Jul 3, 2008
Celebrating Independence Day for the country and from this blog
I won't be blogging on the Fourth but will be back on Monday morning. Whether you're traveling or staying home, have a safe holiday.
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Labels: holidays
Jun 13, 2008
Our tips for Dad's day trips, live on TV
My daughter and fellow guidebook author Pauline appeared alongside me on the Today show on Thursday morning to share ideas for trips you can take with your father. You can watch the clip below.
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Labels: holidays, pauline, tips, video
Jun 12, 2008
If you like celebrating July 4th in a big way, you might consider traveling to a city where people get excessive about the event
July 4th is approaching, and my daughter Pauline has collected the cities whose celebration of the event is something special. It starts with the place that engages in BBQ madness:
Naperville, Illinois: No fewer than seventeen vendors set up grills in downtown Naperville throughout the holiday time to sell and serve barbecue. There's also a massive carnival/family fun area with a petting zoo, rides, bungee-jumping, climbing walls, magic shows, circus acts, and the like. The fest continues from the 3rd to the 5th, while fireworks are displayed on the 4th itself.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Here, where it all began, the entire week of the 4th is celebrated with musical events of every sort (opera, salsa, gospel, jazz, folk, latin, reggae, rock, and pop), including Tito Puente, Branford Marsalis, and Chaka Khan. This year, there will be history-based pub-hopping tours, the largest summer rowing regatta in the U.S., and the "Freedom Blast" -- a fair with historical reenactments, 18th century games, crafts and food, and, of course, a reading of the Declaration of Independence.
Washington, D.C.: In addition to spectacular fireworks and a star-studded concert on the Mall (nationally televised), the Smithsonian stages a several-day "Folklife Festival," this year celebrating the NASA space program and the state of Texas, among other highlights.
Edmond, Oklahoma: Attracting tens of thousands of visitors from out-of-town, the city operates a dozen different "mini festivals," from beauty pageants to road rallies to kite flying to patriotic "music fests" to rodeos and car exhibits, including fireworks and parades. All in all, it's one of the nation's largest celebrations, all the more unusual because it's in such a small town.
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Naperville, Illinois: No fewer than seventeen vendors set up grills in downtown Naperville throughout the holiday time to sell and serve barbecue. There's also a massive carnival/family fun area with a petting zoo, rides, bungee-jumping, climbing walls, magic shows, circus acts, and the like. The fest continues from the 3rd to the 5th, while fireworks are displayed on the 4th itself.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Here, where it all began, the entire week of the 4th is celebrated with musical events of every sort (opera, salsa, gospel, jazz, folk, latin, reggae, rock, and pop), including Tito Puente, Branford Marsalis, and Chaka Khan. This year, there will be history-based pub-hopping tours, the largest summer rowing regatta in the U.S., and the "Freedom Blast" -- a fair with historical reenactments, 18th century games, crafts and food, and, of course, a reading of the Declaration of Independence.
Washington, D.C.: In addition to spectacular fireworks and a star-studded concert on the Mall (nationally televised), the Smithsonian stages a several-day "Folklife Festival," this year celebrating the NASA space program and the state of Texas, among other highlights.
Edmond, Oklahoma: Attracting tens of thousands of visitors from out-of-town, the city operates a dozen different "mini festivals," from beauty pageants to road rallies to kite flying to patriotic "music fests" to rodeos and car exhibits, including fireworks and parades. All in all, it's one of the nation's largest celebrations, all the more unusual because it's in such a small town.
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Labels: holidays
May 2, 2008
When is it best to start booking airfares for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the New Year? How about now!
Various airlines have announced that they are accepting bookings up until January 31, 2009, with JetBlue especially prominent in emphasizing the wisdom of quickly reserving flights for those long-in-advance dates. Why? It's because recent cut-backs in airline capacity are making it not simply smart but necessary to snare your airfares sooner than you ever have in the past -- if you hope to use air transport over those heavily-booked periods. Scarcely a week goes by but that major airlines announce that their domestic flights are being reduced by at least 5%, or that certain routes will be serviced by smaller planes than before. Which means that space will be unusually tight for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's.
Though you're obviously not thinking about what life will be in seven, eight or nine months from now, you should. Sit down, take out a calendar, choose your dates, log on, and make those holiday reservations -- now.
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Though you're obviously not thinking about what life will be in seven, eight or nine months from now, you should. Sit down, take out a calendar, choose your dates, log on, and make those holiday reservations -- now.
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Feb 18, 2008
Washington's birthday break
I won't be blogging on Monday, February 18, but will be back in action on Tuesday.
Labels: holidays
Jan 18, 2008
See you on Tuesday
I'll be taking off Monday for Martin Luther King, Jr. day and won't be back blogging until Tuesday.
Labels: holidays
Jan 16, 2008
A short trip to a romantic European city over Valentine's Day is something the two of you will never forget
Thursday, February 13, is Valentine's Day, the year's most romantic reason for travel. Almost imperceptibly, the number of people choosing that occasion for trans-Atlantic trips has grown so massive that tour operators now devote several pages of their brochures and catalogues to listing the available options.If you'll go to the website of Gate 1 Travel (tel. 800/682-3333; www.gate1travel.com) and then click on "holidays" and then on "Valentine's Day," you'll discover no fewer than 34 air-and-land packages to Europe priced at unusually low levels for Valentine's Day travelers. For four-night stays overlapping the holiday, in glorious capital cities ranging from Paris to Budapest, Florence, Lisbon, Prague, Madrid, Vienna, Barcelona and more, you'll find prices almost always below $700 per person and always below $800 per person, including airfare, accommodations, daily breakfast -- and best of all, fuel surcharge. The only items not included are breakfast, dinner, and government fees and taxes (the latter usually amounting to around $100 per person).
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Nov 21, 2007
Thanksgiving break
This blog will go silent from Wednesday afternoon through Monday morning. Have a good holiday weekend.
Labels: holidays
Nov 19, 2007
If you're flying around Thanksgiving, print your boarding pass at home before going to the airport -- to avoid being overbooked and bumped
I can't absolutely guarantee you'll avoid those consequences by using your personal computer and printer to print out your boarding pass (many airlines permit you to do so). The airlines have a strange tendency to bump those passengers who have paid the lowest price for their tickets, regardless of whether they already have a boarding pass and assigned seat. But expert after expert has told me that in a period when airports will be jammed, and overbooking widespread, it's smart to do as I've suggested above (within 24 hours of your flight). And how can it hurt?
Other tips for the airport around Thanksgiving time: key in the 800 number of your airline into your mobile phone so that you can quickly phone reservations and get another seat if your flight is cancelled. Reserve a parking space at the airport through airportparking.com -- those places will also be jammed. Ascertain the average waiting time to clear security at your airport, and then add another half hour in planning your arrival at the airport -- go to waittime.tsa.dhs.gov for that information. And give some thought to flying on Thanksgiving day itself, early in the morning, when the airports and the planes are empty.
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Other tips for the airport around Thanksgiving time: key in the 800 number of your airline into your mobile phone so that you can quickly phone reservations and get another seat if your flight is cancelled. Reserve a parking space at the airport through airportparking.com -- those places will also be jammed. Ascertain the average waiting time to clear security at your airport, and then add another half hour in planning your arrival at the airport -- go to waittime.tsa.dhs.gov for that information. And give some thought to flying on Thanksgiving day itself, early in the morning, when the airports and the planes are empty.
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Labels: airports, holidays, websites
Nov 1, 2007
The trick to having turkey with your family this Thanksgiving is to fly there on Thanksgiving morning, when the nation's planes and airports are empty
We're now about three weeks from Thanksgiving. And people looking to buy plane tickets covering that weekend are again finding that the annual sky-high prices have kicked in. Itineraries that should cost about $200 are now being quoted at over a grand.
But if you simply have to get away then, there is one last trick for you to try: Fly on Thanksgiving itself. Few people want to, so whereas the airports are a nightmarish zoo on Wednesday the day before, by the holiday itself they're virtual ghost towns, and airfare prices reflect it. If you fly in the morning, chances are you'll be around the banquet table in the afternoon.
As for flying home, Sunday and Monday are fiendishly busy, so look toward Tuesday, when rates simmer back down to more reasonable levels.
Yes, you can have turkey with your family this year!
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But if you simply have to get away then, there is one last trick for you to try: Fly on Thanksgiving itself. Few people want to, so whereas the airports are a nightmarish zoo on Wednesday the day before, by the holiday itself they're virtual ghost towns, and airfare prices reflect it. If you fly in the morning, chances are you'll be around the banquet table in the afternoon.
As for flying home, Sunday and Monday are fiendishly busy, so look toward Tuesday, when rates simmer back down to more reasonable levels.
Yes, you can have turkey with your family this year!
