Munching Your Way Through Melbourne History: The Queen Victoria Market
Posted on 10/08/2014, 10:15 PM
Sydney, The Reef and the Rock: those are the three “constellations” that shine most brightly in Australia’s tourism firmament. But there’s a good argument to be made that Australia’s second city, Melbourne—which at one time, due to an 1850’s gold rush, was the continent’s most celebrated metropolis—shouldn’t be overlooked. Built far later than Sydney (the mid-1800’s rather than the 1700’s), ...
A 5-Night Vacation Next Month for $159! Plus a Bunch of Other Cruise Deals for National Cruise Vacation Week
Posted on 10/08/2014, 10:30 AM
Coral Princess at night. Photo credit: Princess Cruises We periodically ask our friends at AllThingsCruise.com to tell us about the best bargains in cruises at the moment. Here's what they suggested, where to book them, and what, in the opinion of the sellers, makes each one a steal. Most of these vacations are for after the turn of the new year, but there's one for a 5-night trip n...
Marriott Urges Guests to Tip Housekeepers to Overcome the Shortfall of Inadequate Wages—Say What?
Posted on 10/07/2014, 11:00 AM
Marriott is placing pre-printed envelopes in 160,000 rooms to encourage guests to express "gratitude" to its workers in the form of cash. The initiative, called The Envelope Please, purports to be about making hotel workers feel "seen and validated" and less "overlooked." In its press releases touting the initiative, Marriott did not exactly say that we ought to tip because its workers are un...
Doing the Famed Sydney Bridge Climb The Speedy Way
Posted on 10/06/2014, 1:15 PM
Some 16 years ago, a clever entrepreneur named Paul Cave came up with the idea of allowing tourists to scale the arch of Sydney’s iconic Harbour Bridge (largest single span steel bridge on the planet). The activity has been an initiation rite, of sorts, ever since. In the lobby is a gallery with “Who’s Who” of contemporary celebrities giving a thumbs up to the camera at the peak of the span ...
The World of Travel is Erupting with Totally Unexpected Developments, Both Mechanical and Policy-Oriented
Posted on 10/04/2014, 6:45 PM
Who would have thought we would someday find robots doing the work of hotel bellmen? Or wristwatches supplying us with travel directions? At Starwood Hotels, a successful experiment has just been completed that sends a human-like robot to make deliveries to guest rooms. Call the front desk to report that you neglected to bring a toothbrush, and the front desk clerk will prog...
Though It May No Longer Be the "City of the Century," As Once It Was Called, London is a Reliable, Rewarding Destination for a Vacation Trip
Posted on 10/03/2014, 2:30 PM
In the late 1900s, various travel companies ran contests to name "the city of the century"—and London always won. Today, other capitals have acquired many of the same cultural offerings and attractions, and London is no longer unique. But it is always a superb choice for a vacation week or two. My own stays in London have never failed to impress and excite me. Stumbling off the plane after ...
We're Back on the Air This Sunday, October 5, 12:05 p.m. until 2 pm.
Posted on 10/03/2014, 12:45 PM
Attention, all you radio fans! For the past several months, our Sunday "Travel Show" has been pre-empted in the New York/New Jersey/Connecticut area by New York Mets baseball games (although we have been heard, live, throughout the rest of the country, including the island of Maui). Well, the Mets didn't make the play-offs (sob!) and this coming Sunday, we're back, live, in New York,...
Frommer Authors and Frommer Broadcasting Have Received Two Coveted, First Prize, Gold Awards from the Society of American Travel Writers
Posted on 09/25/2014, 12:45 PM
You'll have to forgive us for "tooting our own horn", as that ancient saying goes, but we wouldn't be quite human if we failed to pay notice to two remarkable awards and recognitions that Frommer personnel and Frommers.com have just received from the prestigious Society of American Travel Writers. "S.A.T.W.." is the foremost organization of travel journalists in North America, and it...
A Sensational Recent Drop in the Value of its Currency Makes Argentina an Especially Attractive Place for American Vacationers This Winter
Posted on 09/24/2014, 3:45 PM
I recently drew attention to the decline in value of three major currencies--the Australian and Canadian dollars and the Japanese yen--making travel to Australia, Canada and Japan cheaper (for Americans with U.S. dollars) than in a long while. No sooner did that phenomenon occur than another currency--that of the Argentinian Peso--made pikers out of the currencies of Australia...
Days 4 & 5 In The Australian Outback: Adventures in Alice Springs
Posted on 09/21/2014, 8:30 PM
(Wallabies gather in a parking lot in Alice Springs; yes, that is a baby wallaby peeking out of the pouch!) Had I visited the Northern Territory a decade-or-so ago, I likely would have come to Alice Springs before Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. Back then, very few flights came into the Ayers Rock Airport, and so most visitors spent two days in Alice be...
