Travel News

The Best Ways to Buy Euros

by K.C. Summers

Q. I vacation in Europe frequently and lately have been appalled at the high cost of buying euros. Even the credit card companies are taking an extra cut. Do you have any tips on the best rates or methods for buying euros?

A. For starters, don't use a credit card to get your cash. Credit card companies treat currency purchases as cash advances and charge hefty fees for the privilege. Better to buy your currency from a bank before you leave, says Kelli B. Grant, senior consumer reporter at SmartMoney.com. "The rates are usually competitive," she said. "But don't wait till the last minute, because it will take one to three business days to get your cash."

Bank of America, for example, does not charge a fee for the purchase of foreign currency online. It does charge a delivery fee of $7.50 for orders under $1,000, though, so if you're part of a large group, consider combining your purchases. There's a $100 minimum for all orders. You don't have to be a Bank of America customer to buy currency there, but if you want to use your debit card -- and you do -- you must have a savings or checking account there that can be debited, or a Bank of America check card with a Visa logo.

Read entire article here.

Travel Picks: Top 10 new golf courses in 2008

SYDNEY (Reuters Life!) - The Castle Course at St. Andrews in Scotland was named as the top new golf course of 2008 by Travel + Leisure Golf magazine, which described it as one of the most ambitious designs that would keep golfers talking.

The list, selected by the magazine editors, includes seven courses in the United States and one course each in Scotland, British Columbia, and Dominican Republic. The list is not endorsed by Reuters:

1. The Castle Course, St. Andrews, Scotland (Architect David McLay Kidd) Scotsman David McLay Kidd won the coveted design commission to build a seventh course at St. Andrews and transformed every inch of a derelict 220-acre potato farm on the outskirts of town into the Castle Course. Tumbling, hazard-studded fairways make every tee shot an adventure.

Read entire article here.

Enjoy reading about my stay in a Scottish B&B.

Air travel demand drops; Delta trims capacity for 2009

Air travel demand was far lower in November than expected — enough to persuade Delta Air Lines (DAL) to lock in 2009 capacity cuts of 6% to 8%.
The cratering of demand, suspected now for weeks, became starkly visible Monday evening when Continental Airlines (CAL) reported sobering November results.

November passenger revenue for Continental's mainline flying grew 2% to 3%, below the 4% to 6% increase the carrier had been expecting, and way below the double-digit increases in passenger revenue Continental recorded in the summer months

Read entire article here.

Americans still traveling despite uncertainties

by David Sharp Asssociated Press Writer

PORTLAND, Maine—High gas prices may mean fewer families will be headed to the beach or the mountains this summer, but rising prices likely won't be keeping wealthy people from missing out on vacation.

Although their stock portfolios may be in decline, wealthy Americans who are less likely to feel the impact of a slowing economy and rising energy and food prices are largely going ahead with their vacation plans even though consumer confidence is at a 16-year low.

Households earning $100,000 or more have been taking a larger share of hotel rooms since 2000 and now account for about a third of hotel stays, according to D.K. Shifflet & Associates in McLean, Va.

NWA WorldVacations Launches Online Travel Story Contest

Win a trip to Cancun, Mexico by submitting your favorite travel story to the NWA WorldVacations Travel Blog.

Until September 14, 2008, travelers can win a Cancun vacation by submitting a travel story to the NWA WorldVacations(R) Travel Blog.
After an entry is posted on the Travel Blog, the writer will be automatically entered to win a WorldVacations' trip to Cancun, Mexico, including roundtrip air and hotel, valued up to $2,200. The stories can be about a favorite travel memory or a travel tip, and they should be 600 words or less.
"Almost everyone has a great, unique travel story to tell and it's so cool that some lucky person is going to win a trip to Cancun just for sharing their story on a blog," said Susan Worwa, Manager of Corporate Communications at NWA WorldVacations.

Read entire article here.

Surrogates Will Take On Travel Duties as President Sticks Close to Home in Early Days

by Anne E. Kornblut

Now that President Obama has spent a full week settling into the White House, his advisers have a new task: deciding when to send him back out into the wider world.

Obama, who has not gone beyond a four-mile radius from the White House since his swearing-in, may have more competing claims on his travel time than any new president in recent memory, with economically depressed swaths of the country clamoring for his attention, foreign leaders eager to establish personal ties, and a campaign promise to visit a Muslim country within his first 100 days in office hanging over his head.

