In Wake of Cuba Ban, Norwegian Cruise Line Slashing Prices to Bahamas
Posted on 06/10/2019, 12:00 AM
On the day that the Trump Administration abruptly banned all sailings to Cuba last week, some 800,000 travelers were left holding cruise reservations to the island nation for the coming months, according to the Cruise Lines International Association, an industry trade group. The cruise lines quickly issued cancellation and change policies, followed as rapidly by pretty remarkable deals to fill...
Florida Finally Gives Tourists a Way to Avoid Rental Car Rip-Offs on Cashless Roads
After years of paying extortionate fees from rental car companies to use cashless toll booths, tourists finally have a solution—if they know about it.
This Website Gets You Free Room and Board in Many Countries, Says Arthur Frommer
Posted on 04/22/2019, 10:00 AM
When I first learned that a granddaughter of mine was planning to spend three months in Japan earning her room and board through work performed as a volunteer, I was concerned and suspicious. It was only after we had heard from previous volunteers of this sort that I grew calm about this partial use of her “gap year” from college. The organization that plans such volunteer work in countrie...
New Website Finds Flight Discounts and Travel Deals for U.S. Military Members
Posted on 01/23/2019, 12:00 PM
The U.S. military's first-ever website for leisure travel is now up and running. The Department of Defense partnered with Priceline to create American Forces Travel, an online booking platform with discounted vacation deals and packages for current and retired military service members, their families, and civilians working with the Defense Department. After verifying their eligibility via the s...
Boost Your Overseas Vacation with a Free Stopover in Switzerland or Belgium
Posted on 09/21/2018, 8:00 AM
If you've ever longed to take a vacation from your vacation, maybe you should opt for an airline stopover. That's when a plane makes a days-long pit stop on the way to its final destination, giving passengers a chance to squeeze in an extra mini vacation in the connecting city. Best of all, some airlines don't charge customers additional fees for the interlude—instead, they treat the journey as ...
Is This the King of Airfare Search Sites? The Aggregator of Aggregators
Posted on 09/13/2018, 1:30 PM
For years, we've been telling you that the best places to find cheap airfare are often the "aggregators," which are search engines that scan prices from dozens of different airfare-selling websites to pick out the lowest prices and tell you which site to visit to find them. But even though these aggregators do their best to level the shopping playing field, or at least to make the shopping game l...
$999 for a Week in Vietnam, Including Air! Outstanding, Writes Arthur Frommer
Posted on 08/24/2018, 9:00 AM
To enjoy a travel miracle—a memorable tour to an exotic nation, for less than the cost of airfare alone—is to lend excitement to life. Several months ago, we described an awesome Chinese-American named Wilson Wu who operates two-week tours of Vietnam for as little as $1,599 per person, including round-trip air from the U.S. West Coast. Now, the same Mr. Wu, through his company called World Sp...
This Fall, See Rome, Venice, and Florence by Rail for Less Than $25
Posted on 08/24/2018, 12:00 AM
Traveling by train among Italy's three most popular tourist destinations can be extremely affordable this fall, provided you buy your tickets right now. European travel booking site GoEuro has joined forces with Italo Treno, an Italian rail service operator, to offer a fare from Rome to Venice to Florence or vice versa for just €19.80 (US$23) one way. That's an incredible bargain for seeing Ro...
Turkey Is Insanely Cheap for Travelers Right Now
Posted on 08/20/2018, 12:00 AM
Turkey's ongoing currency crisis, during which the Turkish lira has lost more than 40% of its value, is making a vacation in that country extremely affordable at the moment for travelers from places with stronger economies. As of this writing, one U.S. dollar equals 6.04 lira. According to USA Today, $1 got you 3.54 lira just one year ago. That means that American travelers can get a lot of bang...
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.
Florida's SeaWorld and Busch Gardens Will Give Away Free Beer Again This Summer
Posted on 05/17/2018, 12:00 AM
This post, originally published May 1, has been updated below. When the all-American brewer Anhueser-Busch opened Busch Gardens amusement park in Tampa, Florida in 1959 (other locations preceded and followed it, but only the Tampa park and another in Williamsburg, Virginia remain), the main focus was, naturally, marketing the brand's products. To that end, "hospitality houses" (Tampa's is pictu...
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...
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...
American Airlines Adding Basic Economy Fares to Transatlantic Flights
Posted on 03/02/2018, 12:00 AM
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 carriers such as Norwegian Air Shuttle, Iceland-based WOW air, and Level, a recently launched Spanish entrant in the cheap-flights-to-Europe race. Closer to home, Delta Air Lines has also begun selling no-frills ba...
Italian Airline Now Offers Free Stopovers in Rome
Posted on 02/06/2018, 10:45 PM
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 line for the Vatican during summer. But even more travelers could soon begin queuing up for trips to the Italian capital thanks to a new initiative from state-owned national carrier Alitalia. From now until the end o...
Why Wall Street Doesn't Want You to Have Cheap Airfare
Posted on 01/27/2018, 12:00 AM
It was a blip in the headlines last week, barely noticed amid a circus of political stories: United Airlines stock plunged 6%. At the same time, Delta dropped 5.4% and Southwest went down 4.8%. In fact, all the major airlines dipped. Investors were displeased for some reason. Why? Because United announced that it would be increasing capacity by 4 to 6% over the next three years. That's righ...
Tour Operator to Pay Passport Fees for Travelers Age 18–35
Posted on 01/13/2018, 9:30 AM
More than half of Americans age 18–35 don't have passports, according to Contiki, a tour operator specializing in that very demographic. For a limited time, Contiki is offering some passport-acquiring incentive to first-time international travelers—at least, those who fall within the 18–35 age range. Contiki customers who book one of the company's trips lasting longer than seven days can get the...
Now You Can Fly Round-Trip to Europe for €399—with a Catch
Posted on 01/11/2018, 12:00 AM
First, U.S. domestic airlines introduced Basic Economy fares so their rates would appear more competitive with low-cost carriers in Web searches. Now the transatlantic airlines are stripping down their benefits to compete with low-cost airlines. First it was Icelandair, which came up with Economy Light, which only allows for a single carry-on up to 22 pounds (10kg)—no checked bags permitted. TAP ...
