Tag Archives: travel tips

Wendy Perrin Global Travel Summit

Behind the First Wendy Perrin Global Travel Summit

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Last week was a big week for me and WendyPerrin.com—and I didn’t even travel beyond New York City. Instead, I sat in a light-filled conference room at Dream Downtown with the best itinerary designers in the world—the Trusted Travel Experts on my WOW List. They had flown in from all corners of the globe so we could spend two full days discussing the topics closest to my heart as a consumer advocate: solutions to your travel problems, and best practices for crafting your trips.

As you know, my goal is to make sure all my readers have extraordinary travels. I do that by providing honest, experienced advice and solutions, and by staying in close contact with readers throughout their trip-planning process—and even afterward when they return—to ensure that their experience, the travel specialist’s performance, and my recommendations all pan out to their satisfaction.

In doing so, I’ve learned a lot about the challenges that stand in the way of extraordinary trips. For example, the five biggest trip-planning challenges that I hear about from travelers are:

1. Choosing the right locations within the country/region they’ve picked
2. Avoiding touristy places, crowds, lines
3. Solving logistical and timing/pacing problems
4. Getting better value for their dollar
5. Finding the right accommodations

And the five biggest trip-planning challenges that I hear about from families are:

1. Choosing the right locations within the destination they’ve picked
2. Choosing the right destination
3. Pacing: Finding the right balance between activities and downtime
4. Finding the right rental villa/apartment
5. Finding the right hotel rooms

The good news is that my trip-planning system can get travelers past these roadblocks. If you reach out to a travel specialist I recommend to you (either via Ask Wendy or via The WOW List), I monitor your trip from start to finish.  (Important note: I can’t monitor your trip if I don’t know about it. If you don’t use the black Contact buttons on the The WOW List or on our Insider’s Guides, I can’t step in and help if necessary, nor can you expect preferred treatment from the TTE. You won’t get Wendy’s WOW Moments either.)

This is what I love to do and it’s why I held the first Wendy Perrin Global Travel Summit last week: My team and I met face-to-face with the private trip designers I recommend, many of whom I’ve known—and monitored voluminous consumer feedback about—for well more than a decade.  We spoke about the latest trends, most popular destinations, and solutions to the biggest travel challenges.

Here’s a quick recap of the Summit highlights. Stay tuned for news about the next summit—and email me via the Ask Wendy form (it comes directly to me!) if you have additional questions or challenges you’d like to see us tackle on WendyPerrin.com.

We kicked off the two-day exchange of ideas by welcoming nearly 80 of the world’s best trip designers to the Dream Downtown hotel in NYC’s Meatpacking District; to get a feel for its design- and art-heavy scene, check out this hotel tour and this video of my suite.

 

  On Day 1, since we had all those great travel minds in one room, we went around the room, and each Trusted Travel Expert shared an innovation they’ve implemented recently to ensure their travelers have first-rate experiences.

Next we moved on to 2016 travel trends.

We kicked off Day 2 with a press conference. To a room full of influential travel journalists—including George Hobica of Airfarewatchdog and Lissa Poirot of Family Vacation Critic, I revealed the most popular destinations for 2016—an exclusive sneak peek at the places our readers are traveling to this year.

 

To get a 360-degree view of travelers’ experience, I passed the microphone to a few Trusted Travel Experts, so they could reveal the trends they’re seeing and their predictions for 2016. 

Even our event sponsors—MedjetAssist and Switzerland Tourism—and our special guest—Zita Cobb, the visionary founder of the much-buzzed-about Fogo Island Inn in remotest Newfoundland—were chosen because I knew they’d provide unique and useful information for improving travelers’ experiences. That’s always my end goal.

 

At #WPTravelSummit, sat next to the owner of this amazing property. Should I inquire about the rates? A photo posted by Mei Zhang (@wildchinamei) on

 

 

As I told that room full of Trusted Travel Experts (and a few new faces that I’m testing behind the scenes, to see if they’re good enough for The WOW List), my M.O. in everything is to make your travels better.

Don’t forget: Contact me via my Ask Wendy page if there are questions or trip-planning challenges I can help you solve.

The Four Seasons Bora Bora is a honeymoon destination, but the pool couldn’t have been more kid-friendly. by Travel Babbo

What Really Makes a Hotel Kid Friendly

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Listen up hotels! I’ve stayed at a lot of you, and some of you are definitely more kid-friendly than others. I’ve written before about things that could be improved at specific hotels (the Sonnenalp in Vail, the Mauna Lani in Hawaii and the Four Seasons Bora Bora), but since readers of my Travel Babbo blog have given me feedback as well, I want to create a comprehensive list of everything you need to do in order to be a kid-friendly dream hotel. If you already meet the criteria on this list, please get in touch with me! I really, really want to find the perfect hotels and resorts for families. And if this list does not represent things that you currently do, on behalf of families everywhere, we would love for you to implement them. Without further ado, my dream hotel checklist:

1) Rooms that can accommodate two parents with two, three or four kids. I don’t expect every room to be able to do this, but it would be great if hotels had at least a few rooms designed for families. And if your rooms can accommodate only four people total, please have connecting rooms! It’s not convenient to split up when we’re on vacation together. And it’s really not convenient when we’re given two rooms two floors apart, as happened at the ACHAT Plaza Zum Hirschen in Salzburg.

Mauna Lani hotel in Hawaii by Travel Babbo

At the Mauna Lani in Hawaii. The patio of one of our connecting rooms. Photo: Eric Stoen/Travel Babbo

2) Easy booking for families of five or more. Go to any hotel website and click on Reservations. Now tell me if it’s clear how many people their rooms can sleep. Still looking for a site that provides that information up-front? So am I. On most hotel sites it’s difficult to find out the maximum number of guests per room, but then they expect you to know that figure before searching for reservations. A lot of hotels have at least some rooms/suites that can accommodate five or six people. But when you go to a website like the Grand Wailea‘s and try to get a room for two adults and four children (an option in their drop-down menus), you immediately get an error message stating that no rooms are available and that six guests “may exceed the occupancy limit.” So it’s up to you to guess whether that means that there aren’t any rooms that meet your guest numbers or any rooms available at all. It’s then back to the search screen to try again with multiple rooms and different numbers of adults/kids in each room, now guessing as to how to divide up the family into two rooms.

I would LOVE for hotels to have a note on their booking screens that details the maximum number of people that their rooms can accommodate. As it is, I usually have to search through the room descriptions, and then more often than not I have to email the hotel to see if a “max of four people per room” includes small children. Basically, I want easier booking!

3) A family rate. If you’re going to ask us to split up into two rooms, connecting or not, please offer a discount for the second room. And please, please, please do not tie it to your highest rack rates that are never really charged to guests. I see this all the time. Hotels always have specials: bed and breakfast rates; fourth night free; seasonal promotions. Then sometimes they offer a family rate for a second room, but it’s never a discount off of the other specials. For example, the Four Seasons Bora Bora used to offer a fourth night free (which worked out to 25% off) or a second bungalow at 50% off. But if you chose the 50% off, you no longer received the fourth night free. So while it’s nice that they had a family rate, in actuality it worked out to roughly the same as the other specials, and nowhere near the 50% savings advertised since guests wouldn’t have been paying the full price anyway. (Math: A $1,000 bungalow discounted for a free fourth night, assuming you are staying four nights, means an average nightly rate of $750, or a 25% discount. Two $1,000 rooms for four nights with 50% off the second room means a total charge of $6,000, or, wait for it, $750 a night—the same as the other special. So there’s no real family discount, unless you are staying for a number of nights not divisible by four.)

I get that hotels have an economic incentive to maximize revenue and to only offer one discount per room. But what if you think of it as a marketing expense? If you provide families with better rates, that means happier parents who are more likely to make return visits. And when kids make multiple visits to a hotel growing up (our kids stayed at the Mauna Lani in Hawaii eight straight years), guess where they’re going to want to return with their kids someday?

4) Something at check-in for kids. Colored pencils. Coloring books. Beach balls. Beach toys. Stuffed animals. I’ve seen it all when checking into hotels, and our kids have loved all of it. When they get something at check-in, not only does it give them something to occupy themselves with and enhances the vacation, it also makes them feel welcome and it gives them a connection to the hotel.

St. Regis Aspen hotel by Travel Babbo

Stuffed bears from FAO Schwarz were a huge hit with my kids at the St. Regis Aspen. Photo: Eric Stoen/Travel Babbo

5) Proactive recommendations for kid-friendly things to do. It’s not always easy to find great lists of kid-friendly activities online. I would love to automatically receive a sheet or twofrom a hotel detailing the nearest parks, playgrounds, aquariums, kid museums, kid-friendly cooking classes and other local things that families have rated highly. It wouldn’t require more than a few hours of work from the concierge to create and maintain the list, and it would enhance the visit of every family. One of my biggest pet peeves is when I ask the concierge for ideas of local things to do with kids and the concierge directs me to the hotel’s kids club (yes, this has happened more than once).

My daughter sketching in the travel journal she got at check-in at the Westin Times Square by Travel Babbo

My daughter sketching in the travel journal she got at check-in at the Westin Times Square. Photo: Eric Stoen/Travel Babbo

6) A little extra space in the rooms. Families of young kids may need to set up Pack’n Plays. Most families have extra luggage. And there’s always going to be in-room down time when you don’t want to be crammed into the room with very little extra room. I understand that hotels can’t magically make their rooms larger, and I fully appreciate that historical hotels typically sacrifice space for character. I’m just saying that it’s great to have rooms that are a little more spacious.

7) A kid-friendly pool and hot tub. Obviously this isn’t applicable to all hotels. But if you have a pool and you want to attract families, have a shallow section in the main pool. And have either a separate hot tub for families, or allow kids to use the main hot tub without keeping it way too hot. Basically, look at your pool from the perspective of families and see if it’s somewhere that they would really want to spend a day, and where parents can let their younger kids play in the pool without necessarily being in there with them (but still supervising, of course). And please don’t force us to show armbands or room cards to get towels. At any hotel, big or small, I want to be seen as guests and not as room numbers.

8) A Kids Club that’s open all day with no extra charge. Please don’t make families pay $50–$100 a day, and commit to a whole day, for kids club activities. This is one of my favorite elements of Four Seasons and Rosewood resorts. Kids can get out of the sun and stop in and do crafts, play games or watch a movie when they want, or go on excursions around the hotel with club staff. Our kids usually don’t want to be there for more than an hour or two at a time, and we usually don’t know in advance when they’re going to want to do that, so flexibility on the part of the kids club is a must. Hotels can’t think of kids clubs only as places for parents to check their kids in for a full day; club rooms should also be areas for kids of any age to relax out of the sun for a little while.

Playing complimentary pinball at the Four Seasons Orlando Resort. by Travel Babbo

Playing complimentary pinball at the Four Seasons Orlando Resort. Photo: Eric Stoen/Travel Babbo

9) Easy food options for kids. I love when a hotel has a casual restaurant with a great menu and a (for backup) kids menu. Or if there is a nicer restaurant, have a casual section—maybe outside—for families. It’s great when the kids can run around a little while waiting for dinner to come, and always nice to have an option to pick things up and bring them back to the room if you don’t feel like dining out.

The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs by Travel Babbo

Enjoying wine while the kids run off and play at Ristorante Del Lago at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. Photo: Eric Stoen/Travel Babbo

10) An easy/inexpensive laundry option. At a lot of hotels the only laundry option is The List. You know The List—it’s in the closet attached to a plastic or canvas sack, and it indicates that the hotel will wash your pants for only $5 and your socks for only $2. That’s not family-friendly! Kids get dirty. Some hotels provide free washers and dryers, which we took advantage of at the Mauna Lani and Four Seasons Bora Bora this year. Others provide coin-operated machines, which is still fine. I’d love for more hotels to provide access to machines, or at least to have an option to have a load of laundry cleaned for a reasonable price—say $15. And knowing that you’ll have access to laundry at your hotel makes packing that much easier.

The Chedi Club Tanah Gajah in Bali has the most family-friendly laundry service that I’ve seen. The hotel will wash six things a day per person for free. Even when we forgot to place dirty clothes in the laundry bag in the morning, we would find them washed and folded for us that evening. How cool is that?

A kid-sized bicycle at the Sonesta Hilton Head. by Travel Babbo

A kid-sized bicycle at the Sonesta Hilton Head. Photo: Eric Stoen/Travel Babbo

11) Kid-sized things. It’s great when hotels have kid-sized robes for us in the rooms. And it’s also nice to have sinks at a height that’s good for adults but also reachable by kids. At most hotels our five-year-old can reach the sink, even if it’s on tip-toes, to brush her teeth or wash her hands. But we’ve been to some hotels where the kids are forced to (unsafely) turn over trashcans as improvised steps just to reach the sinks.

12) An overall kid-friendly vibe. Last, but not least, I want to feel like our (well-behaved) kids are welcome. You can be the nicest, most formal hotel in the world, and your staff can still treat kids like valued guests and not like potential nuisances. I love when staff members go out of their way to talk to our kids and ask about their vacations, or give suggestions of things to do the next day. This can be housekeepers or managers or pool staff—anyone who comes into contact with the kids. I’ve stayed at large resort hotels where the staff weren’t overly friendly, and at European city hotels where the staff just had great interactions with the kids and which, in turn, made it more fun to return to the hotel in the evenings.

Three kid-sized robes waiting for us at the Rosewood Mayakoba by Travel Babbo

Three kid-sized robes waiting for us at the Rosewood Mayakoba, in perfect lengths for my kids. Photo: Eric Stoen/Travel Babbo

Those are the top twelve things I’m looking for in kid-friendly hotels. What have I missed? What would you include? What hotels have you found that meet all of those criteria?

 

Be a smarter traveler: Use Wendy’s WOW List to plan your next trip. You can also follow her on Facebook and Twitter @wendyperrin, and sign up for her weekly newsletter to stay in the know.

 

Meet our writer

Eric Stoen, the founder of Travel Babbo, travels around the world constantly with his three kids. Wendy met him when he won Condé Nast Traveler’s Dream Trip Contest a few years ago and was so impressed with his travel savvy that she invited him to contribute to WendyPerrin.com.

Historic center of Cartagena, Colombia with the Caribbean Sea visible on two sides

The Future of Travel: Predictions for 2016

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The best human travel planners are a bit like old friends: They just “get” you. A big part of their jobs—aside from building the local connections that lead to the best travel experiences—is to be able to quickly understand what travelers want and find creative ways to provide it. That’s why we think this list of trends is interesting. What follows are the observations of some of our Trusted Travel Experts—longtime vets of the travel-planning world who book hundreds, if not thousands, of trips each year. This is what they’re seeing travelers ask for most…as well as their predictions for the experiences travelers will be asking for in the coming year.

What other services or types of trips would you like to see travel planners provide in 2016? Tell us in the comments below.

A Blend of the High and the Low
“When it comes to culinary experiences, travelers want to mix haute cuisine with street food. The same goes for culture—they’re mixing high-brow culture with real interaction with locals. The trend is echoed with glamping: Travelers want real remote nature and adventure combined with luxury.” —Zach Rabinor, Trusted Travel Expert for Mexico

Once-in-a-Lifetime Experiences
“People don’t want to die with a lot of cash. They would rather spend it on helicopters over the Cliffs of Moher, or a once-in-a-lifetime experience with a master Scotch whiskey distiller at their favorite distillery, or paying what it takes to beat the crowds.” —Jonathan Epstein, Trusted Travel Expert for England, Ireland, and Scotland

Solo Travel
“I’m seeing many more solo travelers! Thankfully, Ireland is perfect for this. You never have to feel alone.” —Jonathan Epstein, Trusted Travel Expert for England, Ireland, and Scotland

Travel Influenced by Pop Culture
“We see people chasing scenes from movies and books. In the U.K. and Ireland alone, you can see sites related to Outlander, Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, Downton Abbey, MacBeth, Sherlock Holmes, Doc Martin, Dr. Who, and James Bond.” —Jonathan Epstein, Trusted Travel Expert for England, Ireland, and Scotland

Travel Influenced by Food Photography
“Also, we’re getting a lot of requests for photo tours, so we’re doing a new tour where travelers learn how to take photos of food. We all love taking photos of food when eating new things! Travelers also want to go home with new recipes so they can cook what they have eaten in the destination.” —Virginia Irurita, Trusted Travel Expert for Spain

Millennials and Mobile
“Our demographics have shifted wildly towards millennials, who are booking our tours for the intellectually curious at a higher rate than any other demographic. They are also repeating more and staying longer. So, in other words, they’re a more engaged demographic than Gen X or Boomers. We’re also seeing a decided shift toward mobile bookings and last-minute bookings.”—Paul Bennett, Trusted Travel Expert for Cultural City Experiences

Increased Interest in Turkish Art
“There is an increased interest in exploring the contemporary art scene in Istanbul. [My company] has arranged exclusive tours of art galleries with local art experts and the opportunity to meet gallery owners and interact with learning experiences and the history of the artists.” —Karen Fedorko Sefer, Trusted Travel Expert for Turkey

The Rise of Colombia as a Family Getaway
“More and more families are coming to Colombia: Many Americans, particularly from the Eastern corridor, are opting for quick escapes to Cartagena, due to direct flights from NYC , Miami, and Fort Lauderdale. We see a trend of families visiting the coffee country, which is not really on many Colombia itineraries but offers a plethora of outdoor and cultural activities that have wowed our family travelers. The town and region of Barichara in the province of Santander has one of the most charming, well preserved colonial villages in all Colombia. Coupled with this region being an active adventure capital of Colombia, it will surely be more and more visited in 2016. [My company] rents ranches and country homes in this region for families.” —Eric Sheets, Trusted Travel Expert for Colombia

 

Be a smarter traveler: Use Wendy’s WOW List to plan your next trip. You can also follow her on Facebook and Twitter @wendyperrin, and sign up for her weekly newsletter to stay in the know.

Duomo Florence Italy

Most Popular Destinations of 2015…and 2016

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The WendyPerrin.com community of travelers is made up of some of the most sophisticated travelers anywhere. You seem to know where to go before the rest of the world does, and the things you do when you get there set the tone (and influence the itineraries) for future travelers.

With that in mind, we connected with our Trusted Travel Experts and reviewed the most popular places for WendyPerrin.com readers in 2015, as well as the locations highest on their lists for 2016. That’s one of the reasons we’re hosting the Wendy Perrin Global Travel Summit right now in New York City: to meet with the travel planners on The WOW List, review these destinations, and learn more about what they can hold for you in the coming year.

Where are you headed in 2016? And for what destinations would you like us to provide more information — or more Trusted Travel Experts? Tell us in the comments below.

Most Popular Destinations in 2015

  1. Italy
  2. Cuba
  3. France
  4. Argentina
  5. Australia
  6. Mexico
  7. United Kingdom
  8. Costa Rica
  9. Spain
  10. India

Destinations Most Requested for 2016

  1. Cuba
  2. United States
  3. Italy
  4. France
  5. Mexico
  6. Japan
  7. African safaris/New Zealand
  8. Argentina/Spain/India/Australia
  9. Vietnam/Costa Rica
  10. United Kingdom

 

Be a smarter traveler: Follow Wendy Perrin on Facebook and Twitter @wendyperrin, and sign up for her weekly newsletter to stay in the know.

Windstar Cruises’ Star Breeze—and Wendy in one of its zodiacs

How I Monitor the Travel Agents I Recommend

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Throughout my career as a travel journalist and consumer advocate, I’ve been known for upholding the highest standard of honesty and transparency. Now that I have my own website, I want you to know how I work, how my Trusted Travel Experts work, and the steps I’m taking to ensure that all the recommendations you read here are the best possible. That’s why I’m hosting the first Wendy Perrin Global Travel Summit next week in New York City.

At this two-day conference, I’ll be getting together with the Trusted Travel Experts from my WOW List to share information on what today’s sophisticated travelers want and how to give it to them. This summit is one of the ways I ensure that every TTE on my WOW List is living up to your standards.

Maybe you’ve seen The WOW List and wondered how I came up with it. Maybe you assume it’s just like any other “best of” list. Or that I am some kind of travel agent recommending my friends. Or maybe you figured that any travel agent could pay their way onto that list.

If you thought any of those things, you’re dead wrong.

My WOW List is unique and independent. I’m not a travel agent—I’m a journalist—and no one can pay to be included. The trip planners who make the cut each year have gone through rigorous testing—often by me, and always by hundreds of travelers who have sent me their feedback. (You can read reviews of every TTE on the website, and if you’ve traveled with one yourself, I encourage you to share your own review.) I have known—and monitored—most of the TTEs on my list for more than a decade: I know the kinds of trips they plan, their level of taste, what they do best, and their occasional foibles. I know everything about them from their business models to the names of their dogs. I also know that they appreciate what it means to have the Wendy Perrin stamp of approval, and they understand the expectations and trust they need to live up to in order to keep it.

The WP Global Travel Summit is integral to safeguarding that trust. So on January 11 and 12 I’ll gather with my select group of expert travel planners and we will swap ideas, innovations, and best practices about how we can improve your travel experiences in 2016. My team and I will come away with insider destination tips, travel solutions, and trip-planning ideas that we’ll be sharing directly with you. What’s more, the conference is being held at the Dream Downtown hotel in New York City, right across from the beautiful High Line park and historic Chelsea Market, so we’ll be posting insider tips about NYC and one of its coolest hotels too. Stay tuned here at WendyPerrin.com and follow us on Facebook and Twitter to hear more about what we learn at the WP Global Travel Summit. We can’t wait to find new ways to make your next trips extraordinary!

Be a smarter traveler: Follow Wendy Perrin on Facebook and Twitter @wendyperrin, and sign up for her weekly newsletter to stay in the know.

Singapore's Changi Airport has several gardens

Best Foreign Airports to Get Stuck In

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Sometimes getting stuck in an airport isn’t that bad. Really. Especially if you’re in a world-class hub that’s like a small city, with vast food, entertainment, shopping, and spa options.

You already know the best U.S. airports for long layovers and for great eats. Now we bring you the best foreign airports, according to our readers and other expert travelers. Next time you’re booking an international flight, seriously consider an itinerary that gives you a layover in one of these hubs.

Asia

Singapore Changi Airport, SIN

“So much to do there. A movie theater, outdoor pool, butterfly garden, and you can even do a quick city tour for free if you have a longer layover. It’s hands down the best.”
—George Hobica, president and founder of Airfarewatchdog.com

“The whole place is a wonder that can keep you endlessly entertained.  But my favorite thing about Changi is ‘Singapore Food Street’.  It’s not the perfect recreation of the hawker centers ubiquitous throughout Singapore, offering fantastic food at cheap prices—there are constraints in an airport after all—but it’s the next best thing.”
—Gary Leff, View from the Wing

Seoul Incheon International Airport, ICN

“One could live behind security there for days.  There are day rooms for those who want to spend a little money (or just free showers for those who don’t).  There are tablets available for people to use and fast Wi-Fi throughout.  There are, of course, a ton of shops and restaurants.  They even have a cultural center with performances throughout the day that also allows travelers to participate in making traditional crafts. If travelers have a little more time, they can venture outside the terminal to one of the stranger things I’ve seen: In an office area right near the terminal, there is a medical facility designed specifically for medical tourism. Go get a little botox or maybe some tooth implants while you wait for your next flight.”
—Brett Snyder, The Cranky Flier and CrankyConcierge.com

“After Singapore Changi, my second favorite airport is Seoul Incheon for the free transit tours of the city.  There are plenty of overnight flights arriving from Southeast Asia, where a connection to the U.S. won’t leave until midday.  That means a long time at the airport, and they’ve made it possible to get off the airport grounds and experience the city.”
—Gary Leff, View from the Wing

Hong Kong International Airport, HKG

“I usually take the fast train into the city if I have enough time, but if I’m staying at the airport, I amuse myself by shopping. They have Kiehls, Zara, Muji, Chanel, Gucci, and duty-free. There’s an IMAX theater, a nine-hole golf course, eateries like Hung’s Delicacies and Tasty Congee. If you do not have access to any of the amazing airline lounges, you can still pay to get into one of the Plaza Premium lounges to snack, rest, and take a shower.”
—Arnette, Round The World Girl

Narita Airport (NRT) and Haneda Airport (HND), Tokyo

“Narita and Haneda can do no wrong in my book. Clean amazing bathrooms, great restaurants, and lots of awesome shopping.”
—Paula Froelich, host A Broad Abroad

Europe

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, AMS

“My favorite airport for long layovers is Amsterdam…because I don’t stay in the airport. No matter where I’m coming from, it’s typically very fast to go through immigration and store carry-on luggage (I usually use the basement lockers between Arrival Halls 1 and 2). There’s a train station in the airport itself, it’s a quick journey to Central Station, and the trains run frequently. Once I get into the city, I usually explore on foot, although the trams work well too.”
—Eric Stoen, TravelBabbo

sleep pods at Helsinki airport

Long layover at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport? No need for a hotel, just grab a quick nap in the GoSleep pods. Photo: UNI

Helsinki Airport, HEL

“Vantaa Airport in Helsinki is wonderful. Compact and quite fun to be in. There are truly original sleep pods if you want a snooze and a good hotel inside the building (Hotel Glo) if you want a more traditional room. Food’s okay and the shopping is less cookie-cutter than some airports. Several high-style Finnish shops and a Moomin shop, if you’re into that stuff…”
—Joe Brancatelli, Joe Sent Me

“Helsinki Airport is cozy for a layover. The Kainuu room, near gate 30, is a quiet room with a green carpet and two ‘sun-tanning beds’ that are great for sleeping! There’s even a free book swap for avid readers. The Almost@Home Lounge, with its replica of a private home’s lounge and kitchen area, is really cool. Both terminals offer passengers free Wi-Fi, which I think is a necessity!”
—Cacinda Maloney, PointsandTravel.com

Istanbul Atatürk Airport, IST

“Istanbul is a favorite, if you’ve got access to the Turkish Airlines lounge. Great sampling of ‘street food.’ Amazing space, size-wise, with a variety of entertainment and activity options. Excellent service and very comfortable.”
—Bob Holland, The Holland Group

London Heathrow, LHR

“My favorite airport for long layovers is such a fabulous place to visit that sometimes I actually book flights with super-long wait times, including overnights! Heathrow’s Terminal Five is pretty, with lots of light, lots of terrific shops, plenty of bookstores, and pleasant enough restaurants. The BA Lounge is terrific and I typically will nosh there after shopping sprees. But the best place to while away extra time is the Sofitel London Heathrow. It’s got two good restaurants (one French, one more international), a charming bar and lounge area, lovely service, and the most beautiful spa I’ve ever seen anywhere near any airport. Most times the rates for overnight stays are quite reasonable, and I look forward to spending time there as much as I might for a genuine resort vacation.”
—Carolyn Spencer Brown, Editor in Chief, Cruise Critic

“Heathrow is the airport we all love to hate. But the Heathrow Express gets you into Paddington Station in 15-20 minutes, and that puts all of London at your feet for a layover. And, if you really get hung up, take the escalator up to the Hilton at Paddington Station.”
—Joe Brancatelli, Joe Sent Me

Reykjavik Keflavik International Airport, KEF

“Between flights you can go to the Blue Lagoon!”
—Katherine Eklund 

Middle East

Pool at Doha Airport

Qatar’s Doha International Airport has a pool, a spa, and other amenities. Photo: Billie Cohen

Doha International Airport, DOH

“The new Doha Airport in Qatar has 24-hour shopping, decent and varied food options, and also rooms for overnight layovers. And being home to Qatar Airways, those flying business and first class have access to their lounges—which have quiet sleeping areas (business class) and actual bedrooms and a Jacuzzi (first class). Also, the dining experience is fantastic.”
—Ana Silva O’Reilly, Mrs. O. Around the World

North America

Vancouver International Airport, YVR

“Vancouver really does have a lovely facility. An absolutely wonderful hotel, the Fairmont, is up a flight of steps. And, again, there’s a fast transit system to get you quickly into town if your layover extends.”
—Joe Brancatelli, Joe Sent Me

What’s your favorite foreign airport to get stuck in?

 

More Layover Solutions:

Amsterdam Airport Layovers: How to Make the Most of Them

Beijing Airport Layovers: How to Make the Most of Them

Barcelona Airport Layovers: How to Make the Most of Them

Great Paris Hotels for an Airport Layover at Charles de Gaulle

London Heathrow Layover: Great Hotels for a Stopover at LHR

Madrid Airport Layovers: How to Make the Most of Them

Be a smarter traveler: Use Wendy’s WOW List to plan your next trip. You can also follow her on Facebook and Twitter @wendyperrin, and sign up for her weekly newsletter to stay in the know.

 

Northern Lights, Finnmark, Norway

Destinations That Get Even Better in the Dark

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Now that winter is in full swing, bringing short days and long nights, we’d like to spotlight a few great destinations that come alive in the dark. Put these nighttime experiences on your travel list, and tell us about your favorites!

Norwegian Lapland

Very simply put, you can’t see the Northern Lights when the sun’s out, so the short days of winter are a blessing for aurora chasers. Pro tip: You’ll have a 95 percent chance of a sighting if you head to the beautiful Finnmark coastline in the Norwegian Lapland, between December and March. The weather is cold, but the clear, dark skies offer great opportunity.

Mykonos

When you spend the day in a place as beautiful as Greece you’ve got a lot to celebrate come nightfall. And that’s what happens every evening on Mykonos. Spend the day soaking up the sun, but when it sets, finish in typical Mykonos manner: with a night of partying at clubs or a casual nightcap at a small bar.

Monaco at night

Monaco at night. Photo: Visit Monaco/Facebook

Monte Carlo

Like you when you don your finest evening wear, some places are just prettier at night—and Monte Carlo is one of those places. When the sun goes down, everything lights up: the boats in the harbor, the casinos, the glamorous Hotel de Paris, and all the fabulous people who frequent them. It’s like something out of a James Bond movie.

Chiang Mai, Thailand

Southeast Asia’s night markets are an experience. Some are crowded and touristy, but Chiang Mai’s “Street of Walking People” is one of the best. Every Sunday, rain or shine, most of Chiang Mai turns out for this market, which lasts from 4 p.m. until midnight, starting at Thapae Gate and running the length of Ratchadamnoen Road through the heart of the Old City. The street is closed entirely to vehicular traffic, allowing locals to meet, browse, socialize, haggle, and enjoy. The market is a real showcase of the art and craftsmanship of northern Thailand.

Hvar Town, Croatia

Hvar Town, on the island of Hvar, is magical at night in season (June through September). The harbor sparkles with all the beautiful yachts that are lit up—and with all the chic Europeans strolling and dining along the waterfront. The whole scene is electric and lively: You can spend the night popping into bars and concerts, and sampling great little restaurants.

What destinations are your favorites at night?

 

Be a smarter traveler: Follow Wendy Perrin on Facebook and Twitter @wendyperrin, and sign up for her weekly newsletter to stay in the know.

La Rambla, Barcelona, Spain

Barcelona Airport Layovers: How to Make the Most of Them

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An airport layover doesn’t have to mean that you’re stuck in the airport. In this series, local experts in the world’s most popular hub cities recommend sightseeing itineraries for every time frame.

 

If you’re flying through Barcelona-El Prat airport (BCN) and have a layover, you’ll probably be tempted to try to duck into the city and look around. The good news is that as long as you have at least seven hours, you can do it. We talked to Paul Bennett of Context Travel—our Trusted Travel Expert for short, cultural experiences in cities worldwide—for tips on how make the most of your Barcelona airport layover:

How to get out of the airport:

Taxis: Taxis are plentiful at the airport. A taxi to central Barcelona should run about 25 to 35 euros. The journey should take 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the time of day..

Train: There is train service from the airport to the station Barcelona-Passeig de Gràcia in central Barcelona. The train line is the R2 Norte Aeropuerto – Sant Celoni / Maçanet Massanes. This train runs every 30 minutes for most of the day, and the journey takes approximately 30 minutes. You can purchase your ticket at the airport station before boarding. Finding your way to the train from the airport is easy—it’s clearly marked. The station Barcelona-Passeig de Gracia is in the heart of the Eixample district, where many of Gaudi’s works are located.

Bus: Try the Aerobus. There are two options—one leaving from Terminal 1 and the other from Terminal 2. The buses come frequently, every 5 to 10 minutes. They are affordable (about 10.80 euros per round-trip ticket), comfortable, and fast (35 minutes). You purchase your ticket from the driver while boarding or sometimes there is a person selling tickets at a kiosk by the bus (they are legit). The bus makes a few stops at various spots in the city—its terminus is Plaza Catalonia, which is ideally located just between the Gothic Quarter and Eixample district and is served by several metro lines. Its website is very easy to navigate. Don’t be alarmed if your bus is full when you arrive and you can’t get on, just remember that another one will come very shortly. It’s also very easy to find the Aerobus at the airport—it should be very well marked.

Note: The aerobus is generally easier to navigate than the train, as it’s designed for tourists. But if your time is very limited, or you have a very specific destination in mind, a taxi might be worth the extra cost.

What to do with your luggage: There is a left-luggage office in Terminal 1, on the first floor (Spanish floor 0) and it’s possible to leave luggage there for up to 30 days (fee per 24-hour period). If you’re arriving into Terminal 2, Terminal 1 is a short walk away. There is also a free shuttle bus that runs 24 hours a day. The charge for all or part of each 24-hour period depends on the size of your luggage: large locker (50x80x90 cm), €5.80; medium locker (35x80x60 cm), €5.10; small locker (35x80x45 cm), €4.50.

Boqueria Market, Barcelona, Spain

Boqueria Market, Barcelona, Spain. Photo: mertxe iturrioz/Flickr

If you have a 7-hour layover:

 Allot four hours for travel to and from the city in order to be back in time (two hours in advance) for an international flight. That will give you a nice three hours in the city, which is enough to get a feel for Barcelona’s medieval Gothic Quarter and its more gritty sister, the El Raval neighborhood.

