Travel plan idea blog

Buenos Aires tourist attractions: tango, protests, cemeteries, food, fashion, and more

Here's an article on visiting Buenos Aires where you can eat inexpensively (chinchulin de cordero, or grilled lamb's small intestine. About $1.65; bife de chorizo, a stunningly tender boneless chunk of beef comparable to a thick New York strip. About $5).

The article isn't only about food though. They also mention some tourist attractions like street tango dancers. Then there are the more morbid attractions:

On Thursday afternoons, marching Madres de Plaza de Mayo, mothers and sisters of victims "disappeared" by the military junta that ruled Argentina into the 1980s are joined by protesters.

Eva Peron is in Recoleta Cemetery, stored in the Duarte family tomb, which is relatively modest for a cemetery that's nothing if not a study in post-mortal overstatement. Even with the waves of tour groups brought here, it's possible to spend reflective moments with her, alone or alongside the cats (another Webber show!) that freeload among the memorials...

All in all the article is very informative but the last paragraph is fairly discouraging: And there are disappointments, greatest of which are the trash scavengers (sometimes whole families of them) that descend on the city after dark and pick through plastic bags of garbage for recyclables and edible scraps.

And another paper has another Buenos Aires travel article, this one focusing on fashion and food. Here's an excerpt that makes me wonder if I could keep up with my wife if we went on vacation in Bueons Aires:

Most young Argentine designers have set up business in the area, making it a prime shopping destination. One boutique that drew me in was Objeto, where designers Rodrigo Abarquero and Debora Di Stilio sell whimsical pieces, such as layered cotton shirts printed with cartoons that look like Teletubbies gone wild, and uneven skirts with bold stripes. Next, I stopped at Maria Marta Facchinelli's shop, filled with pastel-colored dresses of silk, jersey or cotton tulle. After launching her line in 2000, this up-and-coming Argentinian designer has been featured in magazines, including Vogue and Bazaar. I finally decided on a flowing blue skirt with gold sprinkles at Rapsodia, a bohemian chic temple co-owned by local socialite and former model Sol Acu?a.

This article ends with some airfare information, advice on the weather, useful information on taxis, and is certainly worth reading.

Romantic travel ideas for couples with or without children

Here's an article on some romantic Hawaii vacations that are aimed at couples. They sounded expensive to me, but not much more than this resort on Kiawah Island, S.C.

And if you have kids, this article brings hope: you can still have a romantic vacation in Big Sur. Again, expect to pay. Even during the off-season the The Tickle Pink Inn will cost you.

I mentioned babymoons and other vacationmoons a while back. Here's another article that talks about babymooning. The author here is more considerate of those of us on a budget: "As sensational as a European vacation sounds, pre-baby getaways don't have to be so elaborate. A weekend in the Poconos or a quick trip to the beach can still be a fun, romantic vacation."

Traveling in a positive way

Here's a good article on traveling in a positive way. It covers a few related topics such as advice on volunteering, how to help with education, how to handle beggars, and more.

Exchanging homes for vacation no matter where you live

I wouldn't have guessed it, but apparently people are anxious to vacation in Oklahoma - so anxious that one person is getting more offers to exchange homes for vacation than she can handle. Some advice for people who want to exchange homes but who live in the middle of nowhere:

Ed Kushins, president of HomeExchange.com, the Web site featured in last year's film "The Holiday," said people shouldn't be discouraged if they live in a place that isn't generally thought of as a vacation spot. They just might have to work a little harder.

You have to be a little more proactive in sending out inquiries, Kushins said. If you're enthusiastic and descriptive about the benefits and what there is to do where you live, you're going to get some responses.

Spring break + educational travel (not on the same vacation)

I moved into my new home today, which means I'm too tired to blog for long. I did want to share this article from a college newspaper on last minute spring break vacations because my sprin break message was pretty bleak when I talked about the good deals being gone. This article seems to focus on cold beaches but I suppose you'd have more fun at the pool of one of the hip hotels in Vegas...

There's also an interesting article on educational travel, with a focus on programs run by universities. They seem to be quite pricey but certainly interesting.

Well I have to go clean up some more of the mess I've gotten myself into (what was I thinking when I decided to move?) or go sleep...

