Mar 7, 2008
Travel to Australia is about to boom; keep checking the websites of Qantas, Air New Zealand -- and, especially, V Australia
In an historic "Open Skies" treaty signed on February 15 by the U.S. and Australia, air traffic between the two countries has been totally deregulated. Starting now, any airline can fly between the two countries, using any airport in either country, and operating as many flights as they wish. And, as you'd expect, the flamboyant British tycoon Richard Branson will be the first to take advantage of those opportunities with a new airline called V Australia (www.vaustralia.com), for which he is buying six Boeing 777s. Service between the U.S. and Australia on V Australia will begin later this year, when an unholy price war will break out.
That enhanced competition is already evident between Qantas (the Australian flag carrier) and Air New Zealand (which also flies to Australia from the U.S.). Starting now, Qantas has matched the stunning $898 round-trip fare that Air New Zealand recently announced between Los Angeles/San Francisco and Auckland for the months of May and August. During the same months, Qantas has lowered the round-trip airfare between LosAngeles/San Francisco and Sydney, Australia, to $998 in May and August. (All fares must be purchased prior to March 31, and all tickets must be purchased on the internet and not by phone.)
In the meantime, for immediate use, Qantas (www.qantas.com.au) is selling its "Aussie AirPass" at $1,099, giving you round-trip air to Australia from the U.S. west coast and three flights within the country, for departures from now through June.
If you have any interest in finally attempting a trip to Australia, you'd be wise to periodically check the websites of all three airlines -- and especially the new website of V Australia. Obviously, the new airline will be starting operations with a stunning promotional fare, and you'll want to be among the first to snare it.
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That enhanced competition is already evident between Qantas (the Australian flag carrier) and Air New Zealand (which also flies to Australia from the U.S.). Starting now, Qantas has matched the stunning $898 round-trip fare that Air New Zealand recently announced between Los Angeles/San Francisco and Auckland for the months of May and August. During the same months, Qantas has lowered the round-trip airfare between LosAngeles/San Francisco and Sydney, Australia, to $998 in May and August. (All fares must be purchased prior to March 31, and all tickets must be purchased on the internet and not by phone.)
In the meantime, for immediate use, Qantas (www.qantas.com.au) is selling its "Aussie AirPass" at $1,099, giving you round-trip air to Australia from the U.S. west coast and three flights within the country, for departures from now through June.
If you have any interest in finally attempting a trip to Australia, you'd be wise to periodically check the websites of all three airlines -- and especially the new website of V Australia. Obviously, the new airline will be starting operations with a stunning promotional fare, and you'll want to be among the first to snare it.
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Labels: australia, deals, new zealand
Flash! Southwest Airlines has launched a remarkable, three-day sale from 45 cities
Today is Friday, March 7. If, no later than midnight on Monday, March 10, you copy or punch the following URL into your browser (www.southwest.com/hotfares/hotfares4.html?src=e), being sure to include each portion of that lengthy name exactly as it appears (otherwise you won't get it), you'll access a remarkable three-day sale of Southwest Airlines for flights taking place in the month of April and costing as little as $52 one-way (and going up in easy stages from there).
Sample one-way bargains: Chicago to Detroit or Kansas City, $52. Long Island to Baltimore, $52. Los Angeles to Oakland, San Francisco or Sacramento, $52. Nashville to Chicago, $52. And many more such deals from 45 major U.S. cities.
Unlike many earlier Southwest sales, this one doesn't require advance purchase. It does require that you make the booking on the internet only. And prices need to be increased by the federal excise tax of $3.50 for each flight segment, and the September 11th security fee of $5.
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Sample one-way bargains: Chicago to Detroit or Kansas City, $52. Long Island to Baltimore, $52. Los Angeles to Oakland, San Francisco or Sacramento, $52. Nashville to Chicago, $52. And many more such deals from 45 major U.S. cities.
Unlike many earlier Southwest sales, this one doesn't require advance purchase. It does require that you make the booking on the internet only. And prices need to be increased by the federal excise tax of $3.50 for each flight segment, and the September 11th security fee of $5.
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If calm continues in Kenya, a great many adventurous sorts will be flying to Nairobi and picking up, on the spot, a last-minute safari bargain
If there are empty seats on the imminent departure of a van traveling by land, or a DC3 going by air, from Nairobi to the famous games parks of Kenya, those empty places are usually sold at sacrificial prices to adventurous tourists seeking a bargain; and the seats on the van or plane are always matched by rooms in the safari lodges.
Even during normal conditions in Nairobi (like two months ago, before the disputed elections), a great many safari-seeking tourists would fly into Nairobi with a hotel reservation for the first night, but with no continuing reservations beyond their arrival day. The moment they passed through airport customs, they would find numerous representatives of safari operators thronging the airport and offering last-minute places on the next day's safari departures (of which several depart daily) at 50% to 75% discounts off the price normally charged. On a safari leaving the next morning, it behooves the safari-operator to get any price they can for an empty seat.
The March 4 edition of the Times of London reports that the safari hotels in Kenya, and the safari van and air operators, are desperately cutting prices to fill their facilities. May I suggest a promising tactic to persons dreaming of an African safari?