Start with a quick look at La Rambla, the city’s ancient thoroughfare, which was once a stream located outside the city walls. (In fact, a “La Rambla” street exists in many cities and was derived from the Arabic word ramlah, meaning riverbed). If you’re hungry, head to the Boqueria to see the sites and smell the smells. It’s a tourist haven, sure, but it is a historic market worth taking in, with many authentic vendors and locals doing their shopping. Pinotxo bar is one of the best stands for regional specialties; try the bacalao (dry salt cod), which is ubiquitous. After a bite, wander briefly through the Gothic Quarter’s narrow streets, staying especially attuned to the neighborhood’s ancient Jewish Call (the Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492 but there are still traces, however slight, of their existence in Barcelona). Then head over to El Raval, on the Boqueria side of La Rambla. It’s an area that was once grazing land for the walled city and has undergone great transformation over the centuries. The last century was hard on the area (it became the red-light district); however, in the 1990s the city poured money into developing the Raval, and it’s now a bohemian center. It’s home to the Richard Meier–designed Museum of Contemporary Art but still a haven for trendy artistic types (check out the street art).

For those interested in learning about the Raval’s history with an expert, you could skip the stroll through the Gothic Quarter and consider Context Travel’s three-hour history seminar of the neighborhood: Revealing the Raval.

 

If you have an 8-hour layover or longer:

Take a taxi to the top of Montjuïc hill for a spectacular view of the city and a bit of exploration. The area is home to a 17th-century fortress (the Montjuïc castle, Carretera de Montjuïc); two Olympic stadiums (1936 and 1992); the International Exposition (World’s Fair) of 1929; the Palau Nacional (built for the World’s Fair and intended to be a temporary structure, but now the Museum of Catalan Art; a museum dedicated to the work of Catalan artist Joan Miró; and quaint secret gardens along the hill’s side. Later, board the cable car (near the Funicular de Montjuïc’s Miramar station; walk about a half mile along Avinguda de Miramar in the direction of the sea (east), or take the #50 bus, for a thrilling ride down to the port, where you can stroll along the seaside promenade and stop for a relaxing drink or bite to eat in the sun. After this break, depending on how much time remains, explore the area of Barceloneta just next door. It’s a neighborhood created in the 18th century to provide housing for families who were displaced by the construction of the citadel in the Ribera neighborhood. Many of Barceloneta’s original 18th-century, two-story houses exist today, and its comparatively wide streets are a bright alternative to the dark and narrow alleyways of the Gothic Quarter. Stop in at the lively neighborhood tapas restaurant La Bombeta for some great snacks before taking a taxi back to the airport.

For those looking for more structured time, try Context Travel’s three-hour Montjuic, Conquering the Mountain walk or the three-hour Barcelona and the Sea tour.

 

If you don’t have time to leave the airport:

There are a number of VIP lounges that are free for business-class ticket holders and open to other ticket holders for a small fee (26 euros per adult/12.50 euros per child). These lounges usually have food and beverage service, television, Internet access (sometimes even computers for use), newspapers, and books. The Joan Miró VIP Lounge in Terminal 1 is open to travelers flying only to non-Schengen countries and even has showers and a leisure area with pool tables.

Terminal 1 also has several air rooms, air showers (30 minutes; includes towel, gel, and slippers), and an air wellness program (read: massage). These should all be pre-reserved on the website.

There are a few play areas for children spread out around both terminals. They can be found on the interactive airport map.

The airport offers 15 minutes of free Wi-Fi to every traveler. Beyond that, it must be purchased.

 

More Layover Solutions:

Amsterdam Airport Layovers: How to Make the Most of Them

Beijing Airport Layovers: How to Make the Most of Them

Great Paris Hotels for an Airport Layover at Charles de Gaulle

London Heathrow Layover: Great Hotels for a Stopover at LHR

Madrid Airport Layovers: How to Make the Most of Them

Tokyo Airport Layovers: The Best Way to Spend Them

Be a smarter traveler: Use Wendy’s WOW List to plan your next trip. You can also follow her on Facebook and Twitter @wendyperrin, and sign up for her weekly newsletter to stay in the know.

Scott Mayerowitz AP airlines reporter

How an Airlines Reporter Travels: Meet the AP’s Scott Mayerowitz

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Scott Mayerowitz knows airlines. He’s been reporting on them at the Associated Press for five years, and before that was a travel editor and business reporter with ABC News. So he’s not just any old travel writer—he’s an investigative journalist with chops. However, this self-described #avgeek is not so serious that he’d turn his nose up at the chance to go sky diving on a cruise ship or to share a good Throwback Thursday selfie.

His Twitter and Instagram feeds are must-follows for any traveler—not only for the airline and travel news he provides, but also for a window onto the world of frequent fliers and mileage junkies (he is one himself), and for a humorous peek at his own life too.

Most memorable travel moment:

Visiting Iceland in summer, it was still light enough after a late dinner to play a round of golf with my dad. It wasn’t the best course or the best performance on our part, but there was something very unique about teeing off that late at night.

Most embarrassing travel moment:

Ordering food at foreign restaurants. Anywhere. My Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese—frankly any language skills—are atrocious. Even when reading something off a menu, I horribly mispronounce it. I always try, and I want locals to correct me so I can learn, but it’s embarrassing to me and my travel companions.

Name one thing people would be surprised to find in your travel bag:

Pacifiers. Hey, I’ve got an infant daughter. I’m still kind of surprised at the things I now travel with.

Scott takes his future avgeek along for the flight. Photo: Scott Mayerowitz/Instagram

Scott takes his future avgeek along for the flight. Photo: Scott Mayerowitz/Instagram

Touristy spot that’s actually worth it, and the trick to doing it right:

The museums and monuments of Paris are surely packed with tourists but not the least bit touristy. The one trick to avoiding the masses is to buy the Paris Museum Pass. Yes, it can save most first-timers money. But the real value is saving time by skipping lines at sites like the Louvre, Musée d’Orsay, and Versailles. Simply visit one of the less-crowded museums first to buy the pass.

Non-touristy spot people might not know about but should add to their must-visit list:

Most folks now know that Bruges is a popular place to travel outside Brussels, but Ghent, which is lesser known, was really cool. The city isn’t as postcard-pretty but is more vibrant; it’s filled with unique stores and restaurants and isn’t catering mostly to tourists.

Name two indispensable apps you use when you travel:

Google Maps (now with an offline feature that is perfect for overseas travel) and FlightAware, which updates me about flight delays, inbound aircraft, and the filed flight time.

The travel gadget or gear that has saved your life…or your mind:

My portable battery charger—well, chargers. I normally travel with two iPhones, an iPad, and my laptop. The laptop gets first priority for any spare electrical outlets. So that’s where the battery chargers come in; they ensure that my iPad will survive a long flight or that my phone has enough juice left upon landing to be productive.

Choose any two travel-world bloggers and tell us the most important thing you’ve learned from each.

It’s so hard to single out one or two folks. I’ve learned way too much about miles, points, and gaming the system from the scores of bloggers out there. I’ve also found tricks to making my travels easier from people like Wendy Perrin. And then there is Brett Snyder at CrankyFlier.com, who spells out exactly how things work in the industry.

Related:  The Airlines’ Biggest Shortcoming, According to The Cranky Flier

Whose Tweets do you find the most useful and entertaining when you see them in your feed?

I find Brian Sumers offers some of my favorite geeky, airline news. Then there is my awesome co-worker David Koenig, who is on top of every bit of industry news you would ever need to know.

Name one way the travel industry can do better.

A lot of websites will sell you a package vacation with air, hotel, and car rental. But none of them seamlessly ties all of that together. It’s the same thing with hotels and airlines. Travelers might be treated like royalty at a great hotel, but then that magic of the vacation disappears at the airport check-in counter. Luxury hotels and airlines need to find ways to better partner to have that service seamlessly carry over throughout the entire trip. For us, it is one journey, and travel providers need to start thinking about the trip from our perspective.

Look into the future and describe one aspect of travel that you think will be different in 20 years:

The personal interaction will be gone from all but luxury travel. We already check in for flights (and a handful of hotels) with our mobile phones. We can order room service on an app. And forget the city walking tour. There’s now a podcast for that. Sure, this does help empower some independent travelers, but we also risk a homogenized travel experience and miss out on those tiny interactions that give us a sense of place and uniqueness.

You’ve said the points/miles game will either go away completely or change drastically. Can you speak to that?

I have a confession: I am a points-and-miles addict. But I am getting closer and closer to getting out of the game. Or at least changing my strategy. Unless you are an elite flier, loyalty doesn’t pay. And even there, the real benefits don’t kick in unless you do 50,000 miles a year. The same for hotels. The top-tier folks are treated great, but otherwise the leisure traveler doesn’t see giant benefits. Still sign up for programs and collect your points, but maybe it is time to rethink those credit cards. A two-percent cash- back credit card will probably suit most travelers best. Especially if you just fly domestically in coach and are happy with a clean, safe hotel room. Plus you aren’t married to one airline or hotel chain. That said, I’m finding it personally very hard to break the habit. I still am getting value out of luxury hotels and international business-class flights, but it is getting harder and harder.

Related: The Best Credit Cards for Travelers

Most effective thing you’ve ever said or done to get an upgrade or a special perk while traveling:

Airline upgrades for special occasions are a thing of the past. But hotels still have much leeway in who they upgrade and why. I’ve had good luck on my honeymoon and even one night when my wife and I escaped for a kid-free night. I usually reach out in advance with my confirmation number, explain why this is an important stay, note any status I have, and ask if there is anything they can do to make it special for my wife.

To make friends, I always carry:

Airline drink coupons

Overrated:

Theme parks

Underrated:

National parks

If you were in my car during a road trip, you’d hear me singing:

The wrong lyrics to whatever’s on the radio.

The airplane movie that, unexpectedly, made me bawl was:

500 Days of Summer

When I travel, I’m not afraid of:

Getting lost

But I am afraid of:

Losing perspective.

 

Follow Scott:

Twitter @GlobeTrotScott

Instagram @GlobeTrotScott

 

Be a smarter traveler: Follow Wendy Perrin on Facebook and Twitter @wendyperrin, and sign up for her weekly newsletter to stay in the know.

Geneva Airport flightboard Nov 14, 2015

5 Reasons Not to Panic About the Worldwide Travel Alert

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The State Department has issued a worldwide travel alert and, in my opinion, some people are overreacting. First, such an alert isn’t new: The State Department has periodically issued worldwide travel cautions since shortly after September 11, 2001. Second, the State Department is not advising us to stay home—it’s advising us simply to be vigilant, which is smart on any trip.

Third, why is anyone surprised? When you look at a list of terror attacks since 9/11, it’s clear that anything can happen anywhere at any time. Most travelers I know have, in the years since 9/11, grown accustomed to that fact and learned to live with it. We’ve adapted to the new normal. We know that—as I point out in 7 Keys to Traveling Without Fear Despite Terrorist Attacks—the risk that we’ll become the victim of a terrorist incident while traveling is very small.

The more you’ve traveled, the more direct experience you have that is at odds with what you see on television news or hear about on talk radio, so you’re not overly influenced by the media noise that foments fear. I’ve traveled in many a country at times when a State Department Travel Warning was in place, and there were no signs whatsoever of any problem.

I actually think high airfares may be doing more to keep people from traveling than terrorists are. After 9/11, travelers were convinced that certain swaths of the world were deadly dangerous…until airfares and cruise fares were chopped in half, at which point they pounced on the deals.  Every traveler considering a trip does a risk-benefit analysis. When the benefit is great, they play down the risk; when the price drops low enough, they’re suddenly willing to travel.

I’ve been studying travelers closely since long before September 11, 2001. I’ve watched hundreds of them cancel trips for no good reason, lose a lot of money, and miss out on what could have been wonderful memories. I’ve also watched hundreds forge ahead with trips and tell me afterward how glad they were to have done so.

As you wrestle with whether to make or quash travel plans while the worldwide travel alert is in place (it expires on Feb 24, 2016), here are five things to consider:

1. The State Department is not advising you to stay home. 

It has issued a Travel Alert, not a Travel Warning. A Warning is for “when we want you to consider very carefully whether you should go to a country at all.” Travel Alerts are “for short-term events we think you should know about when planning travel to a country.” The problem with the worldwide travel alert—and, in my opinion, a reason why some people are panicking—is that it does not provide tangible steps of advice that are easy to follow. But I’ve done so here.

2. State Department advisories have always erred on the side of caution.

If you were running the State Department, would you want to be in a position where a terrorist incident occurs and you hadn’t warned people? No. You’d want to avoid blame. The State Department has nothing to lose by issuing an Alert. It also has nothing to lose if the Alert is not followed by an attack. (That’s because the spin can be that the authorities’ beefed-up vigilance is working.)

3. Other English-speaking governments have not issued worldwide travel alerts. 

It’s wise to get a second opinion by checking out other English-speaking governments’ advisories, such as Canada’s, the United Kingdom’s, and Australia’s.

4. If the Alert leads to fewer people traveling abroad, the warmer the welcome the rest of us will get.

There’s no reason to expect to encounter unfriendliness toward Americans abroad. It’s been my experience that there are at least three reasons why most people in most foreign countries are friendly toward Americans (at least, toward those of us who don’t behave like “ugly Americans”).  First, locals who depend on tourism are happy to see us, especially when tourism is down (and at a time when the Chinese, European, and Russian economies are flat). Second, Americans tip more than anyone else. As long as we continue to tip the way we do and the rest of the world doesn’t, we’ll be welcome. Third, I’ve found that locals differentiate between an individual traveler and his/her government; they don’t hold you responsible for your government’s policies any more than you would hold them responsible for their government’s policies.

5. The Alert will probably lead to travel deals. 

History has shown that special offers will be on the way. When enough people stay home, deals arise. I’ve already signed up for low-fare alerts from AirfareWatchdog, and I’ll look for hotel deals on TripAdvisor. FIve-star hotels and other luxury travel suppliers won’t want to lower their rates publicly because they fear devaluing their product; instead, they’ll share unadvertised deals with their favorite travel agents behind the scenes (including my Trusted Travel Experts).

Of course, each of us has his or her own comfort level for travel right now, and we must each do our own risk-benefit analysis. Nobody knows you better than you, and you’ve got to do what feels right for you. As for me, I’m going to watch out for good travel values and report them here. Watch this space.

 

Be a smarter traveler: Follow Wendy Perrin on Facebook and Twitter @wendyperrin, and sign up for her weekly newsletter to stay in the know.

The Best Airport Restaurants in the U.S.

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When you’re stuck in the airport, as is likely to happen this time of year, one of the tried-and-true ways to kill time is to eat something. Happily, airport restaurants have improved so much in the past few years that you might just wish you had more time to dine before taking off.

Inspired by the list that The Daily Meal just released, compiling its editors’ picks for the 35 best airport restaurants in the world, we asked our readers—frequent and sophisticated travelers that they are—for their expert opinion on the matter.

We narrowed the field to restaurants in U.S. airports, because other countries recognized the value of quality airport cuisine long before our own did, and so it’s simply too easy to ask for the best airport restaurants in the world.

Here’s what your fellow travelers named as the best airport restaurants in the U.S. Bookmark this page—you’re likely to need it if you’re traveling over the next few months.

Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport (ATL)

“One Flew South. They fly in their sushi fresh every day! It’s located in the International Terminal and feels like a real restaurant with funky decor. It’s amazing!”
—Lissa Harnish Poirot, Editor-in-Chief, FamilyVacationCritic.com

Cafe Intermezzo at ATL airport

Grab a book with your meal: Cafe Intermezzo at ATL is a restaurant and a bookstore. Photo: Cafe Intermezzo

“Cafe Intermezzo ATL. Both of my favorites in one place: great salads, and the tables are surrounded by a book store!”
—Beth Aton Stewart

“Ecco in Terminal F. It’s a Midtown Atlanta restaurant that now offers an airport outpost. Wonderful Mediterranean cuisine and a respectable wine list.”
—Marshall Jackson, MJ on Travel

“Fresh to Order is fantastic. All fresh, light, and healthy menu selections at affordable price points. Refreshing to see in an airport!
—Laura Faust, Ciao Laura

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS)

“The Salt Lick has the BEST BBQ at an airport I have ever had. The brisket was amazing! And I am from Texas, so I should know! They have one at DFW too.”
—Cacinda Maloney, Points and Travel

Boston Logan International Airport (BOS)

“Legal Sea Foods—there is more than one, and some have that ‘airport’ feel, but Legal is very fussy about quality, and you can get some of the best, freshest seafood in Boston.”
—Go See It Travel

Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT)

“Bojangles’ Famous Chicken ‘n Biscuits! I used to live down south, now I’m in Pittsburgh. I try and make all my flights connect through CLT, and I will run from one end to the other for my chicken biscuits!”
—Tasha Heckla

Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD)

Rick Bayless's gourmet Mexican dishes—and margaritas—are fan favorites at Chicago O'Hare. Photo: Tortas Frontera

Rick Bayless’s gourmet Mexican dishes—and margaritas—are fan favorites at Chicago O’Hare. Photo: Tortas Frontera

“Tortas Frontera is SO good. Delicious sandwiches, locally sourced ingredients, and a killer margarita. For about the same price as other airport options, you can get a little bit of gourmet (Rick Bayless knows his stuff). I actually look forward to this airport meal!”
—Kelly Ratliff

“Always make the rounds of Garrett’s popcorn, Vosge’s chocolates, and Tortas Frontera sandwich with margaritas!!!”
—Katherine Montgomery

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)

Texas favorite Salt Lick BBQ has an outpost at DFW location. Photo: Salt Lick BBQ/Facebook

Texas favorite Salt Lick BBQ has an outpost at DFW location. Photo: Salt Lick BBQ/Facebook

“Salt Lick BBQ gets my vote. Being a Texan, this gives me the taste of home even if only passing through. And yes, Texas BBQ is the BEST!”
—Charles Wolfe

“Cousins Bar-B-Que @ Dallas. D’lish!”
—Lisa Ringler

“DFW Pappasitos, Mexican.”
—Leslie Kaminski

Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW)

“Max & Erma’s: A taste of typical Midwest always makes me happy to be home! Their cheesy tortilla soup and warm, freshly baked chocolate chip cookies are sure to cheer and warm up any wintery blues. Also would vote for National Coney Island, a Michigan classic.”
—Jessica Seba, Journey Mexico

Indianapolis International Airport (IND)

“Harry and Izzy’s is a great spot to sit down and have their famous shrimp cocktail and a drink.”
—Midori Fujii

New York’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA)

“Delta’s terminal at LGA offers a wealth of modern café options. Last time flying through I made extra time to pop into Crust. Fresh coal-oven pizzas and quiet atmosphere. Love the iPad order system. Swift service, darkened lighting, and a location just footsteps to the gates make this a perfect dining spot.”
—Sharon Pomerantz Strelzer, Pomerantz PR

Miami International Airport (MIA)

“Cafe Versailles totally gets you in the mood of Miami—hot, sizzling, tropical. You want to do the salsa while ordering your Cuban sandwich. When you can speak Spanish to the staff while you are still in the U.S., it’s like you’ve taken a ‘little trip’ to another country, and that’s priceless!”
—Robyn Webb

“At MIA, La Caretta is terrific authentic Latin cuisine.”
—Marcy Gross Schackne

Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY)

“Ye Olde College Inn—fantastic food!”
—Lucie Thornton

Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)

“At EWR, Jersey Mike’s subs are the best.”
—Leslie Kaminski

New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)

“At JFK, The Palm has fabulous burgers. (Would you expect anything else?)”
—Marcy Gross Schackne

Philadelphia International Airport (PHL)

“I like Cibo Wine Bar at PHL. Great wines, nice Italian food, and an ambience that makes me forget I’m at an airport.”
—Lissa Harnish Poirot, Editor-in-Chief, FamilyVacationCritic.com

Portland International Airport (PDX)

“Do food trucks count? PDX has the popular Pok Pok food truck now, and LAX terminal 4 has Roy Choi’s Kogi BBQ.”
—Arnette, founder, Round The World Girl

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)

“I love Le Grand Orange at PHX—maybe because LGO was also in my Phoenix neighborhood. I’d often stop to get carry-out to take home from the airport! I love their salads, their pizza is delicious, and they offer a gluten-free chocolate cookie that is delectable.”
—Micheline Maynard, Editor in Chief, Curbing Cars

Washington, D.C.’s Reagan National Airport (DCA)

Legal Sea Foods clam chowder

A cup of clam chowder or a lobster roll? Or maybe a crab roll? Legal Sea Foods serves all its signatures at various airport locations. Photo: Legal Sea Foods/Facebook

“Bowl of clam chowder at Legal Sea Foods. Also, Boudin Bakery in SFO for fresh sourdough bread. They would be great together!”
— Charles McCool, McCool Travel

 

Be a smarter traveler: Follow Wendy Perrin on Facebook and Twitter @wendyperrin, and sign up for her weekly newsletter to stay in the know.

The Travel Innovation We’re Building at WendyPerrin.com

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Welcome, new readers! Especially those finding me from Town&Country, where the Dec 2015/Jan 2016 issue profiles me (“The Travel Whisperer”) and reveals what we’ve been building for travelers here at WendyPerrin.com.

“When Wendy Perrin shares her secrets, it’s as close as you can get to vacation perfection,” says Town&Country. Well, what my team and I have built does more than just share my secrets. We’ve dreamed up a way to save you from mediocre trips.  It’s a whole system—one that’s never existed before in the history of the world, and one that consumers have needed for decades—whose goal is to deliver to you the trip of your dreams.

If you click over to our Plan A Trip section, you can read about how we’ve created a WOW system that connects you with the best destination specialists out there and then optimizes the interaction between you and them so as to help you get the best trip possible at the greatest value for your dollar.

I began compiling a list of best destination specialists two decades ago, when I was at Condé Nast Traveler. First published in the year 2000 as “Wendy’s Rolodex,” it was the first list of its kind back then, and I’ve continued to refine and grow my “rolodex” every day since, road-testing and monitoring those on it to ensure that they remain the best. Now I’ve created a Trip-Monitoring Service too:  For two decades at Condé Nast Traveler, I studied the problems travelers have with travel agents, intervened to rectify the issues that cropped up, and advised readers how to avoid these pitfalls. My Trip-Monitoring Service is designed to ensure you benefit from that advice; it zaps common problems before they impact a trip.

How does it work?  If you know where you want to travel, go to The WOW List, find the right Trusted Travel Expert, click on the black CONTACT button below the Trusted Travel Expert’s entry, and fill out the “Let’s Create an Extraordinary Trip!” form. That way you’ll be recognized as a WendyPerrin.com VIP traveler, you’ll be entitled to the best pricing and service that each Trusted Travel Expert can offer, and you’ll get my advice along the way and my Trip-Monitoring Service. If you can’t find your destination on The WOW List, go to this abbreviated version to see all the locations in an easy, at-a-glance format.

If you have no destination in mind and need suggestions, click over to Ask Wendy. I’ll do my best to reply personally with recommendations or refer you to the right generalist travel agent.

No matter how you connect with me—here on the site, on Facebook, or on Twitter—rest assured I’m doing my utmost to put the best travel-planning tools of all kinds, human and digital, at your fingertips. What I’ve built here is my small way of doing my part to contribute to the greater good: The more people enjoy eye-opening and transformative trips, the more often we will travel, the more stamps we will collect in our passports, the more global citizens there will be, the better we will all understand one another, and the more of the world’s problems we can solve.

Happy travels!

 

 

Be a smarter traveler: Follow Wendy Perrin on Facebook and Twitter @wendyperrin, and sign up for her weekly newsletter to stay in the know.

Best Ways to Spend Delays in 17 U.S. Airports

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For many of us, Thanksgiving and Christmas mean too much time spent in airports: The holiday crowds require you to get there early, messy weather can mean delays, and planes are so packed that, if your flight is cancelled, it can be untold hours before you get a seat on another flight. But some airports are far more tolerable than others. In some cases they’re even enjoyable. You already know the best way to spend a layover in 10 of the biggest U.S. hubs. Here, a selection of savvy globe trotters—from travel experts to my Facebook followers—share the best U.S. airports to get stuck in, and their favorite way to pass the time there.

Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport (ATL)
“ATL – One Flew South – sushi.”
—Willis McKee, reader

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS)
“If I had to choose one airport, it would be Austin, Texas, for the great local restaurants, including several that often have live bands.”
—Scott Mayerowitz,  Executive Editorial Director, The Points Guy

Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT)
“Relax in the charming white rocking chairs scattered throughout the airport. Makes me think ‘Southern Hospitality’.”
—Kathy Belden, reader

Centurion Lounge in Miami International Airport

The Centurion Lounge

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)
“I’ve been stuck for days at DFW, and it was just fine—I looked into declaring residency in the American Express Centurion lounge. The DFW airport grounds are bigger than the island of Manhattan, and the airport offers myriad amenities, including the American Express lounge and an almost-too-nice Grand Hyatt attached to the terminal with a pool deck overlooking the runways. What more could you need?”
—Gary Leff, founder, View From The Wing

Denver International Airport (DEN)
“Food, not too much shopping, lots of open-space feeling from the high ceilings and huge windows— and views of the mountains.”
—Carolyn Trabuco, reader

Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW)
“Detroit is the best airport in the USA at the moment. Great local restaurants. Beautiful and clean.”
—David Rosati, reader

honolulu airport chinese garden

Believe it or not, this is an airport. HNL’s Chinese, Japanese, and Hawaiian gardens were designed in 1962, when the airport was built. Photo: Courtesy HNL

Honolulu International Airport (HNL)
“I love the gardens in the middle of the airport.”
—Perri Collins, reader

Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
“My favorite domestic airport to get stuck in is Los Angeles International (LAX)! They’ve brought in a bunch of local restaurants and shops which have made all the difference in the world. A lot of travelers don’t realize that your same-day boarding pass allows you to go into any terminal no matter which airline you’re flying! So if you like a restaurant in one of the other terminals, go ahead and check it out.”
—Johnny Jet, JohnnyJet.com

Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport (MSP)
“Lots of good shopping and restaurants, and if it’s a long enough layover, in less than 15 minutes you can take the train to the Mall of America for a ride on the carousel.”
—Lori Bruns, reader

New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK): Terminal 5
“I love the JetBlue terminal (Terminal 5) at JFK. They have that great store MUJI to GO, an Ex Officio shop, great restaurants, and a spa.”
—Paula Froelich, founder of A Broad Abroad

New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK): Terminal 4
“I love the Delta lounge in Terminal 4. It’s so big that I can always find a quiet corner. The space is subdivided into a lot of different rooms, so it’s easy to have a different experience each time. Every seat has outlets and USB ports, which is key for last-minute charging. And there’s an outdoor lounge, which is just fun because I’ll take any oxygen I can before being locked in a tin can.”
—Pavia Rosati, founder/CEO, Fathom

Palm Beach International Airport (PBI)
“It’s low-key and truly Floridian, with a relaxing vibe. And if you forgot a souvenir, there are always those kitschy coconut candy treats.”
—Sharon Pomerantz Strelzer, reader

Portland International Airport (PDX)
“PDX has the best store: CC McKenzie has awesome clothes, shoes, and accessories. They also have the Dragontree holistic day spa, and Powell’s Books!”
—Brandy Audette, reader

San Francisco International Airport yoga room

SFO’s Yoga Room, the first ever in an airport, lets you get in a good stretch before you board your flight. Photo: Courtesy San Francisco International Airport

San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
“It has a spa for massages and a yoga room.”
—Deb Arora, reader

Washington, D.C.’s Reagan National Airport (DCA)
“I love taking a walk into the historic lobby in what’s now Terminal A. It’s usually pretty empty there, but if you stop for a moment, you can just feel the presence of all of the historic figures that have graced those halls since the terminal opened during World War II.”
—Brett Snyder, president and Chief Airline Dork, The Cranky Flier

What’s your ideal airport to get stuck in? Weigh in below!

 

Be a smarter traveler: Follow Wendy Perrin on Facebook and Twitter @wendyperrin, and sign up for her weekly newsletter to stay in the know.

passport

6 Things You Need to Know About Renewing Your Passport

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Here are six important things you need to know about your passport:

• If you are a frequent traveler and were hoping to be able to add extra pages for your passport, you’re out of luck. As of the beginning of 2016, travelers are no longer be able to add new pages to an existing passport. Now if you run out of space, you’ll have to buy an entirely new passport with either the standard 28 or the expanded 52 leaves.

• Check your expiration date right now. If you have eight months or less, renew it now. Passports are usually valid for ten years, but you really have to renew it in its ninth year—since many countries won’t let you enter if you have fewer than six months before your passport expires.

•The price is the same—$110—whether you buy a 28-page book or a 52-page book.

•You can easily renew by mail (and avoid an additional processing fee by doing so) if your most recent passport is undamaged and was issued when you were 16 or older (and within the past 15 years). Even if you’ve legally changed your name, you can still do the entire passport renewal process by mail.

•You have to send in your old passport to get a new one. Don’t panic if it doesn’t get returned with your new one—it will be, but usually in a separate mailing.

• The State Department offers expedited service: Pay $60 and your new passport will arrive in three weeks instead of six. Don’t bother with this. I just renewed mine, and had it back in two and a half weeks. The exception is if you are in an extreme hurry, in which case you can pay the same $60 for a five-day turnaround if you apply in person at a passport agency and can prove your urgent need.

 

 

Be a smarter traveler: Follow Wendy Perrin on Facebook and Twitter @wendyperrin, and sign up for her weekly newsletter to stay in the know.

San Lorenzo villa rental, Dolomites, Italy

The Rewards of an Italian Villa Vacation in Winter

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Le Ripe villa, Tuscany, Italy
Le Ripe villa, Tuscany, Italy. Photo: Home Base Abroad
Le Ripe villa, Tuscany, Italy
Le Ripe villa, Tuscany, Italy. Photo: Home Base Abroad
Le Ripe villa, Tuscany, Italy
Le Ripe villa, Tuscany, Italy. Photo: Home Base Abroad
Via Lambertesca apartment rental, Florence, Italy
Via Lambertesca apartment, Florence, Italy. Photo: Home Base Abroad
Via Lambertesca apartment rental, Florence, Italy
Via Lambertesca apartment, Florence, Italy. Photo: Home Base Abroad
Via Lambertesca apartment rental, Florence, Italy
Via Lambertesca apartment, Florence, Italy. Photo: Home Base Abroad
San Lorenzo villa rental, Dolomites, Italy
San Lorenzo villa, Dolomites, Italy. Photo: Home Base Abroad
San Lorenzo villa rental, Dolomites, Italy
San Lorenzo villa, Dolomites, Italy. Photo: Home Base Abroad
San Lorenzo villa rental, Dolomites, Italy
Outdoor whirlpool, San Lorenzo villa, Dolomites, Italy. Photo: Home Base Abroad
La Civetta villa rental, Maremma, Tuscany, Italy
La Civetta villa, Maremma, Tuscany, Italy. Photo: Home Base Abroad
La Civetta villa rental, Maremma, Tuscany, Italy
La Civetta villa, Maremma, Tuscany, Italy. Photo: Home Base Abroad
Villa Maria Serena, Lake Como, Italy villa rental
Villa Maria Serena, Lake Como, Italy. Photo: Home Base Abroad
Villa Maria Serena, Lake Como, Italy villa rental
Villa Maria Serena, Lake Como, Italy. Photo: Home Base Abroad
Villa Sola Cabiati, Lake Como, Italy villa rental
Villa Sola Cabiati, Lake Como, Italy. Photo: Home Base Abroad

 

How does a holiday in an Italian villa sound? Like a dream, if you ask us. Sure, the holidays are lovely no matter where you spend them because it’s always wonderful to be with family…but wouldn’t they be just a bit more wonderful if you were sipping Italian wine from the scenic backyard of your own Tuscany estate? Yeah, you know it would. That’s why we checked in with Mara Solomon, our Trusted Travel Expert for Large Italian Villas (four bedrooms or more), to find the best, most beautiful properties for all your holiday getaways. Start planning your Italian villa vacation now…

Thanksgiving in Tuscany

Le Ripe villa, Tuscany, Italy

Le Ripe villa, Tuscany, Italy. Photo: Home Base Abroad

“One of our favorite houses is Le Ripe, outside the village of San Casciano dei Bagni, a little jewel box of a medieval village that’s a 1.6 km walk from the house. The view is of all the hills that go up to Monte Amiata—it’s breathtaking. It’s a main house for eight with an adjacent building that brings you up to 14. You have working fireplaces, and the cook, Antonietta, is amazing. The owner of the house has also developed a lovely spa, and November is a perfect time to visit (so are December and January) because you can sit in 104-degree water and look out over the gorgeous countryside. The other reasons to come here for Thanksgiving are that airfare is cheap and you are deep into the autumn festival. You have fresh porcini, zucca, chestnuts—it’s a huge food time here and there are many simple quaint festivals to celebrate the harvest.”

Christmas in Florence

Via Lambertesca apartment rental, Florence, Italy

Via Lambertesca apartment, Florence, Italy. Photo: Home Base Abroad

“I love Florence for Christmas. They put these long, white banners over the streets with illuminated stars and snowflakes, and it’s beautiful. They don’t do the whole commercial Christmas here—you get together with your family and you eat. And there’s no better place for it. Via Lambertesca is the apartment I would recommend in Florence. It’s between the Ponte Vecchio and the Duomo—there is no better location. It has five double rooms and comfortably accommodates ten people. It’s modern and gorgeous, and we have a terrific cook who can prepare a whole holiday dinner.”

Christmas or New Year’s in Milan/Lake Como

Villa Maria Serena, Lake Como, Italy villa rental

Villa Maria Serena, Lake Como, Italy. Photo: Home Base Abroad

“Milan is fabulous right now—so alive, so interesting, and the people are beautiful. As for where to stay, this is a contrarian view, but I recommend Lake Como. I was at Lake Como a few years ago in December and it snowed, and it was the most beautiful I’d ever seen it. We have three houses that have beautiful working fireplaces, and that are so sumptuous that you just want to relax indoors and enjoy. Plus, it takes no time at all to get to Milan from here—they’ve really improved the highways so it’s only about an hour, and we would arrange the car so you don’t have to drive.”