Road trips with the kids experience

Here's an amusing article about taking a road trip with the kids. It's got a few ideas if you're faced with this usually daunting task. I like the idea of surprise bags to keep kids busy for a few hours in the car:

And then there's the surprise bag, filled with little toys and games to pass the time. But of course, now they know the bag is up there in the front seat holding the treasure and like little pirates, they want all of it by Platteville. Calm blue ocean...calm blue ocean...calm blue ocean.

Of course my favorite experience would be one where there are no kids in the car...

Travel for health care in Poland, Malta, Spain

Here's a very intersting article on how budget airlines are changing Europe. One the important changes is easy access to inexpensive health care:

No-frills airlines also let Europeans seek cut-rate health care in Malta, Poland and Spain.

An implant and crown that cost 2,500 euros in the U.K. go for 1,400 euros in a Polish dentist's office, says Marcin Gaborski, a board member of Dental Clinic HAHS in Szczecin.

Has anyone here ever experienced healthcare in Spain, Poland, or Malta? If so, please share your experiences because many people think of India, Thailand, and Singapore when they think of traveling for low cost health care.

Las Vegas vacation planning: where to party, sleep, and book

A college student is planning trip to Las Vegas and needs advice:

For next winter break, Jan '08, myself and my friends are trying to plan a celebratory trip of all of us being 21 to Las Vegas from NY. I have a few questions for those who have done such a trip. Is it best to book online through expedia or go through a travel agent? Any recommendations on hotels? I'm thinking a 6 night stay, is that too much or to little? I figured about 1k per person budget for flight and hotel. So basically any information or personal experiences will be a big help here. Thanks in advance.

Considering this guy's age, hotel suggestions included the Palms and the Hard Rock. Most everyone thought 6 nights was too long. As for where to book, there was no clear winner. Here are some comments (some could be moderately offensive as they talk about hot girls and some may have poor spelling / grammar - they came from my favorite football message board):

The Hard Rock is supposed to be for the younger crowd. I just booked a trip to Vegas on vegas.com and it seemed to be a good deal.

6 nights in Vegas!?! 6 nights is a LOT. I don't know how you plan to spend your vacation but Vegas is very expensive. If you plan on gambling at all (and losing of course) or going out to bars/clubs 6 nights will cost you much more than 1k. Not to mention, if you are in Vegas, odds are you won't sleep much. Vegas for 3 or 4 nights is much more kind to your body and wallet.
You wont last 3! ;) 3 days max dude.

Get hotel rates online first and then call each casino. Shop the hotel rate...if you guys play poker book a room that will give you the poker rate..for instance im goin in march and we got a poker rate (129 for thurs an 199 for fri/sat) as long as we play 6 hrs per day in the poker room (combined) we get that rate.

Go to the Palms because it is the best place in Vegas for a younger crowd and is crawling with women. better than the hard rock. however, if you stay for 6 days, you could end up sucking on an exhaust pipe by day 4. time runs together there and you will either run out of cash or run out of gas and collapse if you are there 6 days.

If all you have is one large, stay off the strip at the suncoast. You could room there and its pretty nice for $50 or so a night plus they have free transport to and from the Strip. I have a vacation home in Vegas and the off strip casinos such as the new Red Rocks have every amenity that you can find on the strip. your $ will go further and the local girls are smokin hot.

I'm going to Vegas soon. We want to see some comedy shows have some good food and maybe some other shows that involve the scantily or not clad women. Hard Rock sounds cheesy to me for some reason, almost like a planet hollywood get up. One place we definitely want to atleast try to make a stop to is the Playboy Club. We have friends that went their a few weeks after it opened who loved it.

Don't go thinking you can walk from the Wynn to the Luxor on me. I like to watch people staggering down Tropicana from the Strip, thinking they can walk to the Palms or the Rio. It's unintentionally amusing. The area around the Strip is bigger than you think. I had my bachelor party in Vegas. We were staying at the Rio. We went over to Paris and stayed until 1-2am. When it was time to leave, the line for a Taxi was about an hour long. We said screw it, and walked over the the Rio. It was 90+ degrees out and there was a ton of construction on Flamingo over the 15. We found ourselves walking on Flamingo with people honking and yelling at us. It was actually a really dangerous thing to do. That was a bad decision.