Go to an aggregator like Momondo (www.momondo.com), buy a cheap flight to Nairobi, make a reservation for your first night (the hotels there are currently empty), and then bargain for a last-minute seat on a safari leaving the next day. Do that bargaining either at the airport on arrival (you'll see many representatives of safari operators searching for customers) or simply go into Nairobi and visit any retail travel agency. For the next several weeks until confidence is restored, the safaris will sell for virtually any price the traveler is willing to pay.
Such advice is based, of course, on the assumption that last week's political truce in Kenya is holding. So far, it seems successful, and calm has returned to the city of Nairobi. It has always been calm within the actual games parks, and most observers would say it is now safe to return to this remarkable African nation.
According to a Kenya official speaking to a reporter of the Times: "The safari parks are quite quiet. There is a huge abundance of animals not only in the Mara, but also the northern National Parks such as Samburu, Meru and Laikipia. [The month of] May can be wet but rain is usually in short sharp bursts, surrounded by sunshine either side, therefore it never normally disrupts holidays."
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Even during normal conditions in Nairobi (like two months ago, before the disputed elections), a great many safari-seeking tourists would fly into Nairobi with a hotel reservation for the first night, but with no continuing reservations beyond their arrival day. The moment they passed through airport customs, they would find numerous representatives of safari operators thronging the airport and offering last-minute places on the next day's safari departures (of which several depart daily) at 50% to 75% discounts off the price normally charged. On a safari leaving the next morning, it behooves the safari-operator to get any price they can for an empty seat.
The March 4 edition of the Times of London reports that the safari hotels in Kenya, and the safari van and air operators, are desperately cutting prices to fill their facilities. May I suggest a promising tactic to persons dreaming of an African safari?
Go to an aggregator like Momondo (www.momondo.com), buy a cheap flight to Nairobi, make a reservation for your first night (the hotels there are currently empty), and then bargain for a last-minute seat on a safari leaving the next day. Do that bargaining either at the airport on arrival (you'll see many representatives of safari operators searching for customers) or simply go into Nairobi and visit any retail travel agency. For the next several weeks until confidence is restored, the safaris will sell for virtually any price the traveler is willing to pay.
Such advice is based, of course, on the assumption that last week's political truce in Kenya is holding. So far, it seems successful, and calm has returned to the city of Nairobi. It has always been calm within the actual games parks, and most observers would say it is now safe to return to this remarkable African nation.
According to a Kenya official speaking to a reporter of the Times: "The safari parks are quite quiet. There is a huge abundance of animals not only in the Mara, but also the northern National Parks such as Samburu, Meru and Laikipia. [The month of] May can be wet but rain is usually in short sharp bursts, surrounded by sunshine either side, therefore it never normally disrupts holidays."
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Mar 6, 2008
7 additional important recent travel developments
7. The increase in bargain-priced re-positioning cruises. As more and more cruiseships alternate between the Caribbean (winter) and European waters (spring and summer), and need to move between one area and the other (re-positioning), there's been a tremendous rise in the number of cruises costing as little as $60 a day. Go to VacationsToGo.com (www.vacationstogo.com) for the most clearly-identified listing of re-positioning cruises.
8. The emergence of the European river cruise. Cruises along the Rhine and the Danube, in particular, are soaring in popularity and increasing in frequency. For an unusually relaxing, and very different form of vacationing, you might consider one.
9. The emergence of medical and dental tourism. Urged on by a new book entitled Patients Beyond Borders by Josef Woodman, many thousands of medically-uninsured Americans are now seeking low-cost medical or dental care abroad, in clinics and hospitals accredited by the same organizations which accredit clinics and hospitals in the U.S.
10. The almost universal need for a passport. As directed by the Department of Homeland Security, it is now necessary to possess a passport if you plan to fly anywhere in the world -- even simply within the Western Hemisphere. Get one.
11. The come-back of Priceline.com. By first using a website called BiddingForTravel.com (www.biddingfortravel.com), which tells you how other travelers have succeeded in using the opaque Priceline, an increasing number of savvy travelers have had success with Priceline. Some, who regard Priceline as unsuitable for air travel, are making use of it for hotel rooms.
12. The increasing regard for Amtrak. At last, serious efforts are afoot in Congress to place Amtrak on a firm financial footing; and ridership on the national train system is increasing each year.
13. The emergence of hidden hotel fees. To their discredit, hotel executives have greatly increased their use of this improper tactic -- like charging $15-a-day "resort fees" for beach towels which remained in your room. Never make a booking without demanding to know whether hidden fees will increase your bill.
14. The startling increase in zany Las Vegas weddings. Your minister is disguised as Elvis Presley. Another rises eerily from a coffin. The wedding march is to the melody of "Viva Las Vegas". For a reason I will never understand, increasing numbers of couples are opting to be married in a weird Las Vegas wedding chapel -- and that, too, is a major recent development in travel.
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8. The emergence of the European river cruise. Cruises along the Rhine and the Danube, in particular, are soaring in popularity and increasing in frequency. For an unusually relaxing, and very different form of vacationing, you might consider one.
9. The emergence of medical and dental tourism. Urged on by a new book entitled Patients Beyond Borders by Josef Woodman, many thousands of medically-uninsured Americans are now seeking low-cost medical or dental care abroad, in clinics and hospitals accredited by the same organizations which accredit clinics and hospitals in the U.S.
