Arthur Frommer: Rejecting an Army Made Life in Costa Rica Better
Posted on 12/06/2018, 12:00 AM
Of all the documentary films recently shown in America, one has a special relevance to the world of travel. It is called A Bold Peace, and it deals with the Central American nation of Costa Rica. To the extent that it showcases that country’s superb beaches, its forested mountains, and its beautiful cities, it is a superb travelogue, encouraging Americans to vacation there. (You can purchase ou...
Meet UNESCO's New Cultural Heritage Inductees: Reggae, French Perfume, and More
Posted on 12/05/2018, 12:00 AM
Reggae music from Jamaica, the Irish sport of hurling, Polish Nativity scenes, Korean wrestling, and about three dozen more arts, crafts, folk dances, foods, and festivals are the latest global traditions added to UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. (Pity the arts and tourism officials currently trying to squeeze that mouthful into quick after-dinner speec...
Arthur Frommer: On an African Safari, Budget is Better
Posted on 12/04/2018, 12:00 AM
To a great many travelers, including myself, the African safari is one of the top travel experiences. There is something mystical, indeed mind-changing, about seeing the world inhabited by animals, as it was before the earth was populated by human beings. But not all African safaris are equal in bringing that vision to you. Upon looking for a safari to book, you are often inundated by marketi...
Arthur Frommer: 12 Famous Destinations That Are Almost Too Crowded to Visit
Posted on 11/29/2018, 12:00 AM
It doesn’t often happen that one travel writer advises his or her readers to study the works of another travel writer. But exceptions should occasionally be made, and that’s the case with a recent and quite thorough analysis of the hideously overcrowded places that smart tourists should avoid visiting—at least in high season. Prepared by the travel department of CNN and entitled “12 Destinati...
.jpg "Frommer's' Best Places to Go in 2019 List")
Thinking of Taking an African Safari? Some Tips from an Expert
Posted on 11/16/2018, 1:30 AM
African safaris: They are, for many, at the tippy top of the bucket list. But the how-tos for finding the right one have shifted in the last few years, so old conventional wisdom may not necessarily apply. On our Frommer's national radio show, I spoke with Sunit Sanghrajka, president of Alluring Africa, a company that plans custom safaris for individual travelers, to get his advice. Here’s a bit of...
Arthur Frommer: Canada Legalized Marijuana, But Visitors Should Know the Rules
Posted on 11/05/2018, 12:00 AM
The recent decision by all of Canada to legalize the sale or use of marijuana was hailed by U.S. users and advocates of that drug. On careful study of Canada’s action, those cheerleaders may be less enthusiastic about what has happened. Although Canada acted as a single nation in legalizing the substance, it has permitted individual provinces of Canada to enact specific rules governing its sale a...
You Can Stay in Ralphie’s House from ‘A Christmas Story’
Posted on 10/30/2018, 1:00 AM
Ultimate fans of the American holiday film classic A Christmas Story might already own a replica of the Major Award leg lamp, nightmarish bunny pajamas, or even a toy Red Ryder BB gun (warning: you may shoot your eye out). Yet, how many of them know that they can spend the night inside Ralphie Parker’s actual house? Located in the Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio, the real-life house use...
How Much of What You Spend Stays in Your Destination? G Adventures Knows
Posted on 10/19/2018, 11:15 PM
Recently, I had the pleasure of interviewing Bruce Poon Tip (pictured) for our radio show. Bruce is the founder of G Adventures, one of the most important small-group adventure operators in the world. Currently the company has 10 distinct brands of tours as well as both expedition and river cruising branches. It’s considered by many to be one of the travel industry's most innovative tour companies....
I’m Now One of Those People: A Traveler with an Airbnb Horror Story
Posted on 10/18/2018, 3:00 PM
It didn’t happen because I’m a careless idiot, or a very picky, persnickity traveler. It happened because I’m a (bit) lazy. I was heading to Chicago for work and an unrelated convention had sent hotel prices through the roof. To save a great deal of money, I decided to book a room in the apartment of a friendly-looking lady who has cats. (OK, the real reason was the cats—yes, I’m that kind of mid...
The Game Is Afoot at London's New Sherlock Escape Room
Posted on 10/11/2018, 4:45 PM
Would you want to be stuck with Sherlock Holmes in an escape room—one of those games where players are locked in a confined space and have a limited amount of time to find clues, solve puzzles, and crack codes in order to get out? On the one hand, the super-sleuth of Baker Street would have every mystery on the premises cleared up faster than you could say "Hound of the Baskervilles." On the oth...
Looking for a Classic Caribbean Vacation? Arthur Frommer Suggests Belize
Posted on 09/20/2018, 12:00 PM
Although nearly a million American cruise passengers enjoy momentary contact with Belize each year, the number of its actual tourists is only 250,000 persons, and the country is therefore uncrowded and somewhat innocent of commercial development (except in Belize City, to which no tourist goes). A stay here is like a trip to Costa Rica many years ago, before tourism enveloped and changed that ...
New Foodie Arcade Opens on Paris’s Left Bank
Posted on 09/20/2018, 12:00 AM
Visitors to Paris have a new one-stop destination for gourmet delicacies from the city’s top chefs and food purveyors. Beaupassage, a refurbished historic passageway in the heart of the stylish Saint-Germain district, has opened on the Left Bank. Unveiled on August 25th, the vast 10,000-sq.-m (32,800 sq-ft.) space flows through three connecting pedestrian lanes built in 1703. By the mid-1850s...
New Long-Distance Cycling Trail Links the Western Balkans
Posted on 09/18/2018, 8:15 PM
The first regional cycling trail to cross borders in the Western Balkans, the new TransDinarica route (www.transdinarica.com), has opened its first segment. Travelers can now cycle over gravel and mountains from Slovenia through Croatia and on to Bosnia and Herzegovina on challenging, remote track through areas of the Balkans that haven’t seen many tourists. The project, which aims to economica...