I stayed at Harrah's when I went, and the location was fantastic even if I didn't like the casino all that much. You're never in your hotel room, so consider that when picking your place. We had friends at the time that were staying at the MGM Grand...their pool was phenomenal with a lot of very good looking women all over it, at least when I went in summer '05.

Just came from Vegas last week for a family reunion and we stayed at Circus Circus. (It must have been the only place with RV parking on the strip.) Do not go there if you want any high-roller amenities or if you are allergic to kids. Mind you it was a decent room at a decent price but I swear the place didn't have one hostess under 45 bringing people their drinks.

The Palms is the hottest casino for the younger crowd right now. Hard Rock used to be, and I hear it still has the hottest outdoor pool scene. Palms is off the strip, which is a good thing as well, imo. 3 nights is plenty for most people!

I've been to Vegas five times and I’m only 25. Some quick tips. Check Orbitz for hotel rooms, you can find some great hotels for really cheap (Mandalay, TheHotel,Caesars). Try kayak.com for your plane tickets and maybe hotel (I never tried for the hotel).

I thought the same about Hard Rock (something like planet hollywood which is lame) but Hard Rock on Sunday night is insane. Make sure you go to Body English at Hard Rock on Sunday night. Hard Rock is actually pretty expensive to stay at compared to the Orbitz hotel prices. I'm not sure what happened in the last month but when I went to Vegas, the Palms was the most dead casino in Vegas.

The weather in January is as cold as NYC. I went last month for MLK weekend and it was 20 degrees out. If you go on MLK weekend, the porn convention will be intown. Alot of hot girls but big crowds, tough to get in everywhere which means heavy greasing if you want tables or even want to get in a club (depends on your group's girl to guy ratio).

The best nightclubs in vegas right now are Tryst (Wynn), Tao (Venetian), Pure (Caesars) and Body English.

I wouldn't stay at the Hard Rock either, it's pretty pricey. Just go there to gamble and to check out Body English. I'd stay at MGM or even Paris or Alladin or one of those for cheaper. TAO is great- probably the best club around. Tryst and Pure are also great... In March, the weather can get nice. 50 or 60 degrees during the day. But the pools probably won't be open, they weren't last year when I went in March. So keep that in mind. As for strip clubs- Scores is definitely the best. I hung out with Flava Flav last time I went. Probably a story I'll tell my grandkids.

We Stayed At The Mirage at the center of everything. booked the room, airfare and airport transfers thru a travel agent on America West (which is part of USAirways now i think). $1200 4 days 3 nights...6 years ago. we rented a car for $19 p/d from a rent-a-wreck type agency at another hotel and did Ethel M tour, driving around the city, to the Stratosphere, Hyatt, out to dinner, etc. valet parking in Vegas is free!!! cost us a couple $$$ in tips and your car was cool when they returned it. our biggest expense was our cabana day spent by the pool.

Well there was a lot of information there - I hope you find some of it useful. Again, please don't blame me for any spelling/grammar issues in there. I suppose you can blame me for being to lazy to edit everything.

Is it too late to book a spring break vacation?

According to this article, spring break vacations are getting booked quickly but a little flexibility can really help you. This late in the game, however, makes it very difficult to save money on a spring break trip.

For students at Purdue, spring break in Cancun is most popular but Amsterdam is also drawing college students (I wonder what they do there). Not that I should talk considering that I blogged about Amsterdam's best coffee shops (not that I've ever been to Amsterdam).

Disney World honeymoon gift registry

I recently asked if you would honeymoon in Disney World. A few people said they wouldn't, but I think more people said they would. We even heard from people who did honeymoon in Disney.

Now Disney World isn't the only honeymoon option. Couples can book honeymoons in Walt Disney World Resorts, on Disney Cruise Lines, or at a Disney Vacation Club Resort.

Then they can take their confirmation number to create a Honeymoon Registry. Then the couple makes their wish list online: spa treatments, special Disney activities, romantic dinners, etc. Friends and family contribute monetary gifts toward stuff on the wishlist (the couple receives a special Disney Gift Card so the newlyweds can spend the gift money.

Flying tours of Cambodia from Wings Over Cambodia ultralight flying

I've written about Cambodia a few times but never actually been there. Today I write about Cambodia again but this one will be a bit different. There's a company called Wings Over Cambodia and you can see what they do in this video. It looks like a motorbike with wings and a fan to me.

