Jan 11, 2008
Skybus is still adding airports to its route structure, and still selling 10 seats per flight at only $10 per seat
Of all the new cut-rate airlines, Skybus (www.skybus.com), from its hub in Columbus, Ohio, seems to be enjoying great public acceptance, perhaps because it actually has charged a come-on price ($10 per flight) to the first 10 persons booking each flight. That can only be the explanation for its constant expansion of routes, which finds it flying from Chicago, Philadelphia, Toronto, Ft. Lauderdale, Milwaukee, Hartford and Richmond to and from its two hub cities in Columbus, Ohio, and Greensboro, North Carolina. Travel via those hubs (like going from Ft. Lauderdale to Greensboro, and then from Greensboro to Chicago, thus traveling between Chicago and Ft. Lauderdale), and you'll obtain some of the lowest domestic airfares in America today.
Bear in mind that in flying on Skybus to Chicago, you actually land at Gary, Indiana, only 25 miles from downtown Chicago -- the use of such odd airports is one way whereby Skybus saves money).
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Bear in mind that in flying on Skybus to Chicago, you actually land at Gary, Indiana, only 25 miles from downtown Chicago -- the use of such odd airports is one way whereby Skybus saves money).
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Looking for culture in a warm-weather state? You couldn't do better than in the Tampa area of Florida
I'm writing this for people who want to keep their mind active on vacation, but nevertheless want to vacation in a warm-weather state. Though the local tourist authorities in Tampa, Florida, haven't done much to publicize their cultural attractions, they actually have a remarkable number of worthwhile museums in several fields and fascinating ethnic attractions -- enough of them to keep you busy on a one-week vacation (especially in the museums of neighboring St. Petersburg).
When I talk about Tampa, I really mean the Tampa Bay area, which includes the cities of Tampa (on the northern, inland side of the bay) and St. Petersburg (between the bay and the Gulf of Mexico) along with a whole host of Gulf Coast beaches and islands -- from the Spring Break hotspot of Clearwater to the tree-shaded isolation of Fort De Soto Park.
Tampa itself has (arguably) the region's best aquarium (www.flaquarium.org), the sprawling Hyde Park residential district of 1920s bungalows and Victorian homes shaded by live oaks and palms, the New York Yankees spring training stadium (www.legendsfieldtampa.com), and the nightlife scene of Ybor City (www.ybormuseum.org), an historic Cuban neighborhood of Spanish architecture and defunct brick cigar factories, many now installed with clubs and bars (lending the area a rowdy late-night reputation).
Neighboring St. Petersburg, referred to (only half-jokingly) as the retirement capital of Florida, has easy access to the beaches and, frankly, the better museums. Its Salvador Dalì Museum (www.slavadordalimuseum.org) contains the world's largest collection of works by the master surrealist; at the Florida Holocaust Museum (www.flholocaustmuseum.org) many are surprised to learn of the Sunshine State's wartime POW camps for Nazis; and the fine little Museum of Fine Arts (www.fine-arts.org) has a bit of everything from Greek vases to Monet canvases.
Since Tampa is in Central Florida, it comes with the required theme park (Busch Gardens; www.buschgardens.com), but also plenty of worthier family attractions where the fun comes with educational value. These range from the mangrove swamp boardwalk paths of Weedon Island State Preserve (www.stpete.org) to two fantastic hands-on science museums: the Museum of Science and Industry in North Tampa (www.mosi.org) and the somewhat more commercial Great Explorations in St. Pete (www.greatexplorations.org). In this historic corner of Florida, where many of the earliest Spanish explorations of North America landed, there are also the ruins of several colonial-era forts, including De Soto (mentioned above) and Fort Dade on nearby Edgemont Key.
Tampa is a bit of an overlooked sibling lost between Florida's twin tourism powerhouses: the Orlando-area theme park juggernaut and big city Miami and its Keys. That's a good thing. There are fewer crowds to contend with in Tampa, and it retains a bit more genuine Florida charm. Two fun-in-the-sun vacation packagers do include Tampa in their cut-rate offerings: Southwest Vacations (tel. 800/243-8372; www.southwestvacations.com) and Funjet Vacations (tel. 888/558-6654; www.funjet.com).
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When I talk about Tampa, I really mean the Tampa Bay area, which includes the cities of Tampa (on the northern, inland side of the bay) and St. Petersburg (between the bay and the Gulf of Mexico) along with a whole host of Gulf Coast beaches and islands -- from the Spring Break hotspot of Clearwater to the tree-shaded isolation of Fort De Soto Park.
Tampa itself has (arguably) the region's best aquarium (www.flaquarium.org), the sprawling Hyde Park residential district of 1920s bungalows and Victorian homes shaded by live oaks and palms, the New York Yankees spring training stadium (www.legendsfieldtampa.com), and the nightlife scene of Ybor City (www.ybormuseum.org), an historic Cuban neighborhood of Spanish architecture and defunct brick cigar factories, many now installed with clubs and bars (lending the area a rowdy late-night reputation).
Neighboring St. Petersburg, referred to (only half-jokingly) as the retirement capital of Florida, has easy access to the beaches and, frankly, the better museums. Its Salvador Dalì Museum (www.slavadordalimuseum.org) contains the world's largest collection of works by the master surrealist; at the Florida Holocaust Museum (www.flholocaustmuseum.org) many are surprised to learn of the Sunshine State's wartime POW camps for Nazis; and the fine little Museum of Fine Arts (www.fine-arts.org) has a bit of everything from Greek vases to Monet canvases.
