Car Renters Force Customers to Bring Fuel Receipts—but It's Not Always in the Contract
Posted on 04/08/2022, 5:00 PM
American rental car companies have been doing it for more than a decade now. When customers rent vehicles, clerks frequently say that if the car is returned with a full tank of gas, then the renter will be required to produce a receipt for the gas purchase. More specifically, the receipt must be from a gas station within a certain distance from the rental agency. It first happened to me in 2011 ...
Which U.S. Airports Have the Longest Security Wait Times?
Posted on 04/08/2022, 8:00 AM
If you need to fly out of South Florida at any point this summer, you might want to leave for the airport now. Miami International Airport (MIA) and Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport (FLL) were found to have the longest wait times for security checks and passport clearance among the busiest airports in the U.S., according to an analysis of recent data provided by the Transportation ...
Why Now Is a Great Time to Visit Italy's Most Popular Cities
Posted on 03/29/2022, 9:00 AM
Rome, Florence, and Venice have signaled that they're ready to welcome visitors again after the pandemic lull—though residents understandably prefer the sort of measured tourism that boosts local economies without resulting in unaffordable housing or drunk people in fountains. It remains to be seen whether those ills of overtourism will return or local government leaders can find a better balance...
Are Avis and Hertz Fixing Rental Car Rates? Congress Is Demanding Answers
Posted on 03/23/2022, 4:00 PM
As excoriating letters from members of Congress go, these made little effort to soften accusations. "Hertz appears to have used its market position to raise prices substantially even as total expenses fell, resulting in the largest profits in company history."If you've tried to rent a car lately, you know that rings true. Rental car rates in many places have doubled since 2019, and the added expen...
New Law Signals a Coming Boom in South Dakota Vacation Options
Posted on 03/17/2022, 2:15 PM
At the end of South Dakota's just-completed legislative session, state lawmakers cleared the way for a merger of sorts between the state's two biggest industries, agriculture and tourism. The result could be very good news for travelers. It's a bit complicated, but South Dakota has changed its liability laws to be in line with those of 39 other states, and the revision will help the development of...
Fuel Surcharges Are Coming, So Get Your Summer Tickets Soon
Posted on 03/11/2022, 1:00 PM
Consider this your official warning from your friends at Frommer's: Buy your airline tickets for summer travel soon. Gas prices are going skyward around the world, and soon you'll have to pay more to fly. As the oil market reorganizes, the Thai Airlines Association, which represents seven airlines in Southeast Asia, has petitioned its government to grant the authority to levy fuel surcharges for ...
MSC Cruises is Expanding. Allow Its President to Introduce You to the Brand
Posted on 03/09/2022, 1:45 PM
If you've never heard of MSC Cruises, you're not alone. Though the company is now the third-largest cruise brand in the world, it's still relatively new to the United States market. So far, it has been limited to two ships sailing from Port Canaveral and Miami.Until now, that is. This week, the line announced some news: Beginning in the spring of 2023, MSC will start operating cruises year-round ou...
D.C. Has a New Must-See Attraction, Says Author of Latest Frommer’s Guide
Posted on 03/08/2022, 9:00 AM
"To be totally honest, this was probably the most challenging travel editorial project that I’ve done," says Jess Moss, coauthor of the just-released Frommer's EasyGuide to Washington, D.C. The "easy" in the title refers to how convenient the book makes visiting the city for you, the reader. But writing the thing, according to the guide's other author, Kaeli Conforti, required learning to "naviga...
Masks Go From Required to Recommended on Most Cruise Ships
Posted on 03/01/2022, 5:00 PM
It's been difficult keeping up with the changing protocols for shipboard vacations. The United States' Centers for Disease Control updated its Program for Cruise Ships Operating in U.S. Waters three times in February alone, and it lowered the risk advisory from "very high" to "high" during the same month. But now that the chips seem to be falling, cruise lines are finally ditching mask requirements...
Disney Raises Prices Again! Even Die-Hard Fans Now Turning Against Poor Quality
Posted on 02/17/2022, 6:00 PM
Disney quietly raises theme park prices nearly every year—but this year, it hits differently. The price of tickets for multiday Walt Disney World parks admission, which used to start at $434.83 for four days (and could cost as much as $596.74 on busy days), now starts at $447.70 (the max price remains the same). But that's if you're locked into one park per day. For the ability to switch theme p...