My wife says she's going to do it, but I'm pretty sure I'd be too scared to enjoy myself on a flying bicycle...

If you're braver than me, you might be wondering where they operate:

Our base in Kompong Speu province provides an ideal staging area for scenic local flying around the Cambodian countryside, or longer flying adventures to sites such as Oudong, the Tonle Sap river, and the impenetrable jungle of the Cardomoms deep in Cambodia's jungle. We also relocate to Siem Reap and other parts of the country for seasonal flying operations.

I categorized this one in "vacation experiences" even though this is one experience I'll probably never have. I'm sure that people who do ultralight flying get rewarded with a very memorable travel experience.

Huntsville, Alabama: Constellation movie tourism

Constellation was filmed in Huntsville, Alabama. Now Huntsville plans to cash in on movie tourism by providing "self-guided 'Constellation Tour' maps that point visitors to sites that are shown in the movie". According to this article, Huntsville has more to offer tourists than just a few movie locations.

Chief among these is the U.S. Space and Rocket Center. It sounds pretty cool, with flight simulators that I guess people can experience. There's the Space Shot, a kind of ride that "rockets" you 140 feet into the air with four Gs. And then there's a roller coaster with Martians listening to country music - I guess you have to experience that one before you can grok it.

Alabama artist John Moore's mural was in Constellation and you can see it in EarlyWorks museum where you can also try on old costumes and blow up coal mines (simulations I hope).

This local article lists a few more places in Huntsville that were in the movie: "EarlyWorks Children's Museum, Huntsville Museum of Art, North Alabama Railroad Museum, State Black Archives and Museum, U.S. Space & Rocket Center, Melvin's BBQ, Humphrey's Bar & Grill, The Chop House and Glenwood Cemetery."

Digression: That last one, Glenwood Cemetery reminds me of what I wrote a few days ago when I blogged about Central Cemetery in Vienna, Austria. I said most people don't think of putting cemeteries on their travel itineraries, but here's another one. And then there's Pere Lachaise in Paris, a cemetery so cheerful that workers from nearby business go there for lunch.

Anyway, regarding Huntsville. The official Huntsville website has useful information for tourists. You can get discount coupons, sign up for good airfares delivered to you via email, create a travel itinerary online, find nearby golf courses, etc.

To me, Huntsville sounds good. There's stuff to do but it's not likely to be overly crowded with tourists. I don't know how hot it gets down there in the summer, but I'm definitely thinking that if I can't get to Europe (remember the airfares I was writing about a couple of days ago?) I might do a US city like Miami or Chicago and then something smaller, like Huntsville.

JetBlue hurt by bad conditions at JFK

Here's a good CNN article that talks about the mass of recent JetBlue cancellations. I think the company has the right attitude:

Thursday, JetBlue CEO David Neeleman repeatedly apologized for the airline's recent wave of cancellations and delays. "I think the best thing we can do is say we're sorry and give them their money back, and give them a free ticket and then kind of plead with them to come and fly again," he told CNN.

Flying to Europe this July & finding better fares to London

So my wife and I want to vacation in Europe this summer, likely in July. I went to Kayak.com and did some searching, but haven't found any really good deals. If you're curious, here are the airfares I dug up (all non-stop):

JFK - London on Air India is $789
JFK - Amsterdam on Delta is $1031
JFK - Rome on Alitaia is $841
JFK - Madrid on Iberia is $955
JFK - Barcelona on Delta is $1080
JFK - Prague on Czech Air as CSA is $1275

So it looks like Londond is the place to be in Europe (except that hotels there are expensive). We could always fly into London and then take the train somewhere else. This list of UK travel brochures also has some good ideas. From tours of Londond to British Gran Prix stuff, there are lots of brochures you can get for free. I'll probably request at least the "14 Day Scotland & Ireland Castles & Pubs Discovery Tour".