Winter Break in Venice and then the Dolomites

San Lorenzo villa rental, Dolomites, Italy

San Lorenzo villa, Dolomites, Italy. Photo: Home Base Abroad

“For a February or March break, I am an enormous fan of doing a city culture trip to Venice and then going two hours to the Dolomites for skiing, where you can do the Sellaronda ski loop of connected lifts and trails.

We have a beautiful house called San Lorenzo. It’s small and intimate with four rooms and three and a half baths, and it can accommodate ten people. It’s up in the mountains overlooking Val Badia, Val Pusteria, and Val Aurina. It’s really a retreat: You have a stainless steel heated outdoor whirlpool, you have a full indoor spa with sauna, you have a huge wood-burning stove, and you have people who cook and look after you and who are gems.”

Easter/Spring Break in Maremma, Tuscany

La Civetta villa rental, Maremma, Tuscany, Italy

La Civetta villa, Maremma, Tuscany, Italy. Photo: Home Base Abroad

“April is pretty much the best time for getting a hit of spring in Italy, when it’s still bad weather back home on the East Coast. My preference for April is the Maremma region. There’s a microclimate here, where spring comes early. It’s not pool weather but it’s warm, colorful spring days, and after a long winter, we’re all just starved for that. It doesn’t work if you’re from L.A., but as a New Englander I’m especially drawn here.

La Civetta is one of our properties in this area. It’s five minutes from a cool little village where you’ll find a Croatian tailor who will make you a beautiful jacket in a week, for men or women. It’s also near another thermal bath that’s very natural, rustic, and wonderful.

In addition to this little tailor, there are also food shops—and this is wine country. All the big heavy-hitting wines—they’re from here. You’re driving by the vineyards as you come to the house. So anybody with an interest in wine could easily fill an April here. And it’s nice because this is not when other people are there. You pay nothing for your plane ticket, it’s not crowded, and it’s much easier to see the vineyards.”

Be a smarter traveler: Follow Wendy Perrin on Facebook and Twitter @wendyperrin, and sign up for her weekly newsletter to stay in the know.

 

Tower of David, Jerusalem, Israel.

How to Stay Safe Traveling in Risky Countries

If you’re waiting for that perfect moment to travel to the Middle East, it’s probably never going to happen. It’s like waiting for that perfect moment to have a baby: You can always find some reason why now is not the optimal time.

At least once a week a reader emails me asking whether it’s safe to go to Israel, Egypt, Turkey, or [fill in country perceived as dicey] right now. I’ve noticed that the people asking have one thing in common: They’ve never been to the country in question.  And I think that very fact makes it harder for them to put the risks in perspective. If you’ve traveled in a supposedly precarious country before, you know first-hand how much less risky it is than all the media noise would indicate, you realize that the statistical probability that you will be the victim of a terrorist attack there is tiny, and you have no need to email me.

The news media never report the extent to which everyday life goes on as normal at a destination—because that’s not news. As I pointed out in Is It Safe to Travel To Turkey?, “Television and news coverage always make an incident in a foreign country seem more alarming than it actually is. If news sources were to report the extent to which life at the destination goes on as usual, with people going about their everyday routine unaffected, it wouldn’t sell ads, and the news sites wouldn’t get traffic.”

I’m writing this from Marrakech, by the way. It’s my fifth trip to Morocco. And in those five trips I’ve had so few safety concerns that it no longer even occurs to me that there might be risk involved in traveling to Marrakech.

So, in my opinion you should just go ahead and go. But be a smart traveler by doing three things:

(1) Book your trip through a Trusted Travel Expert.

Proven destination specialists like those on my WOW List have the latest security information at their fingertips, know which areas in a country are safe and which aren’t, employ the savviest guides and drivers, and know how to keep you from harm. Earl Starkey, Trusted Travel Expert for Turkey, has been keeping travelers safe there. And Joe Yudin, Trusted Travel Expert for Israel, is keeping travelers safe in Israel.

“I felt totally safe,” says Nadika Wignarajan, a WendyPerrin.com traveler from Bayonne, New Jersey, who just returned from a trip to Israel arranged by Joe. She and her parents were there for a week, including on November 4, when an Israeli Border Police officer was critically injured by a Palestinian driver who deliberately struck him near Hebron—the latest attack in a wave of increased violence since the start of October.

“Joe and his team have their ears to the ground and know what’s going on,” says Nadika. “I knew my guide wasn’t going to take us anywhere that wasn’t safe. There are parts of New Jersey that are more dangerous. We felt safer in Israel than in some areas of New York City where you don’t want to go at night.”

In fact, Nadika adds, there are advantages to being in Israel right now. “There are fewer tourists than usual. The religious sites are crowded, and there are cruise ships bringing in a lot of tourists, but other places were not crowded, and the hotels weren’t that busy; they were going out of their way to do stuff for us.”

“The biggest misconception travelers have,” says Joe Yudin, the Israel-based travel specialist who booked Nadika’s trip, “is that there is constant violence everywhere. That just isn’t the case. The second biggest misconception is that there is tension in the air. Not true. Yesterday I spent the entire day in an Arab village in the Gallilee, and everyone was nice, pleasant, accommodating, warm, smiling. There have been a few bad incidents, and these unfortunately are played up in the news over and over and over. But the fact is that usually there is no violent crime on our streets. Yes, there have been a few wars and everyone here is a soldier and knows what to do in wartime, but this isn’t a war. This is a wave of violence that we usually do not have. It brings the level of violence here up to the regular level of violence you find in Western cities.”

(2) Give yourself peace of mind via MedjetAssist’s Horizon Membership.

Even intrepid seasoned travelers who are able to put risks in perspective—and who understand the difference between the probability of an incident occurring in a country and the probability of an incident occurring to them while they are in that country—can still wonder how to lessen their risks when traveling there. If an incident occurs and does impact your trip, what are the smart steps to take?

You might not know the answer, but you can turn to someone who does. MedjetAssist, the air medical transport membership program that gets you from a foreign hospital that you happen to find yourself stuck in to a hospital back home that you trust—something that most travel insurance policies won’t do for you—recently added a new membership level that reduces your risk when your security is threatened: Horizon Membership offers assistance should a crisis—a terrorist attack, a political threat, violent crime, or the like—strike. You get access to a 24/7 Crisis Response Center, a veteran security expert to advise you, and response services to come to the rescue if necessary.

Actually, MedjetAssist Vice-President and COO John Gobbels points out, if required, a crisis team can come in and remove you from a situation even if it’s not been a declared a major event or incident—even if it’s just because you’re feeling uncomfortable due to the current situation on the ground and want to get out of that place.  Some other companies’ emergency response services benefit kicks in only after a “qualifying security event” has taken place, says Gobbels—for instance, after the State Department has issued a Travel Warning, or after the event that was merely threatening has escalated into a dangerous situation.

(3) Take smart precautions.

If you’re headed to Israel or elsewhere in the Middle East:

1. Enroll in the U.S. State Department’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP), so the Embassy can send you security updates and help you in an emergency.

2. Choose a hotel that has CNN, BBC, and Al-Jazeera, so you can monitor the news in the mornings and evenings. Also make sure the hotel has reliable Internet access, so you can check local English-language news Web sites.

3. Avoid public gatherings and demonstrations.
Don’t get caught in an angry mob.

4. Avoid public transport.
Use a driver.

5. Stay away from border areas and avoid bad neighborhoods the same way you would in New York City or Chicago.
“Don’t wander alone in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem, Hebron, Bethlehem, or Nablus,” says Joe Yudin, my Trusted Travel Expert for Israel.

6. Don’t photograph government buildings, military installations, airports, train stations, policemen, guards, or anyone who doesn’t want his/her photo taken.

7. Carry your hotel’s business card—the one written in the local language—so you can show it to non-English-speaking locals (such as a taxi driver) and get back to your hotel in an emergency.

8. Carry a cell phone programmed with emergency numbers (for the police, your hotel, and medical emergencies)

9. Carry a mini-flashlight (in case you’re caught in the dark).

10. Don’t focus on the wrong risks. Don’t get so caught up in avoiding risks that are highly unlikely—e.g., a terrorist attack—that you forget to focus on those risks that are much more likely to damage a trip—e.g., traffic accidents, pickpockets, food poisoning, sunburn.

 

Be a smarter traveler: Follow Wendy Perrin on Facebook and Twitter @wendyperrin and sign up for her weekly newsletter to stay in the know.

exercise bands on carry-on bag

An Easy Way to Exercise on Vacation — No Gym Required

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Making time to exercise on vacation can often seem like a chore. There are so many fascinating things to be doing, and after all, you’re probably already walking a ton each day. But it’s even more important than usual to take care of yourself when you’re traveling: You’re out of your normal routine, eating differently, sleeping differently, and are probably more tired than you realize.

One way I make it easy to stay on top of my health is to keep a couple of tiny exercise helpers in my carry-on: A resistance band and a loop band. They weigh next to nothing and fit right in the pocket of my carry-on—as opposed to bulky running sneakers, which eat up a ton of precious space (and so often go unused; am I right?).

Instead, the bands quickly turn any hotel room into a gym. I use the first band to do arm- and leg-strengthening exercises (here’s a wide array to choose from). And I place the loop band around both legs for bridges, clamshells, and lateral band walks.

I especially appreciate these items after a long flight, and when I don’t want to deal with making an appearance at the hotel fitness center.

Do you have an exercise routine when you travel?

Istanbul's Bebek Neighborhood

Is It Safe to Travel to Turkey?

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Is it safe to travel to Turkey? That is a question I’ve been asked dozens of times over the past two decades, usually as a result of a scary news story that makes someone second-guess a trip they’ve already planned.

Last week I was asked the same question again by a reader who has booked a Turkey trip through one of the Trusted Travel Experts on my WOW List. Even though she’s excited about the trip, she is getting pressure from her family and adult children to rethink her plans.

I understand that her family may be concerned, given what they are hearing and seeing in the news, but if it were me, there’s no way I would cancel. Turkey has had bombings every year since I can remember, and never have any of these incidents impacted or dampened my readers’ travel experiences there. I myself have been to Turkey four times—three of those times coinciding with major terrorist incidents—and every time I felt totally safe everywhere I traveled in the country.

I know that politics in Turkey are complex and that national elections are scheduled for November 1. But I also know that television and news coverage always make an incident in a foreign country seem more alarming than it actually is. If news sources were to report the extent to which life at the destination goes on as usual, with people going about their everyday routine unaffected, it wouldn’t sell ads, and the news sites wouldn’t get traffic. That’s why media outlets are forced to write sensationalistic, scary headlines: to get people to click and read.

True, there are areas in southeastern Turkey—near the border with Syria—that most countries’ governments are warning travelers not to visit. But those areas are hundreds of miles from Istanbul and other popular tourist sites.

Furthermore, any coverage that paints a story about difficulties travelers might be facing does not apply to travelers who booked through a destination specialist such as the Trusted Travel Experts on my WOW List. These experts know their destinations like no one else, and they know the truth about where it’s safe to be. In the case of this particular reader, she booked her trip through Karen Fedorko Sefer, a Turkey travel expert to whom I’ve been sending travelers for years. Karen lives in Istanbul and has the latest on-the-ground intel for making trips safe, not to mention extraordinary.

Last year, after another spate of news reports about terrorist incidents in Turkey, I interviewed several readers of mine who were traveling in the country at a seemingly difficult time. They had arranged their trips through Earl Starkey, another Trusted Travel Expert who lives in Istanbul. (Here’s his Insider’s Guide to Istanbul, as well as his Insider’s Guide to Cappadocia.) Examples of what these travelers told me include:

“The impression from the news in the U.S. is of a somewhat exotic, traditional country that is as progressive as a secularized Muslim country can be, but that remains somewhat poor and undeveloped,” Mr. Martin said. “I was, quite frankly, in shock to find a modern, affluent, and incredibly clean cosmopolitan city in Istanbul, efficient, modern airports, and generally friendly, accommodating people who truly were secular and in many areas very wealthy.”

“Before we left, my main fear was that there would be a great deal of hostility toward Americans. I never felt that! The Turkish people are warm and welcoming—just lovely people.”

“We were in Cappadocia when the U.S. bombing of Syria started. That day we toured a number of small towns in the area, and I looked carefully for any negative response from the locals. (I am over six feet and clearly American, so I do stand out in a small village). Everyone was very friendly and welcoming—I did not observe a single negative glance or frown.”

In that same article, I outlined steps you can take to decide if Turkey is right for you, along with precautions you can take to remain safe. While those tips remain useful, that article was written for people who travel totally on their own and do not have one of my Trusted Travel Experts watching over them throughout. The on-the-ground support that my Trusted Travel Experts offer is invaluable on any trip, and it’s the reason I created The WOW List in the first place.

So please don’t avoid Turkey. Just plan it right. Chances are you will be pleasantly surprised by the extent to which life goes on as normal, you will have fascinating conversations with the locals about current events, and you will feel jazzed about being there at an important moment. I say this because that’s what my readers who return from Turkey always tell me.

Imagine the news that Turkish people are getting about our lives in the United States right now. The sudden and all-too-frequent mass attacks of violence in our schools, movie theaters, and churches surely must make them question whether it’s safe to travel to the U.S.   Would you tell them not to come?

Astonishing Business-Class Airfare Deal to Europe—But You Have to Act Fast

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Every year I wait with bated breath for the day when business travel expert Joe Brancatelli announces that the airlines have started their secret business-class airfare sales to Europe. Today’s the day, folks—and this time the sales, which are usually for either the Thanksgiving/Christmas holidays or for summertime, are actually for both! Joe has found outstanding business-class airfares to Europe for as low as $1,566 roundtrip from the East Coast and $1,616 roundtrip from the West.

If you don’t know who Joe is or why I think he’s the smartest guy in the room when it comes to getting the most for your business-travel dollar, you can read our interview with him here. You can also sign up for his Joe Sent Me newsletter as soon as you finish reading this; you’ll be glad you did.

But back to the sale: The low fares, which are on British Airways, are for travel between November 16, 2015 and August 2016, but you must book by the end of the day tomorrow, October 16. Fares available include:

  • Tampa to London for $1,566
  • New York to London for $1,605
  • San Francisco, Chicago, Dallas, or Washington, D.C., to London for $1,611
  • Los Angeles to London for $1,616
  • Atlanta to London for $1,811

If you want to travel elsewhere in Europe via London, business-class fares start as low as $1,533 roundtrip.

But wait—it gets even cheaper: If you are an AARP member, says Joe, “you can drive your fare down below $1,200 roundtrip on some routes between late November and next August. (Yes, August, 2016.) And, yes, other carriers do seem to be matching. And, yes, there’s a great mileage bonus opportunity. And even a first-class sale.”

The key to many of these low fares is a Sunday-night stay, says Joe. Start reading about the sale at www.ba.com/2015, and then dig deeper with BA’s pricing tool here. The sale includes American Airlines, Iberia and OpenSkies, BA’s boutique carrier to Paris and Iberia. And, amazingly, Joe reports good availability.

So, if you’ve been toying with the idea of a trip to Europe, now is the moment to book. And if you were ever thinking, “I wish I knew about great business-class travel deals,” now is the time to become a member at Joe Sent Me. Yes, you’ll still get some great info if you opt only for his free weekly newsletter, but you’ll get the really good stuff—including breaking travel alerts and deals—if you purchase a membership. Starting at just $69 a year, you can see that it very quickly pays for itself.

Fireworks at Disney World, Orlando, Florida.

How Disney’s New Ticket Prices Will Impact Your Family Vacation

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Disney made two announcements last week that will affect trips to Disney World and Disneyland. We checked in with Susan Kelly, Wendy’s Trusted Travel Expert for Disney trips, to learn more about how these changes could impact any family vacations you may be planning to the happiest place on earth.

The first news was that annual passholder rates have gone up and benefits have changed. “Now visitors have options between different levels of passes at different price points,” Susan explains. “The most expensive Platinum Pass includes parking, park hopping, a photo pass, and no blackout dates.” Conversely, the least expensive option has blackout dates and excludes the extra perks.

These passes are geared toward visitors who go to Disney a lot, Susan points out, so the change might not affect you at all if you’re planning a one-off family vacation.

The second announcement will have a greater impact if or when it is eventually implemented: surge pricing. When demand for tickets is highest (holidays, school breaks), tickets will be most expensive; when demand is lowest, tickets will be cheaper.

“The current park admission model has everyone paying the same flat rate to enter the parks,” Susan explains. “A four-day pass is the same price, no matter when those four-day visits occur. The new pricing being considered will have different prices for each day, based on what season and what day of the week you visit. A visit to Magic Kingdom on the Saturday of Christmas week will be more expensive than a visit on a Wednesday in early September. You will save by visiting on weekdays and designated off weeks.”

One reason cited by Disney for this potential change—apart from the obvious goal of making more money—is crowd control; the theory is that cheaper tickets offered at low-peak times will help spread out the high peaks and valleys of visitor numbers throughout the year. “Hopefully it will do something to alleviate the crowds,” Susan says. “The number-one question travelers ask us is: ‘When can I go when it is not busy?’”

And how can families still make a Disney vacation affordable? It’s all about planning: “You will save more the longer you visit,” explains Susan. “It’s the family visiting for only one or two days that pays the most per day. There is the opportunity to save up to 45 percent on park admission if you visit for more days. Knowing that, it’s smartest to plan for one big trip. It is better to visit once for eight nights than to do two shorter visits of four nights each.”

Susan also recommends taking advantage of any promotions that Disney runs. “Part of our free service is that we keep our ears to the track on discounts as they are released, and we work to apply them to existing reservations. If there are no discounts available at the resort the traveler booked, we give them the option to move to where there is a savings.”

Your best strategy? Reach out to Susan to book your Disney vacation for the smartest dates. (She knows when they are.) And keep in mind that if the only time your family can travel is during a peak week, and you hate crowds, Disney might not be the right place for your family at that time.

“I think that one hand of Disney is trying to find ways to manage the crowds by providing a financial incentive to visit during ‘off’ times,” Susan says, “but the other hand has over-built and over-promised that ‘magical’ experience. You can’t skip down Main Street with 25,000 people in your way!”

Remember also that Disney can be so expensive on some dates that it might actually be more affordable to take your family overseas! For ideas, check out our list of European Cities that Are Surprisingly Kid-Friendly and contributor Eric Stoen’s guide to a perfect family vacation in Paris.

 

infographic about best and worst tourist attractions for wi-fi security

Why You Should Think Twice Before Connecting to Wi-Fi When Traveling

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This article originally ran on Smarter Travel

These days, traveling is almost impossible without a mobile Internet connection. Between Google Maps, TripAdvisor, Yelp, and other booking and review-based apps and websites, you need your phone to get the most from your trip.

And with international data packages so expensive, you might think a cheap or free Wi-Fi connection is your best bet. But maybe not. Mobile threat defense company Skycure says you should disconnect when traveling in certain high-risk destinations. Here’s why.

Skycure studied the world’s top tourist destinations (based on data from Travel + Leisure) from June 2014 to June 2015 to determine the places most frequently targeted by malicious networks. Times Square in New York City topped the list with the highest threats, followed by Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris and Disneyland Paris. The full list of tourist attractions with the highest risks is below.

Times Square, New York City, NY
Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, France
Disneyland Paris, Marne-la-Vallee, France
Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA
Ocean Park, Hong Kong
Las Vegas Strip, Las Vegas, NV
Hollywood Walk of Fame, Hollywood, CA
Union Station, Washington, D.C.
Faneuil Hall Marketplace, Boston, MA
Disneyland Park, Anaheim, CA
Navy Pier, Chicago, IL
St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City
Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand
Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, Orlando, FL
Pike Place Market, Seattle, WA

Where is your network the most secure? Places with remote connections and restricted mobile phone use. The Taj Mahal in India, Universal Studios in Japan, the Great Wall of China, Sydney Opera House, and Great Smokey Mountains National Park round up the top five safest spots to connect to a Wi-Fi network.

Also from Smarter Travel: Best Apps to Prevent Travel Disasters

Android v. iPhones

In a separate study, Skycure found that Android devices were twice as likely to encounter a threat compared to iPhones. According to the study, iOS devices will connect to more Wi-Fi networks overall, but Android devices connect to more malicious networks.

How to Stay Safe

Follow these quick tips if traveling to high-risk destinations:

  • Avoid “Free Wi-Fi” networks (8 percent of the total reported threats came from a network with “Free” in its name).
  • Read warnings on your device before agreeing to Terms and Services.
  • Make sure your device is updated to the most current operating system.
  • Disconnect from a network if your phone has erratic behavior, i.e. frequent crashes or if you receive any warning messages.
  • Download a mobile security app.
    Click here to download the full infographic from Skycure. Click here to download Skycure in the app store.

Also from Smarter Travel: The 8 Best (and Worst) Travel Apps

 

girl in front of duomo florence italy

Florence Can Be Kid-Friendly: Just Follow These Tips

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When I won Condé Nast Traveler’s Dream Trip contest three years ago, it was based on my essay about wanting to take my kids to Florence, a city I loved but that I didn’t think of as kid-friendly. Wendy and her WOW List expert Maria Landers crafted a great two-week trip for us—so great that Florence quickly became our family’s favorite destination, and we’ve now returned to the city every summer since the prize trip.

My advice to families heading to Florence for the first time? Embrace what Florence is known for—namely art, architecture, history and food. Here are my recommendations for how best to do that with kids:

Embrace the Art

visiting Pitti Palace with kids Florence Italy

Our guide Elvira (arranged through CIU Travel) showing our kids the art of the Pitti Palace. Photo: Eric Stoen/Travel Babbo

Art is everywhere in Florence—in the public squares, in the museums, and even on street signs. Our kids loved the Bargello, Academia, and Uffizi Museums with Elvira, our extraordinary guide arranged by Concierge of Umbria. At each museum we were able to skip the long lines and we had decidedly kid-friendly tours, focusing on lesser-known important pieces, as well as the major works. We never spent more than an hour in any museum, and every stop involved not only seeing the art but also interacting with it. Elvira arranged scavenger hunts and sketching sessions for us around town. After my kids saw David, they went out to patio of the Academia and drew photos of what they thought Goliath looked like. And our private tour through the Uffizi’s Vasari Corridor was extraordinary. Our kids still remember the corridor above their heads every time they cross the Ponte Vecchio.

We’ve also done private art sessions. Paul Bennett, another Trusted Travel Expert on Wendy’s WOW List,, set up a fresco making session with a Florentine artist. And through Arte al Sole the kids had a sketching class combined with a scavenger hunt through the Boboli Gardens. The best thing about the Arte al Sole class? We, the parents, weren’t involved at all. We dropped the kids off with their art expert Andi and picked them up three hours later at the entrance to the gardens. It’s the only time we’ve separated from the kids in Europe and they loved it!

Embrace the Architecture

Palazzo Vecchio in Florence Italy

The Palazzo Vecchio in Florence reflected in a puddle. Photo: Eric Stoen/Travel Babbo

My favorite way to get the kids to appreciate the architecture of Florence? Climbing to the top of the Duomo. Buy tickets in advance across the street, get there early and enjoy! And don’t fall for this “private tour” scam.

This year we also added in a scavenger-hunt-with-a-twist through the city using cards from Tava Adventures. The cards are for kids and show the major sites of the city, like the Uffizi, Santa Croce, and the Duomo, along with some games for the kids to play during downtime. But since our kids had been to Florence several times they already knew the information on the cards, so we tested the kids by letting them lead us to each site in the city based on the cards. That challenged their navigation skills and memory (and our patience a little!) but they got us to all of the sites successfully.

The last thing that we do is to make an annual visit to Piazzale Michelangelo above the city. It’s a great place to enjoy the sunset, but we let the kids point out to us all of the elements of the skyline so that they remember, for example, the difference between the churches of San Lorenzo, Santa Croce, and Santa Maria Novella. The Duomo, Palazzo Vecchio, and Ponte Vecchio are all visible from there as well.

Embrace the History

Flag throwing with the Bandierai degli Uffizi, Florence Italy

Flag throwing with the Bandierai degli Uffizi. Photo: Eric Stoen/Travel Babbo

History is obviously intertwined with art and architecture, but there are some excellent museums that are more historical than artistic—like the Bardini, Galileo and Stibbert museums—that our kids really enjoyed. We also had a great visit to the Torrigiani Gardens with Elvira and Maria, which included a tour of the gardens (Europe’s largest private garden) by the owner of the property and a private demonstration by the Bandierai degli Uffizi, one of the most prestigious flag carrying/throwing groups. Such a cool afternoon, all rooted in Florence’s history.

Florence italy park

Take walks with one or more of the kids at sunrise; you’ll have the city to yourselves. Photo: Eric Stoen/Travel Babbo

My favorite thing to do in Florence, sometimes with one of the kids and sometimes by myself, is to walk around the city right at sunrise. There are a few locals out but very few tourists, and it’s amazing to have all of the sites virtually to myself. I love standing in the middle of the Piazza della Signoria, closing my eyes and thinking about the Medici, artists, and others who have walked through that exact spot. Florence isn’t particularly enjoyable in the middle of a summer day with hordes of tourists and day-trippers off of cruise ships, but early in the day, as the sun is rising and the city is coming to life, it’s magical.

Embrace the Food

trattoria entrance Florence Italy

Become a regular at a restaurant during your trip and you’ll soon be treated like family. Photo: Eric Stoen/Travel Babbo

We love the food in Florence. Every year we return to our favorite restaurants and also make a point of trying new places. Even when we don’t love a trattoria we rarely have a bad meal. My primary dining advice to people when traveling to Europe applies in Florence just like it does in Paris or anywhere else: become locals! If you find a place that you love, go back again and again. You’ll find the service is completely different when the staff recognizes you and appreciates that you’ve returned. We typically eat at our favorite casual place three times a summer. The staff remembers us even when we haven’t visited in 11½ months and greets us with handshakes and hugs. We sometimes get a local discount. And this year we were given a bottle of our favorite wine as we were leaving the final time. The restaurant is barely in the top 50 percent of Florentine restaurants on TripAdvisor, but to us it has some of the best food in the city and the service is great. Find your own favorite place and go back again and again! I promise it’s worth it.

pasta making class Florence Italy

A cooking class is a great way to introduce kids to local cuisine, and to continue the memories once you get home. Photo: Eric Stoen/Travel Babbo

Beyond restaurants, we’ve done many cooking classes in and around the city. We’ve learned how to make pizza, gelato and pasta. We’ve made chocolate, tiramisu and salads. We’ve cooked chicken, pork and zucchini flowers using only local ingredients. Every cooking experience has been excellent and our kids have loved every minute. Maria and CIU Travel set up several of the cooking classes for us. We’ve also found others through TripAdvisor—simply search for Florence, and then go to Things to Do and choose Classes and Workshops and then Cooking Classes in the menu on the left (here’s my full guide on how to use TripAdvisor to find great things to do). Our last class was extraordinary, through Let’s Cook with Jacopo and Anna, but there are a lot of highly-ranked classes.

Overall, we’ve found Florence to be extraordinarily kid-friendly, but it’s kid-friendly because we’ve gone out of our way to find family-friendly guides who make the art and history of Florence come alive, and we’ve made walking around and sightseeing highly interactive. Food is no longer something to order; it’s something to learn how to make, and then to build on that when we get home. Take your kids to Florence! But do it right.

 

Meet our writer

Eric Stoen, the founder of Travel Babbo, travels around the world constantly with his three kids. Wendy met him when he won Condé Nast Traveler’s Dream Trip Contest a few years ago and was so impressed with his travel savvy that she invited him to contribute to WendyPerrin.com.

Medano Beach, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Why You Should Be Heading Back to Cabo. Now.

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As travelers start planning their fall and winter escapes to the sun, Mexico looms large in imaginations. It’s so close, so sunny, and works equally well as a beach-bum getaway, a family vacation, a sporty adventure destination, a romantic resort escape, or a sophisticated foodies’ hot spot.

But just one year ago Baja California, and particularly Los Cabos, was facing something much more challenging than the usual busy tourist season: rebuilding after Hurricane Odile, a category 3 storm which made landfall on September 14 and decimated the area.

Amazingly, Los Cabos has rebounded with the speed of a superhero. The video below, put together by the Los Cabos Tourism Board, shows just how extensive the damage was — and how fast the rebuild was.

We checked in with Julie Byrd, Wendy’s Trusted Travel Expert for Los Cabos, to get her insider opinion on how her favorite spot on the Baja Peninsula has recovered. Julie specializes in villa rentals, and her company can also arrange fishing and yacht charters, ground transportation, celebrations, and guided tours. A foodie at heart, Byrd has strong opinions on everything from local taquerias to fine dining, so be sure to ask her for recommendations when you get in touch.

What’s the lay of the land now: Where is it okay to travel?

I am confident in saying that it is okay to travel to any of the resort areas and private housing communities of Los Cabos. The downtown area of Cabo San Lucas, the marina and luxury developments throughout the tourist corridor and extending to Puerto Los Cabos and the East Cape, are in excellent shape.

In fact, something very cool was uncovered as a result of Odile: the sunken cargo ship Lundenberg, which went down off the coast of Cabo San Lucas in 1954. You can watch an underwater video here.

Which hotels have reopened or are reopening? Are villa rentals an option now too? If so, where is best?

We’ve actually had a lot of villas available since shortly after the hurricane. In fact, we had very high occupancy during the winter holiday season last year. Only two of our properties were not ready for the December holidays. At this time, more than 100 Los Cabos rental villas are available.

As for hotels, the bulk of Cabo’s hotel inventory is back, with a few notable exceptions with reopening dates extending into 2016. Some resorts took the opportunity not only to repair after the storm but to undertake extensive remodels. I’m happy to see that the luxury boutique Hotel El Ganzo will be reopening soon at the Puerto Los Cabos marina—it is a personal favorite.

We have been maintaining a list of hotel reopening dates on our blog. The only hotels that have not reopened are:

Casa del Mar Resort – opening October 2015
El Ganzo – opening October 2015
Dreams Los Cabos – opening October 2015
Me Cabo – opening December 2015
Melia Cabo Real – tentatively opening April 1, 2016
Westin – July 1, 2016

I personally stayed at Villa Estero, located in the private development of Fundadores (in Puerto Los Cabos, San Jose), in May and found it to be among the best Los Cabos has to offer. It is an up-and-coming area, where celebs and the like are now staying for the luxury and privacy the community offers. It has a championship golf course, close access to the PLC Marina and great restaurants, a private beach club and—best of all—brand-new, amazing villas.

Lovers Beach Cabo San Lucas Mexico

Lover’s Beach, or Play del Amor, Cabo San Lucas

Are there any places travelers should avoid?

Visitors should be cognizant of construction projects taking place in areas such as Cabo Real, where they are building two new hotels, Solaz and LeBlanc Spa Resort.

When is the best time to visit?

The winter months are, by far, the most popular time of year. The migrating whales begin arriving in Cabo around December. Peak season for our private villas is Christmas/New Year’s. The region remains busy throughout the spring, with low-season deals starting in May and lasting throughout the hot summer months. Another good time is early November, when you have similar weather and thinner crowds, plus the big-game fishing is fantastic and the water is still warm.

What else do travelers need to know?

Our palm trees had some pretty extreme haircuts.

One year ago from Hurricane Odile from vcabo on Vimeo.

Monteverde Costa Rica

12 Ways to Improve Your Next Trip

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Meet our writer: Geri S. Krauss is a New York-based attorney, a savvy traveler who has been to all seven continents . . . and, for a travel agent, she can be one tough customer. Geri was unknown to me until a few weeks ago, when she reached out after a trip that bowled her over, designed by one of my Costa Rica specialists. We ended up meeting for lunch in Manhattan. Geri does so much research for every trip, and is so knowledgeable about online travel tools, that I asked her why she doesn’t just book her trips herself. When she shared her perspective on the benefits of working with my Trusted Travel Experts, I found it fascinating and thought you would too. Here’s Geri:

My husband and I are full-time attorneys, so our travel time is limited and precious. We want to make the most of it by having an experience that is tailored to our interests and budget and gives us a true sense of the people and places we visit. After much research, I’ve come to rely on Wendy’s Trusted Travel Experts for this.

These trip experts would be the first to confirm that I am not an easy customer. I ask a ton of questions, do my own research into the suggestions made (which generates more questions), and scrutinize itineraries, questioning every detail.

There have been some tough moments. There was the email I got with the subject line “Throwing up my hands in horror” when a trip expert had to tell me that our carefully planned trip had been thwarted because room availability suddenly vanished. There was the time another expert recommended a “hike along partially flooded terrain, mud, rocks, exposed roots with high humidity and temperature around 90 F (30 C),” which left me questioning why on earth I would want to do that. “For the wildlife” was the expert’s answer—and I’m glad I gave in because it turned out to be one of the best parts of the trip.

Even for someone as challenging as I am, working with these trip experts has been special. Why? They consistently give you personal attention, offer unique opportunities, have a deep knowledge of the country in which they are located, give candid evaluations of what to see and do, and move you through the itinerary so seamlessly that the hassles and waiting that are often a part of traveling just seem to disappear. In short, here’s what they deliver:

1. A private, personalized itinerary

Our itineraries have always come with top-notch guides, accommodations, and experiences. The guides and drivers are extremely knowledgeable about their country and customs, speak excellent English, are wonderfully gracious and accommodating, and navigate with an insider’s knowledge of where to go and the best time to get there.

2. Flexibility: The traveler calls the shots all day every day

Everything is tailored to our interests. We travel at a pace that works for us. We can decide whether we want to be accompanied by a guide and/or a driver, or whether we would rather spend time on our own. The time we spend at each activity is geared to us—with flexibility to stay longer than planned if we are very much engaged or leave early if we are ready to move on. We can stop to eat when and if we choose—or skip a meal so that we can squeeze in one more thing to see or do. Our guides and drivers are always ready to help us in whatever way they can —and to adapt our schedule if weather or something unexpected requires a change. It is the perfect combination of independent travel and extraordinary planning and expertise.

