Can We Talk About Those Ridiculous Game Show Vacation Prices?
When it comes to the cost of a vacation, the price is not right on TV game shows.
Which U.S. Airports Are The Most Expensive to Fly From? Check this New List
Posted on 08/01/2018, 4:00 PM
Where you live impacts how much you pay for air travel. That’s the finding of a new study by The Boyd Group, an international aviation consulting firm. It looked at pricing from all of the major North American gateways and came up with a list of airports that are cheaper to fly from—and ones that cost more. The study was different than those performed by the U.S. government in the past, which ha...
American Airlines to Allow Carry-On for Basic Economy
Posted on 07/26/2018, 12:00 AM
American Airlines passengers who buy basic economy tickets will each be allowed to bring a carry-on bag aboard flights, starting September 5. The news was announced by American executives this week during the carrier's second-quarter earnings call with reporters. Up to now, the luggage allowance for basic economy—American's cheapest, no-frills fare, which was introduced last year—has been just o...
What You Need to Know About the (Likely) Cost of Travel in 2019
Posted on 07/25/2018, 4:45 PM
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 planning on vacationing next year—and I hope you are!—here’s what to look out for. Airfares: “Up, up and away” is the price forecast from most industry watchers. Airfares, particularly from North America to Asia and Eu...
Ticket Prices Go Up at Kennedy Space Center in Florida
Posted on 07/25/2018, 4:30 PM
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 as the space shuttle Atlantis, a moon rock, spacesuits, rockets, and more. That's a $7 increase from the previous cost. While the price might sound astronomical by museum standards, wouldn't that be appropriate, ...
Arthur Frommer: National Parks Devotees Can Utter a (Brief) Sigh of Relief
Posted on 06/25/2018, 12:00 AM
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 some 100 national parks that charge admission. The reaction to that drastic proposal was so negative, and from both sides of the aisle in Congress, that it was since assumed that a far milder increase would be ...
New Zealand to Start Taxing Tourists
Posted on 06/20/2018, 5:30 AM
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 2019. International visitors staying less than 12 months will be charged somewhere in the range of NZ$25–35 (US$17–24). Citizens of Australia and most Pacific Island Forum countries will be exempt from the fee. Acco...
U.S. National Park Fees Leap Higher Overnight
Posted on 06/01/2018, 1:00 PM
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 $5. Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands (pictured), Grand Canyon, Joshua Tree, Mount Rainier, Olympic, Yosemite, Yellowstone, Zion—all of them, and many more, saw their prices jump $5, regardless of whether it's for a vehicl...
"White-Collar Trickery": Arthur Frommer Blasts Las Vegas for Hidden Fees
Posted on 05/30/2018, 4:45 PM
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 groan in exasperation at this bit of white-collar trickery—and then we pay the padded bill. But would you believe that in Las Vegas nowadays, numerous hotels, restaurants and nightspots are now routinely adding...
Another Airline to Sell Transatlantic Fares from $200: What's the Deal?
Posted on 05/14/2018, 12:00 AM
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 States. In what's undoubtedly good news for people looking for yet another affordable way to get over the ocean, one more European low-cost carrier is joining the fray. It's 15-year-old Primera Air, and as of this month, its...
Free Admission at Wisconsin State Parks on the First Weekend of June
Posted on 05/12/2018, 12:00 AM
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 state parks, encompassing forests, hiking trails, lakes, bluffs, and beaches. You can hit the trails to see picturesque cascades at Copper Falls (pictured above) in the northern part of the state, survey the mighty M...
Longest-Ever Around-the-World Cruise to Set Sail in Summer 2019
Posted on 05/08/2018, 9:15 PM
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 leave Greenwich, London on August 31, 2019, and return to the city from the other direction eight months later. That's 245 days in total, making this the longest continuous cruise ever undertaken. By the time the t...
Hugely Popular European Destination Bans Apartment Rentals
Posted on 04/27/2018, 8:00 PM
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 without suburbs to expand to, what is there to do? If you're governing Majorca, an internationally beloved getaway in the Balearic Islands off the coast of Spain, you impose a life-ruining fine of €400,000 (US $485,000...
Priceline Ends "Name Your Own Price" Car Rentals
Posted on 04/03/2018, 12:00 AM
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 without knowing in advance the brand of the seller, has ended its "Name Your Own Price" feature for rental cars. The website now only offers set prices for its brand-blind rental car inventory. Because of the sit...
Arthur Frommer: A Journalist Produces the Definitive Report on Disney Cruises
Posted on 03/26/2018, 12:15 PM
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 cruise ships, and two more are reaching completion in European shipyards. Impartial descriptions of those cruises are hard to come by. Persons who write for the newspapers are loathe to criticize the powerful Disn...
Arthur Frommer: Recent Tax Cuts Will Force Reductions in Travel Services
Posted on 03/23/2018, 5:15 PM
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 reductions have been achieved in part by reducing our government’s expenditures for programs that improve our quality of life. The U.S. travel world—and especially our trains and passenger aviation—has suffered in parti...
Arthur Frommer: A Major Softening of Transatlantic Airfares Seems Underway
Posted on 03/23/2018, 1:45 PM
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 discourage the young one’s travel urge, set about to study the cost of transatlantic airfare. To their surprise, they quickly found a round-trip fare of only $400 between Newark and Paris. Now it is true that this ...
