June 23, 2009
2 other travel blogs with some interesting stuff
Here's an LA Times blogger talking about a music road trip that I'm guessing should take a while longer than the blogger is planning:
New York (6/22)
Washington, D.C.
Cleveland
Detroit
Chicago
Nashville
Montgomery, Ala.
New Orleans
Houston
Austin
El Paso, Texas
Albuquerque
Las Vegas
Los Angeles (7/5)
I'm not sure but it seems a little rushed.
Here's another blog, or maybe just an article, about 10 cultural sites in Japan. The pictures, especially Himeji Castle are great. I was in Osaka and never knew it was nearby. But i have to go back to that general area anyway to see Kyoto...
June 16, 2009
How big is your carbon footprint?
We've mentioned carbon credits before and the people who commented mostly thought they were a waste. Yet there's no real doubt that our vacations have an impact on carbon emissions. From the airplane to the hotel to the rental car...
Anyway, regardless of what you choose to do about it you might as well know the impact you're having. This Tripbase tool tries to help you realize just that (for your flight):
May 27, 2009
Thinking about Rome again
Many of you know how much I like Italy. I spent my honeymoon mostly in Rome and Assisi and have a trip kind of planned to Bologna. And I may retire in Italy.
So anyway, I was checking out this site on Rome apartments and noticed they had a blog about life in Italy. Since I may retire there I figured I should give it a read.
I mention it here because it's not really a blog about life in Italy - it's more aimed at people traveling to Italy. There's advice on restaurants in Rome (though they lose points for not mentioning Pizza Re), public transportation in Venice, sightseeing in Rome and Venice, etc.
As for the apartments, they show you prices per night. I didn't notice any under 100 euros/night but I guess you're not going to find many hotels under 100 euros either. The price per week on the ones I checked wasn't discounted at all and at that rate the price per month would really hurt.
I know things are different now than they were in 2001 but back then we stayed in a nice little flat on Via Dei Serpenti where we could see the Coliseum if we stuck our heads out the window and looked to the right. It was about 3 million lira or $1500 per month. I understand the euro has made things a lot more expensive, especially in US dollars. The apartments here seem to be for shorter term stays (minimum 3 nights on one I looked at) but if you wanted to save money by doing some cooking (maybe cook breakfast and either lunch or dinner so you eat out one meal per day) I'm pretty sure it would be cheaper than a regular hotel.
April 15, 2009
Sardinian based tour operator / hotel site - website review
The following is a paid review:
CharmingSardinia.com is a Sardinian based Tour Operator specialised in luxury holidays in Sardinia, Italy. I have never been on one of their tours, so I'll do my best to provide a review based on what I see on their website, Charming Sardinia.
They claim to be native Sardinians available 24 hours a day and promise 5 star hotels as well as smaller hotels away from the main tourist spots for a more authentic "Sardinian touch". They talk about family vacations, cruises in Sardinia with Catamarans, Gulet or luxury yachts, and golf.
One thing I noticed was that while the review request said they were a tour operator, the website seems more designed to sell you hotel rooms. For example they have a "wellness & relax" section but these are hotels / resorts with spas. Same thing with the golf section - you don't get a tour - you get hotels near golf courses.
So I clicked on one golf course (I just chose it randomly) and saw three recommended hotel links. At Hotel Pullman, which looks nice in the pictures, the cheapest room is over 1,000 euros for 3 days in June (the minimum stay).
It's tough to compare this site to other hotel sites. Did they really choose the best hotels or just the ones offering the best commissions? Hopefully they chose the best ones, because they are Sardinians and they are in a position to really help people coming to their island. However, without trying them out I can only offer a qualified recommendation. I just don't know if they really help you out 24 hours a day (or even why you'd need their help at a luxury resort).
However if you are going to Sardinia I don't see any reason why you wouldn't include this site in your hotel search.
March 19, 2009
Travel picture of the day.
The following is a paid review.
This is an interesting one, because when they asked for the review they asked that I try out on of their free travel widgets. These are the sorts of things that bloggers and website owners might be into but that most readers won't find much use for.
I chose this picture of the day widget:
Having only seen one picture so far, writing a review is going to be pretty tough. Personally though I prefer pictures of places over people so I hope we end up seeing more destination-type pictures. I should clarify that pictures of a place and the people who live there are fine. But pictures that focus on the traveler are less interesting (unless I'm the traveler of course).