Since Tampa is in Central Florida, it comes with the required theme park (Busch Gardens; www.buschgardens.com), but also plenty of worthier family attractions where the fun comes with educational value. These range from the mangrove swamp boardwalk paths of Weedon Island State Preserve (www.stpete.org) to two fantastic hands-on science museums: the Museum of Science and Industry in North Tampa (www.mosi.org) and the somewhat more commercial Great Explorations in St. Pete (www.greatexplorations.org). In this historic corner of Florida, where many of the earliest Spanish explorations of North America landed, there are also the ruins of several colonial-era forts, including De Soto (mentioned above) and Fort Dade on nearby Edgemont Key.
Tampa is a bit of an overlooked sibling lost between Florida's twin tourism powerhouses: the Orlando-area theme park juggernaut and big city Miami and its Keys. That's a good thing. There are fewer crowds to contend with in Tampa, and it retains a bit more genuine Florida charm. Two fun-in-the-sun vacation packagers do include Tampa in their cut-rate offerings: Southwest Vacations (tel. 800/243-8372; www.southwestvacations.com) and Funjet Vacations (tel. 888/558-6654; www.funjet.com).
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Labels: tampa
You have today to take advantage of one of the top bargains in travel
Though everybody and his brother is e-mailing travel offers to you, two in particular are especial bargains, but will either expire at midnight tonight (11:59pm on January 11) or will be sold out by that time.
The first is the $49, $59, and $69 each-way sale on JetBlue (www.jetblue.com) between New York, Boston and Washington, D.C. and nearly 20 other U.S. cities -- it expires at the end of the day (11:59pm) on January 11. Sample deals: Washington, D.C. to Orlando: $59. New York to Chicago: $69. Boston to Pittsburgh: $49.
For trans-continental or Caribbean flights, the sales fare is higher but still spectacular. New York or Boston to St. Maarten in the Netherlands Antilles: $99. Las Vegas to Washington, D.C.: $99. San Francisco to New York: $139. Travel must take place between January 10 and February 13, and you must book online.
The cruise equivalent of those offers is a special price for outside cabins -- not inside but outside cabins, sometimes with balconies -- on a seven-night sailing of the Carnival Pride from Los Angeles round-trip along the Mexican Riviera, and on every one of its February, high-season cruises: February 3, 10, 17 and 24. If you'll go to CruisesOnly (tel. 1-800/CRUISES; www.cruisesonly.com), you'll book that cruise for as little as $439 per person (exactly $62.71 per person per day).
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The first is the $49, $59, and $69 each-way sale on JetBlue (www.jetblue.com) between New York, Boston and Washington, D.C. and nearly 20 other U.S. cities -- it expires at the end of the day (11:59pm) on January 11. Sample deals: Washington, D.C. to Orlando: $59. New York to Chicago: $69. Boston to Pittsburgh: $49.
For trans-continental or Caribbean flights, the sales fare is higher but still spectacular. New York or Boston to St. Maarten in the Netherlands Antilles: $99. Las Vegas to Washington, D.C.: $99. San Francisco to New York: $139. Travel must take place between January 10 and February 13, and you must book online.
The cruise equivalent of those offers is a special price for outside cabins -- not inside but outside cabins, sometimes with balconies -- on a seven-night sailing of the Carnival Pride from Los Angeles round-trip along the Mexican Riviera, and on every one of its February, high-season cruises: February 3, 10, 17 and 24. If you'll go to CruisesOnly (tel. 1-800/CRUISES; www.cruisesonly.com), you'll book that cruise for as little as $439 per person (exactly $62.71 per person per day).
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Labels: airlines, cruise, deals
Jan 10, 2008
Add Boston on February 23 to the list of personal appearances coming up for Pauline and myself
I inadvertantly omitted an important personal appearance in Boston on February 23, from the list I posted yesterday. Both Pauline and I will be appearing on that date at the Boston Globe Travel Show (www.bostonglobetravelshow.com), speaking twice: at noon and then again at 2pm. I hope that readers in the Boston area will be able to attend, and look forward to meeting you.
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Even if you are overseas in a foreign land, you will often find that a local library offers a free-of-charge way to go online
Following a recent car trip, when I passed through small cities and made use of a free computer in local libraries, I am reminded that the public library is a key to such use not simply within the United States but abroad. Numerous friends have confirmed that on their own recent trips to international places, they sought out a local library and found that it had at least one computer linked to the internet, which they were able to use free-of-charge. And they had no difficulty using it even though they had no library card for that location.
How do you find a local library? You ask the tourist office for specifics. And why, in this era of wi-fi in hotels and at airports, should you be concerned with finding a free service? Because a usual minimum charge for wi-fi, wherever you are, is $1 a minute -- and that adds up. While cybercafes are remarkably convenient, they also come with a price tag at least as high as $1 a minute.
So to check in occasionally with work, keep up with the news, or Skype your friends and families (2.4¢ a minute to a traditional phone number), go to the public library.
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How do you find a local library? You ask the tourist office for specifics. And why, in this era of wi-fi in hotels and at airports, should you be concerned with finding a free service? Because a usual minimum charge for wi-fi, wherever you are, is $1 a minute -- and that adds up. While cybercafes are remarkably convenient, they also come with a price tag at least as high as $1 a minute.