Some other possibilities: In Search of Sherlock Holmes
Perhaps no other literary figure is so firmly associated with their surroundings as the famous fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. Think of Holmes and you conjure up a vision of 19th century London, at the time the largest metropolis in... Posted on June 24, 2006 9:05 AM

On the Trail of the Da Vinci Code
First there was the book, and now the movie. The phenomenal success of Dan Brown’s hugely popular book has meant an increased number of visitors to the places mentioned in the book. Visitors come in search of secret codes... Posted on June 16, 2006 9:02 PM

In Search of Robin Hood
If you plan to visit the UK this summer, and your travels take you outside London and the usual tourist spots, an underrated and fascinating place to visit is the Midlands town of... Posted by Martin on June 2, 2006 11:07 AM

Sandals' Red Lane Spa or Resort $250 Credit Offer

A special notice for everyone based on an email I got from Sandals. They are having a special "$250 Red Lane Spa or Resort Credit offer to April 15th" and sent me this link to share:

Sandals' Red Lane Spa or Resort $250 Credit Offer - Click here to learn more and to access the discount code!

This takes you to their specials page. The $250 off I'm talking about is way down the bottom (if you're booking make sure you use the code they give you or you won't get the discount). The other specials are pretty interesting too. I didn't see anything for ones I've covered here like the Sandals Beaches Negril Resort & Spa in Jamaica.

Other Sandals related blog entries: Selling Sandals, Sandals and St. Lucia politics.

If you've experienced a Sandals or Beaches vacation, please share by leaving a comment.

Meaningful vacations: volunteer and education travel

By the way, comments are finally working so please say something!

Here's an article on how volunteer vacations and education travel are on the rise. The author shares some ideas like donating frequent flyer miles or cash to charities, playing with or adopting stray dogs, getting discount hotel rooms in New Orleans in exchange for volunteer work, working with Habitat for Humanity, cleaning up a beach, Earthwatch trips to help African lions or South American rain forests, and numerous volunteer vacations.

There were some useful comments on this previous meaninful travel blog entry. Feel free to share your ideas or experiences by either leaving a comment or if yours is a longer piece that warrants publishing on its own email me - jtrotta@gmail.com.

Vienna, Austria: Schubert Park (Währing Cemetery) & Zentralfriedhof (Central Cemetery)

The Zentralfriedhof (Central Cemetery) in Vienna draws more tourists than most cemeteries. I just learned about the cemetery from reading one of those in-flight magazines (that's why I ahven't posted in a couple of days - I was flying from New York to Seoul with a brief stop in Tokyo).

Many people who would not normally consider visiting a cemetery on vacation still visit Vienna's Central Cemetery, which is most famous for the musicians buried in its special section (the Ehrengräber) where composers, writers, artists and politicians are buried. The more famous musicians in Centralfriedhof's Ehrengräber are:

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Johan Strauss (1825-1899)
Ludwig von Beethoven (1770-1827)
Arnold Schönberg (1874-1951)

Vienna's Central Cemetery is the city's largest burial ground with 330,000 graves but since it opened in 1874, Schubert and Beethoven were originally buried elsewhere. You can still see Beethoven's and Schubert's original graves, marked by memorials. Originally known as Währing Cemetery, Schubert Park is where Beethoven and Schubert were buried. Both were exhumed and moved to Zentralfriedhof (Central Cemetery).

Visiting Zentralfriedhof (Central Cemetery): Main entrance (Tor 2), Simmeringer Hauptstraße 234 , 1110 Vienna. You can get to Central Cemetery on trams 71 and 6, bus 171 and the train (Schnellbahn) S7. There's also parking (for a fee).

Central Cemetery's hours are:

Jan - Feb: 8am to 5pm
March - April: 7am to 6pm
May - August: 7am to 7pm
Sept - Nov 2nd: 7am to 6pm
Nov 3rd - Dec: 8am to 5pm

I searched for information on visiting Währing Cemetery or Schubert Park, but I haven't found anything useful online and I don't have the guidebooks (Rick Steves' Germany and Austria 2007 seems to get good reviews).

While I'm writing about Austria, let me see what you think of this link to some free Austria travel brochures. These are tour operators who want to send you free information about their Austrian vacation packages.

Chile, Spas, Israel

First I have an interesting article on Pucon, Chile. Pucon seems good for people who like the outdoors:

Why does anyone bother with Pucon? You should be at least a closet-outdoorsman if not a hardcore backpacker. There are plenty of opportunities to fly-fish for salmon and rainbow trout in well-stocked lakes and brisk rivers, along with hiking, bicycling, kayaking and white-water rafting, horseback riding or just lolling in a local thermal spa.

Then I have an article on wellness spas, where you can get "craniosacral therapy and somato-emotional release." I think I want that.