3. VIP treatment at check-in

When we were traveling in India, every time we arrived at our hotel, we were met and greeted at the entrance, by name, and welcomed in traditional Indian fashion. We were shown to a comfortable sofa, where a drink and a cool towel were waiting for us. A concierge immediately came over to us, checked us in, and guided us to our room. When we got there, our luggage was already waiting for us. After this had happened on several occasions, I asked our guide how it was that every hotel was ready and waiting for us the moment we arrived. I learned that this was not happenstance. It was because the trip expert made sure that the guide called each hotel at a certain time while we were on our way there to tell them exactly when we would be arriving and assure that we would be cared for so promptly and graciously. Never a line, no searching for a room to assign, no waiting!

4. Hand-picked hotel rooms

Our rooms have always been terrific, as the Trusted Travel Expert knows which are the most desirable rooms for views or location or amenities (in any given category), and then they make sure that the room they select is reserved for us.

5. Special dining arrangements

In Costa Rica we were impressed that the waiters in the various lodges’ dining rooms told us as soon as we sat down that they were aware of certain food preferences we had made known to the Trusted Travel Expert. We didn’t have to say a thing! Two lodges arranged for us to have a private dinner in a special location—one with a menu planned solely for and with us the evening before—just because of the relationship the Trusted Travel Expert had with the lodges. In some countries we’ve even had the pleasure of meeting and dining with our trip expert shortly after our arrival.

6. Visits with locals from all walks of life

In Australia we were the only guests at a beautifully restored homestead surrounded by miles of outback. We were invited to dine with the owners and their friends—Australians and New Zealanders. During the fabulous home-cooked meal, we were treated to stories about life in the outback, the restoration of the house, and the rivalries between Aussies and Kiwis. We ended up talking for many hours and covered virtually every topic of current events, including some very interesting observations by those “down under” with respect to the American presidential election that was taking place that day. Their perceptions were fascinating. Indeed, given the influence that the President of the United States has over world events, our hosts questioned whether the world could trust leaving the choice of the President solely up to the American electorate! On another day, we visited with the owner of a private rainforest sanctuary who introduced us to the many resident animals that came right up to greet us. Later, we sat by the side of a stream in the forest and were treated to a delicious lunch of salads and fresh fish—which he perfectly cooked on a camp stove in the back of his truck.

7. Access to places that are off-limits to the public

Many of the must-see sights in China and India are filled with crowds, but our Trusted Travel Experts have been able to arrange special access for us to avoid the crowds or see things not generally open to the public. In China we had an amazing opportunity to feed and play with the baby pandas in Chengdu Panda Reserve. We viewed the Xian terracotta warriors from a special gallery located right on the floor and learned about how the warriors are restored through access to the curators’ restoration room. In India we were able to view the Taj Mahal from a special access point and remain for a short time after all the crowds had left. We visited beautifully decorated rooms in private areas of the Jaipur City Palace still used by the royal family for entertaining. We were invited to attend the Holi ceremony hosted by the Maharajah of Udaipur. All very special.

8. Guides with specific expertise

Not only have our guides been excellent generally, but our trip planners have been able to provide us with guides with particular knowledge. I have an interest in photography, and in India our guide was a terrific photographer who made sure to show me the best spots to get interesting shots and, if possible, to time our visits to get photos in the best light. He also greatly assisted me in learning the local etiquette to take pictures of people. In Costa Rica I again requested a guide who was a photographer, and he made sure we approached photographic subjects from the right angle and in the right light. He taught me many new techniques, and I was thrilled with the results. While I was busy trying out those techniques, he tutored my husband in bird watching, then quizzed him on each identification.

9. Meaningful experiences where you give back to the community you’re visiting

Because of their deep relationships and connections in the countries where they live and operate, trip experts are often involved in environmental or community development activities. We had the rewarding opportunity to participate in one of these initiatives in Costa Rica. Our Trusted Travel Expert had set up a program to help the children who lived in a local village with English lessons and pronunciation by offering them the opportunity to meet with English-speaking travelers. We spent one afternoon at the village assisting the Costa Rican teacher who had been sent to the village to conduct this enrichment program, which the children enrolled in by choice. What a wonderful time we had interacting with these children (aged 10) who were so bright, enthusiastic, and fun. While we were there to help them with English, they insisted that we learn some Spanish words from them as well.

10. Transportation shortcuts and efficient logistics

As we tend to cover a lot of territory in a short time on these trips, the trip expert’s knowledge of local transportation options and obstacles has been invaluable. In Costa Rica, for example, many of the roads are poor, and some travel is best accomplished via privately chartered four- to six-seater planes. There is no way we could have made these arrangements on our own. It requires knowing which planes (by size or engine number) are allowed to fly to which places at what times of the day and in what weather conditions. Furthermore, our trip expert uses only certain planes and specific pilots, based on safety records and experience. In one location in Costa Rica, I had decided to pass on the trip expert’s suggestion that we book a driver; I said we’d rely on taxis instead. Shortly after we arrived, however, I found that getting a taxi was neither easy nor reliable. I called the trip expert, confessed that I should have heeded her advice, and in less than an hour we had a car and driver at our disposal for the rest of our stay there.

11. Addressing the unexpected

Sometimes not everything goes as planned. Yet our trip experts have always been instantly available to address any issue. In China, when we arrived in Lijiang, my husband experienced altitude sickness. We were scheduled to go for a couple of days to Zhongdian, a town located at an even higher altitude. Obviously, that was no longer an option. Within a day, our trip expert had made alternate arrangements and rescheduled our flights without our having to pay any cancellation fees.

12. Help is only a phone call away

In rural India, when I needed to see a doctor, I called our trip expert and within 15 minutes an English-speaking doctor was at our door. Whether I am looking for a restaurant reservation, seeking the best place to shop for a particular item, or needing to resolve any hiccup in the plans we encounter, help is only a phone call away.

 

Geri Krauss and her husband Dan’s next trip is to New Zealand, booked through Jean-Michel Jefferson. We can’t wait to hear all about it!

If you want a trip like the ones Geri Krauss describes, contact the right Trusted Travel Expert via WendyPerrin.com:
(1) Go to The WOW List to find the right destination, cruise, or villa specialist.
(2) Click on that travel specialist’s CONTACT button to reach his/her WendyPerrin.com trip-request form.
(3) If you’re not sure who is the right specialist, Ask Wendy.

Tokyo, Japan

Go Now! 5 Countries Where Your Dollar Stretches Far

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Note from Wendy: There can be a big difference between the cost of living in a destination and the cost of traveling there. First, what travelers spend money on is different than what residents spend on. Second, tourist taxes can be high. Third, sometimes there are lower rates for locals than for foreigners. Fourth, in some countries the price difference between, say, a three-star and a five-star experience is much more dramatic than in the U.S.  Still, when foreign currencies drop against the U.S. dollar, of course we want to take advantage of it. Here are five places where you can.  

This article originally ran on Yahoo! Travel

If you’re looking for a deal on your next trip, skip the guidebook and read today’s financial news.

It’s been a cruel, cruel summer in the financial world, and the economies of certain countries are still struggling to rebound.

In June, just as summertime tourism season kicked off, Greece announced it was on the verge of financial collapse, and its position in the eurozone was in peril.  In August, Greece was able to reach a billion-euro bailout plan with its lenders, but it is still on shaky ground in the eurozone.

Then two weeks ago, just as summertime tourism was winding down, China’s stock market went into a downward spiral, which had a ripple effect on stock markets around the world.

While China’s economy hasn’t bottomed out (yet), several other countries have been experiencing “significant currency depreciations,” said Douglas Quinby, vice president at Phocuswright, a hospitality research firm. “These currency rates have a big impact on travel.”

In short, when the exchange rate begins to favor the American dollar, travelers looking to explore the world should start packing their bags.

Here are a few countries to consider visiting in order to maximize your travel budget.

Japan

Quinby noted that Japan’s tourism is surging, due in part to the falling yen. A night at the new Andaz Tokyo Toranomon, which offers spectacular views of the city, can be had for around $483 in early October. That’s still a pretty penny, but it’s down about $200 from last summer’s rate. Nonstop flights from Los Angeles are also averaging around $720.

Also from Yahoo! Travel: The 10 Best Museums in the World

St. Petersburg, Russia

Take advantage of low airfares and see beautiful St. Petersburg. The Church of the Savior on Blood (not to be mistaken for St. Basil’s) is especially worth a visit. Photo courtesy iStock.

Russia

Like other countries with an oil-based economy, Russia’s currency fluctuates with global oil prices. The ruble has been falling steadily for about a year, and China’s recent woes haven’t helped. A cursory look at the cost of flights to St. Petersburg from New York on Google Flights found ticket prices in the low $500s in early October, which is comparable to some flights to the western U.S. A night at the opulent Ritz-Carlton Moscow was just $300 on Booking.com for a stay in early October.

Also from Yahoo! Travel: Foodie Bucket List: 12 Iconic Restaurants Worth Traveling for

Australia

Down under, the Australian dollar keeps slipping. Last week, one Australian dollar was equal to 70¢ U.S. Traveling to Australia is a long haul, and flights from Los Angeles are going for well over $1,000 next month (the start of summer in Oz). But if the currency rate holds, U.S. travelers will still get more for their money when booking hotels and resorts. The One&Only Hayman Island Resort, a private island in the Whitsundays, has one-bedroom suites available in mid-October for around $2,000 AUD a night. With the currency rate, that drops to about $1,369 USD.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

With an unlimited air pass, you can visit Rio, São Paolo, and everywhere in between. Photo courtesy iStock.

Brazil

Despite hosting the recent FIFA World Cup and the upcoming Summer Olympics, Brazil’s economy has remained in a recession. The Brazilian real, the local currency, is the weakest it’s been in 13 years, and President Dilma Rousseff is fighting to save the country’s investment-grade credit rating. Perhaps that’s why Azul Brazilian Airlines recently announced their Azul Brazil Air Pass, which gives fliers 10 days of unlimited flights throughout Brazil for $299, or 21 days of flights for $399.

Also from Yahoo! Travel: The Most Scenic Drive in All 50 States

Toronto, Canada

Head north and visit great Canadian cities like Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. Photo courtesy iStock.

Canada

Our neighbors to the north are also in a recession, with the Canadian dollar (or loonie) currently sitting at about 75¢ U.S. In major cities, debt-to-income ratio is near a record high, and the central bank is debating whether or not to lower interest rates again. With that said, cities like Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal are hot spots for traveling fashionistas, who can score major deals on designer wear. Home to stores like Hermès and Chanel, the exchange rate will work in your favor if you’re looking to purchase a pricey bag … or two!

 

three orange beach chairs and a green umbrella facing the ocean in Puerto Vallarta Mexico

The 3 Most Sanity-Saving Travel Tips You’ll Ever Hear

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Finding the right flight can be a full-time job. Is there a cheaper one out there? Could there be one with a more convenient route? One with better seats? And it’s the same story when it comes to tracking down decently priced hotel rooms or car rentals. Often, travelers end up not booking a good deal when they see one because they’re so nervous that they’ll miss out on an even better value if only they keep researching for another 15 minutes!

But even if you successfully navigate that maze of logistics—even if you find a great hotel, book the right rental car, and plan the most amazing itinerary (with or without one of Wendy’s top travel specialists)—you can’t anticipate everything, and occasionally things still go wrong when you get there.

For some people (me included) these stressors have the potential to derail the whole point of the vacation: to relax and rejuvenate you. But it doesn’t have to be that way. In a recent interview with business travel expert Joe Brancatelli, he shared three incredibly smart tips that might just eliminate all travel stress entirely. Here’s what Joe had to say—bookmark it and look at it before every trip.

1. How to find cheap fares and rates

“I never like to be in people’s wallets, but I think people spend too much time searching for the lowest fare or the cheapest hotel room or the lowest price on a car rental. The travel industry has spent millions on computers trying to beat you. And, to be honest, someone is always better at the game than you. Travelers should value their time as they plan a holiday. Do you really want to spend another hour of your time looking to shave $10 off the price? Is your time worth so little? I say find the “fair fare,” in other words a price you think is reasonable for an airline seat, hotel room or car rental. Then book it. Stop spending hours fighting over pennies in search of the nonexistent “lowest” price. Because even if you think you got it, I can assure you that you’ll find someone at the resort or on the flight who actually paid less than you did.”

2. How to deal with travel problems during your trip

“Even if it costs you a few bucks, do whatever you have to do to fix a travel problem on the spot so you can go back to enjoying your trip. Argue with the travel company about compensation later. But, within reason, fix the problem first, worry about compensation later.”

3. How to resolve travel problems in your favor and be made whole again

“When it comes time to even the account, know how to write an intelligent, effective letter of complaint. I’ve written how to do it several times and I am always amazed at how poorly people handle their interaction with a travel company. Get the emotions out of it. Talk facts. And don’t forget to ask for the compensation you want. No company is going to offer you anything more than a form-letter apology unless you specifically ask for something tangible to make things right.”

Learn more from Joe by following him at Joe Sent Me.

Joe Brancatelli

The Secrets of Business Travel: Straight from Joe Brancatelli

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In the new media landscape we live in, the unvarnished truth is harder and harder to come by. But business travel expert Joe Brancatelli always nails it.

I’ve interviewed Joe for dozens of articles over the years. Not only does he cut through the fog and BS that envelop so much travel coverage, but his advice is ageless. To this day, whenever I’m at an airport and want to find out how long my flight will really be delayed, I do what Joe taught me 13 years ago: Ask the gate agent, “Where’s the equipment?”   Why?  Because if you ask “When are we boarding?” they’ll say they don’t know or give the standard non-response “Just a few more minutes.”  But if you ask “Where’s the equipment?” it forces the agent to check the computer and find out what time the aircraft left its point of origin—which tells you how much time you really have. (Nowadays you could also use the FlightAware app to find out where your plane is. But using the jargon with the gate agent is more fun.)

If you don’t know Joe’s site, JoeSentMe, then you’re not taking advantage of one of the best travel resources in existence. His “home page for business travelers” is not just for frequent fliers; the links listed there are for any traveler who wants to make smart, well-informed choices on the road. His newsletters are so wise, so true, so depressing, so snarky…I never know whether to laugh or cry. I usually do both. They’re worth getting, if only so you’ll know how to cope the next time a winter storm or airline strike threatens to wreak havoc on your travel plans.

And then there are Joe’s Steals and Deals. He ferrets out the best business-class airfare and hotel values, filtering out all those phony deals and doing the math so that you don’t have to. Best of all is when he lets you know the moment the airlines’ unadvertised Thanksgiving and Christmas business-class airfare sales to Europe start.

But wait. Stop. Before you check out Joe’s site, check out the travel tips and truths he shares in our exclusive interview. You’ll probably laugh and cry—and collect some cool new travel strategies for your arsenal.

 

Job and Title:

Editor and publisher, JoeSentMe.com, a non-commercial site for business travelers. Also, business-travel columnist for the 47 Business Journals around the U.S.

Most memorable travel moment:

I’ve been on the scene when governments and ideologies have fallen. I once was one of just five people in the Sistine Chapel. Lots of stuff like that, of course. Virtually everything I know about the world comes from having had the ability to travel it on business. I had never been more than 250 miles from where I was born until I took my first business trip. But I guess I have to give the incredibly obvious answer: I met my wife in a restaurant in a shopping mall on a business trip to Honolulu. So, you know, nothing is more memorable than that. (By the way, the Thai food was also excellent at the restaurant.)

Most embarrassing travel moment:

Too many to count, but I’ll give you one from just last month. I was in Hamburg on a Sunday evening and hadn’t had dinner. Not much is open in Germany on Sundays, so I went to the Hamburg Hauptbahnhof–the busiest train station in Germany–and found an interesting little take-out noodle shop that seemed popular. I order my meal in German and the Chinese woman behind the counter wasn’t sure what I wanted. So I switched to English. Not much more success. She then looks at me and says: “Your German is bad. And your English is poor too.” I mean, that is cold… I didn’t agree with her, of course. My German is serviceable enough and my English, when I keep my Brooklyn accent in check, is quite good. But she surely gave me an emotional beat-down with my noodles. I can’t ever recall being more embarrassed than that on the road.

Name one thing people would be surprised to find in your travel bag:

Duct tape. It’s an all-purpose problem solver. It’ll hold together a broken laptop, help you do an instant hem, repair a rip in your luggage or a hole in your shoes. It’ll be an emergency bandage if you need one, and I can’t tell you how many packages I’ve shipped home from around the world that were secured with duct tape.

Touristy spot that’s actually worth it, and the trick to doing it right:

Oahu, I think. First-time visitors never leave Waikiki. Regular visitors to Hawaii insist Oahu is too touristy and go elsewhere. But if you head into downtown Honolulu, you’ll find an interesting little city with some marvelous turn-of-the-century Hawaiian architecture. If you head off to the North Shore, you’ll find scenery to rival anything on any of Hawaii’s other islands. If you surf, the waves are best off the beaches of Oahu, too. And if you insist on hanging around Waikiki, just walk a couple of paces to Diamondhead for a wonderful hike to the top of the crater. Each of the Hawaiian Islands has their unique charms and culture. But I think Oahu offers it all in one place.

Non-touristy spot people should add to their must-visit list:

I’m urban guy. I love cities. I tell people to go to Pittsburgh and their heads explode. But it’s a charming town that has found a life after its iconic industry (steel) long ago disappeared. The confluence of the three rivers is a natural marvel. The Duquesne Incline is one of the world’s great funiculars. Food’s good, people are sophisticated AND nice. The museums and attractions (they all seem to be named Heinz, Carnegie or Frick) are top-notch. It’s a quintessentially American city and deserves a better reputation and more visitors.

Name 2 indispensable apps you use when you travel:

Salk’s Airport Transit Guide is the first thing I consult when I visit a destination for the first time. It lists every possible way to get from the airport to the city center so you can make an informed choice. When it was a print product, I carried it in my bag. Now that it’s an app, it’s literally the first one I add to any new phone. And the PriorityPass app. I spend more time than I’d like in airports, and I never want to be without access to a private lounge. So I make sure I know where all the lounges are and whether I have access to each via one of my credit card programs or Priority Pass membership or simply have to lay out cash.

The travel gadget or gear that has saved your life…or your mind:

My Glaser Designs Stadium bag. I bought it 25 years ago and the leather-and-ballistic nylon duffel is not only indestructible, it looks as new as the day I purchased it. I use it for short trips, of course, but if I plan and pack properly, I can squeeze a week’s worth of travel into it and still hit the carry-on rules of the airlines. A Glaser Designs transaction bag is my primary carry-on. It is beautifully crafted and has been my trusted travel companion since before 9/11. (I’m probably the last traveler in the world who doesn’t own a bag on wheels.)

Choose any two travel-world bloggers and tell us the most important thing you’ve learned from each.

I was the original frequent-flyer program expert 30 years ago because I was literally the first person to cover them regularly. All of the travel writers of the day—whether they were leisure or business-travel oriented—were obsessed with planes and hotels and destinations. But I came to travel as a business reporter, and I saw instantly how frequency marketing was changing the travel equation. But as the programs became more intricately entwined with the airlines and hotels that sponsor them, I switched to covering them as part of the package, not as their own products. So when I read Gary Leff’s View from the Wing today, I know the kind of deep thinking and sharp analysis he puts into the frequency game. His strategies and tactics are almost always sound, and he has a wonderfully holistic approach to maximizing the value you can get with your miles and points. And that is saying something because the airlines and hotels have literally rigged the games for their own benefit.

I love reading Carol Pucci’s blog. Carol is a marvelous reporter with a reporter’s eye for detail and telling a good story. She’s a fun read; she goes to places I’ll probably never get to because I cover business travel, not leisure travel; and I learn from her coverage of those destinations. Even when she visits places where I have been, I find she turns up details that I missed.

Whose Tweets do you find the most useful and entertaining when you see them in your feed?

I only got onto Twitter as a service to JoeSentMe members so that I could push out breaking news to them before and after our weekly newsletter and time-sensitive alerts. But it turns out I learn as much from my members’ Tweets to me because they are working literally everywhere in the world and transiting at airports everywhere. They are quick to alert me to something new or untoward they’ve found on a flight, in an airport, at a hotel, or in a place where they are working.

Name one way the travel industry can do better.

There are a million ways for the travel industry to do things better. But most of the existing companies in the travel industry don’t really want to innovate. Especially now, with energy cheap and profits high. So if you ask what one thing can be done better, I’d have to default to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).

The airlines have made their pricing specifically opaque and infuriatingly convoluted. And they do it to trick leisure flyers into paying more. (Airline pricing starts by being biased against business travelers because we are perceived as “must fly” customers and we are ALWAYS charged more.) But the DOT should regulate more and better disclosure of mandatory or de facto mandatory fees. I believe the DOT should require airlines to show more than just the “fare” because the fare today only covers the actual transit. Whenever airlines put a price on their website or in an advertisement, it should also be accompanied by the cost of checking a bag, choosing a seat, making an itinerary change, and (if applicable) carrying on a bag.

We even have a template for this. The food industry once claimed it could never rationally have a label that explained a product’s contents and ingredients. Well, they have them now and we know how many calories, how much fat or sodium or whatever, is in the package. The airlines should be required to post a grid along with every fare that includes the other basics. It’s not hard, it’s not complicated, and it would allow leisure travelers to make informed choices about the true cost of flying with a particular airline.

Look into the future and describe one aspect of travel that you think will be different in 20 years:

Failing a breakthrough on Star Trek-style transporters, I don’t think airlines will be all that much different in 20 years. Lodging, on the other hand, will be dramatically different. And I base that simply on how much the lodging experience has changed in the last decade.

As personal tech gets even better and cheaper, I can’t imagine traditional hotels and resorts putting TVs or phones in rooms for much longer. You’ll bring your own stuff and just plug into the Net for all your communications and entertainment. Lobbies will continue to evolve because guests won’t need the check-in/check-out/concierge facilities because that, too, will be handled electronically. And while hotels aren’t yet suffering from the growth of Airbnb and other “sharing economy” operations, I think it’s inevitable that chains will try to ape what travelers like best from these options. You might see mixed-use buildings where some people are permanent residents and others are transient guests. The lodgings themselves might feel more residential and more personalized. That’s what’s good about the lodging industry. It has always been more willing to change and segment itself to accommodate guests. Airlines, of course, require you to adjust to them.

Most effective thing you’ve ever said or done to get an upgrade or a special perk while traveling:

I know this will sound incredibly basic, but the most effective thing anyone can do to get an upgrade or a perk is simply to ask politely. Don’t act entitled or arrogant. Just politely inquire if there is a better seat or better room or better car available. You’d be surprised how often something better is available simply for the asking. And even if they are not willing to give you something for nothing, a polite inquiry will yield some incredible bargains on a suite upgrade or a better class of car.

 

To make friends, I always carry:

Mints. Has anyone ever declined a mint?

Overrated:

Venice

Underrated:

Verona

If you were in my car during a road trip, you’d hear me singing:

“You Don’t Have to Cry” by Crosby, Stills and Nash.

The airplane movie that, unexpectedly, made me bawl was:

American Beauty. I was so shaken up I had to get out of my seat and go hang in the galley with the flights attendants so that I remembered life is better than that.

When I travel, I’m not afraid of:

Any new circumstance.

But I am afraid of:

Not having done my homework and being unprepared for situations that I would logically expect to encounter.

 

Follow Joe on Twitter @joesentme.

Via Ferrata whistler mountain

I Can’t Believe We Did This: Mountain Climbing in Whistler

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“In Whistler we’re doing the Via Ferrata,” Wendy announced proudly. Sounds good, I thought. Must be like “doing” Las Ramblas in Barcelona. But with an Italian twist. Never having been to Whistler, I pictured some street lined with cappuccino and gelato shops and small tables for people-watching. “Not exactly,” she said. “Via Ferrata means ‘iron way’ in Italian. You use iron rungs drilled into the rock face to climb a mountain. We’ll be climbing Whistler Mountain.”

Wait. What? Wendy had signed the family up to climb a rock face? The boys would love it, of course—they’d bungee jump from a moving space shuttle if they could. But I had just had total knee replacement surgery six months earlier. And, while I love Wendy, her rock-climbing abilities are minimal. Did we really need to climb Whistler Mountain? A chairlift goes right to the summit. Whose idea was this anyway? “Steve Ogden from Tourism Whistler.”

Please note that if I, and not Steve, had suggested Wendy climb a mountain, my compos mentis would have been called into question and proceedings to institutionalize me started. But Steve from Tourism Whistler had suggested it. And the Via Ferrata is one of the mountain’s best-kept secrets; very few locals have heard of it. So, of course, Wendy was willing to try it. Anything for a story.

Via Ferrata whistler mountain

The group ahead of us (at lower left) is dwarfed by the mountain. Photo: Timothy Baker

And so, on a perfect mountain afternoon, we met our guide, Josh Majorossy, at the Whistler Alpine Guides headquarters a little above Whistler Mountain’s Roundhouse Lodge complex (elevation 6,069 feet). I saw a group returning from the morning climb and, trying to glean a little intel, asked how it was. “Brilliant,” they delivered in a British accent. Okay. But is there anything I should know about it? “It was just brilliant.” Thanks.

Josh was an extremely patient and laid-back fellow—a professional mountain guide who does the climb twice a day and has led hundreds of groups. He assured me that my knee would be fine. He assured Wendy that mountain-climbing novices of only average fitness can do this. “If you can climb a ladder, you can climb the mountain.”

After waiver signing (a popular Whistler tourist activity), we each got kitted up with a hard hat and a harness with two lanyards and carabiners, and we had a brief safety chat. Safety rule #1: One of your lanyards and carabiners must be attached to the safety cable at all times. Rule #2: Yell “Rocks!” if any are dislodged. Rule #3: When someone above you yells “Rocks!,” don’t look up. Rule #4: Only one person at a time can be attached to a segment of safety cable; that way, if you stumble and fall, you won’t take out the people below you.

Earlier in the season, when snow is present, you traverse the snow to the spot where the rungs start. In early August, though—when we did it—you hike down and back up again to the trail. The hike down was a simple walk, but the hike up was actually what mountain climbers call “scrambling.”

Via Ferrata whistler mountain

Carrying a broken ski pole he found, Doug scrambles through a crack in the rock. Photo: Timothy Baker

Scrambling is climbing and clambering over rocks freestyle, with no set trail. The boys were in boy heaven. I was worried because we weren’t to the beginning of the safety cable just yet. If they fell, other rocks would break their fall.

Via Ferrata whistler mountain

Wendy is more at home in the canyons of Manhattan than scrambling up a mountain peak. Photo: Timothy Baker

In the distance, we could see the group ahead of us. So we could see where we were expected to go. Up there? Really?

Via Ferrata whistler mountain

Charlie stops for a little natural refreshment. Photo: Timothy Baker

At the starting point of the climb came our first gut check. There were several aluminum ladders attached via cables to the mountain and going almost straight up.

Via Ferrata whistler mountain

Our first gut check. Josh leads the way up the ladder to the start of the trail. Photo: Timothy Baker

Each of us clipped both our lanyards to the first safety cable. We started the climb, leap-frogging one set of lanyards and carabiners over the other every six feet or so past where the cable was anchored.

Via Ferrata whistler mountain

Doug climbs the first series of rungs. Photo: Timothy Baker

As Dad, I was constantly watching everyone’s lanyards to make sure that the carabiners had properly attached and closed. If one of us were to stumble and fall, we would fall only as far as the next safety-cable anchor.

Via Ferrata whistler mountain

A natural ledge makes a perfect place for Charlie to use panorama mode. Photo: Timothy Baker

On several occasions we witnessed natural rock slides: Steamer-trunk-sized boulders, probably loosened by the weight and thawing of the snow and ice, broke off the mountain peak and slid down the snow chute well away from our vertical trail.

Via Ferrata whistler mountain

Back on the climb. Photo: Timothy Baker

The rungs themselves are not actually iron. They’re steel rebar inserted into holes drilled into the rock and epoxied in place. (“Via Rebar” just doesn’t sound exotic enough for marketing.) The experience is sometimes like climbing a ladder, but sometimes the rungs are at uneven intervals, or are offset, or both. In several spots there were no rungs at all, as there were natural handgrips and footholds in the rock. Josh challenged us to try not to use the rungs if we could use the natural rock (while still attached to the safety line, of course). The boys took the challenge whenever they could. Wendy did not.

There were a couple of tricky sections (called “technical” by real mountain climbers) where a bit of reach was needed to grab the rungs. On the toughest section, it was a little like a game of Twister. (Left foot blue. Right hand blue.) In that section Wendy needed encouragement from Josh (and his climbing rope).

Via Ferrata whistler mountain

Mountain guide Josh gives Wendy a little physical encouragement. Photo: Timothy Baker

Via Ferrata whistler mountain

If the toes of Doug’s shoes give out, I’m wearing him. Photo: Timothy Baker

Via Ferrata whistler mountain

From below, we could see the early group on the last section of the climb. Photo: Timothy Baker

Via Ferrata whistler mountain

Wendy uses a natural foothold where there weren’t any rungs. Photo: Timothy Baker

We probably took a little more time than most groups because I didn’t want to unnecessarily stress my knee or my wife. The final “push” to the top of the trail—at 7,160 feet—was straight up. As we cleared the top of the trail, it was a little weird to see all the people who had ridden the chairlift up.

Via Ferrata whistler mountain

The summit. The views were our reward. Photo: Timothy Baker

Typically we are them: mere passengers in our adventure travels. This time, though, we had gotten up there the hard way—and it gave us a sense of accomplishment that is rare. We also felt relief that (1) we were coming back with the same number of (un-mangled) kids we’d started with. (2) I didn’t need to be winched off the mountain because of my knee. (3) None of my cameras had smashed into the rocks. This was Alpine Climbing 101 and a great introduction to a sport I will never take up.

In the end, the Via Ferrata turned out to be a wonderful family experience—and probably yielded our 2015 Christmas card photo. Yes, we had sore muscles, but we were able to soothe them that night with umbrella drinks in the Fairmont Chateau Whistler’s hot tubs.

From now on, when we hear of a ski or mountain-bike competition at Whistler, we’ll smile to ourselves and think: We conquered that mountain!

Need to know:

Via Ferrata can be found all over the world.

Bring a wide-angle lens and wear your camera strap so that the camera won’t smash against the rocks.

Bring a light jacket or windbreaker. The weather can get a little chilly at the summit, even when it’s warm down in the valley.

Hiking boots are very useful, but 11-year-old Doug had no problems with a harder soled sport shoe.

Long pants are a good idea. They can handle scrapes better than your skin.

Go at your own pace. Take the afternoon trip so you are not worried about holding up another group. You may want to hire a guide for a private tour.

Bring a bottle of water. If the streams are running, empty out the bottle and refill with that delicious water.

We left our sandals and comfortable shoes at the Alpine Guides hut. Nice to get off our boots and put those on after the climb.

Light gloves are suggested. The safety cable can have a few burrs in it, and you may find yourself grabbing it.

Use the bathroom before you start.

Don’t forget to enjoy the magnificent panoramas.

Budapest River Cruise

Planning a Cruise? Avoid These Rookie Travel Mistakes

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Part of the reason for the growing appeal of cruises is that they remove a lot of the stress and logistics from travel. You get on the boat, and you enjoy. Easy. The tough part comes beforehand, when you have to decide which cruise is right for you: Big ship or little ship? Ocean or river? Exciting expedition boat or leisurely barge? And where in the world should you go?

There are so many factors that affect the success of your cruise that it’s easy to make a rookie mistake. That’s why I have a special section of my WOW List of Trusted Travel Experts dedicated solely to cruise travel agents. Here, I’ve asked them to share the biggest blunders they see travelers make when it comes to arranging a cruise vacation. Fortunately, these are easy mistakes to avoid when you book your trip through a savvy cruise specialist.

Celebrity Reflection cruise ship

The Celebrity Reflection cruise ship. Photo courtesy of Celebrity Cruises

European Cruises
Planning to board the ship the same day you fly into port. You want to book a flight that gets you to your embarkation port city at least the day before, since there’s always the chance of an airline delay and you don’t want to risk missing the ship.
—Tom Baker, Trusted Travel Expert for Affordable Large-ship Cruises

Read Tom’s Insider’s Guide to Affordable Mediterranean Cruises and contact Tom to get the best possible trip.

Asia Cruises
Sleeping on the ship when it overnights in a location where the port is far from the city. In Bangkok, where the ships dock 90 minutes from town, overnighting in a hotel will cost a bit more, but it can save you six hours of driving back and forth over two days. In Shanghai, pay attention to where your ship docks; smaller ships, like the Crystal Symphony, can get right downtown, whereas bigger ships must dock 90 minutes away.
—Mary Jean Tully, Trusted Travel Expert for Luxury Small-Ship Cruises

Read Mary Jean’s Insider’s Guide to Asia Cruises and contact Mary Jean to get the best possible trip.

 

Barge Elisabeth in Burgundy. Photo courtesy Barge Elisabeth.

Barge Elisabeth in Burgundy. Photo courtesy Barge Elisabeth.

European Canal Barge Cruises
Expecting to cover as much ground as you would on a river cruise. Barges cruise at four miles per hour, and never at night—you could walk faster than the barge moves! Itineraries are six nights long (beginning either on Saturday or Sunday) and travel 30 to 50 miles deep in the countryside. Canal barging is about getting to know a small area intimately and thoroughly.
—Ellen Sack, Trusted Travel Expert for European Canal Barge Cruises

Read Ellen’s Insider’s Guide to European Canal Barge Cruises and contact Ellen to get the best possible trip.

