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Arthur Frommer Online

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

A Broad Range of Non-Academic Learning Vacations of Varied Sorts (But Mainly in Arts and Crafts) Are Still Available for Your Summer Vadcation

In the world of learning vacations, such famous names as Oxford, Cambridge, Cornell and St. John's tend to dominate discussion.  These are the schools to which a great many…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Book a Resort Room, Get a Sofabed? How Third-Party Bookings Can Go Wrong And How to Fix Them

Last week, I used a discount hotel app to book a room in Orlando. The property I chose, the Wyndham Grand Orlando Resort Bonnet Creek, is a major resort on Walt…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

What’s New In Las Vegas? Everything! (So What Else is New?)

The world spins a bit faster in Vegas, though it’s no longer the swoosh of the roulette wheel that’s powering change in Sin City. It’s demographics.“Las Vegas is getting much…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Four North American Museum Exhibits That Will Be Worth Traveling to See This Summer

Thousands showed up when relics from King Tut’s tomb toured; and museum-goers slept overnight on the pavement to see the designs of Alexander McQueen when they were exhibited at…

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The Eyes Have It: Observation Wheels Are Going Up Everywhere, But Do You Care Anymore?

The New York Wheel, now in planningWashington has a brand new attraction. The new, 180-foot-tall Capital Wheel just opened in the DC area.If it wanted to corner…

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New York City's New 9/11 Memorial Museum: A Review

For well over two millennia, humans have been telling one another stories of the dangers of looking back at evil or death. Lot’s wife turned to a pillar of salt because she dared…

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Ever Heard of the "Upper West Side"? It's My Own Favorite Stomping Ground, Which Apparently Stamps Me as Something of a Square

Let me start with a disclaimer:  I am well aware that visitors to New York come here for the city's most famous sights:  the U.N., Broadway Shows, Rockefeller Center,…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

In Terms of its Controversial Social Policies, Amsterdam Remains One of the Most Interesting of European Cities--You'll Want to Schedule a Stay

In a long-ago time when Amsterdam was thought to be "quaint", a place of tulips and wooden shoes, I wrote a travel guide called "Surprising Amsterdam", whose point was that…

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A Multitude of Americans Will be Traveling to Italy this Summer and Fall, and I've Been Prompted to Remember the Reasons Why

The appeal of Italy to American vacationers is one of the greatenduring phenomena of travel. Although it costs considerably more to flyto Rome than to London or…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

But I Usually Prefer Paris to Everywhere Else on Earth. Why is That?

It always happens.  Towards the end of every TV, radio or newspaper interview, I am asked, "If you could vacation in only one  place in the world, where would it be?"…

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T-Mobile's Simple Global International Roaming: Should Travelers Switch?

T-Mobile has been working to publicize its new no-contract Simple Choice plans of late, and perhaps with good reason: There are still a fair number of travelers who are not aware…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

A Bevy of New Exhibits Explore the "Art of Creation" in Washington, DC

German chancellor Otto van Bismarck famously remarked: "There are two things you don’t want to see being made—sausage and legislation.” And though visitors to Washington, DC get to…

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Guidebook Sales in the Bookstores Are An Unscientific Method of Predicting Travel Patterns, But They Seem as Good as Any Other Test

We are approaching the summer high season, when tens of millions of Americans head for vacation to the mountains and lakes within an hour or two of their homes.  But a…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Travel Here, Not There: Why Choosing a "Secondary" Destination May Lead to a Better Vacation

There’s a reason tourists don’t flock to Akron, Ohio. And no, it’s not just because Goodyear decided to close its “World of Rubber Museum” in 2011. (The town’s only real tourist…

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Isn't It Time for Someone With a Bit of Imagination to Take Over at Universal Studios Florida?

The internet is full of news this past week about a major new attraction coming to the theme parks of Orlando in the coming year:  the world's steepest water slide.  The stories…

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Tired of My Gripes About Cruises? I Have a Few More--But Also Some Positive Suggestions

It may well be that America's infatuation with the ocean cruise is beginning to wane a bit.  Recent studies show a fair amount of worry about the safety of cruising.  People are…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

There's Been a "Sea Change" in the Character of Ocean Cruises, and the Only Remedy Seems an Increase in What You Spend for a Cruise

Cruises are no longer what they used to be.  They are today so different as to make you consider several all-but-astonishing recent developments, as follows:…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Here are Recent Travel Questions that Mirror the Concerns of American Vacationers--and Our Answers to Them

Although the questions we receive from readers deal with their own specific travel concerns, they should be of value to others.  So here are a recent batch:Q.…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

"Mangia! Mangia!" May Soon No Longer Be Italy's Unofficial Slogan. The Changing Face of Italian Cuisine

The Italians are eating very differently today. And so, too, will the visitor when he heads to “The Boot”.That was the surprising revelation when I discussed Italian cuisine…

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In the Wake of Economic Recovery, and a More Recent Brutal Winter Up North, the Resorts of Florida Have Enjoyed Remarkable Prosperity and Growth by Leaps and Bounds

The remarkable growth of coastal resort towns in Florida is a big travel development.  Twelve years go, when I last visited the town of Delray Beach between Fort Lauderdale…

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Here's a Number of Varied Developments in Travel That May Affect Your Next Vacation; Consider Them Well

You're stuck at an airport because of a delayed or cancelled flight, and you urgently need assistance from the airline in question.  But there's a line of eighty other…

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Another Batch of Hot Cruise Deals for Less than $100 a Day

Periodically, we ask our friends at AllThingsCruise.com to fill us in on the best bargains in cruises at the moment. Here's what they suggested, where to book them, and what, in the…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

All Throughout the Year, And Not Simply in Winter, Americans Enjoy the Varied Plesures of Some Seven Caribbean Islands--We'll Name Them--Among Others

Though spring, summer and early fall are decidedly "off-season" in the Caribbean, it's surprising to note how many Americans vacation there year-around.  The biggest…

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Though Many May Disagree, I Have Strong Opinions as to Where It is Currently Safe to Travel

IstanbulIs it safe?  That's the question posed to their travel counsellors by countless Americans, as they ponder the choice of a destination.  And there's no simple…

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Airport and Airplane Etiquette: An Interview with "Mister Manners" Himself

In the hopes of restoring some decorum to air travel I decided to interview “Mister Manners”, Thomas Farley. Farley is the author of “Modern Manners: The Thinking Person’s Guide…