10. The almost universal need for a passport. As directed by the Department of Homeland Security, it is now necessary to possess a passport if you plan to fly anywhere in the world -- even simply within the Western Hemisphere. Get one.
11. The come-back of Priceline.com. By first using a website called BiddingForTravel.com (www.biddingfortravel.com), which tells you how other travelers have succeeded in using the opaque Priceline, an increasing number of savvy travelers have had success with Priceline. Some, who regard Priceline as unsuitable for air travel, are making use of it for hotel rooms.
12. The increasing regard for Amtrak. At last, serious efforts are afoot in Congress to place Amtrak on a firm financial footing; and ridership on the national train system is increasing each year.
13. The emergence of hidden hotel fees. To their discredit, hotel executives have greatly increased their use of this improper tactic -- like charging $15-a-day "resort fees" for beach towels which remained in your room. Never make a booking without demanding to know whether hidden fees will increase your bill.
14. The startling increase in zany Las Vegas weddings. Your minister is disguised as Elvis Presley. Another rises eerily from a coffin. The wedding march is to the melody of "Viva Las Vegas". For a reason I will never understand, increasing numbers of couples are opting to be married in a weird Las Vegas wedding chapel -- and that, too, is a major recent development in travel.
Write and read comments about this post.
6 more top travel bargains for 2008
My daughter and I were asked at the New York Times Travel Show to name what we considered the top travel bargains for the year ahead, both in destinations and in facilities for travel. Here's the second part of our answer:
11. Eastern Europe and Croatia. In countries that haven't yet adopted the Euro, prices remain much lower for Americans than in western Europe.
12. Kenya (possibly). Provided only that a political truce between warring factions remains in effect, Kenya will once again be offering low-cost African safaris to persons booking from Lionworldtravel.com, 2Afrika.com, AdventureCenter.com, or GapAdventures.com.
13. Southwest and A.T.A. to Hawaii. You fly America's biggest cut-rate carrier to Oakland, California, and there transfer to an A.T.A. flight to Hawaii, enjoying rock-bottom airfares to that tropical paradise.
14. DIY bicycle tours. Shunning the high-priced, escorted, group bicycle tours for non-escorted, do-it-yourself biking along a prescribed route has become a major, budget-priced vacation activity, and no service handles this better than BikeToursDirect (www.biketoursdirect.com).
15. Discount cruises. Though cruiseline executives will deny it, a giant number of cabins are being sold at sharply-discounted, rock-bottom rates. Go to VacationsToGo.com (www.vacationstogo.com), Cruise Wizard (www.cruisewizard.com), CruisesOnly (www.cruisesonly.com) and you'll find stunning low fares.
16. Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. Though Canada in general has lost its low-cost appeal due to the strength of the Canadian dollar, these Atlantic provinces remain moderately priced for everything from accommodations to succulent lobster dinners.
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11. Eastern Europe and Croatia. In countries that haven't yet adopted the Euro, prices remain much lower for Americans than in western Europe.
12. Kenya (possibly). Provided only that a political truce between warring factions remains in effect, Kenya will once again be offering low-cost African safaris to persons booking from Lionworldtravel.com, 2Afrika.com, AdventureCenter.com, or GapAdventures.com.
13. Southwest and A.T.A. to Hawaii. You fly America's biggest cut-rate carrier to Oakland, California, and there transfer to an A.T.A. flight to Hawaii, enjoying rock-bottom airfares to that tropical paradise.
14. DIY bicycle tours. Shunning the high-priced, escorted, group bicycle tours for non-escorted, do-it-yourself biking along a prescribed route has become a major, budget-priced vacation activity, and no service handles this better than BikeToursDirect (www.biketoursdirect.com).
15. Discount cruises. Though cruiseline executives will deny it, a giant number of cabins are being sold at sharply-discounted, rock-bottom rates. Go to VacationsToGo.com (www.vacationstogo.com), Cruise Wizard (www.cruisewizard.com), CruisesOnly (www.cruisesonly.com) and you'll find stunning low fares.
16. Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. Though Canada in general has lost its low-cost appeal due to the strength of the Canadian dollar, these Atlantic provinces remain moderately priced for everything from accommodations to succulent lobster dinners.
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The most important recent developments in travel are, in my view, 14 in number -- and here are the first 7
A smart traveler takes the time to review the big developments in travel, because these larger trends can inform your own vacation decisions. Some are awfully obvious, and yet deserve renewed attention:
1. The dramatic decline of the U.S. dollar. That drop affects not only a possible trip to western Europe (whose Euro and British Pound have risen greatly in cost), but also to Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, whose currencies have also risen greatly. Your most obvious course is to substitute a trip to Central or South America, or to Asia other than Japan, where the U.S. dollar remains relatively strong. Or else you must adopt radically different policies for arranging your lodgings (vacation homes or apartments, rooms in private homes, hostels) in travel to western Europe.
2. The ever-larger cruiseship. The cruiselines continue to build vessels for up to 4,000 passengers, and the only smaller new ships are those of "premium" lines costing an arm and a leg. If you are to avoid the cruiseship crowds, you must learn how to use the websites of the various cruise discounters, who occasionally -- very occasionally -- have bargains to offer on the smaller luxury vessels.