They also have a travel cost calculator but I can't see that working real well. We see so many individual differences like when I talked about spending on a cruise ship being absolutely necessary and one of the commenters saying you don't really have to spend anything to have a good time on the ship. It all depends on the person but I sure saw people who were not having fun because they were being cheap. I figured I'd already spent over 6 grand on the trip (yeah it was a big one) so I might as well go broke enjoying it.
Then they have a travel destination weather widget so you can quickly look up what the weather is like in Bologna in February for example. Then they tell you "39°, A Little Rain, Low Tourist Season".
Low tourist season is great. 39 is a little chilly if it's Fahrenheit. And it must be Fahrenheit although the widget doesn't say. A little rain doesn't really tell you much so while the widget might give you a quick overview, in most cases I guess you'll still want to do a little more research.
February 17, 2009
Foundog: hope for recovery of lost items
So I finally got around to activating my Foundog laptop code (after I realized that I lost the charger cord and plug). Activating the code and stuff is very user-friendly and I hope I never lose my laptop to really test how well the system works.
But here's how it's supposed to work. If I lose my laptop someone finds it. They see the little Foundog sticker that says they get a reward for returning the laptop. They go to the website and report the item as found.
Somehow Found Dog picks it up and returns it to me. I'm not quite sure how that works if I lose my laptop in Korea or something. I did get this from the company:
For international recoveries, it's handled bynecessity in a 100% custom fashion. Basically, we assign someone at Foundog to the recovery of the item. It typically involves sending a courier to retrieve the item, and pack it via FedEx or UPS back to the United States.The person who found it gets a reward:
You will receive a $10 or $25 gift card - guaranteed - as a reward for being a Good Samaritan! Also, as a Foundog Good Samaritan, you become eligible to win a $1,000 shopping spree!The sticker itself is 24.99 (for a laptop). Camera and phone ones are 9.99. I think the registration lasts 2 years.
December 5, 2008
Tour Guide blogs
Mike Richardson is back:
As a tour guide and a computer geek it was only a matter of time before I started my own blog based on the experiences I have as a tour guide and over the last year of blogging, my goals and ideas for the site have changed considerably. At this point blogging about my life as a tour guide is very random. Sometimes I post information about upcoming events in Munich, other times about what is going on with my tours, and sometimes it’s just about the weather.
It didn’t really occur to me until recently that I would be interested in reading other tour guides blogs. Guiding can be different from city to city let alone country to country and is usually not that easy of a job. While searching for blogs I came across this, which I disagree with in part (I only know one company that allows their guides to make stuff up, and they’re free tours), but overall find it to be basically funny and true. However, based on this, I think you can understand why I think tour guide blogs could be entertaining. There are guides who have written humorous books based on their experiences of tour guiding, for example former tour guide Brian Thacker, who also writes a blog, but no longer is a tour guide.
Oddly enough, after searching for quite a while, I haven’t found that many current tour guides that are blogging. It could also be that they just don’t come up on my searches…but I’ve run out of ideas of how else to search for them. Here are a few that I found:
Putu in Bali
Kathy in Scotland
Steve in Bavaria
If you’re going to any of those places, I think it would be nice to check the relevant blog and possibly take a tour with a guide that you found entertaining with his/her blog.
Do you know of some tour guide blogs? It’d be great if we could find one from most major cities around the world, maybe blogging isn’t to that point yet where we can. Travel blogs are nice, but I think blogs from people in the industry put an interesting twist on it.
-Mike Richardson, The Professional Tourist
September 9, 2008
Volunteer to help someone make money?
When I went to Algonquin Park, I stayed in an 'ecolodge'. This was back in 2002 or 2003 I think - probably before I started this blog.
At the Algonquin ecolodge I had some good breakfasts, met interesting people, got to pump water for my shower, got to pump water for my wife's shower, got to canoe on a private lake, and all in all have an interesting travel experience.
Negatives included getting eaten alive by mosquitoes and having to drive an hour to get to the main road in Algonquin Park.