Antarctica Cruises
Selecting an itinerary that’s too short. A trip to Antarctica is an investment of not just money but also time. It takes several days to reach the continent (including crossing the Drake Passage), and because of unpredictable sailing conditions, an extra two to four days can make a significant difference in your experience. Eleven-day itineraries provide a cushion for challenging weather conditions. I’d also encourage you to build in an extra day or two to relax when you arrive in Argentina or Chile (the usual points of embarkation) so that you’ll be refreshed and more present with the experience once you reach Antarctica. I have never met anyone returning from the Great White Continent who complained that the trip was too long—rather, people wish they’d had more time.
—Ashton Palmer, Trusted Travel Expert for Small-Ship Expedition Cruises

Read Ashton’s Insider’s Guide to Antarctica Cruises and contact Ashton to get the best possible trip.

Paula Froelich

Interview with an Expert Traveler: Yahoo Travel Editor-in-Chief Paula Froelich

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Paula Froelich used to be a gossip columnist. Not just any gossip columnist — the deputy editor of the New York Post’s Page Six. And then she quit. Without a plan. Without another job lined up. Why? Because Froelich is one of those enviable people who had a dream and went for it, giving up a seemingly ideal job to do something that she’d wanted to do since she was a kid: travel.

When she left New York, she had no idea she’d return and have the chance to helm Yahoo! Travel, where she’s been editor-in-chief since the spring of 2014. She just wanted to ride a camel, as she says in one of the first columns of her A Broad Abroad web series of stories and videos. She wanted to be brave again. And we know the feeling. There’s something about travel that builds muscle—the kind that opens your mind and your heart. That’s one of the reasons I find it so important to take my kids with me when I travel.

In the two years that Paula’s been at Yahoo! Travel, she’s continued to be fearless. She’s spent a night as a man in London, wrestled with a luchador in Mexico, gone behind the veil in the Middle East, and surfed (and later thrown up from motion sickness) with Eric Ripert. We spoke to her recently to find out more about what keeps her going.

As part of her A Broad Abroad series, Paula got in the ring with Mexican wrestler Dragón Rojo Jr. Photo: Andrew Rothschild/Yahoo Travel

As part of her A Broad Abroad series, Paula got in the ring with Mexican wrestler Dragón Rojo Jr. Photo: Andrew Rothschild/Yahoo Travel

Most memorable travel moment:

There are so many! They usually involve life-changing realizations, new friends, and possibly a bottle of Johnnie Walker.

Most embarrassing travel moment:

Being caught with my pants down, literally, in India, by an entire village in Rajasthan.

Name one thing people would be surprised to find in your travel bag:

Nicotine mints. I live on them.

Touristy spot that’s actually worth it, and the trick to doing it right:

San Juan: If you know the right places and the right people, it is heaven. Puerto Vallarta: Leave the resorts and go on the street taco tour. Also, Paris…because you can never go wrong with French food.

"The best food in Mexico is most likely found on the street, sold out of a shanty-like stall or the back of a truck." Photo by Paula Froelich

“The best food in Mexico is most likely found on the street, sold out of a shanty-like stall or the back of a truck.” Photo by Paula Froelich

Non-touristy spot everyone should add to their must-visit list:

Kurdistan in Northern Iraq is lovely—and safe.

Name the indispensable apps you use when you travel:

Uber, Currency (the currency exchange app), and Kayak

The travel gadget or gear that has saved your life…or your mind:

Is an iPhone travel gear? I am obsessed with my Skullcrusher headphones, as they drown out all noise and everyone/thing!

Choose any two travel-world bloggers and tell us the most important thing you’ve learned from each:

Robert Reid: that you can play the clarinet like a minstrel all over the world and still make friends. Annie Fitzsimmons: to be kind to everyone.

Whose tweets do you find the most useful and entertaining when you see them in your feed?

Heidi Moore, Bevy Smith, D Listed (a laugh-out-loud funny site), @hautemuslimah, Greg Garry

Name one way the travel industry can do better:

I’m a huge fan of better customer service: putting customers first and treating them well. For example, the Four Seasons: They have lovely customer service and always remember your name and preferences, even if you haven’t stayed with them for years. If there’s an issue, they take care of it immediately and don’t make you feel odd or weird. They also don’t overcharge or upsell like some other hotels. There is one upscale chain I’m thinking of that overcharges for Wi-Fi, doesn’t put coffee machines in the room, and charges you for every single thing so that at the end of the day, it’s basically double per night than the quoted rate. It’s annoying, especially when Holiday Inn gives free Wi-Fi. If I had the money, I would always stay at a Four Seasons— because they earned it.

Look into the future and describe one aspect of travel that you think will be different in 20 years:

There will be no TVs or phones in the room. You can control everything from your iPhone. There will also be Star Trek transporters. Hopefully.

Most effective thing you’ve ever said or done to get an upgrade or a special perk while traveling:

Be nice. It works.

To make friends, I always carry:

A smile

In Oman, Paula tried out a burqa with the help of a new friend, a very traditional Bedouin woman. Photo: Andrew Rothschild/Yahoo Travel

In Oman, Paula tried out a burqa with the help of a new friend, a very traditional Bedouin woman. Photo: Andrew Rothschild/Yahoo Travel

Overrated:

Wi-Fi and the speed of travel

Underrated:

Slow travel

If you were in my car during a road trip, you’d hear me singing:

Anything found on the Dwight Yoakam iTunes radio station

The airplane movie that, unexpectedly, made me bawl was:

Bridesmaids. I blame lack of oxygen.

When I travel, I’m not afraid of:

War zones

…but I am afraid of:

Sharks, crocodiles, and pigeons. I really hate pigeons.

 

Follow Paula:
Twitter: @pfro
Instagram: @pfro
Facebook: www.facebook.com/paula.froelich
Watch her A Broad Abroad series

Snorkeling with salmon in British Columbia, Canada

My Extreme Week in Canada: Photos

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I’ve been in British Columbia this past week, being dragged along on every adventure-sport activity you can imagine. My son Doug says he wants to move to Whistler because “everything you could ever want is there.” Of course, that all depends on whether what you want is to climb a mountain peak, speed down an Olympic bobsled run, or scream across the longest zip-line in the U.S. and Canada. Before Whistler, we were in the Discovery Islands, where we soared in helicopters and seaplanes, snorkeled with pink salmon, and fished for chinook.

While I’m not exactly Ms. Extreme Sports, I’ve been enjoying this shot of Canadian adrenaline with my boys. Here’s a look at some of the fun experiences we’ve had this week, along with a few of the mouthwatering B.C. foods we’ve been tasting. I’ll be sharing much more detailed information and advice about all these places and activities soon, so stay tuned. In the meantime, enjoy these Instagram photos from our trip, and let me know in the comments where your next great adventure will take you!

Helicopter ride up the Strait of Georgia to the Discovery Islands and @sonoraresort.

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We made it! Greetings from the top of @whistlerblackcomb. #ExploreBC

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The New Jersey bobsled team never misses an opportunity to practice. @whistlerblackcomb @slidingcentre

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#Iwasterrified #thekidswanttodoitagain #ViaFerrata #mountainclimbing @whistlerblackcomb @whistlerguides

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#chocolate #fondue @fairmontwhistlr: #Nirvana

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Answer: Five of them.

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20 Reasons Why You Should Go to Iceland

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Wendy’s husband, Tim, here. I’m the one who surprised her with the trip to Iceland last week. In Iceland you can pack a diverse mix of dramatic landscapes—waterfalls, volcanos, geothermal pools, glaciers, geysers, black sand beaches—into just one short trip. Here’s a taste of what we saw in just six days there.

1. You can hike to a platform at the top of Skogafoss waterfall, on Iceland’s southern coast, but the best view is about three quarters of the way up. That’s where Charlie was standing when I shot this photo.

1 Charlie Skogafoss DSC_6932

2. Lupines galore in the foreground of a glacier near Vik, on Iceland’s southern coast

2 lupines near Vik D30_9267

3. You can walk between the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates at Thingvellir National Park. The plates pull away from each other 2 centimeters every year. Thus all the volcanic activity in Iceland.

3 Charlie Thingvellir DSC_6416

4. Gullfoss waterfall, one of Europe’s largest, on the Golden Circle loop.

4 Gullfoss D30_9112

5. Go ahead and rent a car. The roads are in excellent shape and quiet, the wide-open scenery makes for stress-free driving, and the 90 km speed limit is strictly adhered to. Just be sure to purchase the windscreen/gravel protection insurance. This is Highway 1 on the southern coast.

5 south coast highway 1 near Eyjafjallajokull D30_9266

6. Located en route from Keflavik International Airport to Reykjavik, the Blue Lagoon makes for a reinvigorating antidote to jet lag after a long flight. Make sure you try the silica mud mask.

6 Blue Lagoon aerial overview D30_8886

7. The black sand beach at Dyrholaey, near Vik.

7 black sand beach DSC_6815

8. Right off the parking lot for the black sand beach, we got within 20 feet of dozens of puffins nesting on the cliff faces. So there’s no need to spend money on a puffin specialty tour.

8 puffin on black sand beach DSC_6800

9. One puffin takes flight.

9 puffin flying D30_9324

10. Seljalandsfoss waterfall, on Iceland’s southern coast. This is the waterfall you can actually walk behind.

10 Seljalandsfoss DSC_6668

11. Wear raingear if you plan to walk behind Seljalandsfoss waterfall the way Wendy did. You will get drenched.

11 Seljalandsfoss DSC_6706

12. Here’s Wendy emerging on the other side of Seljalandsfoss waterfall.

12 Seljalandsfoss DSC_6732

13. That’s Eyjafjallajokull, the volcano that erupted in 2010, shutting down European airspace for a week.

13 Eyjafjallajokull DSC_6776

14. Inside Thrihnukagigur volcano. If you don’t mind heights, and you’d enjoy riding a window washer’s scaffold up and down the equivalent of a 38-story building, and you don’t think the volcano will erupt while you are down there, then the Inside the Volcano tour is for you. It’s like being in a cathedral of geology.

14 inside the volcano DSC_7129

15. A collapsed lava tube near Thrihnukagigur volcano

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16. Thingvellir National Park, as viewed from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge—a rift where the North American and Eurasian plates meet.

16 Thingvellir D30_8997

17. The boys and I hiked back for a closer look at Myrdalsjokull glacier. No fences, no noise, no entry fee, nobody there. We really felt connected with the country.

18 glacier Myrdalsjokull D30_9482

18. There’s nothing special about this photo, except that it was 11:36 pm when I shot it through our rental-car dashboard while driving. One reason you can pack so much sightseeing into each day in Iceland (in summertime, at least) is that the days are so long.

19 Iceland sunset late at nightD30_9526

19. The lighthouse in Reykjavik Harbor

20 lighthouse entrance to Reykjavik Harbor D30_9938

20. Reykjavik, as viewed from the Lutheran church that is Iceland’s tallest building.

21 Rejkjavik viewed from church DSC_7311

21. And here’s the reason you might not want to visit Iceland: Whale hunting. On a whale watching tour out of Reykjavik, we saw one live whale…and two dead ones. Two Fin whales had just been killed by a whale-hunting ship in the very spot we were headed to. Fin whales are endangered and the second largest mammal, growing up to be 75 feet long. Iceland exports whale meat to Japan.

22 icewhale1

Traditional drum dance in Kulusuk, Greenland.

Greenland Day Trip from Iceland: Is it Worth It?

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There are only two ways to fly to Greenland—that icy remote country that many of us jet over but few of us land in, that monster of the Mercator projection.  You can fly there from Copenhagen, Denmark, or from Reykjavik, Iceland. So, if you’re in Iceland, it’s natural to consider popping up to Greenland (it’s just a two-hour flight) for a glimpse. After my husband surprised me with a trip to Iceland last week, he surprised me all over again a couple of days later with a day trip to Greenland.

Air Iceland runs a daily eight-hour tour where you leave Reykjavik at 10:15 am for Kulusuk, Greenland, landing back in Reykjavik at 6:15 pm. You spend four hours in the air and only four on the ground in Greenland, but that’s enough to get a taste of East Greenland’s scenery and the local way of life.

It’s expensive, though: The tour price is $800. That includes airfare and the guide in Kulusuk but does not include the reservation fee for airline seats (I paid $11 to reserve a window seat on both flights); taxi fare between your hotel and Reykjavik Airport, 1.2 miles from the city center (I paid $26 roundtrip); lunch (I bought a sandwich at RKV pre-security and two bottles of water post-security; fellow tour members wished they had); the $40 boat ride in Kulusuk from the town marina back to the airport (this photogenic icebergs-and-glaciers boat ride was not part of the Air Iceland tour but was a highlight of the day); or the tip for the guide.

In the end, this day trip easily cost $900. Was it worth it? Well, here were the biggest pros and cons:

The cons:
The Air Iceland tour was bare bones. It did not include most of the professional niceties or advance instructions that are par for the course on trips designed by my WOW travel specialists. There is no tour vehicle in Kulusuk; you walk the 1.8 miles from the airport into town. No lunch is included, nor are you told ahead of time where and how to get lunch. None of these things bothered me (I mention them because they might bother you), but what did disappoint me is that we did not get to interact with any locals, aside from our guide, the curator in Kulusuk’s museum, and the cashier in Kulusuk’s one store. I felt very much like the tourist I was. In my mind, I kept comparing this experience to the week I spent in the tiny town of Point Hope, in remote Arctic Alaska. That trip was far more interesting and enjoyable because I got to know the local people—tribal elders, whale hunters, schoolteachers, students, artisans, the pastor and his wife, and storytellers galore. In Kulusuk the only person we got to know was our guide. Then again, I’m comparing a week-long trip to a four-hour one.

The pros:
We couldn’t have asked for better weather: It was sunny and clear, which I was told is the summertime norm in Kulusuk. And we lucked out with our charismatic guide, 25-year-old Massanti Riel, who grew up nearby in Greenland, lives in Kulusuk in the summertime, and works for Icelandic Mountain Guides (the tour firm used locally by Air Iceland). Massanti and I are now Facebook friends, and you can spot him in the boat-ride video below (he’s the one in a hat).

Hopefully these photos and videos from my day in Greenland will help those of you who are Iceland-bound determine whether such an excursion would be worth the price tag for you. In my case, my husband made that determination for me. I would never have splurged like this on my own…but, in the end, I’m glad I can say I’ve been to Greenland.

If you have questions about the trip, feel free to ask me in the comments.

#Kulusuk #Greenland, pop. 250

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Not all houses here have running water, but you can get it from the town tap. #Kulusuk #Greenland

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Boats can access this part of the world only 5 months of the year. #Kulusuk #Greenland

 

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  #Greenland   A photo posted by Wendy Perrin (@wendyperrin) on

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhURXqlQ7rY

Save Time, Room, and Money: Secret Travel Uses For Common Accessories

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Note from Wendy: All travelers develop packing hacks over the years. I have several of my own. For instance, I always pack a thin, lightweight day pack or duffel in my carry-on, just in case I end up coming home with more than I left with and need to check the carry-on. In this article from Brittany Jones Cooper at Yahoo! Travel, she finds creative travel uses for items many of us have lying around the house. What are some of your best packing tips? Tell us in the comments below.

This article originally ran on Yahoo! Travel

 

Everyone has secret tricks they use when packing and traveling, and I think the best part is that it doesn’t always have to cost a lot of money.

In fact, some of my favorite travel hacks involve secret uses for items I use every day.

So, this week I’m going to share some ways that your eyewear can help you on the road…other than the obvious use of helping you to see.

sunglasses-cr-yahooSunglasses

You download a movie on your phone to watch on the plane…great planning. But what you didn’t plan on was holding it in your hands the entire time. To prevent fatigue, use your sunglasses to prop up your smartphone. You’ll look like a genius, and your arm won’t get tired!

contact case-cr-yahooContact Case

If you’re a contact wearer, you probably have a bunch of these contact cases lying around. You get them every time you buy a bottle of solution. But they can also be used to hold a small amount of cream. For instance, if you have really expensive eye cream that’s in a big bottle, you can put a small amount in your contact case for a short trip. You can also do the same thing with foundation or gels.

Added bonus: These cases are also a great place to carry small items that easily get lost—like earrings.

glasses case-cd-yahooGlasses Case

When I’m packing, I always throw my brush, comb, and toothbrush in my toiletry bag, but all of the small stuff always gets lost in the shuffle. That’s why I’ve started using my extra glasses case as a smaller vanity kit. I put in small things like cotton balls, Q-tips, hair ties, bobby pins, and even a small sewing kit. Now, they easily accessible AND organized!

Also from Yahoo! Travel: 6 Unusual Household Items You Need to Use When Packing

What are your best packing hacks?

At the Jardin d’Acclimatation in Paris France

How to Save Time and Tantrums in Amusement Parks: A 13-Year-Old’s Advice

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Note from Wendy: The best way to beat lines, crowds, and meltdowns at amusement parks is, in my experience, to choose small, homespun ones and to go when the local children are in school. My family has done this everywhere from Paris to Sonoma, California, to Wildwood, New Jersey. But most families end up at gigantic theme parks—of the Disney, Universal, and Six Flags variety—on peak summer days. I’ve shared advice for how to save money at such places, but my 13-year-old, Charlie, has advice for how to manage your time:

 

The long lines and crowded pathways of large theme parks today mean you need to have a plan. With massive changes at major theme parks, such as the remodeling at Disney’s Magic Kingdom, Universal bringing in Nintendo, and Six Flags’ constant addition of new attractions, it’s important to be a step ahead of the game.

 

At Legoland in Florida when he was 11.

At Legoland in Florida when he was 11.

 

Start with a ride at the back of the amusement park.

When you enter the park, your child will want to run to the first attraction he sees. But the ride at the entrance to the park always has a much longer wait than it’s worth. At Universal Studios, the “Despicable Me Minion Mayhem” ride is the first one, resulting in a wait time of 80 minutes, when it should really only be 30. It’s better to start with a ride toward the back of the amusement park and work your way around in a circle or the closest you can get to one.

 

Sleep in and stay up late.

Most families have a strategy of waking up early to be at the park within an hour of opening time, and that gives them a parking advantage. But those families go home well before the park closes because the parents are tired, because it’s late, or because the parents say it’s too late as an excuse for being tired. When those families leave, the number of people in the park is cut by about 65%, leaving 35% to enjoy short waits during the last three or four hours the park is open. If you arrive at the park later and depart later, you’ll get more bang for your buck. (Here’s an example: When our family went on the Disney Dream cruise ship, there was a 45-minute wait for the Aquaduck water slide during the day but no wait at all at 11:30 pm; I managed about ten rides between 11:30 pm and midnight.) In addition, some theme parks can be very pretty at night, so try to stay almost until the park closes.

 

Make breakfast or dinner reservations, but not lunch.

Theme parks often consist of one to three fine-dining establishments, and the rest of them casual dining or just small stands. Unless you make plans at the fine-dining places for breakfast (before you explore the park) or dinner (when you’re done), you shouldn’t try to get to a certain restaurant at a certain time because it may require that you traverse the entire park to get there, or require you to leave the park and re-enter when you are done. This could reduce your time in the park by a lot more than you think, and it could also throw off your system of traveling through the park. At lunchtime it’s best to just go with the place that’s closest, especially since many of the places serve the same food anyway.

 

Give your kids a five- or ten-minute time limit in the gift shop.

Gift shops in theme parks contain tons and tons of kids’ favorite characters, so your kids likely will drag you into them. You can give them a dollar amount they’re allowed to spend, but they will take forever deciding what to buy, since they will want something that does not deliver too much change back to their parents. I recommend giving them a five- or ten-minute time limit, depending on the store size. If you see a gift shop with a line, you should just avoid it altogether.

 

Doug and Charlie loved The Great Nor’easter thrill ride at Morey’s Piers.

At Morey’s Piers in Wildwood, NJ, at the age of 13.

 

To avoid gift shops completely, make that a condition of going to the amusement park in the first place.

If you want to spend absolutely no time in gift shops, which is in no way a bad idea, tell your kids this at the same time that you announce that you’re going to the amusement park, to save them complaining when you get there.

How to Keep the Peace on a Family Vacation

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There’s the fantasy of a family vacation, and then there’s the reality. There are days—often a dozen times a day—when everybody wants to do something different, go somewhere different, eat someplace different. And then, just when agreement has been reached and everybody’s in a good mood and the weather is cooperating, a child gets an ear infection or a work crisis erupts or your flight is cancelled…and you’re back in meltdown land.  I’m no psychiatrist, and Lord knows every family is different, but I’ve now taken my kids (now 11 and 13) to more than two dozen countries and at least that many states, and I know how many of my fellow parents are in desperate need of a harmonious vacation, so I thought I’d be so bold as to offer up a few strategies that have worked for my own family when it comes to keeping the peace—not just with the kids but between the parents:

1. Before you and your spouse start the planning, determine your mutual trip goal.

What is your main shared goal for this vacation? Is it to do nothing on a beach? Explore a destination? Learn to surf?  See relatives? Avoid relatives? Sleep? Determine your mutual trip goal so that, whichever parent is making arrangements, you’re both shooting for the same result. Make a mission statement, and check it during the trip.

2. Give each family member ownership of a portion of the trip.

Put each parent and child (who’s old enough) in charge of one day of the vacation, or in charge of one activity each day. Or—at the very least—let each choose one activity during the trip that everybody does together. (If your child is very young, at least let him pick a lunch spot.) The more each family member is invested in the itinerary and has a say in the activities, the less family discord.

3. Set a trip budget, but one that allows for a few splurges.

You don’t want to argue during the trip about how much you’re spending, nor do you want to argue about it after the trip when you get the credit-card bill. When you’re doing a money-bleeding activity such as going to an amusement park, make your child C.F.O. of the trip that day. Seriously, when our 13-year-old is in charge of the budget, it’s remarkable how many strategies he’ll come up with to make us stick to it. (And we feel good because he’s learning a valuable lesson.)  Remember that every museum, monument, or aquarium exit is through the gift shop; set not only a budget for gift shops but also a time limit.

4. Choose accommodations that will ensure everyone gets enough sleep.

The last thing you need is a bed configuration that means one family member (parent or child) can’t sleep, putting him/her in a cranky mood that infects everyone. A suite such as the type you find in an extended-stay hotel—where you’ve got a door to the kids’ room that you can close at nap time or bedtime—allows you to have some space, light, and time to yourself, rather than having to tiptoe around in the dark. A house rental provides more space and beds, but be warned that if it comes with no housekeeper or other niceties that a hotel infrastructure provides, it can mean that one parent spends way too much time doing household chores.

5. Choose a soothing activity for shortly after you arrive.

On a trip, your mood tends to dip lowest during the first ten percent of the trip. That’s when you’re dealing with a lot of logistics—possibly including a long drive or flight, jet lag, and sleep deprivation—to get to your destination. Counteract the negative mood that will afflict the family by planning a soothing and reinvigorating activity upon arrival at your destination. A swim for the kids and a massage for the parents can make everyone feel better.

6. Exhaust the kids.

The earlier you can get them to bed at night, the more time you will have alone with your spouse. Tim and I exercise the boys every chance we get during the daytime. If it’s a city trip, that means walking miles each day; if a road trip, it means pit stops at fields where they can play Frisbee; if we’re stuck in a hotel room, it means 100 karate kicks. A simple tennis ball consumes little space in a carry-on and can be a lifesaver.

7. Plan for “couple time.”

In my experience, the best way to ensure you and your partner get a shot at romance — possibly even two or three date nights—is to have easy access to free child care that is your children’s idea of Nirvana. Many resorts and cruise ships offer complimentary supervised kids’ clubs; my children happen to love them. Or consider giving a relative a free trip in exchange for being the babysitter.

8. Carve out “me time” too.

Each parent needs time for himself on vacation, preferably to accomplish something tangible—say, reading an entire novel, or perfecting your golf swing. Having free time and proof of it (e.g., the finished novel) will put you in a better mood around your partner. Again, what I’ve found enables this to happen is built-in child care. On a cruise, for instance, everyone in the family gets “me time.”

9. Pack an outlet splitter.

Let’s face it: When you’re squeezed together like sardines on long car rides and flights, electronics are often the easiest and, for today’s teens, sometimes an essential way to keep the peace. Pack whatever you need to keep everyone’s devices charged in transit; that may include a power inverter for the car and an outlet splitter for the airport gate and hotel rooms.

10. If you must work, do it when it won’t detract from a family activity.

Sometimes you can’t avoid having to work on vacation. Do it while your kids are sleeping or productively occupied in the kids’ club, or while your spouse is in the shower or finishing up that novel.  When I’m on deadine I often skip activities that my kids can enjoy alone with Dad (e.g., mini-golf or fishing) in favor of activities that are unique to the destination or that we’ve never done as a family before.

 

I’d love to hear: What strategies do you have for keeping the peace on a family vacation?

5 Easy Ways to Avoid Airline Bag and Change Fees

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In the first three months of 2015, U.S. airlines raked in a record-setting $1.6 billion in checked-baggage fees and ticket-change fees. That’s up 7.4% from the same period last year. With the airlines’ profits at record highs, do you really want to give them an even bigger chunk of your trip budget?  I didn’t think so.  So here’s what you can do to avoid these fees:

How to avoid baggage fees

1. Get a credit card that exempts you from them.

The standard fee for checking a bag is $50 round-trip but, depending on the size and weight of your luggage, can be as high as $400 internationally. Each of the three major U.S. airlines offers a co-branded credit card that waives such fees when you fly that airline. And these credit cards cost nothing for the first year, so you have little to lose by trying one for 12 months. United offers the United MileagePlus Explorer Visa card from Chase; it provides one free checked bag to both the cardholder and one travel companion ticketed on the same reservation. American offers the Citi/AAdvantage Platinum Select MasterCard from Citibank; it provides one free checked bag for the cardholder and up to four travel companions. Delta offers the Gold Delta SkyMiles card from American Express; it lets you and up to nine companions check a bag for free. For all three cards, the $95 annual fee is waived the first year. The United and Delta cards charge no foreign-transaction fees.

 2. Fly an airline that does not charge baggage fees.

Southwest charges no baggage fees, and some JetBlue fares still incur no baggage fees.

How to avoid or minimize ticket-change fees

1. If you think you may need to change an airline ticket, buy it with miles.

Change fees, which are typically $200 for domestic tickets and up to $450 for international flights, are more lenient for mileage-award tickets. American Airlines, for instance, lets you change mileage-award flight dates and times for free or, if your new departure date is within 21 days, for $75. United lets you change your travel dates for $75 or, if your new departure date is within 21 days, $100. Fees for changes to mileage-award tickets are lowered or waived for fliers with elite status.

2. Choose an airline that offers changes for free.

Southwest Airlines does not charge ticket-change or cancellation fees. Alaska Airlines offers free changes if you make them 60 days or more in advance.

3. If the flight is not very expensive, look into booking two one-way tickets rather than one round-trip.

Time was when two one-way tickets cost significantly more than one round-trip. Nowadays, though, more and more, they cost the same. So, if you’re unsure about either your outbound or return date, consider buying two one-way tickets, especially if each one-way fare is less than the airline’s change fee. Say a round-trip costs $300 and the airline’s change fee is $200. If you bought two $150 one-way fares and you had to change the outbound or the return, you could simply throw out the $150 ticket (and buy a new one), saving yourself $50. If you’re unsure of both your outbound and return dates, you’re probably better off buying the round-trip because you can change both dates with only one change fee.

Do you have any suggestions I’ve missed? I’d love to hear them—as, I’m sure, would everyone else! Please weigh in below.

A surfer in Wildwood Crest, New Jersey

Is America’s Most Up-and-Coming Retro Summer Vacation Spot on the Jersey Shore?

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How does a town that’s barely changed in 60 years become the #1 destination on the rise in the U.S.? I’ve been wondering this ever since the tiny beach town of Wildwood, New Jersey, topped TripAdvisor’s list of destinations on the rise for 2015. Wildwood had its heyday back in the 1950s and 60s, and its best hotels have no more than three stars, so how could it be the spot that’s seen the greatest increase in positive feedback and interest on TripAdvisor?

I wanted to find out. I live just 150 miles from Wildwood so, last weekend, I made a little trip there with the family. What I found is a slice of Americana that may be close to the population centers of the northeast but feels very far away. I also found a quintessential retro summer vacation spot. Here are six reasons for the buzz about Wildwood—just in case you’re interested in checking it out for yourself.

Nostalgia

Wildwood is like a time capsule from the 1950s and ‘60s. It’s a return to the seaside resort of yesteryear, complete with two-mile Boardwalk, dozens of small motels with names like Sea Kist and Pink Champagne Motel, and seemingly a hundred places selling hot dogs, frozen custard, and salt water taffy. What with Mad Men, Universal’s new 50s-themed Cabana Bay Beach Resort in Orlando, and America’s current obsession with mid-century art and design, the 50s and 60s have been making a comeback, so that probably plays into the town’s popularity. Wildwood also has the largest seaside amusement park in the Western Hemisphere, so there are plenty of classic rides that Mom and Dad will remember from their childhood and can now enjoy with their kids.

On the Wildwood Boardwalk you’ll find rides that remind you of your childhood.

On the Wildwood Boardwalk you’ll find rides that remind you of your childhood.

You can see salt water taffy being made—and fed into a 62-year-old taffy-wrapping machine.

You can see salt water taffy being made—and fed into a 62-year-old taffy-wrapping machine.

You’ll spot all sorts of small-town Americana. We stumbled upon this Veterans of Foreign Wars parade.

You’ll spot all sorts of small-town Americana. We stumbled upon this Veterans of Foreign Wars parade.

Authenticity

Part of the reason Wildwood—or, more accurately, the Wildwoods, as the town blends together with its neighbors Wildwood Crest and North Wildwood—feels like a time capsule is that it’s undiluted by the chain stores and strip-mall fixtures that have invaded so many places in America. The Boardwalk is lined with local mom-and-pop shops and eateries—not a Starbucks or Pizza Hut in sight. “How many places have you been to in America where, if you didn’t know where you were, you could be anywhere?” points out Will Morey, CEO of the aforementioned amusement park, Morey’s Piers and Beachfront Waterparks, itself a local family-owned business. “Many places start to look and feel the same. But Wildwood is unique.” It’s not some Disneyfied version of an American beach town either: There’s plenty that’s edgy and tacky on the Boardwalk—from eyesore dollar stores to body piercing and tattoo parlors—and there’s a ton of kitsch (think motels with fake palm trees by the pool). But all that makes Wildwood the real thing.

A typical Wildwood motel, complete with fake palm trees

A typical Wildwood motel, complete with fake palm trees

A small slice of Wildwood’s two-mile Boardwalk

A small slice of Wildwood’s two-mile Boardwalk

Lifeguards grabbing a bite on the Boardwalk

Lifeguards grabbing a bite on the Boardwalk

Amusements

The amusement “park” is actually three enormous piers packed with more than 100 rides and games, plus two of the “world’s largest oceanfront waterparks.” This makes Wildwood a bit like Orlando, only without the logistics or the waits for rides—and with real Americana, as opposed to fake Americana. Wildwood is easier to navigate than Orlando: Accommodations are small motels, not giant resort complexes, and you can get around by bike rather than car.

The biggest seaside amusement park in the Western Hemisphere: Morey’s Piers and Beachfront Waterparks.

The biggest seaside amusement park in the Western Hemisphere: Morey’s Piers and Beachfront Waterparks.

Biking in Wildwood Crest

Biking in Wildwood Crest. This was the view from our balcony at the Port Royal Hotel. 

Bikes for rent in Wildwood

Bikes for rent in Wildwood

Comfort food

On the Boardwalk you’ll find endless supplies of carnival-style and soda-fountain food, from funnel cakes and corn dogs and Philly cheese steaks to fresh-squeezed lemonade and root beer floats to fried just-about-anything-you-can-think-of (fried Oreos, fried Snickers, fried Twinkies, fried Pop-Tarts, fried ice cream….) You could spend hours just sampling the different types of whipped cream fudge on offer. My kids did.

Doug and Charlie tried funnel cakes—and loved them.

Doug and Charlie tried funnel cakes—and loved them.

Did you know fudge comes in hundreds of flavors?

Did you know fudge comes in hundreds of flavors?

Family-friendliness

From its free beaches to its carousels, Wildwood is kid-friendly in the extreme. “Our target market is kids ages 3 to 17,” says Morey, whose family owns not only the amusement piers but also five of the area’s better retro-style hotels, including the StarLux and the Pan American. “Those kids tell their parents where they want to go for vacation.”

A tot on the beach in Wildwood Crest

A tot on the beach in Wildwood Crest

Many large family groups seeking a budget-friendly vacation choose Wildwood—including this group posing at one of the beachfront landmarks.

Many large family groups seeking a budget-friendly vacation choose Wildwood—including this group posing at one of the beachfront landmarks.

Doug and Charlie loved The Great Nor’easter thrill ride at Morey’s Piers.

Doug and Charlie loved The Great Nor’easter thrill ride at Morey’s Piers.

Quirkiness

The Wildwoods are just quirky enough to be interesting. You’ll find surprises each time you walk up and down the waterfront. There’s a 25-foot-tall fire hydrant on Dog Beach, for instance, and there’s an artBOX on one of the amusement piers where you can drop in spontaneously and take an art class (jewelry making, painting, screen printing). Every summer weekend brings events galore. Last weekend we stumbled upon the Hawthorne Caballeros Drum & Bugle Corps having an informal jam session by the beach, a Veterans of Foreign Wars parade, the 2015 New Jersey Jeep Invasion (which brought to the beach about 500 jeeps of every size, color, and off-roading option), and a group of Life Rolls On volunteer surfers taking paraplegics out of their wheelchairs and putting them on surfboards so they could surf. You just never know what you’re going to find in the Wildwoods. That might be one reason people keep coming back.

Public art in Wildwood: This 25-foot-tall fire hydrant sits on Dog Beach.

Public art in Wildwood: This 25-foot-tall fire hydrant sits on Dog Beach.

artBOX, an “artists’ village” made from shipping containers, sits on one of the amusement piers and offers art classes.

artBOX, an “artists’ village” made from shipping containers, sits on one of the amusement piers and offers art classes. Photo courtesy Morey’s Piers.

Local artist David Macomber teaches origami at artBOX.

Local artist David Macomber teaches origami at artBOX.