3. The contined strength of the airfare aggregators. Such names as Kayak (www.kayak.com), SideStep (www.sidestep.com), Farechase (farechase.yahoo.com), Momondo (www.momondo.com), and Mobissimo Travel (www.mobissimo.com) are popular because they impartially list all the low-cost airfares available to you. They do not sell air tickets, but simply direct you to the relevant airlines.
4. The growth of the vacation exchange industry. "You stay in their home while they stay in yours". The 2006 Hollywood film, The Holiday, has caused a torrent of Americans to pay attention to this single most logical, sensible and effective method of reducing your lodgings costs.
5. The increasing popularity of free hospitality services. Websites like www.couchsurfing.com, www.globalfreeloaders.com, and www.usservas.org, enable you to enjoy free hospitality.
6. The growing trend towards the rental of vacation homes and apartments. A giant movement. More and more Americans have learned that a vacation home or apartment can cost considerably less than an equivalent hotel room or rooms. Try HomeAway (www.homeaway.com), among others, for obtaining such a lodging.
7. The increase in bargain-priced re-positioning cruises. As more and more cruiseships alternate between the Caribbean (winter) and European waters (spring and summer), and need to move between one area and the other (re-positioning), there's been a tremendous rise in the number of cruises costing as little as $60 a day. Go to VacationsToGo.com (www.vacationstogo.com) for the most clearly-identified listing of re-positioning cruises.
Write and read comments about this post.
1. The dramatic decline of the U.S. dollar. That drop affects not only a possible trip to western Europe (whose Euro and British Pound have risen greatly in cost), but also to Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, whose currencies have also risen greatly. Your most obvious course is to substitute a trip to Central or South America, or to Asia other than Japan, where the U.S. dollar remains relatively strong. Or else you must adopt radically different policies for arranging your lodgings (vacation homes or apartments, rooms in private homes, hostels) in travel to western Europe.
2. The ever-larger cruiseship. The cruiselines continue to build vessels for up to 4,000 passengers, and the only smaller new ships are those of "premium" lines costing an arm and a leg. If you are to avoid the cruiseship crowds, you must learn how to use the websites of the various cruise discounters, who occasionally -- very occasionally -- have bargains to offer on the smaller luxury vessels.
3. The contined strength of the airfare aggregators. Such names as Kayak (www.kayak.com), SideStep (www.sidestep.com), Farechase (farechase.yahoo.com), Momondo (www.momondo.com), and Mobissimo Travel (www.mobissimo.com) are popular because they impartially list all the low-cost airfares available to you. They do not sell air tickets, but simply direct you to the relevant airlines.
4. The growth of the vacation exchange industry. "You stay in their home while they stay in yours". The 2006 Hollywood film, The Holiday, has caused a torrent of Americans to pay attention to this single most logical, sensible and effective method of reducing your lodgings costs.
5. The increasing popularity of free hospitality services. Websites like www.couchsurfing.com, www.globalfreeloaders.com, and www.usservas.org, enable you to enjoy free hospitality.
6. The growing trend towards the rental of vacation homes and apartments. A giant movement. More and more Americans have learned that a vacation home or apartment can cost considerably less than an equivalent hotel room or rooms. Try HomeAway (www.homeaway.com), among others, for obtaining such a lodging.
7. The increase in bargain-priced re-positioning cruises. As more and more cruiseships alternate between the Caribbean (winter) and European waters (spring and summer), and need to move between one area and the other (re-positioning), there's been a tremendous rise in the number of cruises costing as little as $60 a day. Go to VacationsToGo.com (www.vacationstogo.com) for the most clearly-identified listing of re-positioning cruises.
Write and read comments about this post.
Labels: tips
Mar 5, 2008
10 top travel bargains for the year ahead
While speaking at a travel show last weekend, my daughter and I were asked to name what we considered the top travel bargains for the year ahead, both in destinations and in facilities for travel. Here's how we answered:
1. China. With apologies for seeming like a broken record, we must again start with China. Despite a slowly-strengthening currency, China remains available at unbeatable rates (including airfare there) from China Focus (www.chinafocustravel.com), Chinaspree.com (www.chinaspree.com), Rim-Pac (www.rim-pac.com), Ritz Tours (www.ritztours.com), Pacific Delight Tours (www.pacificdelighttours.com), China Travel Service (www.chinatravelservice.com), and many others.
2. Vietnam. Its touristic cost of living is remarkably low, and its shopping prices are minor miracles (like custom-tailored suits in Hoi An for less than $150). A great many independent travelers simply book a direct United Airlines flight from San Francisco to Ho Chi Minh City (via Hong Kong), and then pick up accommodations as they move along throughout the country.
3. Panama. Fastest-developing country in Central America, receiving ever-growing numbers of cost-conscious vacationers, as well as U.S. retirees looking for a cheap second home. The skyline of Panama City is beginning to resemble Hong Kong or New York's financial district -- except that those skyscrapers are residential condos.
4. Nicaragua and Honduras. Both coming up fast as favorites for adventuresome tourists. Honduras' off-shore island of Utila (for scuba-diving) is the latest discovery. Nicaragua's prices for lodgings and meals are surely among the lowest in the area.