So to check in occasionally with work, keep up with the news, or Skype your friends and families (2.4¢ a minute to a traditional phone number), go to the public library.
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Labels: communication, tips
When you need to have a passport issued in a day, all is not lost; meet the "Expediter"
What do you do if you suddenly must make an overseas trip and discover that your passport has expired? Or if you've lost your passport and need a replacement right away? Or if you need to show picture I.D. and a certified birth certificate, and you don't have such a birth certificate and need to get one in a day?
Expediters. Though their services don't come cheap, they are apparently highly effective. In some mysterious fashion, they have an allotment of daily passports on which they can call, and are often able to get you a passport or birth certificate within a day. One of them boasts that if you'll give him notice late at night, he'll have a representative at the passport office at 7am the next morning -- and you'll have your passport in time for an evening flight that day. (Heaven knows how much they charge for such feats).
There are several such services, and I'm not recommending any particular one. But the company called It's Easy (tel. 866/ITS-EASY; www.itseasy.com) recently set up a 24 hour/7 day desk at Terminal 4 of JFK Airport in New York, and I find that impressive. It's headed by David J. Alwadish, who claims that if someone needs a new passport and discovers it at the airport, he can arrange for a photo to be taken and an application downloaded at the airport. Depending on the timing, he will then get the new passport back to the airport, often on the same day.
It's Easy also claims that it's been expediting passports and visas for movie stars and such for 30 years, and has now decided to make its miracles available to us hoi polloi.
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Expediters. Though their services don't come cheap, they are apparently highly effective. In some mysterious fashion, they have an allotment of daily passports on which they can call, and are often able to get you a passport or birth certificate within a day. One of them boasts that if you'll give him notice late at night, he'll have a representative at the passport office at 7am the next morning -- and you'll have your passport in time for an evening flight that day. (Heaven knows how much they charge for such feats).
There are several such services, and I'm not recommending any particular one. But the company called It's Easy (tel. 866/ITS-EASY; www.itseasy.com) recently set up a 24 hour/7 day desk at Terminal 4 of JFK Airport in New York, and I find that impressive. It's headed by David J. Alwadish, who claims that if someone needs a new passport and discovers it at the airport, he can arrange for a photo to be taken and an application downloaded at the airport. Depending on the timing, he will then get the new passport back to the airport, often on the same day.
It's Easy also claims that it's been expediting passports and visas for movie stars and such for 30 years, and has now decided to make its miracles available to us hoi polloi.
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Labels: passports
Those "be a travel agent from home" organizations are still charging $500 (plus a monthly fee) for their services
I've written a great deal about the firms that many travel pros call "card mills" and which the firms themselves (like YTB) insist are respectable travel agencies. These are the companies that charge individuals an initial membership fee of $400 to $500 just to be listed as a member and receive an "identity card."
A particularly poignant letter came in this week from a woman who paid that $500 fee, and has yet to earn a penny. Note that she does not claim to have any special travel expertise or travel information to impart. I'm not commenting on her letter (sent to me because I mentioned the controversy over such arrangements in a recent newspaper column) but simply re-printing it verbatim:
A particularly poignant letter came in this week from a woman who paid that $500 fee, and has yet to earn a penny. Note that she does not claim to have any special travel expertise or travel information to impart. I'm not commenting on her letter (sent to me because I mentioned the controversy over such arrangements in a recent newspaper column) but simply re-printing it verbatim:
Dear Sir:Write and read comments about this post.
I read your article today in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
I joined YTB as a referring travel agent last Feb., paid my $500 and monthly fee for websites. My marketing skills are negligible. Therefore I haven't profited, even though I've distributed several hundred business cards.
The flip side is; I've attended meetings and part of a convention where thousands of people are claiming they have been so successful.
I must confess I was skeptical about this deal, but can't explain all of the success stories. Therefore, I'm "on the fence" regarding this company. Probably more time should be devoted to the marketing aspect, but I'm wondering if this is really for me?
Any more input on this subject would be appreciated.
Thank you so much, [Name withheld]
Labels: scams
Jan 9, 2008
The rental of vacation homes continues to boom, attracting more companies to specialize in the activity
There's no doubt that for a family or group of friends, a vacation home can be far cheaper and more pleasant than an equivalent hotel room or rooms. And large numbers of vacationers are now turning to such services as Vacation Rentals by Owner (www.vrbo.com) or Endless Vacation Rentals (www.evrentals.com)," or even Craigslist (www.craigslist.com), to obtain vacation homes for their own next trip.
The latest entrant is a firm called Zonder (www.zonder.com). It has enlisted high-powered PR representation, is heavily marketing its services, and claims to be hot stuff. It specializes in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean, and cites -- as an example of its product -- one particular four-bedroom beachfront property in Costa Rica that includes a private hot tub, full-size kitchen, and even a blender for cocktails, for less than $200 a night.
What other advantages does Zonder offer? Its users, it says, can view exact property locations on maps through Microsoft Virtual Earth or Google Earth. They will enjoy internet tools enabling travelers to filter search results using criteria such as price, distance, group size and thousands of amenity combinations. Their description of each property includes a photo slide show and a detailed write-up. You might give it a try.
