Cabo, Timeshares and Free Stuff!

Welcome! So glad you stopped on by! 
Reading my blog you will learn I'm passionate about two things: Travel and a Good Bargain! (I am my mothers child) 
These two passions led to me starting this blog. I truly believe you can travel in style on a budget.  I look forward to sharing with y'all (yep, I'm from Texas!) tips, deals, trends, photos and all the secrets I continue to pick up as I travel this beautiful world:)

You will find more updates and weekly tips on the Facebook fan page Ms. Travel Chic so head on over and "Like"!

..and now here is my first official post:)


So in April I went to Cabo San Lucas for the first time! It had been one of those vacation spots that a friend and I had talked about going for about two years. After hearing so many wonderful things about the weather, nightlife, beautiful beaches and hospitality I just could not wait!
Because the weather in Cabo is excellent year round we thought it would be good for a winter getaway. Well Christmas and New Years Eve in Cabo was crazy expensive. Airfare to Cabo is already generally high but around this time it was about $1000 round trip:(  So we passed.
Well thank God for Groupon Getaways!!! In January they ran a Cabo deal for 4 days, 3 nights at a highly rated resort. The deal included transportation to hotel, daily breakfast and a sunset dinner cruise all for $150/person! HIGHWAY ROBBERY! 
So we purchased and booked with the quickness!..only catch was we would have to sit through a timeshare presentation once there.  Hmm, bummer, but we didn't care we were going to CABO baby! 
Airfare was "interesting." My friend paid est $700 round-trip but I used my miles for one way and paid $300 for the flight back to Chicago so at this point I'm only out of $450!

Long story short Cabo was AMAZING! Best.Vacation.Ever. (a few pics below)

Once we arrived to the hotel they set up my timeshare appointment for the next morning. Then while at a bar talking to a nice lady somehow we got roped into another timeshare presentation at another property for the following day. One was by obligation and the other was for the free stuff! We went to both! So here's my recap on why I think you should NOT pass up timeshare presentations...

  What we got for sitting through two timeshare presentations:

• $40 cash - Souvenir shopping!
• Discounted Dolphin Excursion (Value $100) Me and Flipper fell in love:)
• Parasailing Excursion (Value $50) I was busy with Flipper while my friend parasailed. I prefer being on ground:)
• $50 dinner voucher at a local steak and seafood restaurant - The waiter served us free "Mexican Tea" (aka - Tequila) near end of the night:-)
• 2 tickets for sunset dinner cruise (Value $120) All u can eat and drink + DJ + Cool People + Whale Watching = Awesome 
• Airport transportation (value $60) - Lifesaver!
• 2 bottles of Tequila (Value - Priceless! Lol ;-)
• Breakfast for 4 days and one lunch - I ate Chilaquiles every morning (value $150)
• Voucher for 3 day, 2 night return stay to the resort (no expiration) - value $600

      Total Value: $1000+! What a deal!

TravelChic Timeshare Tips:

1. Negotiate: Don't always accept the first offer of free stuff they give. We NEGOTIATED what we wanted. We knew what excursions we wanted and let them know that food and cash was important to us. The resorts have access to discounts to all excursions, stores, restaurants and they definitely have cash money.Trust me they will give you what you want to get you in that presentation!  
2. Do it Early: Try and sit through the presentation on the 1st or 2nd day of vacation. More than likely you will encounter them at the airport, checking in your hotel or at a bar. Since your first couple days of vacay aren't jam packed you have time to sit through the presentation and enjoy all your freebies the remainder of your trip:)
3. Be open and relax: Since I work in the sales industry, I understand the salesman "struggle" and have sympathy for them lol. The timeshare people are just trying to do their job. Don't be rude or rush them to get to your "free stuff". Enjoy the tour, free food, drinks and listen to their sale. If you know you don't want to purchase one then sit back, don't ask questions and you will get out quick!

So that my friends is how I had one of my best vacations ever for around $700! #winning

So you may be wondering, did I buy a timeshare or not? What are the pros and cons?  Hmm..stay tuned for the next post..:)

So what's your experience with timeshares? Do tell!

Happy Travels!

~ Ms. Travel Chic
Toyanicole@mstravelchic.com
Twitter: @lnicoletweets