Articles

Money and Fees

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

What You Need to Know About the (Likely) Cost of Travel in 2019

Will it be a happy new year for vacationers in 2019? Experts are predicting some price shifts. A number of factors should impact the cost of trips next year and beyond. If you’re…

Article / Passportable

Ticket Prices Go Up at Kennedy Space Center in Florida

The price of admission has gone up at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. It will now cost you $57 ($47 for kids ages 3–11) to see NASA artifacts and memorabilia such…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Arthur Frommer: National Parks Devotees Can Utter a (Brief) Sigh of Relief

In the early months of the Trump administration, it was widely rumored that the new head of the Department of the Interior, Ryan Zinke, would propose a doubling of the entrance fees to…

Article / Passportable

New Zealand to Start Taxing Tourists

The price of a vacation in New Zealand is about to go up. The country's government has announced plans to charge a new tax on tourists, expected to go into effect in the middle of…

Article / Passportable

U.S. National Park Fees Leap Higher Overnight

When Americans woke up this morning (June 1), they discovered it would cost them a lot more to enter their national parks.Nearly all the major parks hiked their entry rates by a hefty…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

"White-Collar Trickery": Arthur Frommer Blasts Las Vegas for Hidden Fees

By now, most Americans are aware of the “resort fees” that numerous greedy hotels add to their bills, even though the hotel in question is by no means a “resort.”  Most of us simply…

Article / Air Travel

Avoid Extra Bag Fees with This Fiendishly Clever Packing Hack

You don't have to check a second bag. Here's a smart tip for when you've bought more souvenirs than you can fit in your luggage.

Article / Hotels

Can't Find a Cheap Hotel in Europe? Try the Ramadan Trick

For travelers who are not observant Muslims, it's a time of year that may yield surprising deals in non-Islamic vacation destinations.

Article / Slideshows

The World's Best Airports

Because an airport is a means to an end—never a destination in its own right—it’s usually judged by how efficiently it lets you leave the premises or by how effectively it distracts…

Article / Passportable

Another Airline to Sell Transatlantic Fares from $200: What's the Deal?

You've heard of Norwegian, XL, and WOW—three low-cost, Europe-based airlines that have made their fame by selling affordable, no-nonsense transatlantic flights from the United…

Article / Passportable

Free Admission at Wisconsin State Parks on the First Weekend of June

Wisconsin is giving locals and visitors alike a good reason to experience the state's considerable outdoor charms on June 2-3. That weekend, admission will be free at all Wisconsin…

Article / Passportable

Longest-Ever Around-the-World Cruise to Set Sail in Summer 2019

If you've seen a map of the world, you've seen the itinerary for the latest offering from Viking Ocean Cruises: a truly epic, ridiculously expensive, globe-girdling voyage that will…

Article / Passportable

Hugely Popular European Destination Bans Apartment Rentals

Between 2015 and 2017, illegal vacation rentals, fueled by services such as Airbnb, shot up 50%. As a consequence, rent for locals skyrocketed 40%.For a small Mediterranean island…

Article / Money and Fees

In Las Vegas, Now You Have to Look Closely at Your Bill for Hidden Fees

Seemingly overnight, casino owners have found a new way to hit the jackpot: hidden fees. Sometimes, no one can even tell you what the charges are for.

Article / Passportable

Priceline Ends "Name Your Own Price" Car Rentals

Yet another core offering of Priceline has been carved away.The website, which made itself famous beginning in 1997 as a place where travelers could place low bids for various products…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Arthur Frommer: A Journalist Produces the Definitive Report on Disney Cruises

Most parents are aware of the ever-expanding Disney cruise line, which enables them to join their young children on a sailing designed to fascinate. Disney currently operates four big…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Arthur Frommer: A Major Softening of Transatlantic Airfares Seems Underway

When my 15-year-old granddaughter was asked where she wanted to spend her springtime school break, she quickly answered “Paris.” And my daughter and her husband, not wanting to…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

Arthur Frommer: Recent Tax Cuts Will Force Reductions in Travel Services

Some commentators have rejoiced over the recent reduction in federal taxes enjoyed by American corporations and the wealthy. Fewer of those pundits have pointed out that those…

Article / Passportable

Disney World Now Charges for Parking at Hotels, Decreasing Their Value

Update: Disney Parks finally rescinded fees for self-parking at Walt Disney World resorts in January 2023. Click here to read about that.It used to be one of the great courtesies of…

Article / Passportable

Most Visited U.S. National Parks and Monuments in 2017

The National Park Service (NPS) has released its visitor numbers for 2017. A total of 330,882,751 people spent time at American national parks, monuments, and other sites deemed worthy…

Article / Passportable

American Airlines Adding Basic Economy Fares to Transatlantic Flights

Starting in April, American Airlines is selling bare-bones "basic economy" tickets on some flights to Europe. The move seems an obvious effort to compete with low-cost transatlantic…

Article / Arthur Frommer Online

This New Budget-Priced Transatlantic Airline Is Probably News to You

Most everyone by now has heard of Norwegian Air Shuttle, which flies the Atlantic at rock-bottom prices. Although Norwegian suffered a loss in 2017, it has struck fear into the hearts…

Article / Hotels

Resort Fees Repel Foreign Visitors and Cheat People: They're Destructive for Us All

Americans despise resort fees. But in a shockingly short span of time, we became blasé about them. Appallingly, the people once renowned for feisty individualism and a testy spirit of…

Article / Passportable

Italian Airline Now Offers Free Stopovers in Rome

Rome remains a destination that rarely lacks for tourists. In 2017, more than 14.5 million of them visited the Eternal City—a nickname that might as well refer to the wait times in…

Article / Passportable

The Travel Services That Close in a U.S. Government Shutdown

As the wheels of Washington threaten to grind to a halt yet again, another United States federal government shutdown is a concern. Travel, by and large, is considered a "non-essential"…