Articles

Pauline Frommer

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Gambling for Freebies: What You Need to Know If Your Vacation Will Include Time at a Casino

Gamblers are a superstitious lot. They know that only a rube counts his money at the table, walks in the main door of a casino or whistles as he cranks the one-armed bandit. But even…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

The Wonders of Alaska (In One Relatively Compact Area): Meet the Kenai Peninsula

Alaska is massive. Intimidatingly so. Transpose its outline on a map of the lower 48 United States and its north-south boundaries would stretch from Mexico to Canada, poking up…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

The How To's of Choosing the Right Broadway Show to See

During the 2012-2013 theatrical season, some 11.6 million people attended Broadway shows in New York City, more than the attendance at the games of all of the city’s major league…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Scrimp vs. Splurge: When Does Spending More Actually Improve a Vacation?

Several years ago, an author I’d hired to do a chapter in a guidebook returned it to me with a major tourist sight missing from the text. He explained that he’d left this particular…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Legal Troubles on the Road? An Expert Weighs in on What Travelers Should Know and Do

Nobody wants to talk to a lawyer when on vacation, not even other lawyers. But there are times when travelers need legal help, so we spoke with Larry Bodine, the Editor in Chief of…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

The Ever-Growing Popularity of Multi-Generational Travel

Few organizations are as savvy as Disney when it comes to anticipating travel trends. So when its tour arm, Adventures By Disney, announced that it would be offering its first tours…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Pauline Frommer To Host a Tour of Taiwan This October

I usually travel alone or just with my family. But once a year, on behalf of the radio network my father and I work with, I host  a tour somewhere in the world. Last year it was…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Solo Travel: New Resources and a Few Tips

I’m a big fan of solo travel, but that may be because I don’t have to travel alone all the time. I have a husband and kids, so they come along when they can. But as a travel writer,…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Introducing "Fatpacking" A New Type of Vacation Combining Weight Loss with Serious Hiking

Who doesn’t want to lose weight and be more fit? It’s the most common New Year’s resolution, and though many of us will have abandoned those champagne-fueled vows by now, that…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

The Dog Ate My Vacation: Why Pets and Travel May Not Mix

Pets may enhance our daily lives but they ruin our vacations.That’s the surprising conclusion reached by a recent poll conducted for obvious reasons (see below) by the website…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

The How-To's Of Getting Better Rest on the Road

Is it a vacation if you can’t sleep? That’s the question many travelers confront when they head off for much needed rest and relaxation, only to find themselves becoming more…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Miles and Money Now Needed to Reach "Elite" Status on United Airlines

Delta did it first, back in January, when it sent a note to its loyalty program members stating that now it would not just award "Silver" status based on the amount of miles flown,…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Keep That Kindle On! The FAA Likely Will Relax Rules for On-Board Electronics

It's not a done deal. But both the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times are reporting that a group working for the FAA on a study of airline safety issues is currently drafting…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

The RIGHT Way to Do Denali National Park (Get OFF The Darn Bus!)

In 1917, when Denali National Park in Alaska was created, just 7 hardy souls managed to make the grueling, long, roadless trek to see the wonders of the new park.Today, thanks to…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

The Elimination of Room Service, Top Sheets, and More: Worrisome Changes Coming to a Hotel Near You

Those over the age of 45 will remember when flying was a glamorous, or at least an amenity-laden activity. Attractive flight attendants would flit up and down the aisles, delivering…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Getting Crafty in North Carolina: Meet the John C. Campbell Folk School

The day began with Whisky for Breakfast. Which made sense, since we were in North Carolina. But this wasn’t a meeting of the “Moonshine Society.” Instead, a fiddler and a banjo…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Drop That Knock-Off Purse! People Who Buy Counterfeit Goods in New York City May Now Face Stiff Fines

Just yesterday I was walking through New York's Chinatown, on my way to review a dim sum joint for my new guidebook, when a short woman slung with several purses sidles up to me.…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

My Knee-Jerk (Ouch!) Reaction to American Airlines' Plans to Add Even More Seats to Its Planes

My knees are aching just writing this. And my laptop's cover is quivering in fear. But here goes:In a regulatory filing yesterday, AMR Corp disclosed its plans to add more seats…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Another Opening, Another Summer Stock Show: The Best Theater This Coming Season in North America

Sure there’s sun and sand. But one of the unsung delights of summer---or should I say one of the most loudly crooned pleasures of the season---is summer stock. There’s something…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Thinking About a Dude Ranch Vacation This Summer? Tips from an Expert

The horse may just replace the racecar, space ship and James Bond-helmed motorboat as the whiz-bang mode of transportation this summer. I make that prediction after watching the…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Italian State-Run Museums Now Free to Everyone Under the Age of 18

My thanks to Frommer's author Donald Strachan (who's currently hard at work on a new Frommer's guidebook) for spotting this one.Until now, non-European Union teens and children…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Plan Ahead or Do It On the Spot: The Conundrum of Modern Vacations

United Airlines caused a stir two days ago when it announced that travelers could now “subscribe” to its fees. Pay one lump sum in advance—$349, so that’s one big lump sum…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Time to Rethink Tropical Travel Plans for Summer? Federal Forecasters Issue Their Hurricane Predictions

"This is your warning," said Kathryn Sullivan, administrator of the The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.And what a warning it is: today, the NOAA is prediced 13-20…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Good Luck Chuck! Senator Schumer of New York Takes The Airlines To Task For Change Fees

In 2012, the major American airlines made $2.6 billion in change fees.And that's quite enough, says Senator Chuck Schumer of New York State.On Sunday, the Senator called out…

Article / Passportable

Maybe Alec Baldwin Was In the Wrong: There Seems to Be Solid Evidence That Cellphones and Other Hand-Held Devices Interfere with Airplane Navigation Systems

The first sentences in a recent Bloomberg News article on cellphones on planes is chilling. "The regional airliner was climbing past 9,000 feet when its compasses went haywire,…