Now as far as I can tell, this is a for-profit company. Yet, yesterday I got an email from them. Weird because I don't think they've sent me any emails in the past 5 years or so since I stayed with them. Also weird because they want me to volunteer to help them do some work on the ecolodge. By volunteer I mean pay $30 for food, "bring spades, rubber boots, work gloves, a dirty wheelbarrow," and then I presume do hard work.
I just don't understand why anyone would do this for a company that's trying to make money. If I'm wrong and this is a charity or non-proft then I understand. But they should say so. Otherwise they should be offering some discounts or something for people who work on their projects. Honestly, I'd feel pretty stupid if I paid $30 to dig ditches for a weekend or whatever they have volunteers do and then decided to vacation there and pay $200 (Canadian) per night to stay in the place.
While I would consider going back to the ecolodge, I'd have serious concerns about the mosquito situation because it was really really terrible. Apparently now they have some wolves nearby and the possibility of a wolf-howl - a huge plus for me. However, they also have Park Rangers leading Wolf Howls in Algonguin Park and there are some places to stay much closer to the park and probably much cheaper.
June 10, 2008
I might have to stop reading Forbes.com travel articles
I'm not sure I understand this article which claims to help people save money on honeymoons. For example take the this excerpt about Cambodia:
Donna Keane, director of the company Distinctive Honeymoons, says that for $1,200 to $1,500 per day, her clients spend 10 days to two weeks in destinations like Cambodia, where they enjoy a champagne breakfast at the sacred temple known as Angkor Wat.I know Forbes is for rich people but what are they talking about when they say you don't need to spend $1,500 a day in Cambodia? You could spend $50/day in Cambodia though around Angkor Watt and with a little luxury for your honeymoon $200/day ought to be just fine.Couples with tighter budgets need not overlook these destinations, however.
They also mention honeymoon gift registries and destination weddings (getting a free reception is common) as ways to save on wedding / honeymoon travel.
May 28, 2008
How did your grandparents travel? 3 new blogs
This blog entry (I don't know what kind of blog it is actually - maybe a personal blog) talks about the author's desire to hit a beach this summer (either the Jersey shore or one in Croatia) and then goes on to show pictures of relatives on the beach from the 1930s.
And speaking of previous generations, this blog entry talks about views toward old people (or should I say elderly or senior citizens?) in general before breaking into a travel story about eating in Germany's Black Forest (Schwarzwald). You can either stop reading there or move on to the stuff about how old isn't ugly and that sex scenes in movies starring old people are to be applauded... If I could live my life over again I would have stopped after the travel story.
This blog from a Cleveland newspaper talks about coffee culture in Paris. The writer felt conspicuously American walking around with a $2 McDonald's coffee instead of stopping at a cafe for $6 (or more) coffee.
Well there are 3 blogs you may or may not be interested in. I'm not sure if those newspaper blogs really count as blogs since they get paid to do their thing but whatever - if they call themselves blogger I guess I'm OK with it.
April 8, 2008
Disney honeymoon contest and Vegas bachelor parties
Funjet Vacations is offering couples a chance to win a free honeymoon at Walt Disney World in Orlando. That should remind long-time readers of this discussion on Disney honeymoons and this experience.
Anyway, the deadline is April 30, so if you want to enter submit photos or videos that have an element from Walt Disney World and the Funjet Vacations' travel company logo incorporated into their wedding proposal or actual wedding.
I know it's kind of lame to have a corporate logo prominently featured on your wedding invitation (or in your actual wedding) but maybe some creative couples can figure out how to do it tastefully. Good luck!
A photo on the contest Web site shows a groom proposing while wearing Mickey Mouse ears. The couple later digitally inserted the Funjet logo onto the photo. I guess you don't have to do the corporate wedding to enter after all. And the contest submission could always be a second "goofy" proposal. Do the real one first and in most cases lose the Mickey Mouse ears or the Donald Duck bill...
The grand-prize winners (one from the photo entries and one from the video entries) gets round-trip airfare for two, four nights at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa, a rental car, spa treatments and a Disney Honeymoon Registry Dream Bag.
I also wanted to include a link to this article on bachelor parties in Vegas because it also has a little section for bachelorettes. Why is it that guys are supposed to play poker and visit strip clubs (OK in this article they talk about nightclubs with hostesses and a table to make it easier to hit on women - much better!) while women are supposed to go shopping with their friends?