5. Costa Rica. It remains immensely popular, and though it's gaining swanky accommodations, it remains inexpensive for the tourist who searches out low-cost lodgings, like those available from Bells' Home Hospitality in San Jose (see our previous blog, in "Search this blog").
6. Dominican Republic. Home of the low-cost all-inclusive hotel. Giant crowds simply looking to laze in the sun are flocking to properties where all you do is eat three enormous buffet meals a day and doze in a chaise lounge.
7. Buenos Aires and Santiago, Chile. Located surprisingly close to one another, both benefit from currencies that are weak against the U.S. dollar. Large numbers of Americans are also starting their South American stays in Buenos Aires, and then journeying further south to the natural attractions of Patagonia.
8. The U.S. National Parks. A drop-off in foreign visitors since 9/11, and high gas prices, have reduced traffic to the most famous of the parks: Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Great Smokey Mountains.
9. Bali in the Indian Ocean. Its cordial attitudes towards the visitor, coupled with its low price structure, has re-started the flow of tourism, overcoming the long-ago effects of two terrorist attacks on beachside nightclubs.
10. Sicily. Its price structure is markedly lower than in the rest of Italy; its method of touring is a low-cost, self-drive auto making a complete circumference of the island along its coastal road, stopping in places like Erice, Agrigento, Siracusa, Taormina.
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1. China. With apologies for seeming like a broken record, we must again start with China. Despite a slowly-strengthening currency, China remains available at unbeatable rates (including airfare there) from China Focus (www.chinafocustravel.com), Chinaspree.com (www.chinaspree.com), Rim-Pac (www.rim-pac.com), Ritz Tours (www.ritztours.com), Pacific Delight Tours (www.pacificdelighttours.com), China Travel Service (www.chinatravelservice.com), and many others.
2. Vietnam. Its touristic cost of living is remarkably low, and its shopping prices are minor miracles (like custom-tailored suits in Hoi An for less than $150). A great many independent travelers simply book a direct United Airlines flight from San Francisco to Ho Chi Minh City (via Hong Kong), and then pick up accommodations as they move along throughout the country.
3. Panama. Fastest-developing country in Central America, receiving ever-growing numbers of cost-conscious vacationers, as well as U.S. retirees looking for a cheap second home. The skyline of Panama City is beginning to resemble Hong Kong or New York's financial district -- except that those skyscrapers are residential condos.
4. Nicaragua and Honduras. Both coming up fast as favorites for adventuresome tourists. Honduras' off-shore island of Utila (for scuba-diving) is the latest discovery. Nicaragua's prices for lodgings and meals are surely among the lowest in the area.
5. Costa Rica. It remains immensely popular, and though it's gaining swanky accommodations, it remains inexpensive for the tourist who searches out low-cost lodgings, like those available from Bells' Home Hospitality in San Jose (see our previous blog, in "Search this blog").
6. Dominican Republic. Home of the low-cost all-inclusive hotel. Giant crowds simply looking to laze in the sun are flocking to properties where all you do is eat three enormous buffet meals a day and doze in a chaise lounge.
7. Buenos Aires and Santiago, Chile. Located surprisingly close to one another, both benefit from currencies that are weak against the U.S. dollar. Large numbers of Americans are also starting their South American stays in Buenos Aires, and then journeying further south to the natural attractions of Patagonia.
8. The U.S. National Parks. A drop-off in foreign visitors since 9/11, and high gas prices, have reduced traffic to the most famous of the parks: Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Great Smokey Mountains.
9. Bali in the Indian Ocean. Its cordial attitudes towards the visitor, coupled with its low price structure, has re-started the flow of tourism, overcoming the long-ago effects of two terrorist attacks on beachside nightclubs.
10. Sicily. Its price structure is markedly lower than in the rest of Italy; its method of touring is a low-cost, self-drive auto making a complete circumference of the island along its coastal road, stopping in places like Erice, Agrigento, Siracusa, Taormina.
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Surely, the top current airfare sale in America is the offer of an $898 round-trip between the U.S. and New Zealand for flights in May or August
I would be remiss if I were not to pass on news about a round-trip airfare of only $898 between either Los Angeles or San Francisco and Auckland on Air New Zealand (tel. 800/663-5494; www.airnewzealand.com). It can be booked up until March 17; it is valid for flights within the months of May or August; it includes the fuel surcharge; and the only thing you need add is $69 in government fees and taxes. And if you'll insert the words "New Zealand" in the box found at the top right-hand side of this blog, you'll learn about all sorts of schemes for renting a mini-recreational vehicle for travel within New Zealand, once you've arrived.
There's more to be learned on the airline's website, like air stopovers in Christchurch or Wellington for $50 more, or the right to stop en route -- if you leave from Los Angeles -- in the Cook Islands, Samoa or Tonga for only $100 per destination. When you consider the vast distances of the Pacific Ocean, these prices provide an undreamed-of travel opportunity for an outlay that would normally be impossible.
Although you can also phone with questions, booking this way will bring about a higher airfare. Go to the website instead.
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There's more to be learned on the airline's website, like air stopovers in Christchurch or Wellington for $50 more, or the right to stop en route -- if you leave from Los Angeles -- in the Cook Islands, Samoa or Tonga for only $100 per destination. When you consider the vast distances of the Pacific Ocean, these prices provide an undreamed-of travel opportunity for an outlay that would normally be impossible.
