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...
Two More Airlines Start Charging for the First Checked Bag: Will Free Bags Go Extinct?
Posted on 09/20/2014, 1:30 PM
Sorry, Canada. Your Westjet just decided to start charging standard passengers for the first checked bag. One would think that would give rival Air Canada in an advantageous position with consumers. But no. Almost as if the airlines were not in competition but in league, Air Canada immediately sprang its own $25 fee on customers. Both airlines will start charging feeds to you lowly economy-fare...
Day 3 In the Australian Outback: Experiencing the Traditional Aboriginal Way of Life
Posted on 09/19/2014, 8:00 AM
Uluru and Kata Tjuta, the massive (and quite beautiful) rock formations that are at the heart of the famed National Park with their names, have been sacred sites for Australia's Aboriginal peoples for thousands of years. Because of this, and because the remoteness of the area, the Anangu people who live at the base of Uluru are able to lead more fully traditional lives than do Aboriginal tribes...
The Growing Strength of the U.S. Dollar Has Lowered the Cost of Trips to a Number of Popular Foreign Destinations--Here's a Rundown
Posted on 09/17/2014, 11:30 PM
Although political conditions may have reduced travel by us American tourists to a number of foreign countries (like in the Middle East and North Africa), the picture is entirely reversed when it comes to the strength of the U.S. dollar. To major countries popular among U.S. tourists, the dollar has never been stronger--making travel there cheaper than ever. I think, ...
The Practice of Causing Giant Orca Whales to Entertain the Public at Theme Parks Across America, May Soon be the Subject of a Courtroom Trial
Posted on 09/17/2014, 11:15 PM
The changing attitudes towards the use of captive animals in travel-related theme parks is, to me, a fascinating subject, and one for which I have a deep sense of shame. Some years ago, I attended the show at Sea World in Orlando, Florida, that featured the antics of a giant orca whale called Shamu. I was mightily entertained and affected by that animal's performance, and actuall...
Posts from the Australian Outback: Day 2 in the Northern Territory Means Camels in the Bush
Posted on 09/17/2014, 5:30 PM
One of my goals in visiting the Uluru area was to explore this eye-poppingly beautiful area in as many ways as possible. But I couldn't, in my wildest imagination, have guessed that that would include seeing the landscape (and the sun set on Uluru) from the back of a camel. After all, camels aren't supposed to BE in Australia. They aren't native to the land, and last I heard, they can't sw...