November 30, 2007
Article on travel sites
This article talks about the following travel sites: boo.com, vayama.com, VibeAgent.com, Yellowpages.travel, SearchBoth.com, ProfessionalTravelGuide.com, yapta.com, and TripIt.com, Orbitz.com (their new social networking component), BestTripChoices.com, fabsearch.com, travel.yahoo.com, americanexpress.com, travelocity.roadtripwizard.com, and cfares.com.
Are any of those favorites of yours?
November 14, 2007
Review of Aloha Whistler Accommodations
The following is a paid review:
I've been asked to review another web site, this one for finding condos at Whistler, a world famous place for skiing. Whistler is part of the huge 2 mountain Whistler-Blackcomb resort. Aloha Whistler Accommodations adds the following off-season sports: "Spring, summer and fall activities such as golf, hiking, rock climbing, and watersports make the Resort a year-round outdoor recreation paradise." Wikipedia told me that this area is also famous for mountain biking.
I was happy to see that the website I'm reviewing talked about the 2010 Olympics. Acting mayor Ralph Forsyth is quoted as saying, "Every day will be like Christmas and every night will be like New Year's Eve."
I'm not sure if I believe all the hype, but I do know that I've always wanted to see an Olympics in person.
Back to the website, the actual accommodations (the main focus of the site) seem good in that they have lots of choices. I don't ski, but I imagine the ski-in / ski-out condos are considered prime real estate.
I tried making reservations for February 2010 (the Olympics) but I found the place where you input dates hard to use. I was able to search for next week and was surprised to find something for as little as 1600 Canadian dollars plus tax. This was for 9 nights in a 2 bedroom ski-in / ski-out "townhome" in Upper Whistler Village (3-minute walk to the main Whistler Village and the Whistler or Blackcomb gondolas or the Blackcomb daylodge and Wizard chairlift).
I'm not sure if November is considered off season since it may be too early to ski and too cold to golf. Also this seemed to be the least expensive out of numerous options.
In the end, while entering the dates you plan to stay could be easier, there is no reason not to use this site as you compare prices if you're going to Whistler.
November 6, 2007
Book a hotel online and then call the hotel
This article talks about booking travel online and then shifts to researching travel plans online. The part about booking online offers some useful details through the example of one traveler who used several techniques to make sure she was dealing with a decent website.
One smart thing she did was call the hotel to make sure they had her reservation. Not a difficult move and something that I'll be doing from now on if I book a hotel online through any site other than the hotel's own page.
October 31, 2007
Review of luxury hotel site
The following is a paid review:
I've been asked to review this luxury travel site. The focus is on hotels, and I enjoyed reading about experiences in different luxury hotels (even if I know I won't be staying in them any time soon). I can recommend nearly all the articles I read, but Lapa Palace in Lisbon is a good example. The writing is very descriptive so if you might want to go there or just enjoy vicarious experiences, it's a good read.
When reading about the Ritz Carlton in Wolfsburg, Germany I learned about a Volkswagen theme park. I’m not a big Disney fan, but I wouldn’t mind checking out some different theme parks (and I do plan on taking my wife to Disney at some point since she has never been there - not exactly for a honeymoon but something romantic hopefully). This Volkswagen theme park must be interesting, just like the recent Volkswagen festival must have been interesting. Apparently the place has a traditional antique car museum and some interactive computer programs where you design your own car. The writer says it's good for the whole family.
In the end, I can’t really review their hotel booking service since I’m not in a position to stay at any of the hotels they talk about, but I can and do recommend the articles about different luxury hotel experiences.
September 10, 2007
Use OTBeach for your Greek vacation?
The following is a paid review for OTBeach
I plan to see how easy it is to use OTBeach for travel planning. They cover a range of destinations including Egypt, Turkey and Greece (they say) all at very competitive prices.
I figured we'd start with Greece since we recently had all those positive comments on going to Greece. Now the first thing I noticed on the Greece page is that they have lots of links to hotels in different places in Greece. So I think you might be a bit lost if you didn't already have a bit of a plan.
I scrolled down to the resorts because there were just too many hotels in places I've never heard of. The resorts are in Athens, Corfu, Crete, Halkidiki, Kefalonia, Kos, Rhodes, Santorini, and Zante.
