Articles

Arthur Frommer

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Michael Moore's "Where to Invade Next" is Very Much a Travel Film, Introducing Americans of All Political Persuasions to Provocative European Practices and Beliefs

On the eve of massive publicity for his new documentary movie, "Where to Invade Next", film-maker Michael Moore was struck down with a severe case of pneumonia.…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Since Disney's Latest Decision to Raise Ticket Prices Will Obviously Bar Entrance to Children of the Poor, Shouldn't We Use Public Pressure to Create an Exception for Low-Income Families?

Photo credit: Disneyland ResortWhy am I so upset about the recent increase in admission prices at the Disney theme parks in Orlando and Anaheim? As you read on this…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

The Possibility That Those Extra Tall Cruise Ships May Be Top-Heavy Is Given Credence by the Reported 40%-to-45% Listing of the Anthem of the Seas

Several years ago, a modern cruise ship—one of those vessels with ten or more decks soaring high into the sky above sea level—was being steered by a junior officer who…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Unless a Strong Public Protest Stops Him, A First-Term Congressman is About to Abolish a Requirement for Honest Travel Advertising

A very junior, Tea Party congressman, Carlos Curbelo, representing a district in Miami/Dade County, has used his position on a transportation committee to insert an…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

The Startling Plunge in the Value of the Mexican Peso Has Created a Vacation Destination Too Favorable to Ignore

San Miguel de AllendeToo little attention has been paid to the enormous recent drop in the value of the Mexican peso--and to the favorable impact this has for American…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Their Sailings Sold at Major Discounts, the River Cruise Industry is Apparently Overbuilt With Too Many Ships

River cruises are perhaps the hottest current topic in travel, and you will find countless articles about them in newspaper travel sections, travel magazines and travel…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

The Budget-Priced Norwegian Airlines Continues to Disturb the Placid World of Long-Range Airfares with New Discounts, New Bargains

Though most avid travelers have already heard of Norwegian Airlines, that new. budget-priced, trans-Atlantic carrier, they haven't heard the most of it.  Seemingly every…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

A Number of Recent Travel Developments Have a Direct Bearing on Your Own Next Vacation Trip

A vitally important travel event was the recent decision of the World Health Organization to elevate the Zika virus to the status of a global health emergency. Most…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

A Dramatic Rise in Travel Scams Must Teach Us to be Vigilant and Aware on Our Vacations in Unfamiliar Settings

We live in a nation besieged by imposters. In our homes, the phone rings several times a day with various robot-callers threatening us with debts that don't exist, offering…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

A Continuing Drop in the Value of Most Foreign Currencies, Creating a Stronger-than-Ever U.S. Dollar, Has Created New Cheap Destinations for the American Tourist

Among the major recent events in travel, illustrating a larger trend, has been the continued sharp decline in the value of the Russian Ruble.  That currency enjoyed, two…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

River Cruises, An Improved Chicago, Memorials to Terrorism, Airbnb Besieged, and Passport Renewals: The Stuff and Substance of Travel

The commercials for Viking River Cruises, which appear on Downton Abbey and Homeland, are certainly the most beautiful and successful of all such advertising. But their…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Arthur Frommer's Ten Commandments for Making a Trip by Air in Today's America

The airports are jammed and so are the planes. People are crammed into every seat. They’re irritable and anxious, and so are airline staff. You need to take precautions and follow…

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 / 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 / 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

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

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

Numerous Parts of the Travel Industry are Rapidly Being Dominated by Monopolies—and Relief Does Not Seem at Hand

It is slightly more than a year since final Justice Department approval of the merger between American Airlines and U.S. Airways, but most of the travel industry is still dazed and…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Some Pre-Christmas Musings About the Current State of Travel

The major news in travel continues to be the amazing strength of the U.S. dollar, which makes travel cheaper for the American tourist.  And that strength continues despite…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

The Current Prices Charged for a Trip to Cuba Show that Neither the U.S. Tour Industry Nor the Cuban Government Has Yet Gotten Serious About American Travel to That Island

Tours to Cuba, offered by the nation's best-known tour operators, continue to be priced at outrageous levels, confirming that both the Cuban authorities and the U.S. tour operators,…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

There is Increasing Evidence that the River Cruise Industry has been Over-Built, and that Discounts are Now Widely Available from all the Usual Sources

Two years ago, the sudden popularity of European river cruises seemed to catch the entire travel industry by surprise.  River boats, and their itineraries, became totally sold…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

A Controversial New Documentary Film Will Supplement American Travelers' Impressions of European Life and Politics, Both Pro and Con

Market, Helsinki, FinlandWe Americans travel to Europe primarily for cultural reasons—to view great art at famed museums, to encounter history in the form of monuments,…