Articles

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Why Not Europe in the Winter? (It's Not as Cold as You'd Think)

Leiden Square, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (photo: Rex Roof/Flickr)I have just completed a two-week vacation in southwestern Florida, where the temperature was in…

Article / Passportable

Las Vegas Drives Away From Free Parking

Time was when the casinos of Las Vegas were so eager to get customers in front of their one-armed bandits, they comped most everything, from drinks to parking. But as the city moves…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Yosemite's Iconic Ahwahnee Hotel is Soon to Be No More—A Sad Case of Privatization Gone Haywire

Pillaged on our watch: The iconic Ahwahnee HotelThis has got to be among the more asinine results of government privatization in the travel universe.After nearly 90 years,…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Yet Another Reason to Go to Canada: Free National Park Entries for All of 2017

That Justin Trudeau!Not only did he have the good sense to give women half of all the job in his cabinet (filling all the positions with genuine experts in the subjects they'll be…

Article / Passportable

$99 Fares from California to Europe? Wow!

To promote the inauguration of new service from San Francisco and Los Angeles and Europe (via Iceland), WOW Airlines is throwing a quick but impressive sale. The planes won't depart…

Article / Passportable

Apple Vacations Expands Westward

Apple Vacations, a giant vacation outfit beloved by deal-seekers but unknown to many, is making a big move into California by adding charter-flight vacations to three major airports…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Record Low Exchange Rates Suddenly Make These Five Places Record Super-Bargains

Clifton, Cape Town, South AfricaGoing where the bargains are can feel a bit like surfing, metaphorically speaking. You hang out nowhere in particular for a while, keeping an…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

An Airport Security Reprieve for Travelers with Drivers Licenses from States That Are Not In Compliance with the Federal Government's Real ID Act

And in the end, it all was about politics.As those of you who read this blog regularly know, a few months ago it looked like those citizens of those states that hadn't complied…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Pauline Frommer Is Hitting the Road With Travel Show Appearances Across the United States

Hello Fellow Wanderers! I just wanted to invite you all to come out and talk travel. I'll be appearing under the auspices of the Travel and Adventure Show in the following cities, on…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

A Possible Surge of American Tourism to Iran Should Not be Prevented or Opposed, But the Realities of Iran Should Not be Overlooked Either

I can never quite enjoy myself in a totalitarian country.  Whether it be China or Myanmar, Franco's Spain or Castro's Cuba, I could never, in the past, quite rid myself of the…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Asked to Recommend a Batch of "New Destinations" for 2016, I Like to List Locations that Aren't Really "New" but Simply Under-Visited

Travel writers are often asked to name a few "new destinations" for vacationers who like to travel differently.  And dutifully, they respond by naming places of which you've…

Article / Food and Drink

How to Get a Reservation At the Most Popular Restaurants

Part of the joy of traveling is trying great restaurants—but what should you do if you're told there's no room for your party?

Article / Passportable

Watch: Hotel Guest Films Skin-Crawling Bedbug Infestation

Social media has clouded our heads with a lot of useless, anxiety-inducing information, but for the traveler, it has its uses.This week, a budget traveler in New York City decided…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Breaking News! The Frommer Travel Show is Now Live on Saturdays at 3 p.m. ET on WABC in New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey & in the Rest of the Country at Noon ET Sundays!

We have an important announcement:  Starting immediately (namely, this coming Saturday), the Frommer Travel Show will now be carried live every Saturday at 3 p.m. on Radio Station…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

A Travel Memoir for Today: Gloria Steinem’s "My Life On the Road"

I never thought I’d use the words "Gloria Steinem" and "travel memoir" in the same sentence. Somehow the idea of one of the most important leaders of the 20th century couching her…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Are Cruise Ships Easy Targets for Terrorists?

There's no need to be complicated about this answer.Yes.This week, Disney Cruise Line announced that it will no longer stop in Greece, Turkey, or Malta on its upcoming…

Article / Passportable

Hilton's New Mandatory $50 Cancellation Fee

The giant Hilton hotel brand is piloting a new way to make life miserable for travelers: It has started charging $50 for cancellations, no matter when they're made.Under the new…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Though He May Not Have Planned It to Be a Travelogue, Michael Moore's New Documentary Film Contains Powerful Advice On How to Conduct a Tour of Europe

The new documentary film by the irrepressible Michael Moore, "Where to Invade Next", now playing at movie houses all over the nation, was obviously meant to convey a political…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

The TSA May Now Deny You the Right to a Pat-Down

Until this month, anyone undergoing a TSA search at airports has had the right to bypass the "Advanced Imaging Technology" screening booths—the ones in which passengers hold their…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Peaceful at Last, The Important (and Easily Reached) South American Nation of Colombia is Finally Attracting the Tourism It Deserves

The recent making of a peace treaty (with amnesty provisions) between the government of Colombia and its longtime insurgent guerillas (a movement known as "FARC") has brought about…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Medellin, Colombia, A City Once Infamous for its Frequently-Violent Drug Battles, Has Become a Touristic Magnet Now that the "Narcos" Have Been Ousted From It

In a recent column, I wrote about the surprising emergence of the South American nation of Colombia as a hot new tourist destination  (and one that also has the fastest-growing…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

From A.F.: I, Too, Have Drawn Up a List of a Dozen New Year's Resolutions for Travel in 2016, Hopefully Meant to Maintain and Improve My Vacation Trips

Most of us make New Year's Resolutions to correct human failings in our daily activities.  I do something of the same, but limited to the times when I leave my home for a trip.  Here…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Pauline Frommer's Top (Travel) Resolutions for the Coming Year

It’s that time of year and let’s be real, those three inches padding my waistline aren’t coming off anytime soon. Instead of doing the usual “lose 10 pounds” resolution, my top 7…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Counting Down the Top 6 Travel Stories of 2015—And Looking Ahead to 2016

(Photo by Zach Dischner/Flickr)Unusually dramatic events and trends shaped the way we traveled in 2015 and should continue to impact our wanderings in 2016. Counting them down,…

Article / Passportable

Two New Passport Rules Elicit Anger

The U.S. State Department has changed the rules for passports in two ways.First, as of January 1, 2016, it will no longer allow you to add pages to your passport if you fill up…