Tagged: travel

Walking in Memphis: That'll Be $10, Please

It'll cost you $10 to enter Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee, on Saturday nights for the time being. Following a spate of violence along the beloved thoroughfare lined with blues…

An End in Sight for Hidden Resort Fees?

You know when you see a hotel rate online and then later during the booking process you find out you're going to have to pay a mandatory "resort fee" not included in the advertised…

Disney Comes to Shanghai, the Watergate Reopens, and More: Your Travel Briefing

Merchandise at Shanghai Disneyland (Mooshuu/Flickr)Your Daily Travel Briefing is our new daily roundup of travel-related news and information gathered from all over. Check this…

The RV Revival Kicks Into High Gear—Should You Climb on Board?

(Photo by faungg's photos / Flickr)Welcome to the RV renaissance. After some dark days during the 2008 recession—when many belt-tightening Americans found it difficult to…

A Shrine to Wine Opens in France (Where Else?)

La Cité du Vin, Bordeaux (patrick janicek / Flickr)Dubbed the "Guggenheim of wine," France's brand-new La Cité du Vin, which opened last week in Bordeaux, is clearly intended…

A Free Trip to Paris? Fantastique! Including a Stay in a Purpose-Built Apartment in the Actual Eiffel Tower? Mind-Blowing

They said it wouldn't last.The Eiffel Tower was built for the 1889 World's Fair and was only supposed to stand for 20 years after that event. Truth is, many in Paris wanted it…

Malia Obama Brings Back the "Gap Year"—Here's Why Every Student Should Take One (and How)

It wasn’t an unplanned pregnancy or a blossoming addiction to drugs that had my teenage clique, some 20 years ago, worried about our friend Oliver’s future. It was his decision, which…

Beware! A New Airfare Gotcha Penalizes Travelers on Multi-Stop Itineraries

TimDorr/FlickrThe majority of travelers buy non-refundable airfares for a simple reason: They're vastly less expensive than refundable fares. But those who try to book…

New Issues (And Fixes) for iPhone Data Usage

It's not your imagination. Your iPhone is using more data lately.That's because in a recent update Apple quietly added a little feature that will use cellular signals rather than…

Starting Now, Solo Travel to Cuba Will Be Explicitly Legal for Americans

The news out of Cuba is coming fast and furious. Not only are a number of airlines close to being able to offer direct service from various U.S. gateways to the Caribbean island, but…

Still Hoping to Get Away for Spring Break? There Are Some Deals Out There

Good things probably came....to those who booked early this year for spring break. Alas, airfares are only down 4% from last, despite much lower fuel costs for the airlines. And…

Rising Fees Ahoy! New Gotchas From the Cruise Industry

It’s been a rough winter for the cruise industry. One of its most celebrated newer vessels was tossed around like a cork in a Jacuzzi by a major storm, and then had to return early…

Santorini to Limit Cruise Visitors

As any parent knows, kids hold grudges. And my kids still bring up the day I made them hike for 45 minutes up a steep cliff path, in 95 degree heat, from where the cruise ship…

"Wild By Nature"—A Compelling New Travel Memoir—Upends Expectations

As a professional travel writer, I periodically have to deal with one of the hazards of my profession. It has nothing to do with airport security, or brain eating larvae. No, because…

A Primer for European River Cruising

If you watched Downton Abbey, you likely were tempted to try river cruising. The scintillating ads for Viking River Cruises, which ran before each show, effectively put this type of…

What Travelers Need to Know About the Zika Virus

As frigid blasts of winter descend on much of North America, visions of blue sky, sandy beaches and swaying palm trees are being rudely interrupted by a buzzing sound. And it’s a…

Yet Another Reason to Go to Canada: Free National Park Entries for All of 2017

That Justin Trudeau!Not only did he have the good sense to give women half of all the job in his cabinet (filling all the positions with genuine experts in the subjects they'll be…

Pauline Frommer Is Hitting the Road With Travel Show Appearances Across the United States

Hello Fellow Wanderers! I just wanted to invite you all to come out and talk travel. I'll be appearing under the auspices of the Travel and Adventure Show in the following cities, on…

An Airport Security Reprieve for Travelers with Drivers Licenses from States That Are Not In Compliance with the Federal Government's Real ID Act

And in the end, it all was about politics.As those of you who read this blog regularly know, a few months ago it looked like those citizens of those states that hadn't complied…

How to Get a Reservation At the Most Popular Restaurants

Everybody and their grandmother tells you that you have to dine at trendy "Restaurant X" when you go to "Destination Y" on your next vacation. But when you call for a reservation, or…

A Travel Memoir for Today: Gloria Steinem’s "My Life On the Road"

I never thought I’d use the words "Gloria Steinem" and "travel memoir" in the same sentence. Somehow the idea of one of the most important leaders of the 20th century couching her…

Snacks Are Back On United Airlines

Well here's some news that may put a smile on your face (just as it's moving your belt buckle an inch more towards your hips). United Airlines has announced that it will be bringing…

London's Black Taxis Will All Soon Accept Credit Cards

London's licensed cab drivers famously have a larger hippocampus (the part of the brain that's responsible for memory) than average folks. That's the result of two years of studying…

25.3 Million People Will Fly Over Thanksgiving: 10 Airport Strategies If You're Going to Be One of Them

The industry group Airlines for America is predicting that 65,000 more people PER DAY will fly this year than last, between November 20 and December 1. That's an uptick of 3%, and…

More Free Lodgings! This Time The Giveaway Is For Members of the Military, 2500 of Them

Seems to be the season of freebies! Massive timeshare corporation Westgate Resorts is doing the gifting and amazingly, nobody will have to sit through a timeshare presentation to…