Here's an article on tourism in Israel, including the Dead Sea and Eilat.

Self travel insurance - when trip insurance is too expensive

Here's an article on how travel insurance gets expensive, particularly for senior citizens. When travel insureance is no longer reasonable, what options do we have?

A lot of the advice hinges on making arrangements last minute because when you pay in advance there's more time for something to go wrong. With airline tickets you have to buy reusable tickets, ones that you can use again if something forces you to cancel.

Suggestions: what golf courses to play in the Vegas area

This is a reader submitted article on golfing around Las Vegas:

Hi James. A friend recently asked me for some advice about where to gold in Vegas and I thought of your blog. Maybe whatever I know will help some readers.

Bali Hai - Very nice course, but many men go to oogle at the beautiful cart girls.

the Wynn - Directly behind the Hotel is a nice golf course. Rates were around $500 when I was there so it's expensive.

the Las Vegas Country Club - A mid-level, reasonably challenging course, very fast greens.

TPC at the Canyons - Is said to have very good rates for the summer.

Badlands - In the Summerlin area, this Johnny Miller course is fairly challenging - the desert areas come into play on pretty much every hole. It is very scenic and very well maintained with a friendly staff. It's a little gimmicky - lots of "target golf" where you're teeing off with irons on par 4s in order hit small landing areas, etc. Not your standard track but enjoyable if you want a change of pace.

Rio Secco - Often said to be better than Badlands.

Angel Park - Also in the Summerlin area, Angel Park is a fair to middling course. It has a lot of nice views of the surrounding area, and fast greens for a public course. However, the pace was glacially slow the day I played - 5+ hours.

PGA West - I played 36 holes at in September one year. It was 120+ degrees. No caddies - but a covered golf cart with a complimentary gatorade sized thermos of water attached was the club's rule of the day. Most of the fringes were burned and there were fans blowing on all of the exposed greens to keep them from burning. We were the only players on the course that day, it was a trip.

In the desert in the summer, dry dry dry and hot hot hot. It can be really brutal. Bring and use plenty of sunblock, wear the right clothing including a hat with a brim.

Bear's Best - This Nicklaus course is fairly challenging with some 500+ yard par 5 holes.

Paioute - There are 3 different courses at Paioute, and it is a 30 or 40 minute ride from the strip, so you are better off renting a car than cabbing it. Pauite is very good and it is reasonable (for Vegas).

Anthem at Revere - In Henderson, Revere at Anthem has two beautiful courses, which are fairly challenging. In addition to the other two names I sometimes call this one Revere Anthem.

Lake Las Vegas - Two courses which are gorgeous, and have the nicest greens I have ever played. Enjoy, but they can be pricey, even in July.

Wolf Creek - If you are good and want a once in a lifetime experience, drive 80 miles (only an hour there) to Mesquite and play Wolf Creek. It's like playing golf on the moon. Unreal golf course...trust me.

Well I hope you enjoyed this reader submitted article on golf courses in Vegas. If you want to share your travel knowledge, email jtrotta@gmail.com.

I know comments haven't been working since I got the new server set up. Sorry for that but they should be working soon.

Torism Marketing in England can provide a model for South Korea

Here's an article that praises the way England has increased tourism through promoting Harry Potter and similar invented tourist attractions:

The British people knew they couldn't draw significant numbers of tourists with their featureless attractions. In recent days, Britain turned a robbery in which 50 million pounds (W90 billion) was stolen into a popular tourist destination. The program includes a guided tour of the crime scenes, including a vault from which the money was taken, a storehouse where a custodian was held hostage, and the safehouse where the suspects were caught.

In places where there was nothing to sell, people created something new. A disused mine in the southwestern region of Cornwall has been turned into a giant botanical experiment called the Eden Project. Like some kind of primeval garden, it's more than just a botanical zone. In spring, the Project hosts "Blue Mania," a hands-on event in which tourists help plant one million flower bulbs. Since its opening in March 2001, more than nine million tourists have visited Project Eden, helping it rank fifth among Britain's tourist attractions. About 500 full-time employees of the park have been recruited from the nearby area, 75 percent of whom were jobless before the Project was founded.

The article goes on to mention some formerly popular attractions in Korea that I've never heard of, probably because they aren't marketed very well. The idea is that promoting Korean tourism more effectively could help reduce the 7 billion dollar travel defecit South Korea saw in 2006.