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The latest entrant is a firm called Zonder (www.zonder.com). It has enlisted high-powered PR representation, is heavily marketing its services, and claims to be hot stuff. It specializes in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean, and cites -- as an example of its product -- one particular four-bedroom beachfront property in Costa Rica that includes a private hot tub, full-size kitchen, and even a blender for cocktails, for less than $200 a night.
What other advantages does Zonder offer? Its users, it says, can view exact property locations on maps through Microsoft Virtual Earth or Google Earth. They will enjoy internet tools enabling travelers to filter search results using criteria such as price, distance, group size and thousands of amenity combinations. Their description of each property includes a photo slide show and a detailed write-up. You might give it a try.
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Labels: accommodations, websites
It's their failure to include a substantial fuel surcharge that permits some tour operators to offer what appear to be competitive prices
In a recent post, I emphasized the need to determine whether "fuel surcharge" is included in the price of an air-and-land package to anywhere. Some tour operators include it, some don't. The some that don't thereby succeed in publicizing a product that looks competitive but isn't.
An example is the package to Paris currently offered by a leading tour company, which consists of round-trip air from New York or Boston and 4 nights at a Left Bank hotel, for $545 per person, double occupancy. It is only when you go deep into the language of the offer that you learn that the $545 price does not include a fuel surcharge of $210 per person, bringing the total charge to $755 plus taxes.
Go to the Paris packages of other tour operators, and you'll find that they offer a 6-night package to Paris (two nights more than the other), staying at exactly the same hotel (Comfort Inn Mouffetard), with round-trip air, for $699 per person including -- repeat -- including the fuel surcharge, but plus taxes.
Always take pains to determine whether the tour price you've been quoted includes the all-important fuel surcharge. Otherwise you'll pay an extra $200 per person unnecessarily.
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An example is the package to Paris currently offered by a leading tour company, which consists of round-trip air from New York or Boston and 4 nights at a Left Bank hotel, for $545 per person, double occupancy. It is only when you go deep into the language of the offer that you learn that the $545 price does not include a fuel surcharge of $210 per person, bringing the total charge to $755 plus taxes.
Go to the Paris packages of other tour operators, and you'll find that they offer a 6-night package to Paris (two nights more than the other), staying at exactly the same hotel (Comfort Inn Mouffetard), with round-trip air, for $699 per person including -- repeat -- including the fuel surcharge, but plus taxes.
Always take pains to determine whether the tour price you've been quoted includes the all-important fuel surcharge. Otherwise you'll pay an extra $200 per person unnecessarily.
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Labels: tour companies
Both my daughter Pauline Frommer and I would like to meet you; here's a schedule of where we'll be appearing in January, February and March
January through March is travel show time in the U.S. Large convention centers are given over to several hundred booths staffed by tour operators and government tourist offices and piled high with brochures and video screens, and often enlivened by hula dancers, African drummers, western cowhands, zip lines, and water tanks for scuba diving -- get the picture? Amidst all the hoopla, lectures are delivered and seminars offered, and my guidebook-writing daughter Pauline and I have been invited to be speakers at nearly all of those shows and at other related events.
In cities scattered across the U.S., we speak for 40 minutes or so, take questions for 20 more minutes, then hang around for at least another hour talking with individuals who have attended the show. We'd love to meet with Frommers.com readers, and to bring that about, here's information on where we'll be appearing:
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In cities scattered across the U.S., we speak for 40 minutes or so, take questions for 20 more minutes, then hang around for at least another hour talking with individuals who have attended the show. We'd love to meet with Frommers.com readers, and to bring that about, here's information on where we'll be appearing:
- Friday, January 11, in Corte Madera, California (just north of San Francisco), Pauline will be speaking at 7 p.m. at Book Passage (www.bookpassage.com), the city's major bookstore.
- Saturday, January 12, in Santa Clara, California, Pauline will be speaking at 12 noon at the Bay Area Travel Show (www.bayareatravelshow.com).
- Saturday, January 12, in New York City, I will be speaking at 1 p.m. at the Adventure in Travel Expo (www.adventureexpo.com), at the convention center on Pier 93, 12th Avenue between 54th and 55th Streets.
- Thursday, January 24, in Evanston, Illinois, Pauline will be speaking at 7 p.m. at the Evanston Public Library.
- Saturday, January 26, in Chicago, Illinois, Pauline will be speaking at 2:15 p.m. at the Adventure in Travel Expo (www.adventureexpo.com).
- Friday, February 8, in Pasadena, California, both of us will be speaking at the Pasadena Public Library at 3 p.m.
- Saturday and Sunday, February 9 and 10, in Los Angeles, both of us will be speaking at the Los Angeles Times Travel Show (www.latimes.com/extras/travelshow), at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday the 9th and at 1 p.m. on Sunday the 10th; we shall also be broadcasting live from Los Angeles on that Sunday.
- Tuesday, February 19, in New York City, Pauline will be appearing at 6:30 p.m. at the Astor Center, discussing "culinary travels" with Doug Duda of the TV show, "The Well-Seasoned Traveler."
- Saturday, March 1, in New York City, both of us will be speaking at both noon and 2 p.m. at the New York Times Travel Show (www.nyttravelshow.com) in the Javits Convention Center.
- Wednesday, March 12, in Richmond, Virginia, Pauline will be speaking at noon at the Tuckahoe Women's Club.
- Thursday, March 27, both of us will be speaking in Minneapolis, Minnesota, at the PLA National Conference (www.placonference.org), at a time to be determined.
