As Travel Destinations Jockey for Position, It Becomes Necessary Periodically to Revise Our List of 10 Favorites
Posted on 09/10/2015, 9:45 PM
Which, currently, are the ten-or-so most-promising destinations for your own next vacation? Though any such list is unusually subjective (to put it mildly), I'm willing to give the selection a try. Here they are, in no particular order: (1) Colonial Williamsburg, in Williamsburg, Virginia: This re-created state capital of the 1700s is like an historical Disney World, ...
Colonial Williamsburg, in Virginia, Comes Close to Being an Indispensable Place to Visit for Americans of All Ages
Posted on 09/10/2015, 7:45 PM
Travel is a constant process of self-education. As we visit more and more destinations, we adopt new favorites, replace former cities and resorts with new and more pleasant ones. I've been surprised to enjoy recent vacations at places I had never before considered, beginning with America's most historic experience, in the State of Virginia: Colonial Williamsburg: When m...
A New App Promises to Make Travel More Safe for Solo Vacationers
Posted on 09/09/2015, 2:15 PM
Men and women travel differently. And that’s not a comment on shopping habits or boozy pub crawls. For women, especially solo travelers, safety is always front of mind, a concern that can influence the destinations we pick, the routes we take and the activities we participate in. Because of that, I’ve always been a bit jealous of the carefree male travelers I see, men who seem to j...
International Airfare Wars Make It Much Cheaper to Vacation Abroad This Fall and Winter
Posted on 08/31/2015, 4:15 PM
I reported roughly a week ago that airfares for the summer took a sharp dip; and that experts were predicting that fall fares would also be low. Sometimes it's sweet to be right. My Facebook page has been lighting up with posts from friends who have just gotten steals (one recently got a round-trip Chicago-Miami itinerary for $106 TOTAL) and we're now seeing a lot of fare sales to all parts...
Advance Reading is the Key to a Successful International Trip; Failure to Prepare via Reading is to Virtually Guarantee Disappointment
Posted on 08/28/2015, 2:00 PM
If you arrive overseas without any foreknowledge of the history, culture or politics of the country you are visiting, you are bound to have the most superficial experience. You are relegated to the dull explanations of commercial tour operators whose spiels, aboard forty-person motorcoaches, can't possibly capture the colorful story and current posture of every foreign country. Y...
In Addition to Sampling the Cultural Riches of Europe, The Smart Tourist Will Cast An Eye at The Fairly Uniform Social Legislation Adopted by Nearly Every Country on the Continent
Posted on 08/27/2015, 9:45 PM
The overwhelming number of tourists to Western Europe go there with cultural visits in mind. For Europe itself is like a vast, open-air museum--a treasure house, first, of art, music, drama, dance, literature, science, philosophy and architecture--whose many museums, theaters, historic homes, structures and schools, are alone a reason to visit. But many also go to Europe for reasons t...
A Strong U.S. Dollar Means Transformation (For the Better) of the American Travel Experience in Many Countries
Posted on 08/22/2015, 1:15 PM
Contrary to the predictions of numerous conservative politicians who felt that the Administration's policies would weaken the dollar, the exact opposite has occurred: The U.S. dollar is today stronger than in any recent times. The result is a travel bonanza for Americans vacationing in the following countries: CANADA: Surprisingly, and for reasons no one can explain, the Canadian "loo...
In the Wake of China's Recent Devaluation of its Currency, Get Ready for Cheaper Prices than Ever for an Air-Included Trip
Posted on 08/21/2015, 4:45 PM
Having attempted unsuccessfully to contact the top executives at America's several leading tour operators to China, I've concluded that they are all on the way to China to learn how they can reduce the prices of a trip there even below their current low levels. A spokeswoman for one such company indicated that this was, in fact, the case. China's recent devaluation of its currency...
The Sky Isn't Falling But Airfares Are: Air Pricing Sees the Biggest One-Month Drop in 20 Years
Posted on 08/21/2015, 7:15 AM
For months, the second most popular travel question that's been lobbed my way (after "is X, Y or Z safe?") has been: "Why, with the cost of gas so low, haven't airfares dropped". I always took the cynical road, pointing out that in this age of monopolies, the airlines had no reason to drop their prices since so many of them fully controlled hubs and routes within the United States. But...
Massive Changes at Disney Parks: Two 14-Acre Star Wars Lands and Toy Story Land Coming, and More
Posted on 08/15/2015, 4:45 PM
Two of the biggest tourist attractions in the world are about to see extreme changes. Disney Parks has announced that it is planning two epic Star Wars-themed expansions for Disneyland in Anaheim and Disney's Hollywood Studios near Orlando. The announcement was made by the president and CEO of The Walt Disney Company, Bob Iger, at Disney's biannual fan event, the D23 Expo, in Anaheim. “We a...