Although you can also phone with questions, booking this way will bring about a higher airfare. Go to the website instead.
Write and read comments about this post.
Labels: deals, new zealand
Mar 4, 2008
The bad exchange rate of the U.S. dollar makes excellent small-group walking tours harder to afford
Smart travelers for many years have been aware of the advisability of booking walking tours of the world's major cities. Instead of cramming themselves into a motorcoach with 44 other tourists; instead of enduring a lecture by a youthful tour courier who has simply memorized a spiel; instead of accepting the second-rate approach to Europe; smart tourists have joined tours-on-foot limited to as few as 6 people and conducted by Ph.Ds or other eminent scholars in the history and culture of various major cities.
Such organizations as Context Travel (www.contexttravel.com) have, for years, offered excellent walking tours of London, Paris, Rome, Naples, Florence and New York, usually limited to no more than six persons at a time and conducted by the eminent authorities that I have described above. On its website you will find descriptions of superb, even memorable, four-hour walking tours costing €300 for a group of six, or approximately €50 per person. In the days when the Euro sold at par to the dollar, the resulting cost of $50 per person for such a tour was not cheap, but not outlandish either; and many tourists felt it was a worthwhile expenditure.
The official U.S./Euro exchange rate is now about $1.52 for one Euro, which means you are paying slightly more than $1.60 for a Euro when you factor in the 5% commission that almost all money-changers take. Thus, your four-hour walking tour with Context Travel is now costing $80 per person, or $160 for a couple traveling together. And most Americans would hesitate to incur that cost.
Such companies as Through Eternity Tours (www.througheternity.com), another excellent company of scholars specializing in walking tours of Rome, permit their groups to consist of as many as 15 persons, and thus hold out a lower per-person rate. If their Euro price were to be the same number of dollars, they would be regarded as a major bargain. But at an exchange of $1.60 for a Euro, the charge is high.
If we are to continue visiting Europe without badly depleting our assets, we are all going to have to adopt different methods of seeing it properly, some of us without calling upon these excellent walking tours organizations for help.
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Such organizations as Context Travel (www.contexttravel.com) have, for years, offered excellent walking tours of London, Paris, Rome, Naples, Florence and New York, usually limited to no more than six persons at a time and conducted by the eminent authorities that I have described above. On its website you will find descriptions of superb, even memorable, four-hour walking tours costing €300 for a group of six, or approximately €50 per person. In the days when the Euro sold at par to the dollar, the resulting cost of $50 per person for such a tour was not cheap, but not outlandish either; and many tourists felt it was a worthwhile expenditure.
The official U.S./Euro exchange rate is now about $1.52 for one Euro, which means you are paying slightly more than $1.60 for a Euro when you factor in the 5% commission that almost all money-changers take. Thus, your four-hour walking tour with Context Travel is now costing $80 per person, or $160 for a couple traveling together. And most Americans would hesitate to incur that cost.
Such companies as Through Eternity Tours (www.througheternity.com), another excellent company of scholars specializing in walking tours of Rome, permit their groups to consist of as many as 15 persons, and thus hold out a lower per-person rate. If their Euro price were to be the same number of dollars, they would be regarded as a major bargain. But at an exchange of $1.60 for a Euro, the charge is high.
If we are to continue visiting Europe without badly depleting our assets, we are all going to have to adopt different methods of seeing it properly, some of us without calling upon these excellent walking tours organizations for help.
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Labels: money, smart tours
The possibility of peace in Kenya can permit millions of Kenyans to resume earning income from tourism
The only country in Africa to offer moderately-priced vacations in their games parks, has been Kenya. Because lodgings prices were low, as were permits to enter the areas of wildlife migration (the Masai Mara), tour operators were able to offer exciting Kenyan safaris for as little as $2,000-to-$2,250 (www.lionworldtravel.com) or $2,500 (www.2afrika.com) per person, including round-trip air from the U.S. to Nairobi. Similar trips to Tanzania, Botswana, the Union of South Africa, cost considerably more, and were regarded as unaffordable to middle-income tourists.
Those low-cost, safari movements gave employment, both directly and indirectly, to more than a million Kenyans. The New York Times recently ran a moving article on the hotel, restaurant and games park employees who have lost their employment because of the violence that began spreading over Kenya, due to a contested presidential election, two months ago. Many Kenyans in the tourism industry have no other source of income, and Kenya is not the kind of wealthy nation that can replace the loss with unemployment benefits.
This past weekend, both candidates for the Kenyan presidency signed a form of truce, awarding the presidency to one, the prime minister's position to the other, and thus setting up a power-sharing arrangement. If the truce holds, and violence ends in Kenya, we should soon see a return to touristic marketing -- at prices lower than ever before. Kenya will need a shove to regain its tourism. If things do quiet down, we should all consider booking a trip to this indispensable destination. An African safari -- especially in the wildlife-rich regions of Kenya, marked by giant herds of wildebeest, giraffes, elephants, monkeys, rhinoceri, cheetahs, all massing before your very eyes -- is an almost mystical experience, a chance to see the world as it was before human beings trod upon it.