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Air-and-land packages to the Beijing Olympics? FUHGEDDABOUTIT!
The China National Travel Service has just revealed its one-week packaged tours to Beijing for the Summer Olympics, and they confirm our worst fears. For airfare from the U.S. west coast and a six-night stay in the Chinese capital at the time of the Olympics in August, the minimum price will be $3,679 per person, based on two persons traveling together, not including Olympics tickets, and not including meals other than breakfast. For travelers wishing to attend an Olympics event, the CNTS will provide "assistance" in making inquiries about them.
Nearly every observer had predicted that the cost of attending the Olympics would be sky-high because of the competition for beds and seats from the many millions of Chinese sports fans located within a half-hour of Beijing. The announcement of a $3,679 price for a limited six-night stay (and that's only if you're traveling with another person) confirms that sense of dread. In China, you find superb merchants, and they will be squeezing every penny of potential profit from this world event. Stay at home and watch it on television.
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Nearly every observer had predicted that the cost of attending the Olympics would be sky-high because of the competition for beds and seats from the many millions of Chinese sports fans located within a half-hour of Beijing. The announcement of a $3,679 price for a limited six-night stay (and that's only if you're traveling with another person) confirms that sense of dread. In China, you find superb merchants, and they will be squeezing every penny of potential profit from this world event. Stay at home and watch it on television.
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Jan 8, 2008
Hidden pockets are certainly something else!
Sometimes the best travel devices are so obvious that no one thinks of actually producing them for sale. Such a product is the "hidden pocket" manufactured by a one-woman entrepreneur, Frieda Newton, from a home-based plant in Connecticut. She mailed me a "hidden pocket" this past weekend, and I actually tried it out, leaving my wallet at home and filling the "hidden pocket" with cash (a few bills) and several credit cards. I probably could also have stuffed in my ultra-narrow cell phone.
The "hidden pocket" is simply a little nylon pouch, Velcro-fastened, that's large enough for cash, credit cards, and driver's license. It is attached to a broad elastic strap, also Velcro-fastened, which you can wrap around your arm, wrist or ankle, always concealed by your clothing. And thus you can walk the streets of Moscow or Naples completely protected from pickpockets or purse snatchers who will never know where you're carrying your valuables.
Says Ms. Newton: "I am writing in hopes that you would be interested in recommending a hidden pocket to all your travelers. I never travel without it. It keeps my hands free and is concealed under my clothing for safety."
You can order a hidden pocket by phoning tel. 888/300-4161, by e-mailing sales@thehiddenpocket.com, or by consulting www.thehiddenpocket.com. I have no idea what they cost (mine were free), nor does the website (which really doesn't do justice to this small and well-hidden product) reveal the price. A phone call is your best way to proceed.
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The "hidden pocket" is simply a little nylon pouch, Velcro-fastened, that's large enough for cash, credit cards, and driver's license. It is attached to a broad elastic strap, also Velcro-fastened, which you can wrap around your arm, wrist or ankle, always concealed by your clothing. And thus you can walk the streets of Moscow or Naples completely protected from pickpockets or purse snatchers who will never know where you're carrying your valuables.
Says Ms. Newton: "I am writing in hopes that you would be interested in recommending a hidden pocket to all your travelers. I never travel without it. It keeps my hands free and is concealed under my clothing for safety."
You can order a hidden pocket by phoning tel. 888/300-4161, by e-mailing sales@thehiddenpocket.com, or by consulting www.thehiddenpocket.com. I have no idea what they cost (mine were free), nor does the website (which really doesn't do justice to this small and well-hidden product) reveal the price. A phone call is your best way to proceed.
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Labels: shopping
The Mexican equivalent to Maho Bay is a somewhat similar tented community on the Mayan Riviera
I'm a sucker for a Caribbean tent. On my very first visit to those tropics, emerging from the plane into 90-plus degrees, I asked myself: "Why am I staying at a hotel? Why doesn't some entrepreneur place tents, or simply scatter cots, along a beach (and maybe hang a canvas awning over the cots to protect from rain)? With heat like this, why do I have to spend big money for a hotel?"The first person to take advantage of those natural conditions was Stanley Selengut, who proceeded to construct simple, cheap, canvas-sided "huts" alongside a hill overlooking the sea on St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Maho Bay, as it's called, has been a stunning success ever since.
Another such canvas-sided colony -- called "Cesiak," for Centro Ecologica Sian Ka'an -- has just come to my attention, thanks to a reader of this blog. This time, your lodgings are simple tents placed atop wooden platforms facing the sea, in the midst of a gigantic (1.3 million acres) "biosphere reserve" (protected area) of the Mexican Caribbean, alongside the so-called Mayan Riviera near Tulum. A tent accommodating two persons costs $90 a night ($45 a person) during high season (mid-January to the end of April) -- and that's a good price for the winter Caribbean. As Cesiak describes its tents, "they offer spectacular views from their private patios as well as plenty of shade and cooling breezes. Raised on platforms to allow ecological and hyrological processes to continue, the spacious tents come fully furnished. Shared bathrooms are always clean and also have stunning views over water."
I haven't been there myself (I have vacationed at Maho Bay), but a look at the illustrations in the organization's website -- www.cesiak.org -- should give you the confidence to try what may be a promising new discovery off Mexico's Caribbean coast.