Finding budget airlines in Europe

I have a very cool website to share with you today. Low Cost Airline Guide shows you which budget airlines fly where you want to go in Europe. All you have to do is click twice, once on the airport you're leaving from and once on the airport you're arriving in. For example I tried a search where I was leaving from London Luton (LTN) and arriving in Amsterdam (AMS). The website told me that I shoudl try the budget carrier easyJet.com and linked to their site for me. There I found a flight for 23 GBP which seems like a great price to me.

Clearly, if you'll be flying within Europe and you want to make sure you check the budget carriers, you should search this site. If you want to see how many budget carriers there are in Europe, visit the page of low cost airlines this site covers. I thought this was pretty interesting because there are a number of low cost carriers I had never heard of.

The page on budget airline routes was also pretty interesting. It lists the airports in Europe and you click on where you're leaving from or going to. For example I clicked on flights to Vienna, Austria (VIE) and then saw a list of flights from various ariports in Egypt, France, Greece, Malta, Spain, Turkey, etc.

I can definitely see some vacation itineraries taking shape after using this site. It should be no problem to fly to London, then to Amsterdam, then to Vienna, then to Istabul, then back to London. Interestingly we end with kind of a circle as the only discount airline listed on the Istanbul departures page to London is easyJet going to London Luton...

Valentine's Day travel ideas

NCL has some cruise sales in time for Valentine's Day romance. And then here's an article "just in time to help navigate that romantic Valentine's Day getaway." It's about what stresses the different sexes while traveling.

And that's all I have for today. I'm exhausted from getting ready for and going through an INS interview to remove the conditional status from my wife's green card. We were up all night organizing papers and stuff. Then we had to wait two hours for our 5 minute interview (which made us wonder why they bothered giving us an appointment time of 9:15 which forced us to travel to Fedral Plaza during rush hour). But anyway the immigration officer quickly recognized that ours was a real marriage and sent us happily on our way!

For Valentine's Day were meeting some friends in a restaurant in Cortlandt Manor (New York State) called Cortlandt Colonial Restaurant & Ballroom on Feb. 10.

Travel news for Superbowl Sunday

I have a few travel articles for you. First there's one on getting ready for vacation with reminders like planning your trip and pet sitters in advance, trying new stuff, etc.

One story that bothers me is that of the Norwegian cruise ship that ran aground and leaked oil in Antarctica. As far as I can tell, Norwegian Coastal Voyage is doing nothing to clean up their mess. They are tracking the situation. I hope this raises their insurance premiums enough to punish them.

Study abroad programs can be kind of like vacations depending on what classes are involved, but they are always travel experiences. Here's a domestic study travel experience. Do it in Colorado and do a lot of skiing, do it in Miami and watch basketball, do it in San Francisco and go to an S&M festival, do it in Malibu and go surfing.

I'm not sure why, but not all parents paying their kids way through college are convinced:

With college costs already steep, Carol Powers of Pembroke, Mass., wasn't thrilled when her son Tom passed over a business-management program in Australia for a pricier option in Los Angeles that required her to take out a $6,000 loan. "It seemed ridiculous. He needs a rental car so he can live with beautiful people?" says Ms. Powers, a 59-year-old social worker who fears he will be seduced by the money and "blonde, tan, perfect bodies" of L.A. "I think it's so superficial. In Australia he would have learned about a lot of different cultures."

Tom, a business-management major from Boston University, is taking classes in entertainment law and management, but has spent much of the past month cruising with his friends along Sunset Boulevard and looking for an internship. He says here, too, there are cultural differences: He doesn't have to wear a tie for interviews, and unlike Boston, where "you are what you do, in L.A., you are what you drive."

Who thinks that Tom's mother did the right thing by taking out a $6,000 loan for her son's LA learning experience? Who thinks that Tom's mother should not have paid for this LA "study away" experience?

And the winners for the winter vacation writing contest are...

An overview of all the entries (here is the assessment rubric):

1st place ($200 prize): This last-minute entry, a 5 day Miami Itinerary, was a strong one with a hotel recommendation, daily activities (a few points were lost because the pace is a little too leisurely even if you are supposed to be hitting the beach and the hotel poolside bars half the time in Miami), and restaurants for dinner suggested.

