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Arthur Frommer Online

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Rooms for $100 in New York City During 'Hotel Week NYC', coming January 3 to 12

Once again, many New York City hotels have banded together and chosen a low-season week during which to knock rates down to approachable levels. The next "Hotel Week NYC" as they…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Here's One for the Books: A New Reason, Never Before Announced, for Making a Trip to New Zealand

The following--so help me--is an actual e-mail received last week from a reader of this website:"Hello, I am currently in New Zealand on a 3 month stay. Your website is…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

U.S. Government Is Pushing TSA PreCheck to New Passport Recipients, But Global Entry Would Be Smarter

Get a new passport these days, and it will arrive with a new bookmark urging you to sign up for TSA PreCheck. Volunteer some personal information about yourself beforehand, it says,…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Decoding Three Common Travel Tips on Dining, Timing and Packing

When it comes to tips on how to travel better and more affordably, there are some old-chestnuts that always apply. But though they sound obvious, many actually require insider…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

New 5-Star Iberostar Playa Mita Slashes Room Rates as Low as $105, But Book By Sept. 30

Iberostar, a Spanish operator of major beach resorts for the past 30 years, is opening its first resort on the Mexican Pacific Coast this December, and to drum up word of mouth, it's…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Travel Freebies Of All Sorts from Services To Entrance Fees to Hotel Nights

There are few lovelier words in the English language than "free" and "travel". Combine them and you have a blockbuster of a phrase. Here are a few of the good deals--all very…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Here's Why You Don't Want to Buy the Disney Dining Plan When You Visit Orlando

If you book a vacation at a Walt Disney World hotel in Orlando, you will be offered the option of purchasing the credit-based Disney Dining Plan, which pre-pays many of your meals.…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Two Remarkable New Websites are Bound to be Wildly Popular Among Travelers Looking for Hotel and Dinner Bargains of a Very Special Sort

As you may or may not agree, most of the brand-new websites are copycat imitations of older “hits” (like a “hit movie” or a “hit show”).  An entrepreneur invents a way to…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Andante Travels Uses Archaeologists and Professors to Show You the World's Greatest Treasures

While very few U.S. companies now hire professors and experts as tour guides without also charging usurious tariffs for the privilege, the tradition of affordable educational tours…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Theft of Mobile Devices Is On the Rise At Airports and In Airplanes. Here are Some Strategies to Keep Your Possessions Safe

Some 50% of the thefts in North America today involve mobile devices. That’s right: there are few more coveted prizes for criminals today than the laptop, phone or tablet you’re…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

The How-To's of "Couch Surfing" From a True Expert

Last September, I got a call from a dear friend who’d just gotten a job playing harp in the orchestra of a Broadway touring production. Erin was hoping to save money on the road by…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Car Rentals Through Firefly, a New Brand, are Dramatically Cheaper than Others, So What's the Catch?

Firefly, a discount car rental brand, begins arriving at American airports this month. You might think it's a new competitor. As it turns out, everything about it is older than you…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

In late October and Throughout November, A Two-Week Cruise of the Mediterranean Aboard the Spectacular Queen Elizabeth Can Cost Only $999

If you're like me, you receive a dozen repetitive e-mails a week from cruise brokers and cruiselines offering one week sailings of the Caribbean or Mediterranean for $499, two…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

A Nightmarish Incident on a Recent Cruise May Cause Vacationers to Rethink Buying Insurance Directly from the Cruise Line

By now, you likely have heard the story of elderly couple who were put off an Azamara Cruise ship in a small town in Turkey, when the 89-year-old husband fell and broke his hip.…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Offended by Political TV in Your Hotel Lobby? Your Hotel Manager Chose The Channel

Hotel companies spend millions of dollars creating warm-and-fuzzy feelings about their brands and crafting the sensation that a stay there will make customers feel welcome and…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Safety is Currently the Major Issue Affecting Travel to Numerous Overseas Destinations. Here's How We Come Out on That Issue, for Several Countries

Is it safe?  That's the most frequent question put to travel advisers as they are asked to plan an international trip.  Is it safe to travel to Israel or Jordan, to Turkey…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

New Kiosks Cut Border Control Waits By a Third, But Your Airport Must Ask for Them

In June, Chicago's O'Hare installed 32 kiosks that scan documents for incoming passengers. Right away, despite the fact summer travel was at its peak, wait times were chopped by…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Brooklyn's New, Ultra-Gourmet Dining Scene: Pauline Frommer Reviews Three Hot Spots

The dish felt like a dare. “Fried pigs blood with [unpronounceable Scandinavian] berry,” the waiter said placing a small slab of wood with a fried ball in front of me. And then he…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Though None of it Made the Headlines, There was News Last Week of Some Importance to Travel

Last week was a fairly busy time in travel, though none of the developments was well covered in the press.  Here's our attempt to bring you up-to-date.First, one of the…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

What’s the Best Vacation For Your “Stage of Life”? How Age Can—and Should—Affect Your Travel Plans

“Man is by nature a social animal”, wrote Aristotle. And though he wasn’t commenting on vacations, his observation certainly applies:  who one travels with can be as important to the…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

3 Sneaky Ways To Save Money on Lodgings When You Hit the Road

Sometimes you have to get creative, and perhaps even bend the rules, when looking to save money on travel. That’s particularly the case for lodgings, as hotel rates have increased a…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

At an Almost Unbelievable Rate of 64 Rupees to the U.S. Dollar, India Has Become the Bargain Destination of the Decade

India--to begin with--was always an inexpensive place in which to travel, even when a U.S. Dollar bought you only 40 Rupees.  When that currency then weakened to a level of…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Another Cruise Line Extinguishes Smoking on Stateroom Balconies, and Good Riddance

USA Today reports that Disney is the latest cruise line to ban smoking on its stateroom balconies, joining Celebrity, Princess, Oceania, and Crystal.I'm all for the ban. Not…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

The Truth is Out: Airline Mergers Do Indeed Result in Higher Prices

If you weren't sure where to come down on the airline merger debate, a position is becoming clearer. Yesterday the Department of Justice put its own foot down on the union of…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

The Meanest Roads in America: More Public Highways Bleeding Tourists with Cashless Tolls

They're the meanest roads in America.If you haven't taken a road trip vacation in the last few years, you're in for a rude shock. More states are implementing what's called "cashless…