Veterans of the Hawthorne Caballeros Drum and Bugle Corps having an informal jam session by the beach.

Veterans of the Hawthorne Caballeros Drum and Bugle Corps having an informal jam session by the beach.

Volunteer surfers enabling paraplegics to surf as part of the nonprofit Life Rolls On program.

Volunteer surfers enabling paraplegics to surf as part of the nonprofit Life Rolls On program.

You just never know who or what you’ll see in the Wildwoods.

You just never know who or what you’ll see in the Wildwoods.

But wait. Stop. Before you book a trip to Wildwood, know that Cape May, its far more picturesque and charming neighbor on the Jersey shore, is—with its Victorian architecture, fine restaurants, and art scene—much better suited to sophisticates. The two towns are like yin and yang, and an optimal family trip would combine the two: a dose of Cape May for the grownups, a dose of Wildwood for the kids.

Snorkerling in Fiji

4 Pacific Islands for the Best Snorkel Vacation of Your Life

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Question:

Hi Wendy,

What’s the best Pacific island for a 10-day snorkel trip?

Thanks,

Dennis

Answer:

Dennis, it depends where you’re flying from (some islands will be a lot more convenient to get to than others), what time of year you’re going (it could be typhoon season on some islands), what accommodations you have in mind (beach hut? overwater bungalow? boat cabin?), what island atmosphere you prefer (do you want a dining scene or to be removed from civilization entirely?), etc.

Assuming that money, time, and transport are no object, here’s a list of the top four from Meg Austin, a travel professional who has snorkeled all over the world and specializes in dive trips. These are her Pacific faves, in order of preference:

1. Fiji
“It’s the soft coral capital of the world,” Meg points out. “It’s got consistently good visibility (May – October is best), islands and hotels where the snorkeling is right there, and a local population that can make even the grumpiest traveler smile! Lalati, Koro Sun, and Rainbows End (miles of brilliantly colored corals) are the best reefs.”

Rarotonga, Cook Islands

Rarotonga, Cook Islands. Photo courtesy Tourism Cook Islands.

2. Rarotonga, Cook Islands
“It doesn’t have the infrastructure or resorts that Fiji has,” says Meg, “so it’s important to have the right expectations. This is a quiet place for snorkeling by day and reading books at night. Rumours Luxury Villas has bells and whistles. I like Palm Grove: funky, not fancy.”

3. Palau, Micronesia
“Palau is not for everyone either, but an avid snorkeler would be in heaven. The Rock Islands (especially Rock Island itself) and The Milky Way lagoon are both do-not-miss. Some would love Jellyfish Lake, others would not. Palau Pacific Resort is “water-focused” (diving and snorkeling) and would be my first choice; there is remarkable activity to explore in the sea there. Love the very colorful nudibranchs!”

4. Sipadan, Malaysia
“Sipadan, the only oceanic island in Malaysia, is known for its fabulous diving but is also great for snorkeling: I’ve sent divers with non-diving spouses there, and they’ve raved about the snorkeling.”

Dennis, choosing an island with world-class snorkeling is the easy part. Pulling together a world-class vacation—juggling the complicated logistics of South Pacific travel, getting to the most colorful reefs at the right times of day, sussing out the overwater bungalows with the best underwater creatures below, ensuring you waste no time or money—is the tough part. If you can provide more detail about your specific trip needs, send them to Ask Wendy and I can connect you with the right travel fixer for that world-class vacation.

Tiny Travel Gadgets That Won’t Weigh Down Your Suitcase

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Note from Wendy: I love tech-savvy tools that make travel easier. You can find my own favorite sites and apps here, and check out some of my top packing tricks here. Below, our friends at SmarterTravel share their recent technology discoveries for travelers—all lightweight, and all pocket-sized. What travel tech gadgets are most useful in your own adventures? Share the info with your fellow travelers in the comments below.

This article originally ran on SmarterTravel.

 

By Caroline Morse of SmarterTravel

Having the latest technology at your fingertips doesn’t have to mean weighing down your suitcase. We’ve found eight can’t-travel-without gadgets you never knew existed (until now), and best of all, they’re all pocket-sized.

Photo: VoltReady

Photo: VoltReady

VoltReady Dual Output Portable Battery
Charge your iPhone 6 and your Kindle at the same time, using the same device? We never thought it was possible until we saw the VoltReady, a magical device that has built-in Apple Lightning and Micro USB cables. It’s credit card-sized and can fit in your wallet, while still packing enough power to give your phone about 1.5 full charges.

Photo: Chamberlain

Photo: Chamberlain

Chamberlain Jump-Starter
Nothing ruins a road trip faster than a dead battery, which is why the Chamberlain Portable Jump Starter is an essential for your car (or rental). This little battery weighs less than 2 lbs., yet can jump-start your car up to 20 times on a single charge.

Photo: WakaWaka

Photo: WakaWaka

WakaWaka Power+ Solar Charger
If you’ve got the sun and the WakaWaka Power+ then you’ve got power. This solar charger can give your phone a full charge or up to 150 hours of light (on the flashlight setting). It’s about the same size as your smartphone. And you can feel good about this purchase—for every WakaWaka sold, a solar light will be given to someone living without electricity.

Photo: Kenu

Photo: Kenu

Kenu Stance
Tired of shaky smartphone videos or photos? The Kenu Stance, available for iPhones and Android or Windows, fixes your problem (and photos). It’s a tripod that mounts right into your phone’s charging point—and it only weighs 1.2 ounces and folds down smaller than a pack of gum.

Photo: Victorinox

Photo: Victorinox

Victorinox Jetsetter 3-Pocket Knife
Finally, a TSA-friendly multi-use tool that you can actually take on airplanes. The Victorinox Jetsetter packs tweezers, toothpick, scissors, key ring, screwdriver tip, bottle opener, and wire stripper into one tiny tool.

Photo: Shavetech

Photo: Shavetech

Shavetech USB Rechargeable Travel Razor
Is your electric razor taking up too much space in your toiletries bag? Get the Shavetech Travel Razor, which is smaller than your phone, and can be charged through its built-in USB connector—no annoying cords or bulky batteries required.

Photo: Ivation

Photo: Ivation

Ivation Super Portable Bluetooth Speaker
The Ivation is by far the smallest wireless speaker we’ve ever seen. It’s about the same width as a quarter, and only weighs 1.51 ounces. Charge its battery via the built in USB connection and you’ll get around four to six hours of use out of it.

Photo: BlueDriver

Photo: BlueDriver

BlueDriver
If you’re headed out on a road trip, the BlueDriver diagnostic scan tool could save your vacation if your car quits on you. This tiny tool works with your smartphone and lets you diagnose problems with your car (wireless, and no mechanic required). You can read and clear diagnostic trouble codes all on your own via Bluetooth, which will save you time and money for minor problems.

 

More from SmarterTravel
9 Travel Products You Don’t Really Need
10 Incredibly Useful Travel Products for Summer Trips
How to Travel Without a Bag

Brett finds a treasure in the duty-free shop onboard the Korean Air's A380.

The Airlines’ Biggest Shortcoming, According to The Cranky Flier

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Brett Snyder’s title is Chief Airline Dork. And it’s fitting. As a kid, his idea of fun was watching planes land at LAX; by the age of 12 he’d become the youngest known travel agent. Since then, he’s worked his way through various airlines—US Airways, America West, Eos, and United—all the while helping friends and family solve various air travel snafus and frustrations. Eventually (and we’d add, inevitably), Brett turned his knack for solving problems into a service available to anyone, via his company Cranky Concierge. Need a last-minute alternative for delayed or canceled flights? Help finding a hotel when a blizzard has grounded travelers all over the country? An ally who can talk directly to airlines and untangle their rules and regulations? Call Cranky. Wendy does. In 2011, 2012 and 2013 she named Brett to her Condé Nast Traveler list of top travel specialists, as an expert in urgent airline assistance. Today, when travelers ask Wendy for the best travel agent to book a complicated airline itinerary, she often sends them to Brett.

You can follow Brett on his blog, The Cranky Flier, where he monitors the airline industry, using his insider knowledge to ensure that the rest of us understand what’s going on behind the scenes. As you might have guessed from the name, Brett’s sharp sense of humor pervades all of his posts and work—after all, you’d have to be able to laugh in his business. Here, he bravely reveals one of his most memorable and embarrassing travel experiences, as well as his opinion on the biggest issue that airlines face.

Most memorable travel moment:

Well, you’re asking this question just a week after I stepped off my first (and likely only) flight in Singapore’s Suites class. So it’s tempting to say that’s it. But really there is one flight that sticks out in my mind as being the coolest thing I’ve ever done. Back in 2002, I flew Concorde from London to New York. That was incredible and is easily my most memorable travel moment.

Brett relaxing in Singapore Airlines' A380 Suite.

Brett relaxing in Singapore Airlines’ A380 Suite. Photo courtesy The Cranky Flier.

Most embarrassing travel moment:

This isn’t airplane-related, but I still remember it to this day. Way back in third grade, I was on vacation with my parents and younger brother in Washington, DC. We had walked into Georgetown to go to dinner and my brother spilled what seemed like a gallon of milk right in my crotch. It was a long walk back to the hotel for this mortified third grader.

Name one thing people would be surprised to find in your travel bag:

Not much. I travel very light when I’m on the road. My wife still can’t believe I brought only a duffle bag on our two-week honeymoon. Granted, it was in French Polynesia, so I didn’t need more than a bathing suit anyway.

Touristy spot that’s actually worth it, and the trick to doing it right:

Dubuque. Oh wait, that’s not touristy? Ok, then I’d probably say Washington, DC. The place is absolutely full of history, and most of the monuments and museums are free, so it is not only a great place to visit but it can be done economically for those on a budget. While there are some great out-of-the-way memorials (the Einstein one is my favorite), most of the places you want to see are the same ones everyone wants to see. Wear comfortable shoes and be ready to walk. Get yourself an awkwardly named SmarTrip fast pass for the Metro as well. Stay hydrated and bring snacks. In other words, prepare like you’re getting ready for some post-apocalyptic world. Lastly, don’t go during cherry blossom season (spring). Everyone goes then, and it’s even more crowded than usual. And don’t go in the summer. Not only are their hordes of families, but the place was built on a swamp. You’ll feel like you’re in a steam bath. If you can go in the fall or winter, you’ll be better off.

Non-touristy spot people might not know about but should add to their must-visit list:

I don’t think Slovenia counts as touristy, does it? When I was young, I remember seeing a picture of this impossibly blue river in Slovenia. It took me a long time, but I finally made it there about a decade ago to see the Soca River for myself, and it remains one of my favorite trips. It’s an incredible sight. But what’s more incredible is how much you can see in Slovenia within such a short drive. You have the glacial valleys where the Soca River roams in the west. In the north you’ll find the Julian Alps and some incredibly picturesque mountain lakes (Bled and Bohinj). Come down a bit to the center and you’ll be in the medieval capital of Ljubljana. (Just try to ignore the Soviet-era buildings that surround the city.) To the east is the wine country of Maribor. And in the southwest is Slovenia’s tiny coastline with the historic town of Piran and beachy Portoroz. From one side of the country to the other is less than three hours by car. To top it off, I’m convinced that every person in Slovenia is friendly and speaks 300 different languages fluently.

Hiking outside of Kobarid in the Soca River Valley, Slovenia.

Hiking outside of Kobarid in the Soca River Valley, Slovenia. Photo courtesy The Cranky Flier.

Name two indispensable apps you use when you travel:

1) The app for whatever airline I’m flying.

2) Google Maps, which is great for plotting public transit routes and providing fare information.

The travel gadget or gear that has saved your life…or your mind:

I’m not really a gadget guy. I travel light, so my phone is probably the only real gadget I use when I travel. And it has definitely saved me a lot of stress. (It also creates a ton too, but that’s my fault for checking my email.)

Choose any two travel-world bloggers and tell us the most important thing you’ve learned from each:

Here’s the funny thing. I don’t read a ton of travel bloggers. When I do, it’s usually more for the business insight into the industry as opposed to things that focus on the travel experience itself. So for example, I read Gary Leff’s View from the Wing for news on frequent-flier programs. Or I read really geeky stuff like Airline Route, which shows airline schedule changes. Boring, right? I should read more aspirational stuff—I’d probably be happier.

Whose Tweets do you find the most useful and entertaining when you see them in your feed?

Well if you’re looking for entertainment, try out @FakeUnitedJeff and his impersonation of United’s CEO. It rings a little too close to home. Otherwise, if you’re looking for useful, I turn to all my favorite #AvGeeks. People like Airline Reporter, Ben Granucci, Benet Wilson, Ghim-Lay Yeo, Henry Harteveldt, Holly Hegeman, Jason Rabinowitz, Jeremy DwyerLindgren, Jon Ostrower, Justin Meyer, and Paul Thompson.

Name one way the travel industry can do better:

Well my experience is more on the airline/travel agent side, so I’ll focus on that. I honestly think the biggest issue for airlines has long been communication. We all understand that flying airplanes around the world is a complex business. Most people are understanding when things go wrong if they know what’s actually happening. But for years and years, airlines have had this “need to know” kind of attitude, and the customer doesn’t need to know. It’s not just on the operations side either. Delta has really taken this further by hiding its seat maps and availability from third parties. Heck, it even stopped publishing an award chart altogether. If airlines really want to improve the travel experience, they should communicate openly, truthfully, and often. The fact that they don’t is one of the reasons that my Cranky Concierge business is thriving, so maybe I shouldn’t hope for them to change…

Look into the future and describe one aspect of travel that you think will be different in 20 years:

I’d like to think that we’ll be closer to having space travel as a reality. Even if it’s not for travel into space but as a way to speed up the transit time between cities on Earth, it would be a huge win. Between 1903 and 1965, we saw travel times come down dramatically in the air. But nothing has changed since then. It’s time.

Most effective thing you’ve ever said or done to get an upgrade or a special perk while traveling:

The best thing anyone can do is just be nice. If you’re using that as a tool solely to get an upgrade, then that’s pretty shady. And it doesn’t work with airlines much anymore, since there’s a lot less leeway for a gate agent to give you an upgrade than there used to be. But just be nice in general and things can sometimes fall in your favor. If the gate agent has any leeway, then being nice is the only way you’ll get an upgrade. (Just try the “do you know who I am” route. You’ll end up in a middle seat in the last row.)

I remember one time I was at JFK and it was a mess. I had to get rebooked and finally got to the agent at the counter. She looked wrecked. I simply asked her if she’d like a sandwich or a drink or anything, and her mood changed instantly. It’s hard doing that job and getting yelled at all day. I actually did end up getting a seat up front, but I didn’t even ask. I was just trying to empathize.

To make friends, I always carry:

Deodorant.

Overrated:

Cruises. 

Underrated:

Train travel.

If you were in my car during a road trip, you’d hear me singing:

Some good classic rock—maybe a little Tom Petty, possibly some Zeppelin. Or it could be something a little more recent like Smashing Pumpkins, which admittedly still isn’t all that recent. As my brother says, my appreciation for music somehow stopped developing at the turn of the millennium.

The airplane movie that, unexpectedly, made me bawl was:

Marley & Me. Never watch a dog movie with a sad ending on an airplane.

When I travel, I’m not afraid of:

Going naked into a communal bath.

But I am afraid of:

Getting violently ill from accidentally drinking the water in a country where I shouldn’t.

My kids running to dinner at the Four Seasons Bora Bora.

5 Steps to the Best Family Vacation You’ll Ever Have

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Traveling to almost 30 countries with young kids I’ve learned a little something about crafting vacations that the kids love and remember but that are also sophisticated and fun for the adults. Here are five tips for making summer travel gratifying for the entire family:

 

Our tour of The Marais with Paris Muse.

Our tour of The Marais with Paris Muse. Photo by Eric Stoen/TravelBabbo.com.

1) Book a family-oriented walking tour.

No matter where you’re going, there’s likely a company that offers walking tours through certain neighborhoods or museums. Select one that’s geared toward the kids. Good walking tours are interactive and highly educational, without the kids even realizing how much they’re learning. And given that we parents have forgotten most of the history that we learned in school, they’re great for us too! My family has now done walking tours in Paris, Florence, Athens, Ephesus (Turkey) and Valletta (Malta). I particularly like those we’ve done with Context Travel and Paris Muse. An added benefit: By arranging museum tours in advance, you can generally skip the lines. With our guide from Paris Muse we walked right past an hour-long queue at the Louvre.

 

My daughter making pici pasta at Boscarecce Cooking School.

My daughter making pici pasta at Boscarecce Cooking School. Photo by Eric Stoen/TravelBabbo.com

2) Consider a cooking class.

What better way to let the kids be creative, teach them life-long skills, and introduce them to local cuisine? Our kids always come home wanting to cook the things that they made abroad, and they’ve become better eaters as well. And how many kids prefer to make their own pasta instead of buying it at the grocery store? Ours do, after we learned to make pasta at Boscarecce Cooking School outside of Florence. We’ve already booked a pita-making class in Greece for this coming summer.

 

3) Look into day camps.

When we go on a family vacation, we generally don’t look for activities where we can drop off the kids for seven hours at a time. But there are some week-long day camps that are so cool that we’d be excited for our kids to enroll. Arte al Sole has workshops throughout Italy that incorporate art projects (think frescos and mosaics), cooking classes, walking tours, history and even movie-making for kids 6 to 12, and parents can participate in some of the activities (such as museum visits) with their kids. An added benefit is that your kids will make friends from all over the world. If a camp or workshop doesn’t fit your travel schedule, it’s worth asking if they can arrange something that does. When my nine-year-old and I were in Bali in March, we stumbled upon a three-day ceramic camp at Gaya Ceramic that looked like a lot of fun. Gaya doesn’t pre-schedule family-oriented workshops, but they can arrange group or private workshops at a very reasonable cost.

 

Eric Stoen kids at Rosewood Mayakoba

My kids feeding the fish from our dock at the Rosewood Mayakoba. Photo by Eric Stoen/TravelBabbo.com.

4) Find a hotel that’s both romantic and kid-friendly.

Impossible? Nope. Both Wendy and I have had great stays with our kids at Rosewood Mayakoba in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. The hotel has many romantic touches—including private plunge pools, outdoor showers, moonlit restaurants, and a sensuous spa—yet it’s also got a kids’ club, kid-friendly cooking classes, a children’s breakfast buffet, a kid-friendly pool and beach. There’s even a snow cone machine by the pool. Four Seasons resorts also tend to achieve that balance of sophistication and kid-friendliness. Our overwater bungalow at the Four Seasons Bora Bora is one of the most amazing places we’ve stayed, with a spectacular view and a definite honeymoon feel, yet the hotel staff also set up an entire inflatable water playground for our kids, and let us know that they would open up the kids club and plan activities just for us anytime we wanted.

 

The Torrigiani Gardens, which CIU Travel got us access to.

The Torrigiani Gardens, which CIU Travel got us access to. Photo by Eric Stoen/TravelBabbo.com.

5) Ask Wendy for the right family-friendly travel agent.

Most of the experts on Wendy’s WOW List create trips for families and can suggest (and get you into) unique places that you couldn’t access on your own. Our best vacation ever was two weeks in Florence planned by Maria Gabriella Landers of CIU Travel. We made pasta, pizza, gelato, chocolate, frescoes and books. We went through the normally off-limits Vasari Corridor. We saw a private flag-throwing demonstration in the amazing Torrigiani Gardens. We did kid-friendly visits to all of the major sites and museums. It was literally a perfect trip—and it made our kids love Florence so much that we now go back annually.

 

 

Meet our writer

Eric Stoen, the founder of Travel Babbo, travels around the world constantly with his three kids. Wendy met him when he won Condé Nast Traveler’s Dream Trip Contest a few years ago and was so impressed with his travel savvy that she invited him to contribute to WendyPerrin.com.

singapore airlines suites

The Best Frequent-Flier Deals for American Express Points

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Question:

Wendy, I have accumulated 2 million American Express points. How do I get the best bang for my buck redeeming them for airline tickets? Should I dump them all into a frequent-flier program? I am open to any and all suggestions. Thank you!
—Dee

Answer:

For smart advice on using AmEx Membership Rewards points, I’ve called in my old buddy Brian Kelly, a.k.a. The Points Guy. Brian’s been so successful at collecting and leveraging his own miles that he was able to give up his Wall Street job (which is what he was doing when I met him) to travel around the world full-time. He shares his hard-won knowledge on his website ThePointsGuy.com, and he’s got three nifty suggestions for you, Dee:

“Having 2,000,000 Membership Rewards points at your disposal is definitely a great position to be in. I would keep the points in your American Express account until you’re ready to plan a trip, but you don’t need to blow all two million on a single high-end round-the-world adventure (though you certainly can, assuming you have a few weeks to travel).

Instead, I’d suggest transferring the points to Membership Rewards partners as you need to use them, or, if American Express is offering a temporary transfer bonus to a certain program, it may make sense to transfer speculatively. For example, earlier this year, you could convert Membership Rewards points to British Airways Avios with a 40-percent bonus, so you’d earn 1.4 Avios for every point you transferred. If you had transferred all two million points, you would have ended up with 2,800,000 Avios, which is enough for a whopping 622 one-way short-haul flights on American or US Airways within the US (up to 650 miles), at 4,500 Avios a pop for coach.

Because airline-program devaluations can come at any time (and bonus opportunities can always pop up), it usually makes more sense to keep your points in a flexible currency, like Membership Rewards, until you’re ready to book.

If you’re looking to travel in style, another great airline transfer partner is Singapore Airlines. Singapore reserves the best awards in First and Suites Class on its 777-300ER and A380 aircraft for its own members, so you can’t book premium seats on long-haul flights using miles from a Star Alliance partner. This makes Singapore’s KrisFlyer miles exceptionally valuable. For every 1,000 Membership Rewards points, you’ll receive 1,000 KrisFlyer miles. You can experience Suites Class on the A380 starting at just 31,875 miles (or 31,875 American Express Points) for a one-way flight between Singapore and Hong Kong. Or you can travel all the way from New York City in Suites Class for 93,750 miles, plus about $300 in taxes and fees. Your 2 million points will get you and a friend to and from New York to Singapore in Suites ten times.

Finally, Air Canada’s Aeroplan program is another great transfer partner. As with British Airways and Singapore, you’ll receive 1,000 Aeroplan miles for every 1,000 points you transfer, and points typically transfer instantly (or within a day or two). Aeroplan is especially valuable for premium-cabin travel when compared to United Airlines, allowing you to fly between the US and Europe in Lufthansa First Class for 62,500 miles, rather than the 110,000 miles United requires. Note that Aeroplan does charge fuel surcharges on some carriers, including Lufthansa, so you may need to pay a few hundred dollars in fees in addition to the miles you’ll use for an award.

In total, American Express partners with 16 airline programs and four hotel chains, though you’ll generally get the most bang for your buck from the programs I’ve outlined above.”

Dee, I’m beyond jealous! Enjoy all those trips!

Qatar Airways seat configuration

5 Things I Loved About My 13-Hour Flight on Qatar Airways, and Two I Didn’t

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“These might be the most comfortable pajamas I’ve ever worn.”

That is my most lasting impression from my 13 hours on a Qatar Airways flight from JFK to Doha the other week. The big draw of the airline is its business class, which travelers have named best in the world in Skytrax’s World Airline Awards for the past two years running (its seats, amenities, food, and lounge earned high rankings too). The back of the plane isn’t shabby either: Skift named Qatar Airways Best Economy Long-Haul Experience in 2015. But it was the business class experience—complete with a Giorgio Armani amenity kit, soft gray pajamas, and cushy slippers—that I indulged in last week.*

The rise of the airline—which launched as a regional service in 1994 and was revamped as a global player in 1997—mirrors the rise of Qatar as an international tourist destination. A young country in general (it was a British protectorate until 1971), the capital city of Doha was raised into existence only 35 years ago, but already the wealthy Qatari government has positioned it as a luxury Middle East destination, attracting all the biggies in luxury travel brands: Four Seasons, St. Regis, InterContinental, and most recently Anantara, which recently opened the Banana Island Resort to which I was bound. There’s star power in the culinary space (Alain Ducasse, Nobu, Shake Shack, and NYC cupcake stalwart Magnolia Bakery); in the arts scene (I.M. Pei designed the Museum of Islamic Art, and Richard Serra created a monumental series of obelisks for the museum and for the desert), and along the skyline (you’ll find projects by Jean Nouvel, Norman Foster, and Rem Koolhaas). Construction is everywhere: a new cultural village packed with galleries and a striking 4,000-seat marble amphitheater; a new metro rail system; a new education “city” offering American universities to Middle East residents; the new Mall of Qatar (which will be the largest in the country); and, of course, a rush of new sports facilities in anticipation of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Travelers are taking notice, and their introduction to Qatar begins on the plane. It’s an impressive one. Here are five things I loved about my nonstop business-class flight…and two things I didn’t.

The Good

1. The personal attention begins as soon as you check in.

Qatar Airways’ VIP service starts right at the airport check-in counter, when one of the desk agents offers to escort you to the lounge. I didn’t know it at the time, but this was code for “you will get to cut every line in security and insert yourself and your bins right at the front.” I definitely enjoyed the celebrity treatment’s speed and ease, but it came with a side of guilt for cutting in front of all the regular folk waiting to make their way through the TSA maze. However, anyone flying QR in any cabin class can purchase this VIP treatment. It’s called the Al Maha service and includes an escort from check-in to the gate and a welcome escort at Doha International Airport who will guide you through passport inspection and out to your ground transportation; the service is also available on arrival (prices start at 300 Qatari riyals each way).

Once onboard, you’ll find a set of pajamas and a Giorgio Armani amenities kit stuffed with the usual essentials (ear plugs, eye shade, socks) and some Armani perfume and lotion.

 

The Giorgio Armani business class amenities kit contains perfume and lotion—men get one set, women get another.

The Giorgio Armani business class amenities kit contains perfume and lotion—men get one set, women get another. Photo courtesy Qatar Airways.

 

2. The seat configuration allows for space and decent privacy.

The 777 we took from JFK to Doha had a 2-2-2 configuration. For easiest access to an aisle, choose seats in the middle section.

The 777 we took from JFK to Doha had a 2-2-2 configuration. For easiest access to an aisle, choose seats in the middle section. Photo: Billie Cohen.

My plane was the B777-300ER, which meant a 2-2-2 configuration in business class. I shared my nook with only one other person, with whom I could enjoy conversation while we got settled and then completely ignore once we reclined for movies and sleep, thanks to the cocoon-like design of the lie-flat seats.

 

3. The in-flight entertainment system made it kind of hard to leave the plane.

All seven of the Harry Potter movies, all three of the Lord of the Rings movies, an entire collection devoted to Meryl Streep, plus a ton of Bollywood films and TV and music from around the world. I kept thinking, Why can’t Netflix have as good a selection? It was hard to choose between sleep and staying up all 13 hours to watch movies.

It was hard to choose between a Harry Potter marathon and a nap. I did both.

It was hard to choose between a Harry Potter marathon and a nap. I did both. Photo: Billie Cohen.

 

4. The food is good enough to be served on the ground.

Pumpkin and chestnut soup. Summer greens and mozzarella salad. Greek yogurt with raspberry compote and toasted granola. A selection of desserts from Ladurée. Special dishes created by Nobu Matsuhisa and Vineet Bhatia (the first Indian chef to win a Michelin star). And lots of small details added to the feeling of fine dining: warm mixed nuts, warm bread and butter, mini boxes of Valrhona chocolates, white-cloth napkins, real silverware, and real glasses. Unfortunately, my food pictures are horrible; I have not mastered the art of Instagramming dishes in any appetizing way whatsoever, so I haven’t done justice here, but believe me this was food I would’ve been happy to be served in a restaurant. And the best part is that it’s all delivered to your seat whenever you want, rather than when the flight attendants’ schedule says it’s time.

This yogurt parfait with raspberry compote was delicious.

This yogurt parfait with raspberry compote was delicious.

 

5. The award-winning lie-flat bed

As a light sleeper, I was skeptical that this “bed” would be as comfortable as promised. It was. After the flight attendants set you up with a thin mattress, a fluffy pillow and a light cloth quilt (none of that staticky fake fleece stuff), it is really hard to stay awake. On both flights, the lights were dimmed, with only the soft glow of the color-changing ceiling accents, which cycled through blues, greens, and oranges to indicate time of day. According to Qatar Airways, the purpose of the mood lighting—which exists in the economy cabin as well—is to decrease the effects of jet lag, but I’m thinking it has more to do with the beds than the light bulbs.

Qatar Airways lie-flat beds

The model in this press photo is not faking—the beds are comfortable. Photo courtesy Qatar Airways.

The fully adjustable bed not only made for comfortable sleeping, but for working, and curling up and watching Harry Potter. I especially appreciated the adjustable attached footrest; thanks to button controls that let you raise it to your comfort level, my short legs (which don’t usually reach the floor on airplanes…or buses, subways and office chairs for that matter) enjoyed the full benefits of a footrest for the first time I can remember.

At 4’11, my legs aren’t long enough to reach most footrests. Thanks to the adjustable one on my business-class seat, I got to see what all the fuss is about. I liked it.

At 4’11, my legs aren’t long enough to reach most footrests. Thanks to the adjustable one on my business-class seat, I got to see what all the fuss is about. I liked it.

The Not So Good

No exit 

There I am, happily cozying up in my reclined seat, snacking on chocolates, flipping through movies while my neighbor gently snored in the next seat, when nature called and I discovered the first downside to life in QA’s business class. Not the bathrooms (which were cleaned often and stocked with aromatic soaps), but the one drawback of these award-winning lie-flat beds.

I chose a window seat in on both of my flights. Great for sightseeing (I’m a sucker for takeoff and landing photos), but bad for every time I wanted to go to the bathroom. Once my seatmate was fully reclined and snoring, I was trapped: His feet reached all the way to the wall, so to get out of our row, I had to climb over his legs, a fate I had naively thought was limited to the coach-class experience. Thankfully he was a heavy sleeper and there wasn’t much turbulence. Otherwise, there could have been a very awkward spill onto his bed. If you want to avoid this on your next business class flight, check SeatGuru to determine the cabin’s seat configuration. If it’s 2-2-2, like mine was, choose the middle section to guarantee easy aisle access from both seats.

No Wi-Fi, inaccessible power

Power plugs are a must-have these days. Even if you’re distracted by Meryl Streep’s complete catalog of films, at some point on a 13-hour flight, most of us have to do some work. But on QR’s 777, the plug (which, conveniently, does not require an adapter) is inconveniently hidden behind the lower-leg portion of the seat. Even when the seat is in its fully upright position, it covers the recess where the plug is located; if I didn’t have small hands (and if I wasn’t willing to sit on the floor in front of my seat holding a phone flashlight), I would not have been able to plug in my computer. Once I did, I realized the other drawback of QR’s 777s: no Wi-Fi. I understand that some aircraft are older and not able, or worthwhile, to be retrofitted—and the airline’s 787s, A350s, and A380 all have internet—but business class should allow you to, you know, get some business done.

To be fair, these are pretty minor quibbles considering how comfortable the flights were, how impressive the food and service were, and how easy it was to sleep. While getting work out of the way is key to having a good vacation once you’re on the ground, the truth is that you can’t get anything done—on or off the plane—if you’re tired and hungry, and Qatar Airways sufficiently takes care of both. Plus, you get those pajamas.

 

*Full disclosure: My flight was fully paid for by Qatar Airways, as part of a small media trip to Anantara’s new Banana Island Resort, just off the coast of Doha. (The five of us were the first American journalists to see Anantara’s new property here.) Onboard, I watched carefully to see if the flight crew treated me or my colleagues any differently than other passengers and it did not seem to be so.

In keeping with WendyPerrin.com standard practice, there was no request for or expectation of coverage on our hosts’ part, nor was anything promised on ours. You can read our signed agreement with Qatar Airways here and with Anantara here. 

Be a smarter traveler: Use Wendy’s WOW List to plan your next trip. You can also follow her on Facebook and Twitter @wendyperrin, and sign up for her weekly newsletter to stay in the know.

Grace Family Foundation relief work team

Just Back from Nepal: The 5 Things You Need to Know

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Sanjay Saxena, founder of Destination Himalaya and a Trusted Travel Expert for Asia on Wendy’s WOW List, is just back from Nepal, where he went right after the April 25 earthquake to help with relief efforts. He’s going back in June, leading a multi-generational family tour. Meanwhile, here’s his report from the field:

  1. Kathmandu, Nepal, is open and ready for travelers

Saxena was relieved to see that the city has not been leveled—as he’d been led to believe by initial media reports. Life is returning to some semblance of normalcy, with shops and restaurants open for business. All of the tourist hotels remain open. Saxena even felt totally safe spending a night on the fifth floor of the Yak & Yeti.

  1. It’s the rural villages that are a disaster.

Eight days after the quake, Saxena delivered 10,000 pounds of rice and chura (a ready-to-eat mixture of rice, lentils, and nuts) to a region five hours outside of Kathmandu that hadn’t yet received any food aid. In these small villages, Saxena discovered, almost all of the houses were destroyed, and those left standing were uninhabitable.

“There is no doubt that Nepal is seeing an overwhelming response from the international community,” says Saxena. “While I walked around Kathmandu and drove in the countryside, I saw the flags of nations from Sri Lanka to the U.S. on supply trucks, temporary housing, and bulldozers. But while the capital city saw a fair amount of quick response, the overall infrastructure in Nepal is completely taxed and outside of medical evacuations, the outlying village areas have seen little to no aid at all.”

Life goes on around the rubble in Nepal

Life goes on around the rubble in Nepal. Photo courtesy Sanjay Saxena.

  1. Here’s where you can and can’t go.

Travelers will not be able to see the World Heritage Sites in Bhaktapur and Patan, as many of these temples and buildings have collapsed. The Shechen Monastery’s main assembly hall suffered some very dramatic cracks, but thankfully the structure held, as hundreds were inside attending a teaching at the time of the quake.

