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Arthur Frommer Online

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

The Failure of Congress to Properly Fund Amtrak Was the Clear Cause of Last Month's Derailment, and Condemns Our Rail System to Second-Class Status

Countless articles have discussed the recent tragic derailment of an Amtrak train outside of Philadelphia, and the consequent deaths of eight passengers and severe…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Two Travel Destinations—Egypt and Myanmar—To Which I Will Not Be Going in the Weeks Ahead

To boycott a travel destination for political reasons is always a difficult decision to make, with arguments that can cited both pro and con.  But to boycott a country…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

The Latest Travel News about Smartwatches, Hotel Apps, Airfares to Asia and Cuba, Low-Priced European River Cruises, and Healthy Vacations. Whew!

One of CroisiEurope's recently refurbished vessels in Lyon, FranceIn the vast outpouring of comment about Apple's new Apple Watch (a computer in the size and form of a…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

A Wholly Unexpected Outbreak of Violence in a Famous Resort City Has Reawakened Fears of Vacationing in Mexico

The city is Puerto Vallarta, on Mexico’s Pacific Coast. The incident is a now-subdued battle between various drug gangs and the local police force, in an area of that city far…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

This Haunting Record of Georgia's Forgotten Country Churches Could Inspire an Unforgettable Road Trip

Friendship Baptist, cir. 1831, Wilkes County, Georgia, from HRCGA.orgNow and then, we discover a homegrown website that celebrates a topic we'd never thought about much before,…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

At Last: A Big and Well-Financed New Airline is About to Charge Budget-Level Prices for Round-Trip Flights Across the Atlantic

A major recent development has been the decision by the low-cost trans-Atlantic airline called Norwegian to greatly increase the number of flights it offers from both New York City…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

The Views Expressed in a Recent Gathering of the Editors-in-Chief of Our Nation's Travel Magazines, Are a Reason for Dismay

It is a long-established practice for the leading publication in the travel industry, Travel Weekly, to conduct an annual symposium of the Editors-in-Chief of America's major travel…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

New York City’s Latest Culinary Trend Is One That Your Mother—And Your Cardiologist—Will Approve Of

About five years ago came the parade of pork, in every form under the sun, the fattier the better. That trend was followed by the “Cronut” phenomenon: normally sane people getting up…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

The Lessening of Competition Among Our Newly Giant Airlines, and the Resulting Increase in Airfares, is a Troubling Situation That Might Require Legislative Action

Over the past twenty years, as one U.S. airline merged with another, reducing the number of major carriers to exactly four (United, American, Delta, and Southwest), we were…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Which Frequent Flyer Program Is the Best for Actually Redeeming Miles? A Massive New Study Provides Some Answers

We have to give thanks to Consumer Reports, which has done the heavy lifting on this one, completing a study of some 70 million passenger in the last year has yielded important data…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

A Whole Host of Travel Disclosures, Events, or New Travel Services Can Have an Impact on Your Own Next Vacation

In a recent announcement, the U.S. State Department has found a slight improvement--a very slight improvement--in safety conditions for American tourists going to Mexico. Twenty of…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Though Round-Trip, Transatlantic Airfares to Europe this Summer are Almost Always Priced in Excess of a Thousand Dollars, A Few Means Exist for Cutting that Cost

A massive number of Americans are planning to cross the Atlantic in the next several months, to take advantage of a stronger U.S. dollar (and weaker Euro). But while…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Can a Florida Congressman Put the Brakes on American Travel To Cuba?

The vast majority of Americans favor travel without restriction to Cuba. Heck, in a recent poll the overwhelming majority of Cuban Americans answered that they wanted to end the…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

The Hotel Mini-Bar Is Dying Out. New Figures Reveal a Chill in Its Popularity

When was the last time you bought something from the hotel mini-bar?For most casual vacationers who aren't billing hotel charges to a business expense account, the answer…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Some How-To's for Visiting the Increasingly Popular Indian State of Kerala

Open the pages of any glossy travel magazine, and, if it mentions India at all, it will likely be gushing over the state of Kerala. Few places on the subcontinent (or the planet for…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

We’re Proud Spain’s "Autonomous Region" of Catalonia has Chosen a Frommer Guidebook—Barcelona Day by Day—To Be a Contest Prize in Celebration of One of its National Holidays

St. George’s Day—he’s the guy who vanquished that dragon—is celebrated in various ways all over Europe, but in a very special fashion in Spain’s region of Catalonia.  Instead of…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Are the Attractions of Costa Rica No More Desirable than Those in Other Central or South American Countries? Ecuador Says Yes

Is tourism to Costa Rica based on a hoax?  Is Costa Rica's leading touristic position among other nearby countries simply a product of public relations?  In an elaborate…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

The Reason Why Guidebooks to Some Countries or Cities Sell Better Than Guidebooks to Others, Is An Enduring Mystery of Travel

As a co-publisher of travel guidebooks, I have to participate in choosing, each year, the destinations--the countries, the cities--about  which we will be researching and…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

On the Eve of What Will Undoubtedly be a Record-Breaking Summer Travel Season, Here Are Some Europe-Related Observations

We are on the brink of the summer travel season, best known as the Summer of the Strong Dollar.  For the first time in many years, American vacationers are enjoying an…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

A Recent "Symbolic" Vote by the U.S. Senate, Selling Off Our Public Lands to Private Interests, Should Raise the Ire of Every American

If you are a normal, sensitive individual in love with your country's natural wonders and determined to preserve them for generations to come, then you will be…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

A Recent "Symbolic" Vote in the U.S. Senate, Transferring Our Public Lands to States (And Thus Eventually to Private Interests), Should Raise the Ire of Every Citizen

To be handed over to private business: America's National Forests (credit: Kaibab National Forest)If you are a normal, sensitive American in love with your country's…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

How Exactly Do You Make a Trip to Cuba? Here's An Attempt to Explain a Several-Step Process

The recent loosening of restrictions on the right to travel to Cuba has permitted almost any American to go there.  You no longer have to apply to the Treasury…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Linger Longer in Madurai, India: This Often-Overlooked (By Americans, At Least) Tamil Nadu City Has Much to Offer

Visitors often complain that India is too chaotic. But is it chaos they’re experiencing or simply a far more complex way of life than they’re used to at home? India is, after all,…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Now That the Cost of Travel Within Europe Has Been Lowered Through the Decline In the Value of the Euro, Why Not Consider a Longer Trip There?

The sharp, recent decline in the value of the European currency, the Euro, has convinced a large number of Americans that they can now consider not simply a short,…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Portrait of a Family Volunteer Vacation in Chennai, India

When Vani (not her real name) was five years old, her mother dropped her off to live at the SEAM Children’s Home in Chennai, India. Vani’s mother had remarried, and her new husband…