I've heard of most of these places and I know Santorini was recommended in the recent post on Greece I mentioned above and this old where to honeymoon entry.
I decided to use what i think is the OTBeach main search engine to see what we could find in Santorini.
I really like that they have a date flexibility option - my dates are almost always flexible but not many web sites let you give them say 3 days worth of flexibility. At the top, I could choose Greece right away or scroll down to Greece - Santorini. It seems like you have to search all towns so I'm not sure what that option is for (maybe it's needed for other destinations but not Santorini).
So I tried starting October 16th with 3 days flexibility for 7 nights. I didn't choose how many stars or all-inclusive because I wanted to see how much they had to offer in Santorini.
In the next step I had to choose a flight departing from either Birmingham or Manchester so i figured I'd missed something important in the search area...
I went back and chose London airports. I didn't realize that this site was only for people from the UK (Ireland and Scotland seemed to be available).
Since everything was in pounds and I have no idea how much flights from London to Santorini are supposed to cost, I can't really review the prices on OTBeach. I did figure that Santorini is fairly popular since there was only one flight available and that was down to its "last few seats".
Apparently in Santorini you can stay in Perissa or Kamari and I don't think the website tells you how (or if) each place is different so you would want to make your plans in advance and consider OTBeach for booking to see how its prices compare with other hotel and air booking sites. Again, that's if you're flying from England or around there.
June 18, 2007
Travel the home exchange way blog
I wanted to share another travel blog, with you, this one specifically about traveling by doing home exchanges. I understand that the author owns a home exchange website is has quite a bit of experience. It makes for an interesting read.
I'm sure that a lot of people, thanks to Romantic Holiday (what they called it in Korea), are considering a home exchange for a future vacation. I know I have been considering it for a while now but I haven't gone ahead and joined a site yet. I guess I'm thinking it won't be as easy as it is in the movies...
June 7, 2007
Something about me, about cheapcaribbean.com, about Florida, and about pregnant women in spas
I'm still busy running around after the stray dog we picked up. Libby is a lot of work and has some personality flaws...
Anyway, I'm making an excsuse for another short blog entry. Here's an article on cheapcaribbean.com. I checked them out for my upcoming trip to Punta Cana. They specialize in air and hotel packages. The resort prices alone (I already booked the flights) don't seem like bargains to me.
Here's a story about how a vacation planner ended up choosing Florida's St. George Island. Sounds like a nice place to relax but I hope that Punta Cana is nicer because it looks like it will cost me more...
Speaking of cost, some people are driving less this summer because of gas prices. Considering the popularity of driving to vacation destinations in America, this could be significant.
In case you're on a babymoon, here's a list of spa treatments and their implications for pregnant women. I was a little surprised to hear the caution against hot tubs.
April 25, 2007
Vermont blog from someone in the tourism industry
Before I went to Cebu, I heard about a Vermont travel blog that I've been meaning to share with you. Those of you who have been with me since before August 2006 and have good memories may recall that I was a camp counselor in Burlington Vermont in the summer of 2000.
The other blog was able to give me a few updates. The information should be pretty accurate since the blogger runs a B&B in Vermont... Actually the B&B looks so good that I'm about to email them about possibly going there for a little anniversary thing this August...
March 28, 2007
What's happening in Europe: Jessica Simpson is there and some advice for the rest of us (who wish we were there)
Jessica Simpson and John Mayer are “taking a lovers' vacation in Europe” and Access Hollywood has a few photos. Speaking of European vacations, has anyone seen the movie European Vacation? It’s a French movie with an American title according to this review calling the movie a "tourist rubdown". I haven't but I think my wife and I might like it.
Moving on to the real travel articles, but still on the European travel topic, here's an article (this isn't the kind of newspaper site I usually link to, but they are just as good as the newspapers at making room for ads - I know you need a few ads but still... Anyway, if you look past the ads it is a decent article) for people who want to show their kids a bit of Europe without giving them too much. The idea is that by taking a cruise you and the kids get to see a few different places without being too rushed (and without having to pack and unpack a bunch of times).