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Suddenly, there's no need to wait until summer to attend Oxford; you can go there at the end of March, this year
It's a totally unexpected one-week interlude for Oxford addicts. Probably because there's a short, early-April recess at England's famous university, opening up student residences for occupancy by foreign tourists, the authorities there have announced a week-long program called "Insider's Oxford" for the period from March 30 to April 5, 2008. (Attendees will undoubtedly be fierce Anglophiles or readers/viewers of Brideshead Revisited or Inspector Morse.) The instruction will be all about Oxford and its famous colleges.
Mornings, participants will hear lectures by Oxford teaching staff on the history of Oxford; Oxford writers; art, music and religion at Oxford; and Oxford's unique teaching system and future development. Afternoons will be devoted to tours of colleges and gardens; the Bodleian Library; the Oxford University Press; and "hidden beauties" of the university -- all places that are usually out-of-bounds to tourists.
The price: £980, or approximately $1,946, including six nights of accommodations in Worcester College (in a single with private bath), three meals daily (with a closing reception and dinner), 10 lectures, and 5 afternoon tours of Oxford. The Oxford Bus Company has frequent service from London's Heathrow Airport to and from Oxford.
Registration deadline: February 15, 2008. And complete information on "Insider's Oxford" can be downloaded from the website. Or else it can be obtained from Insider's Oxford, OUDCE, 1 Wellington Sauare, Oxford, OX1 2JA, U.K. The e-mail address is oxprog@conted.ox.ac.uk, and the telephone number is tel. 011-44-1865-280763.
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Mornings, participants will hear lectures by Oxford teaching staff on the history of Oxford; Oxford writers; art, music and religion at Oxford; and Oxford's unique teaching system and future development. Afternoons will be devoted to tours of colleges and gardens; the Bodleian Library; the Oxford University Press; and "hidden beauties" of the university -- all places that are usually out-of-bounds to tourists.
The price: £980, or approximately $1,946, including six nights of accommodations in Worcester College (in a single with private bath), three meals daily (with a closing reception and dinner), 10 lectures, and 5 afternoon tours of Oxford. The Oxford Bus Company has frequent service from London's Heathrow Airport to and from Oxford.
Registration deadline: February 15, 2008. And complete information on "Insider's Oxford" can be downloaded from the website. Or else it can be obtained from Insider's Oxford, OUDCE, 1 Wellington Sauare, Oxford, OX1 2JA, U.K. The e-mail address is oxprog@conted.ox.ac.uk, and the telephone number is tel. 011-44-1865-280763.
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The cruiseship becomes an amusement park -- do those shipline execs know what they are doing?
On yesterday's broadcast of The Travel Show (you can hear it at www.wor710.com), a guest expert described all the new gimmicks to be expected on the dozen-or-so large cruiseships that will be debuting in 2008. "They will be like nothing you have ever seen before," she announced, and with enthusiasm in her voice, she ticked off the advances:
The Queen Victoria and the Celebrity Solstice, in particular, will have "circus training programs," "bungee jumping," "clown acts." These will be added, presumably, to the rock-climbing walls, boxing rings, bowling alleys, and vertiginous jacuzzis jutting out from the top deck and hanging perilously over the sea (the latter have become standard on some ships, but not necessarily on the Queen Victoria or Solstice). But let me repeat those outstanding new features: "circus training programs," "bungee jumping," "clown acts."
On a new ship of Costa Cruises, expect every conceivable game, sport and competition. What's more, Costa will introduce new, extra-charge "spa cabins" so close to fitness rooms that persons staying in them can walk to the showers in their bathrobes. People booking the new spa digs will have exclusive access to that spa, and to their own spa restaurant.
On some of the new ships, the democratic, one-class policies of cruising will be totally jettisoned. There will be a "ship within the ship," an area enjoyed solely by persons paying higher fares, a number of restaurants to which they alone will be admitted, lounges set aside for the elite. On a new ship of Norwegian Cruise Lines, elite passengers will have special suites, special sun deck areas to use, special swimming pools for them alone.
(I suddenly thought of all those aristocrats dressing for dinner in Titanic).
In all this exposition, there was not a single note of criticism, simply hearty enthusiasm about the direction in which cruises were headed.
I find these developments deeply disturbing and reflecting a lower level of culture, education and maturity in our nation. A cruise should be sufficient in itself. It is an opportunity to venture out onto a new and unfamiliar area of the world -- the vast oceans. It is sufficiently different, sufficiently provocative of eternal questions, that it need not be "aided" by bungee jumping, amateur boxing, glass-blowing exhibitions, rock-climbing, and wave-surfing.
A cruise should be an occasion for conversation and reading, for long afternoons in a chaise lounge gazing at the sea and enjoying it. Those were the classic pleasures of cruising that once satisfied a large number of persons, who emerged from the cruise with their equilibrium restored and with memories and new friendships. In place of this, the cruiseships are becoming amusement parks geared to a child's mentality, raucous and hyperactive, the equivalent at sea of what gyms at home and on land normally provide. Why go to sea to become part of a crowd, to engage in bungee-jumping, rock-climbing, wave-surfing, and glass-blowing? Or to listen to lectures on better make-up and gardening?