Advisers said this week that Obama is likely to stay close to his new home for the foreseeable future. He has not yet spent a weekend at Camp David, though he and his family may do so soon. He also has not announced the dates of any specific domestic or international trips apart from a visit to Canada on Feb. 19 announced yesterday, a longstanding tradition for new presidents.

Read entire article here.

Travel Notes: Avuncular advice on Europe

by John Flinn executive editor of Travel

So you're each heading off to Europe this summer for the very first time. How I envy you! You're about to embark on adventures that could forever change your relationships with the rest of the world.

Everything, from the sound of the church bells to the shape of the crosswalk stripes, will be fresh and new and bizarre and wonderful, and if you pay attention you'll gather fascinating new threads to weave into the fabric of your lives.

What follows are a few random pieces of advice gleaned from nearly three decades of European travel. Forgive me if I'm repeating some things I've already told you, as doddering old uncles are wont to do.

Read entire article here.

Hostels: The cure for expensive, lonely travel

If you want to save money while traveling, consider hosteling. Several thousand hostels provide beds throughout Europe -- in cities, towns, and the countryside -- for $20 to $40 per night.
Some hostels are really travel destinations, such as the Mountain Hostel in Gimmelwald, Switzerland.

Some hostels are really travel destinations, such as the Mountain Hostel in Gimmelwald, Switzerland.
For this rock-bottom price, you get "no frills" accommodations in clean, stark dormitories. The good news for couples and families is that many hostels have a few doubles and some family rooms (book ahead for these). It's a great way to enjoy some privacy while saving money.

You may assume hostels aren't for you because, by every standard, you're "old." Well, many countries have dropped the word "youth" from their hostel organization's name, and for years Hostelling International has given "youths" over the age of 54 a discount on membership cards. Even the last holdout, the German state of Bavaria, finally dropped its youths-only restriction. If you're alive, you're young enough to hostel anywhere in Europe.

A reader wrote on my Web site: "My partner and I stayed in a 'youth' hostel for the first time by Lake Como and thought we'd be the oldest people there. Not so! At our table was a 60-ish couple from Sydney and a 79-year-old British woman who was backpacking alone through Europe. All three were a delight, but especially the backpacker, who said she stays in hostels for the evening company."

Gadgets in Your Suitcase

by Troy Wolverton
(Mercury News)

It's vacation season, and when it comes to packing for a long trip, some things are no-brainers. But what gadgets do you take?

Well, that depends. Some, like cameras, are close to must-haves. Others, like laptops, are much more discretionary.

The decision about whether to take a particular gadget is usually not as simple as whether to pack a certain shirt or pair of shoes. With each gadget often come other considerations, from the accessories you'll need to determining if it will work where you're going. Then there are the logistics of packing it and carrying it around.

"Just because you can take all these gadgets doesn't mean you should," said Cameron Hewitt, writer and lead editor at Rick Steves' Europe through the Backdoor, a travel company that publishes a series of popular guidebooks. "Anything that you take with you on your trip adds one more layer of complexity to your trip."

Read entire article here.

Holiday Flight Travel Tips

It's the annual flight of the turkeys. Translation: Holiday travel season officially takes off this weekend. Although AAA has predicted about a half-million fewer travelers, there will still be some 40 million folks rushing to Grandma's house. About 80 percent of them will stay on the ground. The rest will mount an air assault. The three busiest air travel days for Thanksgiving will likely be Nov. 23, 26 and 30. Airports say they are ready. But are you? Here are some holiday air travel tips:

1. Arrive on time. It's a must. Plan on everything taking longer than usual. It helps if you can check in online at home before heading out. You can also use the self-service kiosks at the airport to avoid standing in line.

2. Pack smart. Don't bring liquid stuff, like your famous turkey basting sauce, that you know you can't take onto the plane. It just slows down everybody else. If you're traveling with kids, tell them in advance that they'll have to give up that stuffed animal or blanket just long enough for the nice TSA agent to scan it.

Read entire article here.

Read Kari's travel tips here.

Act quickly to find the best deals on fall travel

by Ed Perkins
(mercurynews.com)

With all the doom and gloom about fuel prices and airline financial problems, you'd think that ordinary travelers would never again find any good deals. Fortunately, that's not true. But to get them you'll have to keep on top of the marketplace and act quickly when you see something you like.