We also have an article on medical tourism in Europe. At least some people in Malta wish their tourism and medical industries were able to compete with countries like Hungary: "Hungary draws large numbers of patients from Western Europe and the US for high-quality cosmetic and dental procedures that cost half of what they would in Germany and America."
I really like this article on some of the best (but little known) web sites for people planning to go to Europe. Those sites should keep you busy for a while, and if you're like me you'll be taking notes on possible vacations while you explore the web.
February 4, 2007
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.
December 12, 2006
Win a ski vacation in Switzerland
Here's a game (game will be online until 28th February 2007) where if you get the one question correct, you win one of 7 prizes. They say it's about skiing in Switzerland, but prizes sound more like spa vacations to me:
1st prize:I've only gone skiing once (and prefer sledding) but they all sound pretty good to me.
Seven nights for two in a double room at the wellness Hotel Castell in Zuoz, incl. breakfast buffet, access to the hamam complex and three hamam massages of your choice per person.2nd prize:
Seven nights for two in a double room at the wellness Hotel Alpenhof in Zermatt, incl. gourmet half-board, free use of the Dream Landscape as well as a hay bath and whole-body massage.3rd prize:
Six nights for two in a double room at the Parkhotel Bellevue & Spa in Adelboden, incl. breakfast buffet and gourmet dinner, free use of the wellness oasis and a seraglio beauty bath and wellness bath with underwater massage.4th prize:
Two nights for two at the Tschuggen Grand Hotel in Arosa, incl. breakfast buffet and a two-day ski pass and free use of the Tschuggen mountain oasis.5th prize:
A weekend (2 nights) for 2 people at a 4* hotel in Crans-Montana, incl. breakfast and two two-day ski passes.
6th prize:
A weekend (2 nights) for two in Ticino (Lugano, Locarno, Bellinzona).7th prize:
A weekend (2 nights) for two in western Switzerland (Geneva, Lausanne, Montreux).
July 13, 2006
Attractions and activities for kids traveling to Australia
If you're taking your kid to Australia, I recommend this Australia for Kids web site. This site will certainly get your kids excited about an upcoming trip without overwhelming them.
For example, what kid wouldn't be interested in visiting Tasmania after reading the information on this page and seeing the cute picture? I think the information is done well. It's written at a high level and it doesn't say too much. It gives kids something to look forward to without satisfying all their curiosity.
Speaking of curiosity, I've always wondered what it would be like to hear an opera in Sydney, capitol of New South Wales. I've seen the Opera House pictures, but does it sound as good as it looks?
The other place I really want to go is where I went for my Master of Applied Linguistics. I did a distance program, so I've never actually been to Queensland even though I went to school there. So if you visit Queensland before I do, let me know how you like the Great Barrier Reef!
July 9, 2006
International and adventure travel with kids
This LA Times article reviews (briefly) several family travel web sites and offers some advice. If I had kids I might follow the advice, which is to set up "a sort of pre-travel boot camp that usually begins two months before a big trip."
Interestingly this includes getting kids in shape by walking around the neighborhood (and not allowing complaints). Toughen up the kids before you're on vacation and it's too late!
There's also a bit about teaching them to ride bikes, sit still in restaurants, and prove that not all American children are brats. And of course, keeping them occupied on the plan ride (see tips on flying with a 2-year-old) because you don't want people complaining about your kid on the plane (or wishing they had sat next to a dog instead).
July 5, 2006
Last minute hotels and Australia vacation planning
I've been thinking about a last minute trip somewhere, but I've never been inspired by those "last minute deals". However, I did just find a good Australia travel deals site that has a big focus on last minute hotel reservations.
So what did I find for last minute hotels in Australia? Some excellent deals, starting at 56 dollars / night in Sydney and remember these prices are Australian dollars (currently 1 Australian dollar is about 75 cents).
I went to the page for last minute Sydney hotels and didn't immediately see that deal. Instead I set the results to July 10-15 and to show only available hotels and to display prices in US dollars. With hotels sorted by which came recommended, the best price was $70/night. When I switched to price I saw what must be a hostel or something at $12/night. I like how they show you the normal rate as well so that you know if you're getting a last minute discount or not. With this Bernly Private Hotel Sydney dorm, the normal rate was 16.00 so there was a discount. However the double room was normally 31.00 and still 31.00, meaning there was no last minute discount.