2nd place ($100 prize): The Riviera Maya vacation plan did very well with daily activities. I had a tough time assigning points for restaurant recommendations considering this is an all-inclusive resort vacation; some breakfast and dinner recommendations are made.

3rd place ($50 prize): The Hawaii vacation earns a strong score on daily activities and a couple of points for hotel recommendations (no details on the hotels). Some points were lost because travelers are on their own as far as meals are concerned.

The Winnipeg travel itinerary had a hotel recommendation and strong marks for daily activities. A few points were lost because of restaurant recommendations.

The Cambodian vacation plan sounds good but lost points with no information on accommodations or restaurants.

The one day Toronto shopping spree was very interesting, but not the ideal format for this contest.

All in all, I have to note that response to the first contest, the 2006 summer vacation contest, was much stronger in that we had many more entries. I'm not sure what to do next but am open to suggestions. I may go back to the large cash prize system or just start buying travel plans for $10-$20 and forget about the contest format. Somehow, I really want this blog to be a place where people share their vacation plans.

Winners should contact jtrotta@gmail.com with their PayPal ID.

Healthy Hawaii vacation site

The Hawaii Island Wellness Travel Association (http://www.hiwta.org/) is a directory of its 65 members: health and wellness practitioners plus hospitality providers located on the "Big Island" of Hawaii. They recommend healing accommodations, sacred sites, local guides, health and welness treatments, ecotourism, healthy food, locally made products, and time to rest.

The directory reflects the above "8 essential ingredients to creating your ultimate wellness vacation on Hawaii’s Big Island." The directory has categories like ecotours and Hawaiian healing. I'm feeling pretty ready for my Hawaiian vacation...

By the way, I may be too jet lagged now but I plan to announce winners to the winter travel writing contest before the Superbowl.

America's tourism marketing: A Blueprint to Discover America

America's tourism industry is in decline: "Overseas travel to the U.S. is down 17 percent since 2001, with business travel alone down 10 percent from 2004 to 2005, according to TIA."

"Among the major reasons why travelers are not coming to the U.S.: concerns about the U.S. visa process and perception of poor treatment at the point of entry."

The idea is to streamline the visa process, modernize ports of entry, and change negative perceptions about America. In my experience the first one is the big one. In downtown Seoul, people line up hours before the US embassy opens trying to get a visa. They wait on line all day and sometimes get a visa. I have friends who were refused.

Sometimes, there's no good reason for the refusal. For example after my wife and I got married we applied for a tourist visa for my Korean wife so she could meet my grandfathers who were too old to travel to Korea for the wedding. The guy in the US embassy in Rome was rude and stupid (a few days earlier he had told me that I couldn't get my passport extended but luckily his boss walked by and corrected his error). They denied my wife a tourist visa.

Anyway, for many people, getting a US visa is more trouble than its worth. You spend lots of time and money and you may come away empty handed for no good reason.

The second one seems OK to me flying into JFK regularly. I never see long lines for immigration and the guys in the booths seem friendly enough. When we go into the little office to have my wife's greencard checked out, it's often another story but most travelers never see those people. The third one seems easy enough. It's not going to be hard to convince people they want to visit New York, the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Hawaii, Boston, Chicago, etc.

Here's the article on the new tourism marketing plan.

Cruise deals

If you're reading this, my web hosting situation has been resolved. As things go back to normal, I thought I'd share some cruise deals being offered by the different travel sites out there:

Expedia.com is having its 2007 Cruise Getaways Sale through February, starting at $189 (for a three-night Carnival Caribbean cruise). You can get up to $100 onboard credit with Princess Cruises and, with Royal Caribbean, up to $200 off. If you go for the cheaper cruises, you get less money off.

Travelocity.com has a sale, through Feb. 15, with 56 daily sweepstakes prizes of $2,500 and a grand prize of $125,000. You can get such goodies as $400 off with Celebrity (Alaska), upgrades with Carnival, and shipboard credit plus an upgrade with Norwegian Cruise Line.

Orbitz.com has a Winter Getaway Sale with offers good through mid-February. If you book a cruise totalling $2,000 or more with an American Express Card, you get double Membership Reward points, good for assorted merchandise, and a free portable DVD player.

Well, there's something. I'll be blogging almost everyday now. I am flying back to America soon so I'll miss a couple of days in the middle of the week.