And having that experience can enable a multitude of Kenyans to be able, once again, to feed their families.
Keep watching three websites, in particular: those of Lion World Travel and 2Afrika, for standard low-cost safaris, and those of G.A.P. Adventures (www.gapadventures.com) and Adventure Center (www.adventurecenter.com) for safaris conducted from over-landing trucks (camping at night, preparing meals over a campfire). Here's an opportunity to enjoy a travel adventure while helping a people in need.
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Those low-cost, safari movements gave employment, both directly and indirectly, to more than a million Kenyans. The New York Times recently ran a moving article on the hotel, restaurant and games park employees who have lost their employment because of the violence that began spreading over Kenya, due to a contested presidential election, two months ago. Many Kenyans in the tourism industry have no other source of income, and Kenya is not the kind of wealthy nation that can replace the loss with unemployment benefits.
This past weekend, both candidates for the Kenyan presidency signed a form of truce, awarding the presidency to one, the prime minister's position to the other, and thus setting up a power-sharing arrangement. If the truce holds, and violence ends in Kenya, we should soon see a return to touristic marketing -- at prices lower than ever before. Kenya will need a shove to regain its tourism. If things do quiet down, we should all consider booking a trip to this indispensable destination. An African safari -- especially in the wildlife-rich regions of Kenya, marked by giant herds of wildebeest, giraffes, elephants, monkeys, rhinoceri, cheetahs, all massing before your very eyes -- is an almost mystical experience, a chance to see the world as it was before human beings trod upon it.
And having that experience can enable a multitude of Kenyans to be able, once again, to feed their families.
Keep watching three websites, in particular: those of Lion World Travel and 2Afrika, for standard low-cost safaris, and those of G.A.P. Adventures (www.gapadventures.com) and Adventure Center (www.adventurecenter.com) for safaris conducted from over-landing trucks (camping at night, preparing meals over a campfire). Here's an opportunity to enjoy a travel adventure while helping a people in need.
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To tour a chic Parisian apartment, go to Paris Apartment Tours and roam through the flats on display
The apartments listed for rent on www.parisianapartmenttours.com are certainly not the cheapest available in Paris. Some are reasonable in price; a great many are through the roof. But if you'd like to experience international real estate without leaving home, you'll have fun skimming through the amazingly comprehensive photos that appear in this super-elegant website. Some of the listings permit you to have a 360-degree view of the apartment; others simply sweep from one side of a room to the other; most give you a really adequate picture of what you're thinking of renting.To take a tour, click on "apartments," then click on the words "Virtual Tour" where they appear beneath the photos of most apartments.
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Labels: accommodations, paris
Mar 3, 2008
Add Rim-Pac International to your list of sources for low-cost tours of China, but use them fast -- before the Chinese currency appreciates further
Eighteen months ago, the Chinese currency sold at a rate of nearly 8 Yuan to the dollar; it is now selling at a rate of 7.11 Yuan to the dollar, and everything in China has become at least 10% more expensive. Under fierce pressure from the western nations to increase the value of the Yuan, China has embarked on a steady appreciation of that currency, and we will undoubtedly be looking at the dollar buying only 6 Yuan a further year-or-so from now.
That extremely probable development, as well as the looming presence of the August Olympics in Beijing, make a case for speeding up your own first trip to China. It will never again be as inexpensive as it presently is. And those of you who live in the eastern half of the U.S. should consider using the services of Rim-Pac International (tel. 800/701-8687; www.rim-pac.com) to travel there. Just recently, Rim-Pac has forged ahead of the west coast operators to China in the degree of the bargain they offer to China.
For its departures from New York of March 26, April 2, 9 and 16, September 18 and 25, October 16 and 23, November 5 and 12, Rim-Pac will take you to China on a 13-night trip, spending 11 nights in Chinese cities (Beijing, Ji nan, Qufu, Suzhou and Shanghai), receiving three meals daily on 9 of those nights, and flying there non-stop on Air China from New York, for the remarkable price of $1,589 per person. Such a price for a stay of that duration, and flying from the east coast, is very special indeed.
The earlier you book, the more likely it is that the $1,589 price will remain at that level. China is bound to get more expensive, and the best time to go is now.
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That extremely probable development, as well as the looming presence of the August Olympics in Beijing, make a case for speeding up your own first trip to China. It will never again be as inexpensive as it presently is. And those of you who live in the eastern half of the U.S. should consider using the services of Rim-Pac International (tel. 800/701-8687; www.rim-pac.com) to travel there. Just recently, Rim-Pac has forged ahead of the west coast operators to China in the degree of the bargain they offer to China.
For its departures from New York of March 26, April 2, 9 and 16, September 18 and 25, October 16 and 23, November 5 and 12, Rim-Pac will take you to China on a 13-night trip, spending 11 nights in Chinese cities (Beijing, Ji nan, Qufu, Suzhou and Shanghai), receiving three meals daily on 9 of those nights, and flying there non-stop on Air China from New York, for the remarkable price of $1,589 per person. Such a price for a stay of that duration, and flying from the east coast, is very special indeed.
The earlier you book, the more likely it is that the $1,589 price will remain at that level. China is bound to get more expensive, and the best time to go is now.
