What to Expect When You're Expecting...And Expecting to Travel
Posted on 11/03/2014, 11:00 AM
The bachelor party and the “hen do” are thought of as the ultimate “last hurrahs” before the realities of adult life kick in. But I would argue that the newly popular “babymoon,” that last trip life partners take before the end of pregnancy, is a far more significant rite of passage. Because, as any parent can tell you, nothing changes your life more drastically than having a baby. But is ...
A Fresh Look at Some 15 Frequently-Posed Travel Questions, And Our Sometimes Infuriating Responses to Them
Posted on 11/01/2014, 9:45 PM
While most of the questions posed to this blog are quite unique. an almost equal number fall into several recognized and familiar categories--and these tend, on occasion, to be fairly controversial. Here they are, along with my responses to them--some of which you may strongly dispute: 1) Should parents travel with their very young children? My own answer is No. They--the children--wil...
Vancouver, Canada, Has Become a Popular Destination, A Multi-Ethnic City of Great Appeal, With Pleasures and Attractions That Well Deserve a Visit
Posted on 11/01/2014, 5:00 PM
Ever since passports were required of most U.S. citizens arriving in Canada by plane (that edict went into full effect in 2009), the experience of getting there has seemed more "foreign" than ever before. And when you fly there on Air Canada, listening to loudspeaker announcements that are always made both in English and French, the "foreign" nature of our neighbor to the north se...
Rustling Up a Good Time Playing Cowboy In Fort Worth: Why You May Want to Choose This Texan City for Your Next Long Weekend Away
Posted on 10/30/2014, 4:00 PM
The Texas most tourists see isn’t the rootin’, tootin’ West. Dallas and Houston are sedate-feeling cities of gleaming, Shanghai-like skyscrapers; Austin’s beat is more alt music than country; and San Antonio puts the emphasis on the “Mex” in Tex-Mex—perhaps the real meaning, today, of “Remember the Alamo”. Fort Worth, however, is the big city exception, a burg that wears its cowboy boots, 1...
Is Airbnb Good for America? Or Does it Worsen the Housing Shortage? New York's Attorney General Takes the Negative View—And May Prevent You from Using Airbnb
Posted on 10/28/2014, 11:30 AM
In a thick and detailed report given considerable publicity last month, the Attorney-General of New York State has declared war on the popular website service that seeks to obtain low-cost apartments for touristic visitors to big cities. And though his threat to prosecute Airbnb and its partners is limited, obviously, to New York State, his threats could eventually induce other...
Sundays Replace Tuesday As the Day to Book Airfares, and More Savvy Advice From An Expert Source
Posted on 10/26/2014, 4:45 PM
You may have never heard of the Airline Reporting Corporation but you've likely purchased a ticket it has had its "virtual fringerprints" on it. That's because the ARC serves as the middleman between thousands of travel agencies and the airlines. In 2013, the ARC (according to its website) "settled $86 billion worth of carrier ticket transactions". Translation: the people who work here kno...
Iceland is Hot! New Flights, New Airlines, New Campaigns Make the Little Country Cheap to Visit
Posted on 10/23/2014, 1:00 PM
Hallgrimskirkja, Reykjavik Iceland is having quite the moment. The small, mostly treeless volcanic island nation in the north Atlantic has always been breathtakingly beautiful—powerful falls of pure water, otherworldly vistas of onyx volcanic stone, geysers, crisp light and air—but this week it's suddenly the center of attention again, and that means tourists may begin to flow there in i...
Government Official Blames 'Cheaper Tourists' For Their Own Deaths in Terrible Avalanche: Is That Fair?
Posted on 10/20/2014, 12:30 PM
"Summit Day" on the Annapurna Circuit, Nepal Last week in Nepal, avalanches hit Annapurna Circuit of the Himalayas. So far, more than 40 have been confirmed dead, with hundreds more still unaccounted for. In a statement that will no doubt rouse many budget travelers, Mohan Krishna Sapkota, spokesman of Nepal's Tourism Ministry, claimed those to blame for the death count were “cheaper...
These Three Newly Announced High-Design, Lower-Priced Hotel Brands Are the Future of Budget Travel
Posted on 10/15/2014, 1:15 PM
Prototype room of the new Hub by Premier Inn Almost as if they knew their core product is losing appeal with a significant sector of the hotel-going public, three major hotel giants have announced new higher-concept offshoots that promise to be markedly cheaper and include more useful free extras than their parent brands. • Hilton has announced something called Canopy by Hilton...
Though Domestic Tourism Remains Placid at Home, Several Foreign Locations—Morocco, Thailand, The Philippines, Hong Kong Among Them—Are Presenting Real Problems
Posted on 10/11/2014, 3:00 PM
This past week has been a rather slow time for travel within the U.S. We've had no really major events, no new fees and charges from greedy airlines and hotels, no unusual new policies, no giant price increases. But overseas, in all sorts of exotic places, this has been a rather troubled time, presenting special problems for adventurous travelers. The big news continues...