As I'm writing this column, three transatlantic airlines are promoting "sales" for fall or winter travel to Europe: Air France (fall travel), United/Lufthansa (winter travel) and Alitalia (winter travel). All require purchase by July 8, seven days in advance. Alitalia also has a $1 companion-ticket offer on a few routes (but always check the price of the ticket you have to buy before deciding whether a companion offer is really a good deal).

Watch for exclusions

The best deals on European airlines often exclude the line's home country: The lowest prices on Air France, for example, are to Germany by way of France. Clearly, taking advantage of this kind of rate may require that you make a connection in Europe rather than fly non-stop.

Read entire article here.

International Tourists Put the BIG Back in the Big Apple

Grand Central Station, New York City

Art Print

Buy at AllPosters.com

WALTHAM, Mass., July 25, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ ----Global Insight, the world's leading company for economic and financial analysis and forecasting, today released its annual ranking of the Top 100 U.S. Tourism City Destinations for 2007. The ranking compares domestic and international tourism spending, tourism job creation, and the degree to which each city's economic vitality is dependent upon visitors. The study is part of the City Tourism Impact service offered in partnership with D.K. Shifflet & Associates, the foremost authority on U.S. travel volumes, visitor spending, and trip behavior.

New York City jumped two positions from its 2006 standing, overtaking Orlando, Florida and Las Vegas, Nevada to capture the top spot in total tourism spending. The influx of international visitors, who stay longer and spend more than their domestic counterparts, is driving Big Apple growth. In fact, New York gained about 1.5 million overseas visitors last year and increased its share of total international visitors by 3.3%. Foreign visitors also pushed up Washington, DC, Miami, Florida, Seattle, Washington, and Santa Ana/Anaheim, California, in the rankings.

"Exchange rate advantages, economic growth at home, and re-doubled promotional efforts are behind this success," said Christopher Pike, Tourism Principal at Global Insight.

42 bird strikes at Albany International Airport last year

by PAUL GRONDAHL,

COLONIE - There were 42 bird strikes reported in 2008 at Albany International Airport, but not all were of the severity or type of strike that apparently crippled the US Airways jetliner, causing the pilot to ditch into the Hudson River Thursday.

The data here included strikes that could have occurred elsewhere, but were recorded by mechanics who inspect planes after they land at Albany International Airport, according to spokesman Doug Myers.

"Obviously, it's always a concern and you have to stay on top of the problem," he said.

This afternoon, airport officials will discuss the issue of bird strikes and demonstrate their latest weapons, including propane-powered ground cannons that emit a loud boom and hand-held pyrotechnic guns that fire a charge similar to a large firecracker.

Read entire article here.

Greener travel? Japan tests pond scum as jet biofuel

by Todd Crowell

Tokyo – The Boeing 747 belonging to Japan Airlines took off from Tokyo’s busy Haneda Airport Friday and circled over the Pacific Ocean, powered in part by vegetable oils and pond scum.

It was the last of four demonstration flights that have taken place over the past year in four corners of the world, all using four different blends of biofuels, powering four makes of engines.

The purpose of the flights is to determine whether a modern jet liner can safely fly with some of its fuel made of renewable energy. The high cost of fossil fuel and its environmental impact are pushing the airlines to explore alternatives.

Aviation currently contributes about 3 percent of global carbon emissions, but air travel is growing. And there’s a climate change factor that paying passengers are taking note of: jet aircraft do not just give off carbon dioxide but nitrous oxide – which some scientists calculate will have at least double the impact of CO2 – and condensation trails.

Read entire article here.

Hedonism gives way to "recession chic" in travel

by Claudia Parsons

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Hedonism is out in the travel business and "recession chic" is in, according to experts at a travel show in New York where customers were looking for bargains to brighten the gloom.

"People are being more value conscious, but just as important, they're being more conscious of their values, and what that means is that they're looking for experiences that speak to their heart," said Daniel Levine, a trend spotter at the Avant-Guide Institute who analyzes social trends.

Levine says as Americans see their savings dwindle and the economy crumbling around them, they are focusing on what is most important -- friends, family, health or the environment -- and taking that into account in planning vacations.

Changing travel one tweet at a time

"There's a plane in the Hudson. I'm on the ferry going to pick up the people."

Those words, hastily typed on Janis Krums' iPhone just after US Airways flight 1549 crashed into the Hudson River last month, marked yet another milestone in the microblogging revolution.