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Labels: china, tour companies
I am issuing an appeal to our readers to explain why people travel to Dubai. For what?
I am constantly hearing of Americans joining various group tours to Dubai. Can anyone explain to me: Why? What is there to do there? Though Dubai may possess the world's most luxurious hotels with service and physical amenities beyond imagining, does anyone go to a destination primarily to stay at a hotel? And although Dubai has an indoor ski slope on which one attempts to replicate a tiny portion of the ski experience, what else does it offer in the way of vacation pleasures other than hot weather?
And can anyone enjoy themselves in a vacation area whose government is headed by a single, all-powerful ruler? A country with obvious restrictions on the free dissemination of opinions and no tolerance for individual lifestyles. Note the following limitation on internet content, as described by Wikipedia: "Internet content is regulated in Dubai. Etisalat uses a proxy server to filter internet content that is deemed to be inconsistent with the values of the country, that provides information on bypassing the proxy, dating, gay and lesbian networks, sites pertaining to the Baha'i faith, and sites originating from Israel."
I am serious in issuing this request. And responses to it will be openly available for anyone to read. What reason is there for vacationing in Dubai? What will one find there? What does one do there?
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And can anyone enjoy themselves in a vacation area whose government is headed by a single, all-powerful ruler? A country with obvious restrictions on the free dissemination of opinions and no tolerance for individual lifestyles. Note the following limitation on internet content, as described by Wikipedia: "Internet content is regulated in Dubai. Etisalat uses a proxy server to filter internet content that is deemed to be inconsistent with the values of the country, that provides information on bypassing the proxy, dating, gay and lesbian networks, sites pertaining to the Baha'i faith, and sites originating from Israel."
I am serious in issuing this request. And responses to it will be openly available for anyone to read. What reason is there for vacationing in Dubai? What will one find there? What does one do there?
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Labels: dubai
Trans-Atlantic airfares remain low during the month of March, but then (with only one exception known to me) take a healthy leap
With the exception of flights to Rome in April (see below), you have only one remaining month -- March -- to enjoy the discounted rates that virtually all trans-Atlantic airlines offer in winter. Almost every airline flying to Europe will be selling fares departing in March for significantly lower prices than flights leaving in spring or summer. The same fares then take a leap in April, and much more significant leaps with the onset of summer. So anyone hoping to fly to Europe on anything approaching a discounted fare needs to act quickly.
The highly respected Singapore Airlines (www.singaporeair.com), as one example, has a special $495 fare for round trips from JFK to Frankfurt, Germany, and that rate includes all taxes and fees, valid for Monday-Thursday departures through the end of March. Eurofly (www.euroflyusa.com), as I've mentioned before in this blog, is offering round trips from JFK to Rome for $399, which includes a fuel surcharge of $210, though taxes of about $75 are not included.
It's not just airfare that's discounted. Air-hotel packages are also less expensive at this time of year. Icelandair's (tel. 800/779-2899; www.icelandair.com) Midweek Madness package combines airfare to Reykjavik from New York, Boston, Orlando, or Minneapolis and two nights' hotel starting at just $429 per person in winter, based on double occupancy. (Airfare alone to Iceland often costs at least double this special promotional package price.) To get this special rate, departures generally must occur on Sunday or Monday nights. Visit for more details.
Likewise, Eastern Tours' (tel. 800/339-6667; www.traveltorussia.com) classic seven-night package to Russia, with airfare from New York, three nights apiece in Moscow and St. Petersburg and one night on an overnight train between the two cities, starts at $999 per person double occupancy for departures through the end of March. (Hefty taxes and visa charges are additional, as usual.) To secure the same package with a summer departure, you'd have to pay more than double that price.
Act soon. The end of winter--and the accompanying low prices--is near.
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The highly respected Singapore Airlines (www.singaporeair.com), as one example, has a special $495 fare for round trips from JFK to Frankfurt, Germany, and that rate includes all taxes and fees, valid for Monday-Thursday departures through the end of March. Eurofly (www.euroflyusa.com), as I've mentioned before in this blog, is offering round trips from JFK to Rome for $399, which includes a fuel surcharge of $210, though taxes of about $75 are not included.
It's not just airfare that's discounted. Air-hotel packages are also less expensive at this time of year. Icelandair's (tel. 800/779-2899; www.icelandair.com) Midweek Madness package combines airfare to Reykjavik from New York, Boston, Orlando, or Minneapolis and two nights' hotel starting at just $429 per person in winter, based on double occupancy. (Airfare alone to Iceland often costs at least double this special promotional package price.) To get this special rate, departures generally must occur on Sunday or Monday nights. Visit for more details.
Likewise, Eastern Tours' (tel. 800/339-6667; www.traveltorussia.com) classic seven-night package to Russia, with airfare from New York, three nights apiece in Moscow and St. Petersburg and one night on an overnight train between the two cities, starts at $999 per person double occupancy for departures through the end of March. (Hefty taxes and visa charges are additional, as usual.) To secure the same package with a summer departure, you'd have to pay more than double that price.
Act soon. The end of winter--and the accompanying low prices--is near.
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Labels: deals, eastern europe, western europe
Fifty years ago, 
Arthur Frommer is generally acknowledged to be the nation's foremost travel authority. He is the founder of the