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Aug 30, 2007
Gate 1 Travel has become the "Thanksgiving King," with airfare and 4-night stays in six cities for $499 to $629 per person
From the amount of attention by tour packagers to short Thanksgiving stays in Europe, it appears that the eat-turkey-with-the-family tradition is fast dissolving. That's the only explanation for Gate 1's surprisingly broad array of offerings: air-and-land to six European cities, leaving the U.S. on either November 19, 20 or 21 (Thanksgiving Day is Thursday, November 22) and spending four hotel nights there (with breakfast included) in London for $499, Paris $569, Rome or Florence $599, Madrid $599 (departing November 21 only), and Budapest $629. Prices are from New York, but Gate 1 will quote only slightly higher rates from dozens of other U.S. cities. Access them at www.gate1travel.com or by phoning tel. 800/682-3333.
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Labels: deals, europe, holidays
Jul 24, 2007
Avoid choosing between competing relatives for Thanksgiving. Go on a cruise instead!
The big seagoing deal, a top buy, is the Thanksgiving cruise of the new Noordam of Holland America Line: a full 10 days for as little as $599 per person plus port charges and tax. First, it's a Holland America ship, which means high quality and a dignified, relaxing atmosphere on board. Second, the cruise is round-trip from New York City, within easy reach of many millions of people. And because it's 10 days long -- departing on November 21, and returning on December 1 -- it provides a real chance to unwind, relax, and avoid Thanksgiving tensions. "If we go to so-an-so's, we'll offend so-and-so." The ship leaves Manhattan, spends two days at sea sailing first to Grand Turk and then to Tortola in the British Virgin Islands, then makes three, one-day stops in St. Maarten, St. Thomas (U.S. Virgin Islands), and San Juan, before spending two more days at sea returning to New York.
You can buy an inside, double-occupancy cabin on that departure for $599 per person from White Travel Service (tel. 800/547-4790; www.cruisewizard.com) or for $849 per person from VacationsToGo.com (tel. 800/419-5104; www.vacationstogo.com) or CruisesOnly (tel. 800/278-4737; www.cruisesonly.com). And why am I frequently naming White Travel Service on this blog, despite my strong reluctance to avoid plugging a person whom I've know for years? It's simply that as I recently call around for cruise quotes, they have most recently come up with the lowest rates.
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Labels: cruise, deals, holidays
Jun 20, 2007
It isn't too early to rent a Caribbean (or Hawaiian) villa for Christmas/New Year's 2007-08
Among the great bargains of travel are the large and rambling beachside villas accommodating up to three couples in dreamlike locations of the Caribbean or Hawaii. If you can gather a total of six persons to partner in the rental of such a villa for the Christmas/New Year's period of 2007-08, you can enjoy an idyllic winter vacation for not much more than you would have spent at a hotel. Many of the villas come staffed with a cook and handyman, enabling you to enjoy the most sybaritic ten-days-or-so of your life, but at modest cost.
For more than 15 years, a Richmond, Virginia, company called Unusual Villa & Island Rentals has maintained an unusually large inventory of rental villas in the Caribbean, Hawaii, Mexico, Florida, California, Central and South America. They make a specialty of Christmas and holiday villa rentals. And their rates can go as low as $1,000 per person for an entire week, when six persons are combining to rent a multi-bedroom villa. Try www.unusualvillarentals.com or phone 800/846-7280 or 804/288-2823.
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For more than 15 years, a Richmond, Virginia, company called Unusual Villa & Island Rentals has maintained an unusually large inventory of rental villas in the Caribbean, Hawaii, Mexico, Florida, California, Central and South America. They make a specialty of Christmas and holiday villa rentals. And their rates can go as low as $1,000 per person for an entire week, when six persons are combining to rent a multi-bedroom villa. Try www.unusualvillarentals.com or phone 800/846-7280 or 804/288-2823.
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Jun 13, 2007
Tired of those tense family get-togethers? Spend Thanksgiving in Europe!
An odd development in autumn travel, coming up, is the curious popularity of trips to Europe over Thanksgiving. Though you'd think most Americans would prefer to stay home at that special time, an increasing number are seizing on cut-rate trans-Atlantic airfares and low-season hotel packages to European capitals for such starting dates as November 19, 20, 21, and so forth. A chief source is Gate 1 Travel with offers like $499 from the east coast for six days in London over the Thanksgiving dates, including trans-Atlantic airfare and hotels; $599 for air and four nights in Budapest on the same dates; $569 for four nights in Paris with air thrown in; $599 for air and four nights in Rome; $599 for air and four nights in Prague; and so on. For a complete listing, log on to www.gate1travel.com (and click on "Thanksgiving Specials"), or phone 800/682-3333.
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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
