Articles

Article / Passportable

An Icon of Modernist Architecture Turns 50: Happy Birthday to St. Louis’ Gateway Arch

St. Louis’ Gateway Arch may well be the most bittersweet of the world’s iconic monuments. The planned focal point of a park built in the 1930’s to celebrate Thomas Jefferson, and…

Article / Air Travel

The New "Big Three" of Travel Search Engines: Competition Dies

As America's wide field of airline competitors has consolidated down to just three major players, consumers also have less choice when it comes to which companies are controlling the…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

International Airfare Wars Make It Much Cheaper to Vacation Abroad This Fall and Winter

I reported roughly a week ago that airfares for the summer took a sharp dip; and that experts were predicting that fall fares would also be low.Sometimes it's sweet to be…

Article / Passportable

Hilton Yanks Adult Movies

Not like you ever rented one, but porn movies are being eliminated from all Hilton hotels' in-demand movie selection.Said Hilton in a statement, as if it was something you might…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Advance Reading is the Key to a Successful International Trip; Failure to Prepare via Reading is to Virtually Guarantee Disappointment

If you arrive overseas without any foreknowledge of the history, culture or politics of the country you are visiting, you are bound to have the most superficial…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

In Addition to Sampling the Cultural Riches of Europe, The Smart Tourist Will Cast An Eye at The Fairly Uniform Social Legislation Adopted by Nearly Every Country on the Continent

The overwhelming number of tourists to Western Europe go there with cultural visits in mind. For Europe itself is like a vast, open-air museum--a treasure house, first, of art,…

Article / Arts and Culture

Bulls Before Breakfast: A Conversation with Bull-Running Enthusiast Peter Milligan

Arthur and Pauline Frommer sit down with Peter Milligan, author of Bulls Before Breakfast: Running with the Bulls and Celebrating Fiesta de San Fermín in Pamplona, Spain.

Article / Passportable

Airline Complaints Soar! Whose Fault Is It?

It's not your imagination: Airfares may be down (as we reported last week), but complaints about U.S. airlines soared more than 20 percent during the first half of this…

Article / Passportable

Entrancing Video Follows Luggage After It's Checked

Amsterdam's Schiphol airport wants to show you that it has put a lot of cash into building the ultimate baggage delivery system. So it produced this astonishing video by attaching a…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

A Strong U.S. Dollar Means Transformation (For the Better) of the American Travel Experience in Many Countries

Contrary to the predictions of numerous conservative politicians who felt that the Administration's policies would weaken the dollar, the exact opposite has occurred: The U.S.…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

The Sky Isn't Falling But Airfares Are: Air Pricing Sees the Biggest One-Month Drop in 20 Years

For months, the second most popular travel question that's been lobbed my way (after "is X, Y or Z safe?") has been: "Why, with the cost of gas so low, haven't airfares…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

In the Wake of China's Recent Devaluation of its Currency, Get Ready for Cheaper Prices than Ever for an Air-Included Trip

Having attempted unsuccessfully to contact the top executives at America's several leading tour operators to China, I've concluded that they are all on the way to China…

Article / Theme Park

America's Only Thomas the Tank Engine Theme Park Land Opens: Images

The new land, targeted to very small children and based on the wildly popular English characters, opens in Massachusetts.

Article / Passportable

All National Parks are Free (On These Days)

The National Park System is extending another gift to the American people in the form of fee-free days.And lucky us—there are two in a month, right when the weather is…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Massive Changes at Disney Parks: Two 14-Acre Star Wars Lands and Toy Story Land Coming, and More

Two of the biggest tourist attractions in the world are about to see extreme changes. Disney Parks has announced that it is planning two epic Star Wars-themed expansions for…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

In Summer, The World of Travel Continues to Change in Small but Significant Ways

New travel developments are rare in the summer months, as travel hits peak traffic, but if anything is new and significant it's the awesome number of Americans choosing…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Herewith: A Number of Additional Observations on Important, Current Opportunities in Travel

Galleria Vittoria Emanuele, Milan, ItalyIf you haven't yet made your summer/fall vacation plans, you might want to note that a sort of world's fair will continue operating…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

It's Hard to Explain Why River Cruises are Currently as Popular as They are, And Yet Their Appeal is an Undoubted Phenomenon

The recent, startling popularity of river cruises is, to me, one of the great mysteries of travel. Just a few years ago, one could easily explain their attraction for elderly…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Emirates Airlines Will Fly the Longest Route on the Planet: Tips on Surviving 17.5 Hours in a Plane

17.5 hours. That’s the length of the new longest flight on the planet, which will soon be offered by Emirates Airlines between Dubai and Panama City. Convenient? Certainly.…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Stowe in Summer (and Fall) Is a Revelation: A Dedicated Winter Visitor Tries Another Season

White all around, visibility nil, my cheeks flapping wildly from the wind and air—this was the Vermont I knew well, after 20-plus years of heading here to tackle the ski slopes of…

Article / Passportable

Snapchat Becomes More Traveler-Friendly

"You and your selfies!" I kidded to my teenage daughter as she struck a pose for what seemed like the tenth time in an hour and then clicked away on her smartphone. "Mom I'm not…

Article / Passportable

Q-tips: The Weirdest Flat Stanley Ever

Among product promotions, this is one of the strangest.Q-tip—yes, that thing you're not supposed to stick deep in your ears, but you do—has launched a campaign featuring the…

Article / Passportable

Pieces of Lost Space Shuttles Go On Display

The $100 million home of the space shuttle Atlantis, which opened last year, has put Florida's Kennedy Space Center back on the tourism maps. Without giving too much away, the way in…

Article / Cruise

How to Contact Your Cruise Line

Some lines are going beyond toll-free numbers — to online chats, callbacks, and even service-driven Twitter feeds and Facebook pages — to give cruisers ways to get…

Article / Cruise

How to Pick the Best Cruise Itinerary

Thinking about taking a cruise, but not sure which one is right for you? Check out our handy evaluation of the most common routes — and their strengths and weaknesses: