Taos On The Cheap

The Blue Star Museums initiative is a partnership between Blue Star Families, the National Endowment for the Arts, and 1,300+ museums nationwide, to give free admission to active duty military personnel and their families at participating museums through Labor Day September 5, 2011.

The free admission is for the military ID holder plus up to 5 immediate family members (either a spouse or child). Families of deployed military can still benefit from the offer with the required documentation. (Note: the offer is NOT for veterans.) 

Here’s the current list of participating New Mexico Museums. In Taos, the museums are:

Further afield, museums taking part include:

• Santa Fe: Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, and Museum of Spanish Colonial Art
• Albuquerque: Albuquerque Museum of Art & History, Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum, National Hispanic Cultural Center, Coronado State Monument, and New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science

Plus the Los Alamos Historical Museum, Roswell Museum and Art Center, and many others.

The Blue Star Museums FAQ gives full details on who is eligible and the required ID – check those out before setting off! Even with the free admission, some special museum exhibits may not be included in the program.

Pay $50 for a $100 Travelocity hotel gift card – buy through Friday July 22, 2011, and use the gift card by July 20, 2012. The deal (via Plum District) is redeemable at national and overseas hotels listed at TravelocityIncentives.com, if you’re visiting Taos, putting guests up here at a hotel, going on vacation or traveling to see family. (55,000 hotels, they reckon.)  For visitors to Taos, hotels and B&Bs currently on the list include El Monte Sagrado, Sun God Lodge, Taos Country Inn, and some chains. There are also hotels in Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

There are no blackout dates to use the gift card in the $50 for a $100 Travelocity hotel gift card deal, but there is a minimum spend of $250 total required before you can apply the gift card, and a minimum of a two night stay. So this deal is suitable only if you’re planning a several night stay – forget it for a one-night stay, or a couple of nights in already cheap accommodation that won’t reach the $250 minimum.

The offer is available through Friday July 22, 2011. Then the gift card must be used within a year – by July 20, 2012.

We’ve given the main points of the offer, but check the fine print to make sure it’s a good deal for your requirements. And happy travels!

FYI – I’ve given you my Plum District affiliate links to plug you direct to the offer. If you feel like sending a little love this way to support the Taos on the Cheap site, please use the links.

Rent two movies at Redbox by July 31, 2011, and get another DVD movie rental for one night free.  In the Redbox free night’s DVD movie rental deal, rent two regular price movies from any Redbox kiosk in ONE transaction, or reserve the movies online. After paying by card, enter your email address when prompted. On August 1, they’ll email you a code to use for a free one-night DVD rental, valid to redeem through August 14.

Customers may take up the offer once a day until July 31, 2011, as as long two movies are rented in a SINGLE transaction – don’t rent them separately or there’s no deal. And note that a rental using another promo code or web credits doesn’t count towards the qualifying rentals.

New customers can also try Redbox free by entering the coupon code: DVDONME only at Redbox kiosks, not for online reservations. The code gets you a free one-night DVD rental, or $1 off a Blu-ray Disc or game rental.  No expiry date in sight, but check the Redbox Freebies and Deals page if you’re reading this long after the post date, to ensure the code is still valid.

You still have to swipe your credit card when redeeming the codes, in case you keep the movie out for more than one night. So be sure to return the DVD on time to get the best bargain out of the deal! Here’s the list of Taos Redbox kiosks.

During Free National Park Week  from April 16 to 24, 2011,  every single park that usually charges for entry waives its admission fee and you can explore without paying a cent.

The New Mexico National Parks with free admission from April 16-24 include:

• Aztec Ruins National Monument
• Bandelier National Monument
• Capulin Volcano National Monument
• Carlsbad Caverns National Park
• Chaco Culture National Historical Park
• El Morro National Monument
• Fort Union National Monument
• Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument
• Pecos National Historical Park
• White Sands National Monument

During KOA’s Come Kamp & Care With Us Weekend, if you pay to camp on Friday May 13 2011, you camp free at the same site on Saturday May 14.  This includes tent camping, RVs, cabins, and lodges. New Mexico campsites participating in the KOA free night offer are:

• Las Vegas, New Mexico KOA
• Santa Fe
• Albuquerque Central KOA
• Albuquerque North / Bernalillo KOA
• Carlsbad KOA
• Clayton KOA
• Grants / Cibola Sands KOA
• Lordsburg KOA
• Raton KOA
• Tucumcari KOA

Make a reservation as spaces are limited. The deal is only only valid on Friday and Saturday May 13 and 14, 2011.  Participating camp sites will hold charity events, fundraisers, and collect donations in aid of KOA Care Camps for children with cancer

Taos Restaurant Week runs now through March 6. The 2011 promotion offers three course (or more) meals for a flat rate from $20 to $40 per person, with several options in each course. It’s an opportunity to dine at places you haven’t tried before, and the fixed price menus are especially good value at the more upscale places, compared to their regular a la carte menus.

Participating Taos restaurants include:

• Doc Martin’s Restaurant in the Taos Inn ($20)
• Antonio’s ($20)
• El Meze ($30)
• Chef Damon’s ($30)
• Graham’s Grille ($30)
• El Monte Sagrado ($40)
• The Stakeout ($40)

The restaurant promotion is part of New Mexico Restaurant Week, which includes:

Santa Fe Restaurant Week from March 6 – 13, with offers from Santa Fe restaurants such as:

• Zia Diner ($20)
• Vinaigrette ($20)
• Vanessie of Santa Fe ($30)
• O’Keeffe Cafe ($30)
• Anasazi Restaurant ($30)
• Restaurant Martin ($30)
• The Compound ($40)
• Geronimo ($40)

Albuquerque Restaurant Week from March 13 – 20, with offers from Albuquerque restaurants including:

• Pars Cuisine ($20)
• Nob Hill Bar & Grill ($20)
• Nicky V’s Pizzeria ($20)
• Artichoke Cafe ($30)
• Brasserie La Provence ($30)
• Lucia at Hotel Andaluz ($30)
• Scalo ($30)
• Casa Vieja ($40)
• Marcello’s Chophouse ($40)
• Corn Maiden at Hyatt Regency Tamaya ($30) although there’s only one choice per course at Corn Maiden – but it looks like they include a glass of wine too!

Reservations heartily recommended, and there are also New Mexico lodging deals and hotel packages plus some special events. See all the details for the 3 cities at the New Mexico Restaurant Week website.