Of course, I could do the same searching for every city but maybe I should talk to my wife first... Instead I went to the Australia destination guides and had fun reading about Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, The Gold Coast, The Sunshine Coast, Cairns & the Barrier Reef, Perth, Adelaide, Uluru (Ayers Rock), Canberra, Alice Springs, Broome, Darwin, and Hobart. I'm sure they are all great places to visit, but I concentrated on the Sydney guide because I don't feel I need to get to adventurous the first time I visit a country. Plus I really want to go to Sydney Opera House, though last minute travel might be tricky when it comes to getting tickets for a show.
June 5, 2006
Hotels.com customer credit information stolen
A laptop containing names, addresses, and credit or debit card information for Hotels.com customers from 2002-2004 (mostly 2004) was stolen in February.
Hotels.com is just now warning 243,000 customers that they may have had their credit card numbers stolen. While I think that this warning is a few months too late, the incident not really the fault of hotels.com. The information was stolen from an employee of Ernst & Young (who left the laptop in a locked car).
Ernst & Young is Hotels.com's auditor and is offering one year's free credit monitoring to all Hotels.com customers affected by the breach.
May 26, 2006
Hotwire.com reliability, customer service, prices
Hotwire.com promises to help travelers "Find deals you won't see anywhere else" and claims to have "Bargains you can believe in." The traveler is supposed to trust hotwire, and book a nonrefundable hotel without knowing the hotel's name.
One traveler found a better price on expedia (owned by the same company as hotwire), called hotwire complaining about the broken promise to find the best deal. Hotwire wouldn't issue a refund (at least until the travel troubleshooter got involved).
I did a little research. One person who uses foul language complains that hotwire stuck with an early bird flight despite hotwire claiming that 80% of their tickets are between 9am and 7pm.
Another hotwire customer had some technical issues (hotwire had problems with their server) so his transaction didn't go through. After calling, he was told that the deal would be processed normally so he stopped shopping. Two days later he was told that there would be no deal. Flights were now much more expensive.
Another reviewer (this review was posted on a website with many positive reviews) complains that he paid 69.00/night plus taxes on 69.00/night plus hotwire's 6.95 fee only to learn that the hotel was only being paid 54.00/night. The reviewer calls this price gouging. To me the real issue would be if he could have gotten a better price somewhere else.
It's pretty clear that hotwire has made many customers happy, but like any huge company when they do mess up, there's not much the customer can do (other than rant online).
One thing I found was that if you plan to bid on priceline you should check hotwire first to make sure you don't overbid.
I'd welcome any positive or negative reviews or hotwire here in the comments section.
February 12, 2006
Consumer Reports on Priceline.com and Hotwire.com
Consumer Reports' Lisa Lee Freeman has compared Hotwire.com and Priceline.com.
Both Priceline.com and Hotwire.com were significantly cheaper than travel sites like Travelocity, Orbitz and Expedia. Priceline and hotwire both require you to be flexible.
At Hotwire, you type in when and where you want to go to get prices. Then you choose the level of service you want: a three or four star hotel, for example.
With Priceline, you "name your own price" in a bid. You may have to modify your plans to get the price you want on a trip and that can be time-consuming. I've written about this before, as I used Priceline to find a hotel in Hong Kong. We saved a few dollars. I tried to use Priceline to find a hotel in Taipei, but ended up wasting a lot of time. One thing about Priceline that's inconveneient is that you have to wait three days before changing your bid price (assuming you leave everything else - such as hotel quality and location - the same).
According to Consumer Reports, Priceline.com is cheaper than Hotwire.com. But Hotwire.com is said to be easier to use. I've never tried it though.
To use Hotwire or Priceline, first, check out traditional travel sites to get the going rate for a trip. On Priceline you would then place your bid based on the research you've done. Be sure to input your information carefully. No refunds or exchanges.
Note that when using Hotwire and Priceline for flight tickets, you won't be earning frequent flyer miles.
October 20, 2005
Meet me in Site59.com
Site59.com has a feature called "Meet me in?" This helps people who don't live in the same area make travel plans together. As Frommers asks:
How many times have you tried to coordinate travel plans with a friend, relative or significant other who lives half way across the country? You have to deal with scheduling problems, flights arriving at different times, not being able to take advantage of package deals because you don't technically meet the double occupancy rule etc. Well, say goodbye to these obstacles and experience the ease of last minute travel with far away friends without the headaches.