Trekking in the Langtang Himal (a popular area due to its easy access from Kathmandu) will be closed for the near future because of landslides. Trekkers to the Annapurna and Everest regions will certainly see the effects of the earthquake, but that shouldn’t be a reason not to travel there; they’ll still enjoy views of the majestic Himalayan peaks and the company of the wonderful people of Nepal.

Parts of Tibet and India have been affected. Inhabitants of several border towns in Tibet have been evacuated, and the roads closed to all but military relief convoys. Saxena expects the Tibetan Everest Base Camp area to open for travel in the next month, however the overland crossing into Nepal will be closed for the rest of this season, if not longer, due to landslides in the Zangmu gorge. India’s Himalayan border state of Sikkim felt the quake too, but all reports are that no major damage occurred to the infrastructure there.

  1. The quake has shown the true colors of many companies.

Upon arriving in Kathmandu, Saxena received a text message from T-Mobile announcing that all phone calls and data would be free while he was in Nepal. His traveling companions who are customers of other cellular services received no such offer, and several vowed allegiance to T-Mobile as soon as they returned home. Stories abound such as the one of Dolma Dhakhwa, the owner of a small carpet export business, who visited each of his weavers and gave them bags of rice and lentils, plus two months’ advance salary. Less compassionate was the management of Kathmandu’s Hyatt Regency, who forbade locals to sleep on their 35 acres (many Nepalis pitched tents after the first earthquake, doubting the structural integrity of their homes).

Truck-loaded with supplies for Kunchuk Village about 75km NE of Kathmandu

Truck loaded with supplies for Kunchuk Village, about 75km NE of Kathmandu. Photo courtesy Sanjay Saxena.

  1. Nepal needs your help.

Saxena’s travel companion on this trip to Nepal was longtime client Dick Grace of the Grace Family Vineyards Foundation. They focused their efforts on the rural villages and continue to do so now that they’re back home. Along with mountaineer and filmmaker David Breashears, Destination Himalaya has set up a fund to help rebuild three severely damaged schools in Chyangba. This village of 600 people in the Solukhumbu district is home to most of the Sherpas that Destination Himalaya employs on its Nepal treks, as well as the Sherpas who have summited Everest alongside Breashears.

Saxena and Breashears have pledged to cover all overhead costs themselves and spend 100% of any donations directly on the school rebuilding. Moreover, they intend to design the schools to better withstand earthquakes in the future.

Donations can be sent via the Grace Family Vineyards Foundation and are tax-deductible. Checks should be made out to the Grace Family Vineyards Foundation (write “DH-Nepal Earthquake” in the memo line) and sent to 1210 Rockland Drive, St. Helena CA 94574, or you can donate via credit card on the foundation’s website.

Saxena says it’s important to keep Nepal on your bucket list and show support for the country by traveling there when the time is right again. “Tourism is essential to the economy in Nepal, as it’s the largest employer in the country,” says Saxena. “ I would urge you to keep Nepal on your list of must-see destinations, Having traveled to Nepal numerous times and taken scores of travelers there, the one thing that people always tell me that they remember most is not the dramatic sunrise on Everest or the exquisite details on the Bhaktapur temples, but the wonderful people of this mountain kingdom.

Annapurna, Nepal

How to Get Help in an Emergency When Traveling Abroad

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Question:

“Wendy, thank you for your tips on what to do if an emergency happens when you’re traveling. I feel that a traveler ought to devise a ‘scheme B’ for getting out of the country in the event that ‘things go sideways’ due to political turbulence or unrest. You shouldn’t rely only on your country’s embassy. Shouldn’t you have a ‘scheme B’?” —Valerie

Answer:

That’s true, Valerie. Fortunately, there’s an easy Plan B. It requires zero effort on the traveler’s part and should, in fact, be your Plan A: Use the right destination-specialist travel-planning firm to arrange your trip in the first place. The destination specialists on my WOW List are chosen partly because they can and will rescue you in any emergency. Toni Neubauer of Myths and Mountains, for example, operates stellar trips to Asia and is the Nepal specialist on my WOW List. To understand how Toni came to the rescue when the Nepal earthquake struck, read this review posted to WendyPerrin.com by Joe and Rowena Burke, who were in Katmandu, Nepal, when the quake struck on April 25. Here, in the Burkes’ words, is how Toni got them out of the country:

“Behind the scenes Toni Neubauer of Myths and Mountains worked tirelessly to coordinate our hasty departure. We were able to reach out to her several hours after the quake. She immediately sprang into action and somehow, through her extensive network of contacts in the region, booked us a flight the following afternoon. Booking the flight was miraculous, but it would have been meaningless but for Toni’s people on the ground, as we needed transport from our hotel.

Toni’s (and our) guide, Ananta Gubhaju, and his colleagues were there whenever we needed them. They safely transported us through the chaos at the airport and then waited there for more than 8 hours, having promised not to leave until our flight departed. When the flight was cancelled, they promptly returned us to the hotel, which welcomed us with open arms.

All the while Toni continued to work behind the scenes, anticipating that the flight might not work. She confirmed the original flight for the next day and booked a back-up. She maintained constant contact with our relatives stateside. It was unequivocally clear that she had established a reliable, professional network of wonderful people as a result of her years of travel to the region.

Her efforts, and those of her network, did not end when we safely arrived in Varanasi. Somehow she marshaled people who met us at the gate and whisked us through customs as we ran to make a connection to Delhi. When we arrived at the gate after the flight’s departure, there was no cause for concern. Within minutes we were booked on the next flight out, giving us an hour or so to decompress before we travelled to Delhi, where, once again, Toni’s people were patiently waiting for us when we arrived.

It was apparent from my first contact with Toni that Myths and Mountains is much, much more than a travel agent. Her organization knows the region and has an incredible appreciation of the needs of its clients and the idiosyncrasies of travel to the region’s special places. Her understanding of the area reflects her decades of travel and commitment to the region, as evidenced by her support of READ Global.

I will not allow our trip to the foothills of the Himalayas to be defined solely by the catastrophe that struck Nepal because Toni made it so much more. We spent 8 captivating days in Bhutan, where her contacts were absolutely fabulous. Her colleagues in Delhi and Agra made our short time in India a truly great experience that forever changed my perception of that country. And when we return to Nepal—and return we will—Toni will be the person who will get us there and who will get us back.”

So you see, Valerie, relying on a country’s embassy to get you out in an emergency is really Plan B. Plan A is to use the right destination specialist to arrange your trip in the first place.

Norway

The Least Expensive Weeks to See Your Favorite Destinations This Summer

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If you haven’t made summer travel plans yet, listen up. TripAdvisor has compared the costs of travel to the ten most popular destinations this summer, and for each place they’ve identified the least expensive week. New York City, for instance, is most affordable over the July 4th holiday. Paris is most affordable the week of August 3-10, London August 17-23, Rome August 24-31—although I, for one, would not want to be in those cities in August, when all the locals have fled. I’d prefer to be on Mexico’s Riviera Maya, where I was last August: It’s the optimal time to swim and snorkel with whale sharks (and the least expensive week for Cancun and Playa del Carmen is August 24-31). Need a cooler, less crowded summer escape? Think Canada—especially British Columbia, the Canadian Rockies, Newfoundland (my August 2013 vacation spot), New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, or Quebec. Your U.S. dollar buys you about 20% more in Canada than it did last year. Other smart August options: Scotland, Norway, Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, or a safari in East Africa.

To help you choose, here are our insider’s guides to all these top spots:

Which destination is calling to you this summer?

 

Is a River Barge Trip Right for Your Family?

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Question:

Hi Wendy, I have enjoyed reading all of your travel advice on your new site. Thanks! Can you give me your take on river barges? Our family of 12 adults is planning a river trip in France, and I have done some research on the barges. I wonder if booking the entire barge would be right for our family, rather than a typical river cruise. We enjoy good food, wine, travel and much needed time together. However, we do enjoy some luxuries as well. Any suggestions? Thanks! –Debbie

Answer:

Debbie, I absolutely recommend opting for the barge. You’ll have just your family onboard—as opposed to 150 other people—and you’ll get to dictate your schedule and call the shots. You’ll get to see off-the-beaten-path villages and countryside that would be hard for you to see any other way (vs. on a river cruise, where the cities along the river are easy to access in other ways). And, if you choose the right barge, you’ll find excellent food, wine, and “luxuries.”

Read our Insider’s Guide to European Barge Cruises and you’ll get a feel for the biggest differences between barge trips and river cruises: First of all, barges ply canals, which are narrower than rivers and give you a more close-up view of the sights you’re floating past. Second, barges move much more slowly, which gives you time to really soak up the landscape and get perfect photos.  Third, barges are much smaller than river ships. They’re usually 8 to 14 passengers, as opposed to 160 passengers on river ships.

Our Insider’s Guide to European River Cruises should also be helpful to you as you compare the two modes of travel. My sense is that river cruises might hold more appeal for first- and second-time travelers to Europe who have a to-do list of famous landmarks they want to see (because river cruises cover a lot of territory and tend to include a hit parade of popular sights), whereas barge trips are more enticing to travelers who have been to Europe several times and now are looking for a more off-the-beaten-path experience.

The very best advice I can give you is to reach out to Ellen Sack, the most expert travel agent I know when it comes to barge trips. She’s inspected and tested them all, and she can work miracles for you. The best way to contact Ellen is via this trip-request form. That way she’ll know you’re a WendyPerrin.com traveler and make you a priority (she’s very busy).

Have a wonderful trip! I’m awfully jealous!

boat in Halong Bay Vietnam

How to Tip in Asia: When, Who, and How Much

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Sure, you can navigate tiny airports in far-flung locations, gesticulate wildly with locals to find your off-the-beaten-path hotel, and breeze past would-be scammers without so much as a flinch. But when the bill arrives at a restaurant, even the savviest of travelers can feel like a novice with no clue. Should you tip? If so, how much? In this series, we’re asking our Trusted Travel Experts to share their local knowledge for regions around the world. Read on to find insider tipping advice when traveling in China, Southeast Asia, and more. Have useful insight to add? Tell us in the comments.

Bali

Uma by Como, Ubud, Bali

Uma by Como, Ubud, Bali. Photo Courtesy Como Resorts

Service is included at almost every restaurant and hotel in Indonesia. However, even the locals throw down whatever loose change they have when they dine out—anywhere from 500 to 5,000 rupiahs (from 4 to 40 cents). —Diane Embree, Trusted Travel Expert for Bali

Read Diane’s Insider’s Guide to Bali

Beijing

Aman Summer Palace, Beijing.

Aman Summer Palace, Beijing.

Tipping is not a day-to-day part of the culture in China, but it is becoming expected in fine hotels and in the travel industry in general. The guides and drivers who work in English generally do expect a healthy tip of around $25 per day for the guide and $15 per day for the driver. —Mei Zhang, Trusted Travel Expert for China

Read Mei’s Insider’s Guide to Beijing

Bhutan

Paro, Bhutan

Paro, Bhutan. Photo courtesy Antonia Neubauer.

A service charge is typically included in restaurant bills, but adding 2 to 5 percent on top of that is customary when you’re happy with the service. —Antonia Neubauer, Trusted Travel Expert for Bhutan and Nepal

Read Antonia’s Insider’s Guide to Bhutan

Cambodia

Kohker, Cambodia

Kohker, Cambodia. Courtesy Journeys Within

Though it may be surprising, Cambodians these days expect tips. We recommend tipping just as you would at home. Guides are used to $10 to $20 per day, and we recommend a dollar or two for the bellboy or for your tuk-tuk driver. In a country where the average income is so low, this small gesture means a lot. —Andrea Ross, Trusted Travel Expert for Southeast Asia

Read Andrea’s Insider’s Guide to Cambodia

Rajasthan

Rambagh Palace, Rajasthan

Rambagh Palace, Rajasthan. Photo courtesy Rambagh Palace.

Ten percent in restaurants is considered normal. You should tip in the local currency (Indian rupees) and not in foreign currency. —Bertie and Victoria Dyer, Trusted Travel Experts for India

Read Bertie and Victoria’s Insider’s Guide to Rajasthan

Sri Lanka

Sunset in Tangalle, Sri Lanka.

Sunset on a beach in Tangalle, Sri Lanka.

At hotels the easiest way to avoid the stresses of tipping every waiter, porter, and bellboy is not to tip anyone on the spot but instead to ask for the “tip box” when checking out. You need not feel awkward when the bellboy brings the luggage; simply say thank you and mention you will leave a tip in the tip box at the end of your stay. Always smile. A good tip is $10 to $20 per room per day. —Miguel Cunat, Trusted Travel Expert for Sri Lanka

Read Miguel’s Insider’s Guide to Sri Lanka

Thailand

Bangkok Banyan Tree Thailand

The Vertigo restaurant at the Banyan Tree Bangkok..

Tipping in restaurants is not necessary, since a 10 percent service fee is usually included. In a taxi, round up to the nearest 100 baht;, so, if the meter reads 250 baht, give 300. If you have a guide for the day, the standard is 300 to 500 baht per person per day and drivers get half that, but tipping is at your discretion. —Sandy Ferguson, Trusted Travel Expert for Southeast Asia

Read Sandy’s Insider’s Guides to Bangkok and Thailand

Uzbekistan

Tilla Kori Medreseh, Samarkand, Uzbekistan

Tilla Kori Medreseh in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Photo courtesy Zulya Rajabova.

Tipping is customary in Uzbekistan. Restaurant waiters get 10 percent; guides and drivers should get $15–$25 per day, depending on your satisfaction with their services. —Zulya Rajabova, Trusted Travel Expert for Uzbekistan and the Silk Road

Read Zulya’s Insider’s Guide to Uzbekistan

Vietnam

Tam Coc-Bich Dong, Vietnam.

Tam Coc-Bich Dong, Vietnam. Photo courtesy Andrea Ross.

Travelers are sometimes surprised at the level of tipping in Southeast Asia, but as life in the cities has gotten more expensive, guides and drivers increasingly depend on tips. We recommend $10 to $20 a day for a guide and about half that for the driver. For hotel staff, we recommend $1 or $2 for porters, and the same per day for room staff. —Andrea Ross, Trusted Travel Expert for Southeast Asia

Read Andrea’s Insider’s Guide to Vietnam

View from the Wing's Gary Leff (right) with fellow frequent flier Randy Petersen.

Inside the Mind of a Miles Expert: An Interview with View from the Wing’s Gary Leff

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If you want to know anything about travel rewards programs, Gary Leff is the person to ask. He is one of the most well-known and respected authorities on miles and points—whether they be for airlines, hotels, rental cars, or credit cards. He writes the View from the Wing blog, runs Book Your Award (with another mileage pro Steve Belkin of Competitours), co-founded the frequent flyer community Milepoint.com, and was a longtime moderator on FlyerTalk.com. His most impressive accomplishment (to nerds like me, anyway), is that he’s also had a cameo on The Colbert Report. To other types of nerds, it’s that his day job is as CFO for a university research center.

Although I’ve known Gary for years (he wrote for me regularly when I was editor of condenasttraveler.com), I was embarrassed to realize that while I’d engaged him in countless conversations about credit cards and the best ways to earn miles quickly, I’d never really asked him about his own personal travel experiences. And not surprisingly, he has had amazing ones. Anyone who’s traveled as much as he has would—though not everyone’s stories would include being accused of stealing coffee from a hotel in Macau. Read on…

El Bulli

Most memorable travel moment: dinner at El Bulli, 2008. Photo: Gary Leff.

Most memorable travel moment:

I managed to get a Saturday night booking for El Bulli, which at the time was regarded by many as the best restaurant in the world. So my wife and I flew to Barcelona for the weekend, took the train up to Figueres, and checked into a hotel in Roses. When we arrived at the restaurant, after a long drive up a cliff beside the Mediterranean, two young women dressed in sweat pants walk in ahead of us and asked for a table. They were told, as politely as I could possibly have imagined, that this would just not be possible…. We walked inside, were greeted and taken to the kitchen where we met and took pictures with chef Ferran Adrià.

Now that the restaurant has closed, with Adria having stared down the John Stuart Mill problem (Mill wondered what the point in life was if he had accomplished all of his goals by age 18!), I feel grateful to have experienced it.

Most embarrassing travel moment:

Being accused of stealing coffee by room service staff at the Sheraton Macau. I didn’t do it, honest!

I was there over Chinese New Year (nearly every hotel was sold out, and rates at the Sheraton approached US$600 per night, so I was grateful to be able to use just 10,000 Starwood points a night there). I decided to order coffee from room service around 6 a.m. The hotel explained that I could tell them how many cups of coffee I wanted, and that’s what they would fill the pot to. So I asked for 6 cups. A short while later room service delivered the coffee. It seemed awfully light for 6 cups. I poured two cups, and the pot felt nearly empty. So I called back down to in-room dining. The same person I ordered from answered, and she remembered that I had ordered 6 cups. She said she’d send up 4 more cups right away.

So at 6:30 a.m. there’s a knock on the door, and the man who delivered the first pot of coffee appeared. He didn’t have a pot of coffee in his hand. Instead he declared: “I am here to investigate.” I told him that we had ordered six cups of coffee, I poured two and that’s all there was. He lifted the pot of coffee and said, “there’s still some left”. He then said it’s not possible that we could have gotten less coffee, because the machine is electronic. They specify how much goes in the pot.

There I am, standing in a bathrobe in my hotel room, being told that it’s not possible that I could be missing coffee and in any case the coffee I ordered was right there, in the pot! What was I trying to pull, anyway? He thought I was trying to cheat the hotel, to get extra coffee without paying for it.

He then poured the remaining coffee from the pot into an empty cup. It filled only half way. I said, “You were right, there were actually two and a half cups.” He harumphed, walked directly outside the room, and handed me the pot he had brought along with the four replacement cups of coffee I had been promised—once I satisfied him that I wasn’t actually trying to steal coffee.

Name one thing people would be surprised to find in your travel bag:

Downy wrinkle releaser. As experienced a traveler as I am, and no matter how much I work on my packing and folding techniques, I can’t get rid of wrinkles.

East Coast Lagoon Food Village, Singapore

East Coast Lagoon Food Village, Singapore. Photo: Gary Leff.

Non-touristy spot everyone should add to their must-visit list:

The criteria I’d use to think about ‘non-touristy spots’ isn’t that they’re places tourists don’t go, but that they’re places locals go to and indeed are primarily visited by locals.

I love to enjoy travel and understand a place through its food, whether it’s eating my way through Paris or the suburbs of Kuala Lumpur. If you love food as well, two places truly can’t miss are some of the Singapore hawker centers. The Newton Center, closest to many of the hotels around Orchard Road, is the most touristy and in general also the most disappointing. I think there’s nothing that compares to an evening at the East Coast Lagoon Food Village, open air and on the beach. Visit the Red Hill Road center or the Hong Lim Food Center. Each place will specialize in a single dish and take cash only. Look for dishes that sound like you’d want to try them and then walk around the center, focus on the stalls that have the longest lines.

Seating is first come, first serve. Place something at your seat to save it. The traditional Singaporean method is to leave your tissues at your place, this is respected, although of course you can have a companion stay there while you go and order, too!

In the U.S. I think the best place to travel is the Austin area for Central Texas barbecue. Franklin Barbecue is technically perfect, but the lines are incredible. There are so many fantastic places in Austin proper like La Barbecue and a new outpost of Black’s in Lockhart up by the University of Texas, that you have options. Take a drive out to Lockhart for the original Black’s, my favorite, and while you’re there try the sausage at Kreuz and just walk inside Smitty’s with the blackened corridors from a century of smoke.

Blacks Barbecue Texas

Blacks Barbecue. Photo: Gary Leff.

Name 2 indispensable travel apps:

The spread of Uber gives me plenty of confidence going out in unfamiliar places, knowing that I can always easily find my way back even if I wind up somewhere off the beaten path where there’s no public transport and taxis don’t go.

I find I’m much more efficient walking around cities I don’t know well thanks to Google maps, I simply don’t get lost and waste time the way that I used to.

The travel gadget or gear that has saved your life…or your mind:

Compact power strip. I carry a power strip in my laptop bag, it’s something that costs less than $10. But I’ve never heard a hotel guest say, “this room just has too many outlets!” and I’ve found myself in many airport terminals and even lounges where sharing outlets is a must.

What travel-world bloggers have you learned the most from?

The person on social media who taught me the most isn’t a blogger, but an online forum participant named Mark Love (who goes by the name PremEx online). He taught me that the most important thing isn’t understanding travel rules and what you’re entitled to, but how you talk to the real people on the other end of the phone or across the desk. You want to build a rapport, understand what they’re capable of doing for you, and generate the sympathy that will motivate them to help. (And of course, if that turns out not to be possible, ‘hang up call back’ and start the process over.)

Whose Tweets do you find the most useful and entertaining?

Scott Mayerowitz (@GlobeTrotScott), the Associated Press airline and travel reporter.

Look into the future and describe one aspect of travel that will be different in 20 years:

The next step in online is mass customization. Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) are beginning to do a better job not just listing and selling travel, but helping to provide the information and guidance that consumers want. That was the idea behind Orbitz’s PR flub in ‘charging Mac customers more’ for hotels. They weren’t really charging customers with Mac computers more, their data suggested customers who use Macs tend to prefer hotels at a higher price point. So they were suggesting pricier hotels, not because those earn the OTA more commission but because consumers visit an average of 9–12 different sites when planning travel. If they can’t give consumers what they want, they lose the sale entirely.

The Department of Transportation has a pending rule where they plan to require all travel sites (above a revenue threshold) that display airfares and schedules to present the same uniform information—as opposed to the customized information most useful to a given individual consumer for their specific trip.

Provided regulations don’t get in the way, in a few years—not 20—we’ll have come full circle with online travel sites providing customized advice the way people used to get from the very best travel agents. It will have taken more than two decades, but we’ll have gotten to a place where online booking serves consumers about as well as the top end of brick and mortar used to.

Most effective thing you’ve ever said or done to get an upgrade:

You get an upgrade by having loyalty program elite status or points to spend, and knowing the rules of each chain or airline. You increase your chances of an upgrade clearing by avoiding the stiffest competition—traveling when planes and hotels aren’t likely to be full, and when passengers seeking upgrades don’t have status. That means hotels during shoulder season, and airlines outside of peak travel times (avoid Thursday and Friday evening flights, and the first bank of flights Monday morning; fly Tuesdays and Wednesdays in the afternoon).

Hotels have far more discretion than airlines to deviate from a predetermined algorithm for whom to give upgrades to, so the next most important thing is to be nice, and ask.

To make friends, I always carry:

Starbucks gift cards. (Call me mercenary, but I’m trying to make friends with people who can reciprocate, like airline lounge agents.)

Overrated:

Western European capitals

Underrated:

Central and Southeast Asia

The airplane movie that, unexpectedly, made me bawl was:

Airplane. (Google tells me bawl means shout loudly, not just weep.) The travel movies that get me every time are Lost in Translation and Before Sunset.

When I travel, I’m not afraid of:

The strangest of street foods

But I am afraid of:

Coach.

 

 

Follow Gary and View from the Wing:

Twitter: @garyleff

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/garyleff

 

Be a smarter traveler: Use Wendy’s WOW List to plan your next trip. You can also follow her on Facebook and Twitter @wendyperrin, and sign up for her weekly newsletter to stay in the know.

Dudh Kunda (Sacred Milk Lake), Nepal

Nepal Earthquake: News About Traveling in the Region

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Tragic news keeps coming in from Nepal. The earthquake’s death toll is now over 5,000, and more than 10,000 have been injured.

Though it’s impossible to plan for natural disasters like this one, there are some helpful precautions travelers can take when journeying to remote regions, and we covered those in an article earlier this week. And while our thoughts are with the immediate relief efforts and the long-term recovery of the region, we also know that many travelers who have trips planned for the future are wondering whether they should cancel or reroute their itineraries.

As always, we recommend the benefits of booking through a knowledgeable and well-connected travel specialist. It’s exactly times like these when you want to work with someone who knows the area intimately, has clout with the locals, has your back, and can provide quick and efficient help in a crisis (whether a natural disaster or a canceled flight).

We’ve turned to our own Trusted Travel Experts who live and work in the region to find out first-hand how travel is affected and what you can expect.

Mei Zhang, one of our Trusted Travel Experts for China, is based in Beijing and runs WildChina. She reports that “Bhutan has remained completely unaffected structurally by the quake” and reminds travelers that no travel warnings have been issued by the US or UK governments for Bhutan or Tibet. After reaching out to her local regional partners and confirming their safety and well-being, her company has chosen to continue its tours to Tibet and Bhutan, as well as to Lhasa, Yamdrok Lake and Gyantze. However, Tibet’s Everest Base Camp is closed to the public so that it can be used instead for relief missions, and cross-border roads between Tibet and Nepal are also closed.

David Allardice is another of our Trusted Travel Experts for China, and he confirms in a blog post on his company’s website that “Due to the geology of the area Tibet was largely spared and we can confirm that there has been absolutely no impact on Lhasa and its surrounding areas.”

If you were planning a trip to Nepal, Antonia Neubauer, our Trusted Travel Expert for Nepal and Bhutan, asks us to remind readers that Nepal’s largest source of income is tourism. “I would easily see planning a visit in the fall,” she said. “Kathmandu will be cleaned up in part, as much as it ever is. The city always had up to 18 hours of load shedding and water was always an issue, but hotels will have water and electricity. Rural areas and trails will be functional. People should go—a big help to the country.”

Norwegian Breakaway

Family Cruise Advice, from Wendy and Cruise Critic

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Wendy chatted with Cruise Critic readers today, sharing her best advice and insights on family cruises. Here are a few highlights from the conversation, including how to make your trip less stressful, the best regions for cruising, and additional tips from Cruise Critic editor in chief Carolyn Spencer Brown.

Read the whole conversation at CruiseCritic.com.

Cruising with a family can be stressful. What are some of your tips on how to cope?

Wendy Perrin: Get a balcony (for extra breathing room) and a cabin location convenient to the kids’ club, the sports deck, or wherever the kids will be spending most of their time. (By “convenient,” I mean within two or three decks, so you can take the stairs rather than having to wait for the elevator.) Feed the kids at the buffet rather than making them sit through a long meal in the dining room. I’ve actually got cruise hacks for acing your family cruise.

In your opinion, are there better regions to cruise to than others?

Wendy Perrin: Yes: groups of islands (archipelagos) because a cruise is an economical, efficient, and logistically easy way to get between them and see a lot of islands you wouldn’t otherwise get to see.

Carolyn Spencer Brown: Also, beware that some ports of call, particularly in Europe and Asia, are deceptively far from where ships actually dock. Bangkok is one, Rome is another. This means a lot of time on a bus just to get there…very exhausting and not much time to really have an experience. Alaska is a particularly good place to cruise because a lot of its key places to see are only accessible via ship. Same goes for the Galapagos!

What European river would you recommend for someone taking their first river cruise? What about for someone who is more adventurous?

Wendy Perrin: Well, for my own family’s first river cruise, I chose the Danube, which gives you four countries in one trip and a mix of important cultural capitals and picturesque landscape. If you’re looking for adventure, I’m not sure a river cruise is the answer. Then again, you can make any river cruise adventurous just by doing your own unusual thing in each port.

Carolyn Spencer Brown: The Rhine is another excellent choice for a first-time cruise because the ports vary—you’ve got cities that are fabulous for cathedrals and others that are more recreationally oriented. But the Danube has the prettier scenery :)

What are some of the pitfalls people can make when they book a river cruise?

Carolyn Spencer Brown: The biggest mistake we see passengers making on river cruises is they over-sightsee! Partly that’s because many of the river tours are complimentary and so people want to take ’em all, get their money’s worth.

Wendy Perrin: They can pay a lot for a balcony they never use. Or they can assume their whole itinerary is on the river. In fact, here are 7 river-cruise mistakes you think you’re too smart to make.

What do you think of Disney’s announcement about river cruising. I think my kids are too young for Europe and river but not sure.

Wendy Perrin: I think it’s terrific that somebody is finally focusing on river cruises for families. I’m excited to watch the Disney partnership with AmaWaterways unfold! I’m not sure how old your kids are, but here’s what my 12-year-old thought of our European river cruise—and the advice he has for parents.

 

Check out the rest of the conversation at CruiseCritic.com, and when you’re ready to book your own cruise, be sure to check Wendy’s WOW List of Trusted Travel Experts for the best cruise specialists. The right travel agent has sailed many times on the cruise line you’re considering, knows all its ships’ pros and cons, knows the head of the cruise line, and can get you excellent rates and benefits you couldn’t get on your own.

Annapurna, Nepal

What To Do in an Emergency: Lessons Travelers Can Learn From the Nepal Earthquake

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The earthquake that struck Nepal over the weekend, killing more than 5,000 people and injuring more than 10,000, reminds us that anything can happen anytime anywhere, including in destinations that top many people’s bucket lists. While it’s impossible to be fully prepared when a natural disaster, terrorist attack, or civil unrest disrupts a trip, there are some relatively quick and easy things that a traveler can do to be better prepared for any emergency, especially in remote places:

Before Your Trip

* Enroll in STEP.
Signing up for the State Department’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program makes it easier for the U.S. embassy to send you important information about safety conditions, contact you in an emergency, and help family and friends get in touch with you.

* Rent a satellite phone or satellite messaging device.
“Bringing communications devices with additional batteries is the single most important thing travelers can do and often overlook,” says Dan Richards, CEO of Global Rescue, the worldwide provider of emergency medical, security, and crisis response services. When a crisis strikes, cellular networks and electricity often get cut off. You can’t rely on your cell phone, says Richards—and, even if you’ve brought a portable Wi-Fi hot spot with you, it can suffer the same problem as cell phones: limited or no bandwidth. The good news is that satellite communication devices have dropped dramatically in price in recent years. Richards recommends the Iridium GO! satellite text device (an Iridium phone is even better) or Briartek’s Cerberus.

* Book through the right destination specialist.
The Nepal travel specialist on my WOW List of top travel planners, Antonia Neubauer of Myths and Mountains, had guests in Nepal during the quake on Saturday and managed to get them safely onto a Sunday flight to New Delhi. The best destination specialists have access to key people in-country who will take care of you, can contact your relatives back home on your behalf, can intervene on your behalf with your travel insurance provider, etc. If you are on your own in a remote place, it is infinitely more difficult to cope.

* Get a Global Rescue membership.
This is the closest thing I know to ensuring you will be rescued in an emergency.  Since Saturday, when the quake struck, Global Rescue has been providing intelligence to travelers in Nepal and coordinating evacuations to extract people to safety. “Many travel insurance companies really do not do an adequate job with emergency evacuation,” says Neubauer. “Many focus on releases or forms before they will authorize evacuations.”  In fact, some medical evacuation insurance policies do not even cover natural disasters (so it’s important to check before purchasing a policy). But Global Rescue typically performs dozens of helicopter evacuations in the Himalaya alone each year, and it regularly sends critical-care paramedics and special ops personnel around the world to respond to members facing emergencies. A Global Rescue membership also gives you access to the Global Rescue mobile app, which keeps you apprised of local developments.

* Know where the best hospitals are.
Another Asia travel specialist on my WOW List, Sanjay Saxena of Destination Himalaya, points out that it’s important to know which are the best hospitals, not just in the capital city—which could be hours away from where you are when a crisis strikes—but in other cities too. Of course, it’s difficult for an independent traveler to get such information. Saxena has compiled his own list of reliable local hospitals, based on his years of experience working in the region (he’s been working in India since 1977 and in Nepal since 1978)—and that list is always evolving. If you’re not going to book your trip through a stellar destination specialist, it’s even more important to have a Global Rescue membership, or a travel insurance provider, who will know the best hospitals and be willing and able to get you there.

* Pack a medical kit.
Bring a prescription antibiotic and prescription pain reliever that you know work for you, in case you end up needing to be your own doctor. Bring iodine tablets to purify dirty water too, since, in an emergency, bottled water supplies quickly run out. “Water will quickly become one of the most dire issues in Nepal,” warns Saxena.

During Your Trip

* Carry a photocopy of your passport photo page and any visas.
Keep it on your person during the trip, in case the original is back at your hotel (usually the smartest place to keep it) or gets lost in the emergency.

* If you don’t or can’t bring a satellite phone, rent or buy a local mobile phone.
In some countries, including India and China, satellite phones are illegal. Destination Himalaya gives its travelers a local mobile phone pre-programmed with numbers for local staff, hotels, emergency services, etc. “Our in-country and U.S. staff are available 24/7,” says Saxena, “If there is a problem, we typically send a local staff member directly to our clients as soon as we’ve been alerted.”

* Create an emergency contact sheet.
If you plan to rely on your own cell phone, remember that 911 does not work outside the U.S. and Canada. Find out the local emergency numbers for the country you’re in.

* Plot on a paper map where the local embassy, consulate, and best hospitals are. 
In an emergency you won’t want to rely on your smartphone or Google Maps app to get you there; you’ll want to save your battery for calls to loved ones, doctors, etc.

* Follow the right twitter feeds.
Twitter gives you breaking news and can provide potentially life-saving information in an emergency. Follow the U.S. embassy feed in the country you’re visiting (@USEmbassyNepal is distributing advice such as the local phone numbers to call for help), as well as the U.S. State Department’s feed, @travelgov. Such feeds are often the quickest way to find links to the info you’re seeking. The @RedCross and Google’s Crisis Response Team, @GoogleCR, are also worth following, as are the local airport’s feed, which may post updates about airport delays and shutdowns, and the feeds of local hotels, which usually have an emergency action plan and may be offering help or a landline.

* Know that Google offers a person finder.
In natural and humanitarian disasters, Google helps track missing persons.

If You Have a Trip Booked to the Area Soon

* Realize that the geographic area affected is limited.
So often, when a crisis strikes a country, U.S. travelers unnecessarily cancel trips to a huge swath of the world surrounding that country. They avoid regions that have not been affected in the least—which would be like Europeans deciding against a trip to New York because there was an earthquake in San Francisco or a terrorist attack at the Boston Marathon. The Nepal earthquake is not a reason to cancel a trip to unaffected regions of India or Tibet, says Global Rescue’s Richards. In fact, Saxena of Destination Himalaya is on a plane to Tibet at this very moment. We’ll keep you posted as to what he reports from the ground. He says it’s quite possible that he may even change plans and head to Kathmandu to help efforts there.