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The Queen Victoria and the Celebrity Solstice, in particular, will have "circus training programs," "bungee jumping," "clown acts." These will be added, presumably, to the rock-climbing walls, boxing rings, bowling alleys, and vertiginous jacuzzis jutting out from the top deck and hanging perilously over the sea (the latter have become standard on some ships, but not necessarily on the Queen Victoria or Solstice). But let me repeat those outstanding new features: "circus training programs," "bungee jumping," "clown acts."
On a new ship of Costa Cruises, expect every conceivable game, sport and competition. What's more, Costa will introduce new, extra-charge "spa cabins" so close to fitness rooms that persons staying in them can walk to the showers in their bathrobes. People booking the new spa digs will have exclusive access to that spa, and to their own spa restaurant.
On some of the new ships, the democratic, one-class policies of cruising will be totally jettisoned. There will be a "ship within the ship," an area enjoyed solely by persons paying higher fares, a number of restaurants to which they alone will be admitted, lounges set aside for the elite. On a new ship of Norwegian Cruise Lines, elite passengers will have special suites, special sun deck areas to use, special swimming pools for them alone.
(I suddenly thought of all those aristocrats dressing for dinner in Titanic).
In all this exposition, there was not a single note of criticism, simply hearty enthusiasm about the direction in which cruises were headed.
I find these developments deeply disturbing and reflecting a lower level of culture, education and maturity in our nation. A cruise should be sufficient in itself. It is an opportunity to venture out onto a new and unfamiliar area of the world -- the vast oceans. It is sufficiently different, sufficiently provocative of eternal questions, that it need not be "aided" by bungee jumping, amateur boxing, glass-blowing exhibitions, rock-climbing, and wave-surfing.
A cruise should be an occasion for conversation and reading, for long afternoons in a chaise lounge gazing at the sea and enjoying it. Those were the classic pleasures of cruising that once satisfied a large number of persons, who emerged from the cruise with their equilibrium restored and with memories and new friendships. In place of this, the cruiseships are becoming amusement parks geared to a child's mentality, raucous and hyperactive, the equivalent at sea of what gyms at home and on land normally provide. Why go to sea to become part of a crowd, to engage in bungee-jumping, rock-climbing, wave-surfing, and glass-blowing? Or to listen to lectures on better make-up and gardening?
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Labels: cruises
Jan 7, 2008
Too often, we tourists see only the cleaned-up areas of the world's great cities, with impoverished persons hidden from our view
I have been to Nairobi twice in my life, passing through to take a plane or bus out into the great games parks of the Masai Mara, the Serengeti and Ngorogoro Crater. And although I was warned not to go wandering on my own, I was encouraged to dine at restaurants downtown, where I viewed a city not so much different from other well-developed capitals: clean streets, high-rise office buildings, apartment houses, taxis and buses. I do recall being affected, my first morning in Nairobi, by the sight of thousands of people arriving on foot at offices, too poor for transportation, having walked for many miles from their homes to reach their places of work. And though I was mildly moved by this, my mind was really on the upcoming safari for which I had undertaken the trip.
Then, last week, I saw images on television of one of the many, giant, shanty towns of Nairobi where one million persons -- let me repeat that -- one million persons live in grinding squalor. And I realized that I had permitted myself to be shielded from reality, placed in an isolated, comfortable lodge, by the operators of my safaris.
It is always thus in travel. We land in Washington, D.C., or come in to the awesome Union Station, and see an antiseptic city of gleaming office and government buildings, and all the well-dressed people who reside in or otherwise inhabit the northwest section of the city. It is only by accident that, very occasionally, we wander by mistake into parts of the city where locals live in conditions having no resemblance to the gussied-up downtown areas.
The outbreak of violence in Kenya should remind us of the condition in which at least a third -- and maybe more--of the world's population live. And it should also remind us that fully 14% of our own population live in poverty, with another 15% on the verge of poverty.
From now on, as a tourist, I will attempt to visit the less favored areas of the cities I visit. And perhaps even tour companies should run visits to such places, in the same way that a New Orleans tour firm now takes visitors to the Ninth Ward there.
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Then, last week, I saw images on television of one of the many, giant, shanty towns of Nairobi where one million persons -- let me repeat that -- one million persons live in grinding squalor. And I realized that I had permitted myself to be shielded from reality, placed in an isolated, comfortable lodge, by the operators of my safaris.
It is always thus in travel. We land in Washington, D.C., or come in to the awesome Union Station, and see an antiseptic city of gleaming office and government buildings, and all the well-dressed people who reside in or otherwise inhabit the northwest section of the city. It is only by accident that, very occasionally, we wander by mistake into parts of the city where locals live in conditions having no resemblance to the gussied-up downtown areas.
The outbreak of violence in Kenya should remind us of the condition in which at least a third -- and maybe more--of the world's population live. And it should also remind us that fully 14% of our own population live in poverty, with another 15% on the verge of poverty.
From now on, as a tourist, I will attempt to visit the less favored areas of the cities I visit. And perhaps even tour companies should run visits to such places, in the same way that a New Orleans tour firm now takes visitors to the Ninth Ward there.
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Labels: ethics
Valentine's Day approaches -- and so do those cheap, air-and-land packages to Europe ($599) for celebrating in an ultra-romantic setting
Vienna for Valentine's Day? The rates are so favorable that even jaded couples may want to consider this over-the-top, romantic splurge. February is the depth of the trans-Atlantic travel season -- its nadir -- and tour operators force sacrificial rates from the airlines for constructing such packages.
