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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

A Preview of Kennedy Space Center's Awesome $100 Million Home for Space Shuttle Atlantis, Opening June 29

On June 29, the most lavish of America's four final homes for the former space shuttle orbiters will open. The Atlantis will admit visitors on the very grounds where it launched 33…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Would You Believe That Bangkok Has Edged Out London as the World's Most Popular City?

Here's an assertion that will cause most observers (including myself) to rub their eyes in wonder.  According to the prestigious Global Insights Index, Thailand's Bangkok now…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Disney Raises Prices Past the $90 Mark, So Your Summer Vacation to the Mouse Will Cost More Cheddar

The Mouse has roared again. Each year it raises prices on us, and it did it again. A one-day, one-park ticket to its Magic Kingdom park now costs $6 more, or $95, and kids (which in…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

In the Battle of the Golf Booking Sites EZLinks and GolfNow, Golfers Score As the Winners

In April, the golf booking website EZLinks.com, founded in 1995, got a new CEO. He came over from Redbox, the DVD rental jukebox that took over seemingly every grocery store lobby in…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

From Frommer's Forums: A Website That Compares the Value of Pre-Paid SIM Card Plans Worldwide

Frommer's community member Drobert360 posted about a little-known tool for international travelers that could potentially save them hundreds on phone charges. The website is…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Add this Website to Your Vacation Planning Bookmarks: Hotel Coupons.com Can Halve the Going Rates

Think about the times you have been on a road trip and you pulled over for a quick meal at a chain restaurant. You know those piles of free booklets piled by the door of seemingly…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

It Now Seems More Probable Than Ever That Some of Those "User-Generated" Reviews Were Written by Hotel Executives, Lauding their Own Properties and Condemning Their Competitors

A news item richocheting around the Internet tells of a top p.r. executive of Accor Hotels (world's largest hotel chain) who has admitted to writing 100 fake reviews for…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

For Summer Road Trips, a Smartphone App That Avoids Traffic and Finds the Cheapest Gas

Last week, at the Webby Awards, which is like the Oscars for online ventures, an interesting travel app took home the "Best Connected" prize.Here's what it can do: If you leave it…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Viking River Cruises Are Moving Into Ocean Cruising--And With a Different Approach That May Cause the Other Lines to Mend Their Ways

In an interview which we conducted yesterday on the Travel Show (wor710.com)  with the marketing vice-president of Viking River Cruises, we learned about plans they have to…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

In Sharp Contrast to Other European Travel Products, Mediterranean Cruises Are Slow to Sell This Summer, Opening Up All Sorts of Opportunities for You

"Carnival Cruises is pulling out of the Mediterranean".  That was the surprising headline of several days ago, indicating that the world's largest cruise line is facing tough…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

SeaWorld Unveils 'Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin,' Its Big Summer 2013 Attraction

On Friday, SeaWorld opens its new attraction, the multimillion-dollar Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin, which Frommers.com named one of the most hotly anticpated amusement park…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

San Francisco's Bay Lights Are a New Tourist Attraction and Hotels Take Notice

Since March, San Francisco's Bay Bridge has been bursting with light nightly from dusk to 2am. At 1.8 miles long and in places 500 feet tall, the Bay Lights is now the largest LED…

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

Pennsylvania's Crayola Experience, a Family Favorite, Revamps in Time for the Summer Season

On Memorial Day, the newly renvoated Crayola Experience, in Easton, Penn., on the border of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, reopens with brand new slate of hands-on family…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Disney World in Orlando Rolls Out Its Own User-Generated Reviews: A Good Idea?

Walt Disney World in Orlando has just turned on its new beta site, Reviews.DisneyWorld.Disney.Go.Com, where the vacation giant is soliciting user-generated reviews from…

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 / Arthur Frommer Online

The Airlines Sometimes Profit when the TSA Does its Job Inefficiently

On Saturday morning at JFK, the line for passengers to have their I.D.s inspected by the Transportation Security Administration was extraordinarily long, and the lines to go through…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

How, When, and Why, I Learned Not to Rely on "User-Generated Content" in Publishing My Travel Guides

The letter seemed to be legitimate.  It was hand-written with great sincerity by a reader of "Europe on $5 a Day" who was eager to pass on a secret of smart travel to his fellow…

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,…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

It's Only by a Yen or Two, But the Trend Seems Clear: Japan's Currency and Costs are Getting Cheaper by the Day

No sooner did the Yen decline to a rate of 100 to the U.S. dollar, than within a short while it fell to 101.  And yesterday it dropped to 102 plus a fraction.  With a rate…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Eureka! We Found Summer Savings of up to 30 Percent at Disneyland and Walt Disney World

Disney tends to restrict its best sales to customers who are already on its mailing list, but this summer, we found two big discounts that are available to the general public right…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Go to Canada for $40? Kangaride.com Uses the Web to Make Ride Shares Safer

With summer travel inflating the price of transit, it's worth looking into alternatives. A Canadian website called Kangaride matchmakes passengers and drivers with affordable ride…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Carry Less, Board First: American Airlines Revises Its Highly Debatable Boarding Policies Again

Again from Pauline Frommer:Boarding a plane nowadays is like being caught in a Saturday Night Live skit. You patiently wait, as the "platinum" and the "double platinum" and…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Cheaper Vacation Rentals and New Tours Are Being Offered in Europe as the Ongoing Recession There Forces Locals To Get Creative to Earn a Living

Would you be interested in a guided tour that focussed on the excesses of Spain's construction bubble?Apparently the idea is not as nutty as it sounds. According to NBC News, the…