Krums, a Sarasota, Florida, entrepreneur, posted his observations and a compelling photo of a half-submerged aircraft to Twitter, where it was seen by hundreds of people before other media organizations knew about the accident.

Twitter and related sites such as BrightKite have been breaking news since they've been around. They've offered first-hand accounts of events such as the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, the Virginia Tech shootings and California's wildfires.

Travel expert answers queries on routes and destinations around the world

by by THE TIMES

QCan you recommend a clean, safe hotel in Maputo with reasonably priced rooms. I cannot afford the Polana or the Holiday Inn, but would prefer not to stay in a guesthouse or B&B. — Dave Nel

AYour best bet would be the Hotel Ibis Maputo, a budget hotel which is part of the international Accor Group. The air-conditioned rooms are small, but clean and cheerful, and the hotel has all the facilities you would expect of a chain hotel. It is located in the city centre at Avenida 25 de Setembro 1743, close to the Maputo Harbour. The hotel offers a 24-hour snack service, secure parking and breakfast from 4am to noon. A double room will cost you around 60 (R460) a night including tax. Book at www.ibishotel.com or tel: (+258)2- 135-2200.

QI intend to visit the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg this summer. This has been a lifelong dream, so I hope to give myself enough time to enjoy the various exhibitions. How many days would I need to set aside to tour the museum? — Helen van Lingen

AWith a collection that has grown to more than three million items and is spread over six buildings along the Neva River, you could spend a year in the Hermitage and not see it all. So, if you are going to tackle the museum on your own, you need to have a good idea of what you want to concentrate on. At the very least, you would need three days. A good suggestion is to tour the buildings floor by floor on three different days. On the first day you would view the antiquities on the ground floor, on the second you focus on the European paintings on the first floor and on day three, you check out the 19th- and 20th-century paintings on the second floor. However, you may wish to consider one of the seven-day escorted tours offered by various travel operators in St Petersburg.

Travel Stress can Lead to Air Rage

by David Armstrong
(aviation.com)

Smart travelers will do as much as possible before leaving for the airport. We’ve all heard stories about air rage: Someone’s flight is delayed by rotten weather elsewhere and he throws a tantrum, loudly berating the airline. Or a weary traveler is vocally miffed because a baggage screener disses him. Or an overworked airline employee, angry at airline management, takes out her frustration on the passengers, without whom there would be no airline.

As the problems pile up, especially with money-losing, capacity-cutting U.S. carriers, incidents of air rage pile up, too. As travelers, we can’t control airlines or airports. But there are some things we can do to stop air rage before it happens.

We begin with the P-word: planning. A little planning can take us a long way to achieving peace of mind, whether it’s thinking about how much time to allow before leaving for the airport in heavy traffic, researching the latest twists and turns in security rules or — as U.S. airlines begin to charge fees for checking bags — knowing how to pack.

Read entire article here.

Emily Blunt and Jason Segel in ‘Gulliver’s Travels’

by Elisabeth Rappe

Jack Black has some friends to hang out with in Lilliput. Variety reports that Emily Blunt and Jason Segel have signed on for Rob Letterman’s “Gulliver’s Travels,” a re-imagining of the Jonathan Swift classic.

Black will play Lemuel Gulliver, a travel writer who takes an assignment to the Bermuda Triangle and ends up washing ashore on the island of Lilliput, where he is a giant among the tiny population. Blunt will play a Lilliputian princess who falls for Black. Segel will play Horatio, a Lilliput native who quickly becomes Guilliver’s best friend, and who helps him escape when he is captured.

As expected, Letterman’s film is a pretty big departure from Swift’s original tale, which mocked the English royal court, and the wars of his time period, and lacked a romantic subplot. How will that romance resolve itself, I wonder?

Read entire article here.

Top 10 Romantic Destinations

by Reuters Life!

SYDNEY, June 13 (Reuters Life!) - Couples looking for time away together have a list of 10 of the world's most romantic destinations from Life Books.

This list was published in Life's "Dream Destinations: 100 of the World's Best Vacations" and is not endorsed by Reuters.

1. Wild Flower Hall, India

At an altitude of 2,500 meters (8,250 feet), Wildflower Hall is a 45-minute drive through forested hills from Shimla, the capital of Himachal Pradesh. The spa resort is a serene getaway that was once the estate of Lord Kitchener.

