Reportedly, $150 million has been invested in the resort.
Amenities include the usual found in an upscale resort, full-service spa and fitness center, shops, lagoon pool with waterfalls and swim-up bar, dive shop, boat rentals, fishing, scuba and snorkeling charters, motorized water sports, and exquisitely appointed rooms. Suites have Wolf ranges and hoods, SubZero refrigerators, stone flooring and wood-beamed ceilings.
And they include the not-so-usual: Go anywhere on the island with your guest-room phone and feel the need for a burger and beer where you sit looking over the Atlantic Ocean on one side or the Caribbean Sea on the other, and they’ll find you there, even if you don’t know where there is: Phones come equipped with GPS tracking systems.
Another unusual feature, according to general manager William Lee: Cameras mounted on some nesting boxes of the island’s various birds of prey will broadcast to guest rooms, so you can keep an eye on what they’re having for dinner as you have yours.

Posted by Paul E. Kandarian, Globe correspondent

Photo of the view from veranda of a suite on Scrub Island for The Boston Globe by Paul E. Kandarian

For years now pitchman Tom Bodett has been promising that Motel 6 would "leave the light on for you.'' And now if you go in you might actually be willing to look.

The chain, known more for low rates than high design, has embarked on a program to undertake a European-style redesign all 1,000 of its locations. Features of the renovation include faux-wood laminate flooring (some say it resembles bamboo), bright accent colors, ambient lighting, a pedestal bed, and 32-inch flat-screen TV

So far, the chain has remade hotels in 22 cities in 11 states and plans to start working on its New England in properties in 2010, according to Laura Rojo-Eddy, a company spokeswoman.

Admittedly, one look will tell you that the end result is more Ikea than Kensington House -- this is, after all, still Motel 6. But it's a pretty big improvement.

This is one of the most unusual promotions I've ever seen. Basically, this is the way it works: If you buy a JetBlue all-you-can-jet pass for $599 between now and Aug. 21 you can fly anywhere the airline goes virtually as often as you'd like from Sept. 8 to Oct. 8. And there are no blackout dates.

There are, however, restrictions: Flights must be booked no later than 1:59 a.m. EDT three days before the flight's scheduled departure. Tickets are nonrefundable and nontransferable. And taxes and fees for international and Puerto Rican flights are not included. The rest of the fine print is here, but given the breadth of this sale it still looks like a pretty good deal.

If you are interested, you should jump on this, as the airline points out that the passes will be available till Aug. 21 "or while supplies last,'' which suggests that it if there is heavy demand JetBlue could halt the promotion early.

Book a stay at the Hyatt Regency Philadelphia at Penn’s Landing and receive two tickets to "Galileo, the Medici and the Age of Astronomy'' at The Franklin Institute Science Museum through Sept. 7. Free parking and complimentary breakfast are also included. Rates start at $170 per night.

If dining is more your speed, The Inn at Pennis offering a Wok and Sleep package through Sept. 1. Included are deluxe accommodations and a $100 gift certificate to Stephen Starr’s Pod, where you'll eat in futuristic pods and sample sushi dishes that travel through the restaurant on a conveyer belt. Rates start at $244 per night.

Too pricey? Then consider this offer from Holiday Inn Express Midtown Philadelphia. With rates starting at $159 per night, the Cell Block Seven offer comes with two daytime tickets to Eastern State Penitentiary, once home to Al Capone, and a “Mug Shot” mug filled with memorabilia. The package, good through Dec. 31, includes complimentary breakfast.

For more information about travel to Philadelphia visit the website or call 800-537-7676.

Amid the travel industry slump, Red Roof Inns is launching a planned nationwide 1-cent room promotion at its newly renovated Mansfield/Foxborough location.

The online sale on rooms for Aug. 16 begins Friday Aug. 7 at 10 a.m. and goes till all 140 rooms at the Massachusetts hotel are taken for the night.

What's the catch? Red Roof is trying to push enrollment in its free RediCard frequent-traveler program. By signing up for a RediCard, you will get a couple days notice when the company springs another of these 1-cent sales at other locations around the country -- Deb Duray, a company spokeswoman says Red Roof is planning another sale at its Boston-Woburn location in the next couple months.

Besides the heads-up on the sale, there are also other perks to signing up. The company will send you information on special deals and promotions and every time you stay at a property you build points toward free nights or Delta SkyMiles. There are also other amenities like express check-in and free USA Todays during your stay.

