Articles

Trends & Hacks

Article / Air Travel

Don't Let Holiday Shopping Frequent Flyer Miles Slip Through Your Fingers

Travelers forgo millions of frequent flyer miles each holiday season because they forget to buy from their favorite online merchants via links at the airlines' shopping mall websites.…

Article / Hotels

Whoever Wins in the Online Hotel Booking Tax War, Guests Still Pay the Bill

Online travel companies pay hotel taxes based on the low rates they negotiate with hotels. Cities disagree, and want all the taxes they collect. Who's really going to pay?

Article / Cruise

Cruise Tipping: How Gratuitous Do You Feel?

Tipping used to be simple, now it's not. Here's an up-to-date primer on tipping policies and rates at the principal mainstream, luxury, and small-ship lines operating in and around the…

Article / Miscellaneous

How Free Wi-Fi Can Help Cure the Holiday Travel Delay Blues

Down time is getting a little less dreary this holiday season as airports, airlines and hotels are all lowering their rates on Wi-Fi. Here's a rundown of the latest free Wi-Fi…

Article / Hotels

Travel Troubleshooter: 'Keystroke Error' Turns $289 Rate Into $28

Our reader finds a $28 a rate at an Orlando Westin. Turns out the hotel made a mistake, and that the real price is $289 a night. Should the resort honor the original price?

Article / Air Travel

Traveling Smart and Healthy With Children This Holiday Season

Airline surcharges, swine flu, and the trials of traveling with children will keep some people home for the holidays. Here are nine ways to keep you healthy, richer, and more relaxed…

Article / Cruise

Get Smarter at Sea: Top Ships for Onboard Learning

Sure, cruises are all about taking it easy, ditching the diet and being pampered. But a cushy setting doesn't have to equal a mindless one. A cruise offers the perfect learning…

Article / Cruise

Sailing Under the Radar, Pt. 5: British Columbia & the Pacific Northwest

This week we focus on an area that many cruisers think of simply as the gateway to Alaska, but which is really so much more: beautiful British Columbia and its American neighbor, the…

Article / Health, Insurance, Security

Travel Insurance: What You Need to Know Before You Buy

Here's the good news: travel insurance covers more than it used to. The bad news is, travel insurance is more complicated than ever. Here are the ins and outs of insurance.

Article / Health, Insurance, Security

The Health-Care Gap That Traps Travelers

The debate about health-care reform seems to be ignoring a significant group of Americans: international travelers. Especially since most of them travel without adequate coverage.

Article / Health, Insurance, Security

7 Ways to Find Excellent Customer Service on the Road

How do you get top-notch treatment every time -- even from companies that don't have well-known reputations for customer service?

Article / Car, Bus, Rail

Travel Troubleshooter: Help! My Car Rental Company is Taking Me to Court

Our reader is charged to repair a rental car tire -- a tire she says she never damaged. When her charge card sides with her, Hertz threatens to sue. What should she do?

Article / Health, Insurance, Security

5 Tips to Avoiding a Customer Service Nightmare

As the industry wraps up one of the most difficult years since the invention of the wheel, it's taken a visible toll on the people who work in travel. Here's how to play nice.

Article / Air Travel

Home for the Holidays? Our Annual Calendar of the Best Days to Fly

The total gutting of the American economy encouraged lower airfares for those who could still afford to fly home for the holidays. But as those much-spoken-about 'green shoots' come up…

Article / Car, Bus, Rail

New Routes, New Discounts for Amtrak This Winter

Amtrak is offering plenty of discounts, and you're now just as likely to find fare discounts automatically on its website as you are using obscure savings code. That might put this…

Article / Air Travel

Travel Troubleshooter: One Airline Ticket for the Price of Two

Our reader's flight from LA to Dallas has all the makings of a trip from hell, including weather delays, cancellations, and almost-missed flights. What could be worse? Having to pay…

Article / Cruise

Dropping Anchor: How to Get Married on a Cruise Ship

If you'd like to have your marriage and honeymoon all in one, you can legally get hitched on many cruises, either aboard ship or at one of your ports of call. Here's what you must plan…

Article / Cruise

How to Keep Busy on Cruise Days at Sea

Cruise lines make it easy to keep you from being completely at sea with yourself while you're at sea. Here's what type of activities you can expect and tricks you need to watch out for.

Article / Cruise

November's Prize: Win a Caribbean or Mexican Cruise for Two!

Frommers.com and Travel Themes and Dreams are sending one lucky winner & a guest on a Caribbean or Mexican Cruise. Register now to win this vacation.

Article / Health, Insurance, Security

Don't Go There! 6 Things You Should Never Do When You're Away

There's a difference between a polite but firm request and a shrill demand, but where's the line? Here are six things you should never do when you travel.

Article / Hotels

Travel Troubleshooter: An Unmade Bed -- And No Place to Go

When our reader checks into her hotel she's greeted by an unmade bed. When she asks for clean sheets, an employee tells her if she doesn't like it, she can find another hotel. Whatever…

Article / Health, Insurance, Security

Will A Passenger's Bill of Rights Ever Fly?

Every time another news story details he suffering of trapped passengers, no doubt another few hundred flyers take to their cars and Greyhound. But will the proposed bills actually do…

Article / Air Travel

6 Really Nice Ways to Get Your Way When You Travel

Is politeness a new form of currency in travel? Could a smile be more effective in getting preferential treatment than elite-level status or the amount of money you paid for your…

Article / Hotels

New York and the Holiday Season: Perfect Together, from $136 Per Night

Whether your trip to New York is your first or your fiftieth, there is plenty to do between Thanksgiving and New Year's. You can spend a lot of money on hotels, but it is also possible…

Article / Cruise

Sailing Under the Radar, Pt. 4: Baja California, the Mexican Riviera & Pacific Central America

Another look at the lesser-known, family-owned, mom-and-pop, historic, adventurous, and otherwise niche segments of the otherwise monolithic cruise industry. Move over, Carnival and…