2. The Camargue, France

In the delta of the Rhone river, Mediterranean beaches glow white along a warm sea, medieval walled cities, cathedrals and dreamy pink flamingos. See the famous white ponies of Camargue.

Read about all 10 destinations here.

Global Passenger Traffic Expected to Triple

by Kari
(Iowa)

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Air carriers will order some 24,300 new passenger and freighter jets worth 2.8 trln usd between now and 2026, EADS unit Airbus said.

This will create an average annual delivery of some 1,215 aircraft, up from the 1,130 average deliveries that Airbus forecast in 2006, the Toulouse-based company said in its latest Global Market Forecast.

It said it expects global passenger traffic to grow at an average rate of 4.9 pct per year, remaining resilient to the cyclical effects of the industry.

Read entire article here.

My Life In Travel: Simon Woodroffe, entrepreneur

by by Sophie Lam

First holiday memory?

Cadzand, a Dutch seaside resort near where my father was stationed in Rhinedalen. I was there from the age of about seven to 11. We used to go to sailing on the river Maas a lot. I remember drinking watered-down red wine and eating fried eggs and ham on buttered bread. It's also where I first heard the finger-in-the-dyke story.

Best holiday?

Going to Western Samoa 30 years ago. I met a Samoan girl in Sydney, and when I flew from there to Los Angeles and the plane stopped off en route in American Samoa, as they did in those days, I didn't get back on it again. She gave me her phone number, which was Samoa 65, so I rang her and she came to collect me. I met her father, who sat cross-legged with the men of the village in the fale (thatched houses) while the women prepared the food. They produced the family photos on the first visit – I eventually ran... What might have been, though!

Read entire article here.

Packing tips from those who travel for a living

by Anne Dimon

Hate schlepping heavy bags when you travel? Detest hanging around the luggage carrousel waiting for your bag to come down the chute?

Here are a few packing tips from those who travel for a living:

Family travel writer Kate Pocock of Toronto says her "must-pack" is a pashmina. She says, "it will keep you warm in overly air-conditioned buildings in the tropics, also in cool northern climes." It also doubles as a headscarf in Arab countries and as an extra blanket on airplanes. "For me," admits Pocock, "my pashmina is my Linus blanket when travelling."

Read entire article here.

Travel, Debt and SATs

by STEPHEN KREIDER YODER and ISAAC S. YODER

STEVE: We're glad we bucked the recession and spent Christmas in Slovakia. Many readers were glad we did, too, judging from the piles of heartwarming email in our box when we got home. Isaac and I wrote from a Bratislava café that spending on travel seems to leave more lasting value than spending on stuff.

Many readers, like us, drive old cars and leave houses unremodeled in favor of travel. "I call it 'investing in memories,' " writes Janet Holtz of San Juan Capistrano, Calif., recalling trips such as one to Belize with her husband and daughter. "Like you, I shun buying a lot of material things just so I can go on a big trip almost every year…. And although once the trip is over and the money is spent and there is nothing to show for it so to speak, to me every penny was worth it."

Slovakia was Isaac's idea: It was his turn to pick our destination. Tom Shumaker of Durham, N.C., says he and his wife also let their three children choose vacation destinations. Their older son chose Ireland; their daughter chose Thailand.

"Children pick things that you wouldn't expect, but can turn out to be a life-expanding choice for the whole family," he writes. "You don't have to travel very much or very far to realize that we are both blessed and burdened by being from the U.S., and that there are wonderful people and other ways of living that seem to work just fine for millions of the other folks who aren't from 'around here.' You can't learn that from books or the Internet."

Read entire article here.

President Obama Lays Out Plans for High-Speed Train Travel

The vice president has been commuting on the train between Washington, D.C., and Wilmington, Del., for more than 35 years. The president is envious of Europe's speedy railways. They stood together today to announce their plans to revolutionize U.S. train travel.
Photo: As President Obama prepares to lay out his plans for investing $8 billion in high speed rail, some say the largest commitment of its kind is an enormous waste of money.

"There's no reason why the future of travel should lie somewhere else, beyond our borders," President Obama said today in laying out the new transportation plans. "Building a new system of high-speed rail in America will be faster, cheaper and easier than building more freeways or adding to an already over-burdened aviation system, and everybody stands to benefit."

Transportation Secretary Ray Lahood today said the plan will "jumpstart a new era in American train travel" and called the investment in train travel an environmental "game changer."

Read entire article here.