Times are tough, yes? Mansfield/Foxboro may not be your idea of a fabulous destination but if you're really in need of a getaway getting a room for 1 cent still could be pretty sweet. Or perhaps this is just the time to invite the mother-in-law for a visit. Either she or you could enjoy the accommodations in lovely southwestern Greater Boston.

Megabus, which guarantees at least one $1 seat per bus trip, says that it will free up an additional 50,000 $1 seats for travel Sept. 14 to Nov. 19.

What does that mean to you?

Amanda Mullin, a company spokeswoman, said in an e-mail that "the added seats will make it so there is upwards of 10 $1 seats per bus.'' To improve your chances of getting a $1 seat you'll need to use the promo code HOTDEAL when booking your trip online.

Megabus currently provides service between Boston and Hartford and New York City. On the run to New York, Mega faces heavy competition from Boltbus and the so-called Chinatown lines, Fung Wah and Lucky Star.

Currently, Megabus fares to New York run from $1 to $18 and from $1 to $14 to Hartford.

The company announced in May that it was rolling out double-decker buses on the Boston-New York route. Besides offering 25 more seats than a regular buses, the double-deckers offer amenities such as free WiFi, electric outlets, and TVs.

Photo by Jennifer Taylor for The Boston Globe

With the anxiety of the ailing airline industry turned up for the fall season, Virgin America has kicked off its own late summer/fall sale, with one-way fares from Boston to either San Francisco or Los Angeles going for $119 or $139, with the higher price being for travel on Friday or Sunday and the lower for flights all other days.

The discounts, which require a minimum three-day advance purchase, are available for travel from Aug. 18 to Nov. 18, and tickets must be secured by Aug. 11.

Besides featuring a range of onboard media choices, Virgin was the first carrier to offer inflight WiFi on all flights. There is a fee involved for the service but if you can't live for even a few hours without the Net this is good news.

This move by Virgin represents just the latest in a series of sales launched by US carriers amid growing worries over the effect the recession will have on fall travel in which sales historically tend to slow after the heavier summer season.

Heightened industry concerns about the fall became apparent after Southwest leaped in with a no-holds-barred 48-hour sale earlier this month, triggering a small fare war. That sale, coming earlier and with more flexible (read aggressive) terms than autumn sales in past years, was widely viewed by analysts as a push by the industry, already struggling with sluggish sales and increasingly volative fuel prices, to fill seats.

*********************************

UPDATE: Delta also announced a systemwide fall sale, but this one focuses on leisure travel so comes with longer advance purchase times.

For domestic travel, you must buy at least 21 days in advance but no later than Aug. 14 for travel from Aug. 18-Nov. 19. Web fares on select seats are $59–$194 each-way, based on a roundtrip travel.

And internationally, tickets must be purchased no later than Aug. 3 for trips Aug. 18-Nov. 30, except Europe for which travel must end by Dec. 18. Web fares are $159–$429 each-way, based on a round-trip.

Here's the rest of the fine print.

Amid a general travel industry slump, Vacationoutlet.com is springing a one-day sale on a five-night cruise departing Oct. 22 from Boston to Bermuda aboard Royal Caribbean's Jewel of the Seas.

What kinds of discounts? Interior rooms, formerly priced at $599, will be sold for $549; oceanviews will go for $649, down from $699; balcony accommodations for $799, instead of $879.

Actually, this deal gets even a bit better, as the travel website was already offering discounts of as much as $100, depending on the price level of the room. And, according to David Crooks, a company spokesman, those reductions can be used with the sale prices -- which means, say, in the case of a oceanview room, an additional $50 off the $649 sale price, bringing the fare down $599.

This sale started at midnight and will continue till midnight tonight. Crooks says there are also free upgrades available.

While the discounts are pretty good, this cruise represents an especially good deal for travelers in the area as they can board from here, avoiding airfares to your point of departure.

I've said it before but it remains true: If you can afford to travel this year there are some pretty good opportunities around.

JetBlue has just sprung a fall sale, with one-way, online fares as low as $49 from Boston. You have to book before Aug. 6, and fares require up to a 14-day advance purchase from travel between Sept. 8 and Dec. 16 -- note the Thanksgiving period is blacked out. And, for this one, you best shot at finding sale fares will be midweek.

Here's all the fine print.