I'm reprinting verbatim, below, a communiqué from the people who operate such trips for Austrian Airways, confirming a really excellent price of only $599 (plus tax) for round-trip air and three nights in Vienna at a good Viennese hotel, from three different cities of the U.S.
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I'm reprinting verbatim, below, a communiqué from the people who operate such trips for Austrian Airways, confirming a really excellent price of only $599 (plus tax) for round-trip air and three nights in Vienna at a good Viennese hotel, from three different cities of the U.S.
Austrian Airlines Vacation Center ... has designed a bunch of heart-warming get-away packages to Europe for you and your sweetie. Check out the Vienna Valentine package, priced at a lovely $599 per person, double occupancy, consisting of round-trip economy class air between either New York (JFK), Chicago (ORD) or Washington (IAD) and Vienna, Austria, plus three (3) nights hotel accommodation in a double room in the Superior Tourist Class Albatros Hotel. This package also includes a full daily breakfast buffet, hotel service charges and hotel taxes. Note that the Vienna Valentine vacation package is available for travel between February 7-28, 2008 only, and that it needs to be booked between now and February 21st.Similar Valentines land and air packages are available to Budapest, Hungary and Prague, Czech Republic at slightly higher rates. Further details about these and other vacation packages may be found on Austrian Air's website or at tel. 800/790-4682.
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Labels: austria, budapest, deals, prague
Some further reflections on the Amtrak controversy -- and a suggestion for action
In the second hour of yesterday's broadcast of the Travel Show (www.wor710.com), I interviewed the head of the National Association of Railroad Passengers, and asked him to provide me with basic facts about the funding of Amtrak and the parallel funding of federal highways.
He responded that the federal government appropriates an average of 40 billion dollars a year for highway construction and maintenance, and that when you add the innumerable state and city projects of road construction, you find that we as a nation spend a total of as much as 200 billion dollars a year for highways. By contrast, we spend just slightly more than a billion dollars a year on Amtrak -- barely enough to keep it operating.
It's interesting how the opponents of Amtrak constantly refer to the "bad service" on Amtrak, but never point out that such lacks are inevitable in the face of the limited budget it has. They also never acknowledge that under present policies, freight trains have priority on the railroad lines and that most Amtrak delays occur when passenger trains are made to sit on a siding and wait until the favored freight cars go through.
Other Amtrak opponents (see the responses to my recent post) point out that Amtrak has "no competition" -- as if there are private railroads in the U.S. eagerly waiting in line to transport passengers. Where are those entrepreneurs? Would they really agree to operate passenger rail without receiving a subsidy from the federal government? No train system anywhere in the world -- including the private companies now operating in England -- operates without government support.
At a time when our reliance on overpriced foreign oil is among the most serious problems we face, it is absurd to favor highways and starve Amtrak.
In November of this year, few of us will have the chance to vote on the reelection of U.S. Senators who have sought to end the subsidy to Amtrak. But we can at least contact friends who have that opportunity. The two leading members of the anti-Amtrak cabal seem to be Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, and Senator John Sununu of New Hampshire, both up for re-election in 2008. Although Sessions appears to be guaranteed of re-election, Sununu appears vulnerable. And readers who feel deeply about the plight of Amtrak might contact their friends in New Hampshire and advise them of Sununu's constant efforts to destroy Amtrak through crippling provisions and cuts in its funding. Sununu's defeat would send a message to all the Congress that we Americans are determined to have a viable, fuel-efficient, people-serving, national rail system.
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He responded that the federal government appropriates an average of 40 billion dollars a year for highway construction and maintenance, and that when you add the innumerable state and city projects of road construction, you find that we as a nation spend a total of as much as 200 billion dollars a year for highways. By contrast, we spend just slightly more than a billion dollars a year on Amtrak -- barely enough to keep it operating.
It's interesting how the opponents of Amtrak constantly refer to the "bad service" on Amtrak, but never point out that such lacks are inevitable in the face of the limited budget it has. They also never acknowledge that under present policies, freight trains have priority on the railroad lines and that most Amtrak delays occur when passenger trains are made to sit on a siding and wait until the favored freight cars go through.
Other Amtrak opponents (see the responses to my recent post) point out that Amtrak has "no competition" -- as if there are private railroads in the U.S. eagerly waiting in line to transport passengers. Where are those entrepreneurs? Would they really agree to operate passenger rail without receiving a subsidy from the federal government? No train system anywhere in the world -- including the private companies now operating in England -- operates without government support.
At a time when our reliance on overpriced foreign oil is among the most serious problems we face, it is absurd to favor highways and starve Amtrak.
In November of this year, few of us will have the chance to vote on the reelection of U.S. Senators who have sought to end the subsidy to Amtrak. But we can at least contact friends who have that opportunity. The two leading members of the anti-Amtrak cabal seem to be Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, and Senator John Sununu of New Hampshire, both up for re-election in 2008. Although Sessions appears to be guaranteed of re-election, Sununu appears vulnerable. And readers who feel deeply about the plight of Amtrak might contact their friends in New Hampshire and advise them of Sununu's constant efforts to destroy Amtrak through crippling provisions and cuts in its funding. Sununu's defeat would send a message to all the Congress that we Americans are determined to have a viable, fuel-efficient, people-serving, national rail system.
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Fifty years ago, 
Arthur Frommer is generally acknowledged to be the nation's foremost travel authority. He is the founder of the