Here, our hearts go out to the people of Nepal as they cope with this catastrophe.  “I have traveled many places,” says Neubauer of Myths and Mountains, “but the people of Nepal stand out.  A family in a mud hut with nothing will share their rice with you and give you their mats to sleep on. Sherpas will risk their lives on mountains to save yours. There is a warmth and willingness to take a stranger into their home and heart that exists in few places. Travelers often say they go to Nepal for the mountains, but they return for the people.” Here are some good ways to help those people in their time of need.

Beer sampler at Cerveceria de Valle Peru

It’s National Beer Day. Where In the World Is Your Favorite Beer?

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We love food holidays: National Beer Day, which falls today, is at the top of the list (along with World Nutella Day on February 5, and National Ice Cream Day on July 19). What better way to celebrate your hard-working self on this gloomy Tuesday than with a cold pint at the end of the day…or at lunch, if you can get away with it. Actually, there is a better way: Use today as an inspiration to start planning a trip to a great beer destination. Our Trusted Travel Experts weighed in with some of their favorite spots around the world to take advantage of well-stocked pubs, restaurants with notable beer selections, and picnic spots where nothing beats fresh market food and a local bottle of brew.

Alaska

Kenai Fjords Glacier Lodge

Kenai Fjords Glacier Lodge, Alaska

Moose’s Tooth brewpub in Anchorage. Maybe it’s the convivial atmosphere or the inspired pizza toppings (smoked salmon? apricot sauce?)—or perhaps it’s simply the strong beer on tap, but for whatever reason, it’s a favorite local haunt. —Judith Root, Trusted Travel Expert for Alaska

Read Judith’s Insider’s Guide to Alaska

Barcelona

Plaza España, Barcelona

Plaza España, Barcelona Photograph by Jaime Gros

Friends while away entire afternoons at Vaso de Oro, a tapas restaurant in the seaside district of La Barceloneta. The place hasn’t changed in 50 years, and the food is consistently superb. Try the homemade foie gras and the house-brewed beer. —Virginia Irurita, Trusted Travel Expert for Spain

Read Virginia’s Insider’s Guide to Barcelona

Cape Town

Chapmans Peak, South Africa

View from Chapmans Peak. Photo courtesy South Africa Tourism.

Woodstock’s Old Biscuit Mill on Saturdays. Over 100 farmers, bakers, grocers, fishmongers, butchers, craft-beer-brewers and chefs set up at this market each week. —Julian Harrison, Trusted Travel Expert for Africa

Read Julian’s Insider’s Guide to Cape Town and the Winelands

County Kerry, Ireland

Ring of Kerry, Killarney. Courtesy Jonathon Epstein

Ring of Kerry, Killarney. Courtesy Jonathon Epstein

Helen Sullivan’s pub and restaurant in Kilmackalogue, on the Beara Peninsula, is a place so charming that you won’t believe it’s for real. It’s smack on the sea, and the fish and famous mussels she serves are all freshly caught. Experiences don’t come any more authentic than at Sullivan’s. —Jonthan Epstein, Trusted Travel Expert for England, Ireland, and Scotland

Read Jonathan’s Insider’s Guide to Killarney and County Kerry, Ireland

Florence

Pick up picnic provisions upstairs at the Mercato Centrale, where you’ll find tasting stands with ready-to-eat wares and specialty shops selling everything from Tuscan cheeses to artisanal beer. Once you’ve stocked up, hail a taxi to take you about seven miles from Florence’s center to Pratolino, where the Park of Villa Demidoff awaits. This estate, originally built by the Medicis in the mid-1500s, had been abandoned for centuries before Prince Paolo Demidoff restored it in 1872. Now a public park, the grounds are dotted with the remains of the original artificial caves and fountains, a number of statues, a small lake, and miles of walking paths. —Maria Gabriella Landers and Brian Dore, Trusted Travel Experts for Italy

Read Maria and Brian’s Insider’s Guide to Florence

Juigalpa, Nicaragua

Restaurant la Embajada. It’s in the town of Juigalpa, on the way from Managua to San Carlos, and it’s impossible to find on your own. There’s no sign, no nothing. They serve only meat—great quality meat! (Juigalpa is one of the most important cattle areas of Nicaragua.) Wash it down with a local Toña beer, then go a block away to buy some fresh cheese. — Pierre Gédéon, Trusted Travel Expert for Nicaragua

Read Pierre’s Insider’s Guide to Nicaragua

Peru

The Cerveceria del Valle brewery in the Sacred Valley on the way to Machu Picchu. Inaugurated in October 2014, Cerveceria produces delicious IPAs, porters, pale ales, and other brews found in bars in the valley and in Cusco; we can organize a guided tour with the owner. Peru’s craft-beer scene has exploded over the past few years; a 2014 festival in Lima showcased 60 types of craft beer from 16 different breweries. —Marisol Mosquera, Trusted Travel Expert for Peru

Read Marisol’s Insider’s Guide to Peru for Food Lovers

Prague

Charles Bridge. Photo by Dan Weisberg Photography.

Charles Bridge. Photo by Dan Weisberg Photography.

For a splurge, spend an evening at La Degustation Boheme Bourgeoisie in Prague. It’s an event to eat at this small Michelin-starred restaurant in Old Town, where the six- and eleven-course tasting menus imaginatively update traditional Czech fare: think garlicky pastry-crusted beef tartare and a meringue-like tomato dish filled with honey and balsamic vinegar. Courses are paired with complementary wines, beers, and fruit juices.

For a cheaper thrill, hit the pubs, which are everywhere in Prague, and Czech beers are good and affordable. You can drink the most famous brand, Pilsner Urquell, virtually anywhere. —Gwen Kozlowski, Trusted Travel Expert for Eastern Europe

Read Gwen’s Insider’s Guide to the Czech Republic

Trancoso, Brazil

Don’t miss Caraiva. After a two-hour drive down dirt tracks and a ferry ride over the river, you come to the tiny village of Caraiva, as cut off from the outside world as it’s humanly possible to be these days. Pull up a stump in the shade of the almond tree at the Boteco do Pará; order a portion of skate-wing pasteis, the catch-of-the-day baked in a banana leaf, and an ice-cold beer; and spend a lazy afternoon watching the colorful fishing boats come and go. —Paul Irvine, Trusted Travel Expert for Brazil

Read Paul’s Insider’s Guide to Trancoso

 

Where’s your favorite beer destination? Tell us in the comments!

The Great Wall of China

Rookie Travel Mistakes to Avoid in Asia

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Rookie travel mistakes happen more often than you think. In the excitement of preparing for a long-dreamed about escape or a last-minute getaway, even the savviest of globetrotters can forget the basics. A common one is not thinking about the best time of year (or time of week) to experience a destination; another is failing to allot enough time to visit each point on your itinerary. To be sure you don’t fall into any traps (tourist or otherwise) during your own adventures, we asked our Trusted Travel Experts to weigh in on the most important things to know—and the most common rookie mistakes to avoid—when traveling to China, Japan, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia.

What would you add? Leave your suggestions in the comments below.

Bali

Expecting idyllic white-sand beaches. Bali’s beaches are mostly too rough for swimming (but good for surfing), and the quieter ones have little or no sand. I listen carefully to what every client is looking for in a beach—and tell them if they’re better off in the Caribbean. —Diane Embree, Trusted Travel Expert for Bali

Read Diane’s Insider’s Guide to Bali

Bhutan

Paro, Bhutan

Paro, Bhutan. Photo courtesy Antonia Neubauer.

Not knowing that there is only one east-west road in the entire country, meaning that every tourist (and there are many, despite what anyone else says) who is not trekking is driving back and forth along that same road. —Antonia Neubauer, Trusted Travel Expert for Bhutan and Nepal

Read Antonia’s Insider’s Guide to Bhutan

Cambodia

Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Angkor Wat, Cambodia. Photo courtesy Molly Fergu

One big rookie mistake that travelers make is assuming you’ll ride through the jungle on an elephant and “discover” Angkor Wat! It’s best to be realistic that this is a major international destination and plan accordingly. You can avoid the crowds and have a more special experience if you get an early start and begin at the back entrance to Angkor Wat, or visit lesser-known temples. If you head in unprepared, you’ll be in the middle of packs of tourists and you won’t really get to see anything. —Andrea Ross, Trusted Travel Expert for Southeast Asia

Read Andrea’s Insider’s Guides to Angkor Wat and Cambodia

China

Dragonback Rice Terraces, Guangxi, China

Dragonback rice terraces, Guangxi Province. Photo courtesy Lian Lodge.

Seeing only the famous sites, such as the Great Wall and the Terra-cotta Warriors. China has so much to offer, and major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Xi’an are only a slice of the entire country—and an overdeveloped, crowded, and sprawling one at that. I urge you to spend from five days to a week focusing on a lesser-known province, such as Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, or Guangxi. Visit some smaller villages, enjoy the beauty of terraced rice fields, and get away from the most popular places and the wonderful diversity of the culture will come to life. —Mei Zhang, Trusted Travel Expert for China

Read Mei’s Insider’s Guides to China’s Big Cities and Small Villages, Yunnan Province, and Beijing

Cruising in Asia

Sunset over Bagan, Myanmar.

Sunset over Bagan, Myanmar. Photo courtesy the Cruise Professionals.

A rookie mistake is planning to board the ship the same day you fly into port. You’ve probably booked an Asia cruise because you want to pack a lot of destinations into a single trip—so why waste your time and money spending the first few days of your itinerary jet-lagged? Even if the ship spends the first night in its departure port, arrive a few days early so that you can properly acclimate (and not risk missing the ship due to airline or weather delays; Hong Kong in particular can get fogged in). —Mary Jean Tully, Trusted Travel Expert for Cruises

Read Mary Jean’s Insider’s Guide to Asia Cruises

India: Agra

Taj Mahal Reflection, Agra, India

Taj Mahal Reflection, Agra, India. Courtesy Sanjay Saxena

A rookie mistake is forgetting to buy tickets to the Taj Mahal in advance. Tickets are not sold at the entrance: The ticket office is actually located in the East Gate parking lot about a mile from the monument entrance. Tickets to the Taj may also be purchased at any of the other monuments in Agra—but be sure that the date stamp is for the day that you will be visiting or is an open-ended ticket. —Sanjay Saxena, Trusted Travel Expert for India

Read Sanjay’s Insider’s Guides to Delhi and Agra and the Taj Mahal

India: Rajasthan

Amanbagh, India

Amanbagh, India. Photo courtesy Amanbagh

Travelers to India—and especially to Rajasthan—love to shop for fine jewelry because the prices are so good, but you need to go somewhere reputable, otherwise you may be sold glass instead of diamonds. (One of our favorite shops is the Gem Palace in Jaipur.) —Bertie and Victoria Dyer, Trusted Travel Experts for India

Read Bertie and Victoria’s Insider’s Guide to Rajasthan

Nepal

Monk and flowers, Nepal.

Monk and Flowers, Nepal. Photo Courtesy Toni Neubauer

Not paying attention to altitude gain when trekking! People like to believe they are immortal and want to rush up mountains, but they need to study the rules for altitude acclimatization and follow them carefully. Altitude sickness is no joke. —Antonia Neubauer, Trusted Travel Expert for Nepal and Bhutan

Read Antonia’s Insider’s Guide to Nepal

Sri Lanka

Sunset in Tangalle

Sunset on a beach in Tangalle.

Sri Lanka looks small on a map, but it can take hours to get from place to place, and there are definite no-nos. For instance, don’t try to travel from Kandy to Yala National Park in one day, or from the Cultural Triangle to the beaches of Tangalle, or from Jaffna to Colombo. On the map (and on Google Maps), distances and approximate travel times are misleading. Sri Lanka offers great diversity and looks like you can tick all the boxes in one week—you can’t. If you want to speed things up a little, try flying on certain segments. Two local operators offer scheduled flights around the country: Cinnamon Air and Helitours. —Miguel Cunat, Trusted Travel Expert for Sri Lanka

Read Miguel’s Insider’s Guide to Sri Lanka

Thailand

Grand Palace, Bangkok. Photo by C Kennerly.

Grand Palace, Bangkok. Photo by C Kennerly.

Visiting Bangkok first. This sprawling metropolis of some 18 million people can be overwhelming, so I don’t recommend it for your first encounter with Thailand. It’s much more enjoyable to recover from jet lag someplace relaxing and traditionally Thai, such as Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, or Sukhothai. By traveling upcountry (or to the beach) first, you’ll experience traditional Thai culture, have time to acclimate to the time zone, and appreciate Bangkok much more when you visit it at the end of your trip. —Sandy Ferguson, Trusted Travel Expert for Southeast Asia

Read Sandy’s Insider’s Guides to Bangkok, Southeast Asia, and Thailand

Uzbekistan and The Silk Road

Tilla Kori Medreseh, Samarkand

Tilla Kori Medreseh in Samarkand. Photo courtesy Zulya Rajabova.

Some travelers opt to fly from one Silk Road city to another, and there is a high-speed train from Tashkent to Samarkand, but travel by car is most rewarding. There are many cultural, architectural, and archaeological treasures to find outside the main cities, as well as rural villages to visit, the ancient towns of Jizzakh Province, local bazaars, and amazing photo opportunities. —Zulya Rajabova, Trusted Travel Expert for Uzbekistan and the Silk Road

Read Zulya’s Insider’s Guide to Uzbekistan

 

Do you have tips on avoiding rookie mistakes? Share your advice in the comments.

Capri, Amalfi Coast, Italy

How to Tip in Europe. And How Not to.

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Forget the stress of planning flights, deciding what to pack, and figuring out how to get around…one of the aspects of travel that causes people the most anxiety is tipping. When should you do it? When shouldn’t you? Who expects it? Who doesn’t? And always, how much?

We went straight to our Trusted Travel Experts—handpicked by Wendy as some of the top travel specialists around—to find out the customary tipping rules all over Europe. From Amsterdam to Russia (with stops in France, Italy, Greece and more), we’ve listed the do’s and don’ts of tipping throughout Europe.

Amsterdam

bicycle at Amsterdam Canal

If you have enough time to leave the airport, explore Amsterdam’s canals. Photo: Context Travel

The Dutch are not big tippers, and a service charge is normally included, but good service should be rewarded: A small sum for a drink or 10 to 15 percent of the price of a meal. Rather than leaving the tip at your table as you depart, hand the money to your server. Just tell him or her how much you would like to pay in total when they collect the bill.

Learn more in our Insider’s Guide to Amsterdam and use Wendy’s trip request form to be marked as a VIP and get the best possible trip.

Austria

Many restaurants now have a tip line on the invoice. The waitstaff at several restaurants have told me that they actually do get the tips when paid via credit card. Generally, 10 percent is fine.

Learn more in our Insider’s Guide to Austria including Vienna and the Danube, and use Wendy’s trip request form to be marked as a VIP and get the best possible trip.

Czech Republic

Make sure to tip in cash; any currency works. I generally give about 10 percent at restaurants.

Learn more in our Insider’s Guide to the Czech Republic, and use Wendy’s trip request form to be marked as a VIP and get the best possible trip.

Croatia

red roofs by the sea in Split, Croatia

Split, Croatia. Photo: Wendy Perrin

Croatians are traditionally not a “tipping nation,“ but this attitude is gradually changing and people like waiters, bartenders, and taxi drivers are happy to get tips. 10 percent of the total bill should be perfectly fine. Tipping does not need to be in the local currency; US dollars and euro are widely accepted and appreciated. If you wish to tip, make sure you do so in cash, even when paying by credit card. Otherwise the tip will end up in the pocket of the business owner, and not the person who provided the service.

 Ask Wendy to find the right Trusted Travel Expert to plan your best possible trip.

England

London, England skyline

London, England. Photo: Pawel Libera/London and Partners – Visit London

In London the usual tip is 10 percent, but check the bill in restaurants, as some are inclined to include a service charge and you are not obliged to essentially tip twice. 

Learn more in our Insider’s Guide to London, and use Wendy’s trip request form to be marked as a VIP and get the best possible trip.

France

Sénanque Abbey in Provence

Sénanque Abbey in Provence

In French restaurants the tip is always included (usually 15 percent). However, as waiters will (rather craftily) say, “The service is included but not the tip,” and many establishments do use the official tip as extra profit. So waiters do still need tips, and in France the amount is generally determined by intuition, rather than as a fixed percentage of the bill. Leaving 10 euros will be a gesture of satisfaction, 20 euros (and up) a gesture of generosity and complete satisfaction. In particularly fine, expensive restaurants, double those figures. Note: If you put the tip on your credit card, the waiter probably won’t receive it.

 Ask Wendy to find the right Trusted Travel Expert to plan your best possible trip.

Greece

Tipping in Greece is sometimes expected, but it’s never required. It’s seen as a gesture of thanks for prompt and attentive service, and you are the judge of whether it’s warranted, but there are a few guidelines to keep in mind. When you take a taxi, it is usually enough to round up to the next euro. At upscale restaurants, a tip of 10 to 15 percent is standard. At tavernas, it’s customary to leave 2 euros on the table; at a café, from 50 cents to 2 euros. In hotels, luggage handlers usually get 5 euros, and on island hotels, guests typically leave 10 euros per day for maids, servers, and other hotel staff at the end of their stay. Alternatively, for a stay of three or four days, guests might leave 50 euros for all hotel staff to share, while tipping porters separately.

Learn more in our Insider’s Guides to Athens, Mykonos, and Santorini, and Ask Wendy to be marked as a VIP and get the best possible trip.

Hungary

Make sure to tip in cash here (any currency works). About 10 percent for restaurants is just fine.

Learn more in our Insider’s Guide to the Czech Republic, and use Wendy’s trip request form to be marked as a VIP and get the best possible trip.

Ireland

Rock of Cashel castle on a hill in Ireland

Rock of Cashel, Ireland. Photo: Shutterstock

Tips are appreciated in Ireland, but the rules are slightly different. It’s not necessary to tip when bags are brought to your room, for instance, and in restaurants we suggest 10 percent. For bartenders, we suggest leaving a bit by rounding up the tab. For transfers and guide services, ten to fifteen percent is acceptable. You can also leave a euro or two for housekeeping.

Learn more in our Insider’s Guide to Killarney and County Kerry, Ireland and use Wendy’s trip request form to be marked as a VIP and get the best possible trip.

Italy (Amalfi Coast and Lakes Region)

Positano on the Amalfi Coast, Italy

Positano on the Amalfi Coast, Italy. Photo: Shutterstock

Tipping is appreciated but not at all expected. In restaurants and for taxi rides 10 percent is sufficient. If the person serving you is also the owner of the business, they would never expect a tip.

Learn more in our Insider’s Guides to the Amalfi Coast and the Lakes Region, and use Wendy’s trip request form to be marked as a VIP and get the best possible trip.

Italy

Italians don’t tip in restaurants. Yes, we know you’ve read that there is a standard 10 percent. Or that the bill is rounded up. Or that you are expected to leave a little something. This is bunk. Italians don’t tip in restaurants. (Italian staff are paid a living wage and/or are members of the owner’s family.) You can tip, if you really want to. Or if you feel the service was extraordinary. Or if you simply don’t trust us. Go ahead. But Italians don’t.

Learn more in our Insider Guides to Florence, Venice, Tuscany, and Umbria, and use Wendy’s trip request form to be marked as a VIP and get the best possible trip.

Norway

The Reinefjord in Lofoten. Photo: Andrea Giubelli - Visitnorway.com

The Reinefjord in Lofoten. Photo: Andrea Giubelli – Visitnorway.com

Tipping is not mandatory or common in Norway, but if you give your private guide or driver the equivalent of $100 after a full day, he will be very happy! But nobody gets grumpy if you do not tip.

Learn more in our Insider’s Guide to Norway, and use Wendy’s trip request form to be marked as a VIP and get the best possible trip.

Russia

Red Square at night, Moscow, Russia

Red Square at night, Moscow. Photo: Dan Weisberg Photography

Moscow and St. Petersburg are not tipping cities, so tip no more than 10 percent at restaurants and always in cash. If you leave the tip on your credit card slip, your server is unlikely to get it.

Learn more in our Insider’s Guides to Moscow and St. Petersburg, and use Wendy’s trip request form to be marked as a VIP and get the best possible trip.

Scotland

green lanscape of Isle of Skye Scotland

Isle of Skye, Scotland. Photo: Shutterstock

You don’t need to tip doormen or bellmen, but you should tip drivers, guides, and caddies 10 to 15 percent. It’s not a rule, but I always leave change for barmen and housekeeping. At restaurants, tip 10 percent.

Learn more in our Insider’s Guide to Scotland, and use Wendy’s trip request form to be marked as a VIP and get the best possible trip.

Turkey

Blue Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey

Blue Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey

A 10 percent tip is customary in restaurants, and it should be offered in cash only, as servers prefer not to add it to the check. Also: locals do not tip taxi drivers.

Learn more in our Insider’s Guides to Istanbul and Cappadocia, and use Wendy’s trip request form to be marked as a VIP and get the best possible trip.

 

Do you have your own tipping experiences to add? Share your advice in the comments.

forbidden city, china

Is 2015 the Year to Travel to China?

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Is this the year to finally take that trip to China? One of the big findings from TripAdvisor’s 2015 TripBarometer study, the world’s largest traveler and accommodation survey, is that China will see the greatest reductions in hotel prices this year—a year when most countries will be hiking their prices. Half of all properties worldwide—and 59% of U.S. hotels—plan to up their room rates this year (with the biggest increases expected in South Africa, Austria, and Brazil).

There’s value for your dollar in China, for sure, but only if you’re careful. As someone who has spent six weeks of her life road-testing China every which way, I am here to tell you that China is one of those countries where, if you want to avoid unexpected hassles that eat up significant time and money, you’re better off having a China travel specialist orchestrate and book your itinerary. Factors that can foil the best-laid plans include:

* Places that were charming a year or two ago have been overbuilt and overrun with domestic Chinese tourists.

* Things in China change overnight, which means it’s tough to get reliable logistical information or accurate opinions as to which places are still worth seeing and which have been spoiled.

* The ingrained tourism infrastructure inflicts a mass-market agenda that will turn off sophisticated travelers. Without help from the right sources, you can easily get trapped at mediocre sights, with detours for forced shopping, tasteless meals at tourist restaurants, and layers of middlemen extracting cash from you at every turn.

The solution is a stellar China travel specialist with up-to-date intel, reliable taste, special access, and well-trained, flexible English-speaking guides who can get you past the lines and crowds and who understand the difference between authentic, photogenic experiences and tourist traps. My Trusted Travel Experts for China fit the bill. They know this year’s must-dos and must-skips, and they’ve shared that intelligence in their Insider’s Guides (for example, Mei Zhang’s Insider’s Guide to Beijing or Yunnan Province). So, if you’re thinking about China, reach out to me, via Ask Wendy, to find the one who best suits your needs. 

Hong Kong Via Helicopter

Hong Kong viewed from a helicopter. Photo courtesy David Allardice.

I’d love to know: Do you want to travel to China this year? Why or why not?

 

 

 

Evening View, London, England

Attention, Last-Minute Planners Scrambling to Book a Spring-Break Trip

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Attention, last-minute planners scrambling to book a spring-break trip: True last-minute deals—as opposed to phony marketing ploys—exist when you’re traveling at off-peak times of the year and you’ve got schedule flexibility, not when you’re traveling during Easter week like everybody else. Remember that at peak travel times you’ll almost always get better value for your dollar by booking well in advance. Which is why it’s your summer travel that you should be booking right now—especially if you’re headed to Europe, where plane seats and hotel rooms are selling out fast, thanks to the strong U.S. dollar.

To maximize your summer trip—to bypass crowds and lines at sights, to get the room you want in the hotel you want, to get the best private guides—do not wait to reach out to the expert travel planners on my WOW List. It’s too late to maximize spring break, but it’s not too late to maximize your summer vacation…yet!

Norwegian Breakaway

Cruise Hacks: 14 Tips for Acing Your Family Cruise

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Many of us prefer small ships, but sometimes a large one is your best option. Maybe it’s what your children need (only large ships have water slides and mini-golf), or it’s what your group can afford, or it’s the itinerary that best suits your schedule. Last month my family ended up on the biggest ship we’ve ever sailed on, Norwegian Cruise Line’s 4,000-passenger Norwegian Breakaway, because it’s one of the few ships that sails from New York to somewhere warm in the dead of winter. While a large ship can be a smart vacation option for busy kids and their exhausted parents, it can also feel crowded and chaotic, especially when chilly weather keeps everyone indoors for half the cruise. Since it was my husband’s and my tenth cruise with our kids, now 11 and 12 years old, I thought I’d share our hard-earned tips for maximizing the advantages, and minimizing the drawbacks, of a giant ship.

1. Choose a cabin suited to your children’s ages.
The larger the ship, the more confusing the cabin choices. A family of four can feel very cramped in one stateroom, but it can be hard to find connecting cabins or an alternative configuration that works. One thing to be wary of is cabins with upper berths. When we’ve had such rooms, we’ve been so concerned that the boys would roll out of their beds in the middle of the night that Tim slept in the first upper berth, the second went empty, and the kids slept with me below. When the boys were younger than eight, we were comfortable in a “mini-suite” where they could share a double sofa bed. Since then we’ve needed two connecting cabins. My strong recommendation is to book your cruise through a highly knowledgeable cruise specialist such as Tom Baker of Cruise Center: Tom knows the pros and cons of all the cabins on all the ships and has the clout with the cruise lines to get you the one you want.

En route out of NY Harbor. In 19-degree weather. Can anyone guess what ship we’re on?

A photo posted by Wendy Perrin (@wendyperrin) on

2. Insist on a balcony. A balcony gives you breathing room, fresh air, great views, lots of sunlight, and private outdoor space. When the boys were small, we opted against one because they could have climbed over the railing. By the time they were four and six, we felt we could risk it, and today it’s non-negotiable. (A balcony isn’t nearly as necessary on a small ship…but that’s a different article.)

3. Pinpoint the most convenient cabin location.
A great location for families is on an upper deck near the aft: It’s a quick walk to the places you need to get to most often—the pool deck, the sports deck, the kids’ club, the buffet—and you can avoid elevator waits and crowds.

4. Bring Post-It Notes, a European plug adapter, and highlighters. Post-It Notes are handy for your cabin door: When your kids are old enough to check themselves in and out of the kids’ club (which means they’re old enough to wander the ship on their own), they can leave you messages as to their whereabouts. If your family needs to charge an array of electronic devices daily (and whose family doesn’t?), bring a European plug adapter because your cabin might have only one or two U.S. outlets; don’t let European outlets go to waste. As for highlighters, the daily shipboard program delivered to each cabin door lists so many activities and events that each child will want a highlighter to mark his or her favorites.

5. Throw your kids’ swimsuits in your carry-on.
On embarkation day, it can take some time for your luggage to be delivered to your cabin. If you’re embarking in warm weather and you’ve got the kids’ swimsuits with you, they can jump in the pool and use the waterslides right away. One parent can watch the kids while the other walks around the ship doing recon and making spa and dinner reservations.

6. Switch your child’s cell phone (and yours) to airplane mode.
If your child will be using his smartphone as a camera, switch it to airplane mode immediately after leaving your U.S. port for international waters, so that international text messages can’t be sent or received. Otherwise you could get socked with charges. Keep your own phone on airplane mode so you don’t fall prey to roaming charges. (Keep it on airplane mode when accessing the ship’s Wi-Fi too. The great news is that cruise-ship Wi-Fi has improved a lot recently in terms of speed, reliability, and cost.)

7. When everybody else on the ship is zigging, zag.
My family avoids crowds by doing the opposite of what everybody else is doing. Between 6 and 7 pm, for instance, when everybody else is getting ready for dinner or already dining, that’s when we take advantage of the empty sports courts, Ping Pong tables, or hot tub.

8. Find your own serene shipboard hideaway.
In addition to a balcony, you’ll want space to stretch out in tranquility somewhere on deck. There’s almost always an empty area with lounge chairs somewhere. Sometimes it’s the Promenade Deck; sometimes it’s an area up top that people just haven’t discovered.

When the weather is too cold to be outdoors, you may crave an indoor pool or hot tub. Often the spa has a heated indoor pool you can access for a fee. On the Breakaway, access to the spa’s Thermal Suite for $199 for the entire seven-day cruise turned out to be a good value.

The spa’s hydrotherapy pool. #NorwegianBreakaway A photo posted by Wendy Perrin (@wendyperrin) on

9. Study the children’s weekly program schedule before making dinner reservations.
If your kids are like mine, certain scheduled evening activities will appeal to them and others won’t. Pirate Night is a must, Hollywood Night is not. If you’re making dinner reservations for the family, choose nights when the kids won’t complain about being with you rather than with their friends.

10. Ace the buffet.
It’s usually the most casual way to grab a bite on the ship (except for room service), and it can be jam-packed. Four tips: (1) Avoid the buffet on embarkation day, when it’s at its most chaotic. (2) When you do eat at the buffet, make a beeline for the Asian and Indian food. The kitchen staff is frequently Asian and Indian, so what you get is their home cooking, and it’s delicious. (3) Often one side of the buffet is open and the other is closed; if you can’t find empty seats, go to the closed side. (4) Feed your kids at the buffet, then go elsewhere for a proper adult meal. Like this:

This is the first raw bar I’ve seen on a cruise ship. How about you? #NorwegianBreakaway

A photo posted by Wendy Perrin (@wendyperrin) on

#yummy A photo posted by Wendy Perrin (@wendyperrin) on

11. Have your child wear a watch.
There are few, if any, clocks on the ship. If you’ve instructed children to meet you in a certain place at a certain time, the only way they’ll know is if they’re wearing watches.

12. Ensure room keys don’t get lost.
Bring a lanyard, or punch a hole into your child’s key card, so it can be worn around the neck.

13. Don’t activate your kid’s room key for purchases.
On ships you use your room key card for purchases, and kids lose room keys. They accidentally leave them in the games arcade—where other kids may find them and swipe them in the machines—or by the pool, where adults may find them and use them to buy a round of drinks. I’m not kidding; this happens with surprising frequency. When you check in for your cruise, the check-in agent will ask whether your kid’s key should be enabled for shipboard purchases. Just say no, unless you’re certain your child won’t lose the key. And if you’re certain your child won’t lose the key, please share your secret with me!

14. Read my 12-year-old’s advice that parents should know before booking a family cruise.

 

If anyone else has tips for sailing on megaships, I’d love to hear them. Chime in below!

 

Disclosure: This was my family’s fourth cruise on Norwegian Cruise Line. We’ve always paid our own way in the past; this time the cruise line provided us with complimentary accommodations. In keeping with my standard practice, there was no request for or expectation of coverage on Norwegian’s part, nor was anything promised on mine.

Be a smarter traveler: Use Wendy’s WOW List to plan your next trip. You can also follow her on Facebook and Twitter @wendyperrin, and sign up for her weekly newsletter to stay in the know.

Photographing Lions in Botswana Photo by Susan Portnoy

Are Guided Photography Tours Worth It?

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Question:

Wendy, I’ve been browsing through National Geographic’s guided tours, particularly the small-group photography trips. Do you have any experience with these? I’m typically an independent traveler, but the photography aspect sounds really enticing and I’m just wondering if you would recommend them. Thanks for your great site!  –Becca

Answer:

Becca, I’ve heard mixed reviews. One great photographer I know, WendyPerrin.com contributor Susan Portnoy of The Insatiable Traveler, took a National Geographic photo tour to Morocco in 2010. She says that, although she had fun and it ran without a hitch, it was disappointing from a learning-about-photography perspective: “It was clear to me that they used one of the general itineraries, added a professional photographer to the tour, and called it a day. Nothing was altered to consider the special wants/needs of photography, especially where light was concerned, which is the crux of successful images. We were having breakfast in the morning when the best light was available, out in the field when it was harsh, and then in museums at sunset. After being on other photographic tours since, I am very aware of the things it lacked.” Check out Susan’s article Seven Questions to Ask Yourself Before Choosing a Travel Photography Tour.

Another great photographer and WendyPerrin.com contributor, Eric Stoen of Travel Babbo, has had a different experience. He’s taken three National Geographic photo expeditions—to India in 2008, Burma in 2013, and Ethiopia in 2014. He also did Nat Geo’s Tuscany Photo Workshop in 2005 and its Santa Fe Workshop in 2008, and he’s headed to Japan with them in November. Eric has also written advice that I’m sure you’ll find eye-opening: Photography Trips: What You Should Know First.

Whatever you do, Becca, be sure to choose a destination you’ve always dreamed of exploring and a photographer you like and admire. Good luck with your decision, and here’s hoping the photo trip you pick will be the first of many!

New York Harbor

Stunning Photos: An Ice-Filled New York Harbor in Winter

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One of the biggest reasons to travel by ship is the views as you come into port. Yesterday, as my family sailed into an ice-filled New York Harbor—the final stop of a winter cruise to the Bahamas—I was reminded that certain amazing sights in this world can be seen only by ship. Even though I’m a jaded New Yorker who grew up in midtown Manhattan, the scene was otherworldly. It was well worth waking up at dawn, and shivering on my balcony, to capture it. Enjoy!

Pulling into New York Harbor at 7:00 am on a Sunday in February. #NorwegianBreakaway #NYC #skyline

A photo posted by Wendy Perrin (@wendyperrin) on

#tugboat breaking up the #ice for us in New York Harbor. #NYC #NorwegianBreakaway A photo posted by Wendy Perrin (@wendyperrin) on

4,000-passenger ship pulling into an icy Pier 88, NY Harbor, 7:30 a.m. on a Sunday in February. Home safe.

A photo posted by Wendy Perrin (@wendyperrin) on

 

What’s your favorite port in the world to sail into?