In the latest response to Southwest Airline’s decision to begin service out of Boston in mid-August, AirTran Airways will offer free WiFi from Aug. 1 to Sept. 1 aboard its flights between Logan International Airport and Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.
Christopher White, an AirTran spokesman, said that the carrier’s freebie was intended to celebrate the fact that on Tuesday AirTran had completed outfitting its entire fleet for WiFi. But he also noted that it was a competitive move designed to catch the eye of much-coveted business travelers flying the Boston-Baltimore route, which has become “among the most competitive in the country.’’
AirTran’s offer marks the latest bit of fallout from Southwest’s announcement in mid-April that it would launch service from Boston to Chicago Midway Airport and to Baltimore on Aug. 16. About 10 days later, JetBlue Airways said that it would initiate daily flights from Logan to BWI on Sept. 9. In May, facing the prospect of increased competition on the route, Delta Air Lines said in May that it would halt direct Boston-BWI service.
While some Logan passengers will enjoy free WiFi for a while, AirTran now will be able to offer all its passengers the service for $5.95 on short-haul flights and $12.95 for longer ones.
Besides AirTran, most major domestic carriers have been racing to install WiFi on their planes. The service increasingly is viewed as a must-have to compete for business travelers. And some carriers hope that by installing WiFi they may eventually be able to shed on-board media equipment, which would cut the weight of planes, making them more fuel efficient, and free airlines from having to pay for licensing entertainment content.
Companies also have been increasingly looking to fees from services such as WiFi, checked bags, reserved seats, and other amenities to bolster sagging revenue.

The airline is lowering the bar on the number of miles its Mileage Plus members need to redeem for free flights by at least 20 percent. To qualify tickets must booked by July 24 for travel from Aug. 18 and Nov. 18.
What this means is this: Before you needed 25,000 miles to score a trip within North American; now 20,000 will do it. To get to Hawaii, it's 30,000, down from 40,000; Central American and Caribbean, 25,000 instead of 35,000; South America and Europe it's 44,000, not 55,000.
Here are all the details.

If you found yourself unable to access Southwest's site to score tickets yesterday there's a reason.
The discount carrier's big 48-hour fall sale, which featured the cheapest fares the airline has offered since 1996, drew so much traffic that it hobbled the company's website for about five hours yesterday.
The airline, which will begin service from Logan in the middle of next month, launched the sale Monday and it ended yesterday. Paul Flaningan, a company spokesman, told Bloomberg News that portions of the website went down about 9:30 a.m. and were restored by about 2:40 p.m.
Southwest offered mea culpas but decided that it would NOT extend the sale to make up for lost time due to the techical hiccup.
The sale, which was atypical in that fall discounts aren't usually offered till later in the summer, kicked off a mini-price war as most of the major carriers rushed to match fares on competitive routes.
The lesson here, if any, is that these days sales pop up quickly -- and disappear as quickly. So if you're in the market for travel the best deals often go to those who act quickly.

Photo by istockphoto.com

Southwest Airlines, which will launch service from Logan starting Aug. 16, announced
a big 48-hour sale, with one-way fares going for as low as $30, $60, or $90 based on length of travel.
The move bucks a recent industry trend, which saw the major airlines raising ticket prices over the past couple of weeks as the beleaguered carriers once again find themselves facing volatile fuel prices.
The terms of the Southwest sale go like this: For flights up to 400 miles, you could pay as little as $30; 400-750 miles $60; and more than 750 miles $90. These fares don't include taxes and fees, and you must purchase before July 9 for travel from Sept. 9 through Nov. 18. Also you can't travel on Fridays or Sundays.
The complaints with this kind of deal tend to focus on the fact that sale fares tend to be in rather short supply. But here in Greater Boston we have an advantage because Southwest doesn't begin flying till next month, so, for the most part, there's no shortage of seats available for the fall.
I plugged in a few September and October dates for flights to the Midwest and California and found a number of openings at sale prices.
This sale could also kick off a smallish price war on competing routes, according to one airline analyst who was quoted in a Reuters story.
"While airline ticket prices have stabilized recently from their free fall, airlines are by no means out of the woods as oil prices remain volatile and demand precarious," said Rick Seaney, chief executive of FareCompare.com, in an e-mail this morning. "Later today we should see significant airfare matching activity (even for the modest 2-day purchase period on the Southwest sale) as legacy airlines will not want to be undercut."