Meet me in features one destination, two departures cities, and you can meet up to three friends or travel companions. There is also a traditional one departure city search option.
When using the 2 departure city option, one nice feature is the time together noted with every itinerary. Here's the official site59.com stuff:
Site59 offers affordable last-minute weekend getaways (from 14 days up to three hours before departure) to 165 destinations across the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean, Europe and Latin America from 150+ North American cities. With real-time inventory from over 4,000 suppliers worldwide, Site59 last-minute getaways combine flight and hotel (with optional car), flight and car, and hotel and car options, and can also include travel extras and editor-recommended destination highlights so that travelers can make the most of their weekend getaway.
August 22, 2005
Can't trust myleisuretravel.com
Travelleisure.com made me laugh with this exaggerated description of Clinton new Jersey, a small town I lived in for 4 years. As I read the article I kept wondering what they were thinking until I got to the part about staying in the Holiday Inn Select. Recommending this hotel several times without mentioning other options makes it pretty clear that the entire misleading article is a long ad for the hotel.
June 8, 2005
Travel Maldives
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The Maldives is one of the leading travel destinations in the world. Scattered across the equator in the middle of the Indian Ocean, the gem-like islands of the Maldives depict the rare vision of a tropical paradise. The
Maldives feature Palm fringed islands with sparkling white beaches turquoise lagoons. The clear warm waters and coral reefs teeming with abundant varieties of marine flora and fauna, continue to fascinate visitors, as The Maldives have
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The crystal clear lagoons enclosed by coral reefs provides visitors with one of the most breathtaking underwater views in the world. Some people refer to the Maldives as one of the wonders of the world. Truly a natural wonder, the height of the islands rarely reaches
above two meters.
Sun and Sea Maldives has some information on the resorts that charecterize a Maldives vacation: Banyan Tree Maldives Vabbinfaru, Soneva Gili Resort & Six Senses Spa, Hilton Maldives, and Full Moon Maldives.
June 4, 2005
Trip to Europe sweepstakes
If you go to http://fmpweb.switzerlandtourism.ch/etc/welcome.htm you can take a three question quiz for a chance to win a free trip to Europe. Don't be too scared; it's multiple choice.
Win a trip for two to experience Art and Architecture in Europe!One lucky winner (and companion) will receive a 4-day trip to Europe to explore what Art and Architecture in Europe has to offer. Included are a roundtrip to Europe for two, with a three night stay in a four star hotel. Enjoy the rich history, the museums, architecture, shops, restaurants and the European atmosphere.
1. What is the capital of Germany?
2. How many languages are spoken in Switzerland?3. In 2006, Holland will celebrate the birth year of Rembrandt. In what year was he born?
March 29, 2005
Travel search engines tested
A Consumer Reports study has found that http://www.sidestep.com http://www.kayak.com and http://www.mobissimo.com consistently turn up less expensive tickets than the big ones: Travelocity, Orbitz, and Expedia.
The better performing sites are all search engines that look at numerous sources for the best travel deals.
February 27, 2005
How to book last minute travel online
USA Today had an interesting article by Jessica Labrencis about her experience booking last minute travel online. She mangaed to find a nice package from Boston to New Orleans. I did a quick search on some of the sites she mentioned and found that last minute deals to Rome are far more expensive than London, Amsterdam, and Paris.
I also noticed that you can find the best prices by being flexible with your dates. For example the same London vacation cost $689.00/person from March 2- March 6, but from March 5-9 was $718.00/person.
February 14, 2005
New for 2005...
The Chicago Tribune lets us know what's new at some big travel sites. Orbitz has a Ski site, Expedia has improved its hotel search and added hotel reviews, the tripadvisor.com message boards get a plug, priceline is getting traditional but not forgetting its roots, hotwire is paying more attention to Europe, and Sidestep is putting its toolbar online.
February 3, 2005
Frommer's advice on package tours
No escort to follow around (which for me is a good thing) but one stop shopping where you can buy airline tickets, hotel rooms, and sometimes other things like event tickets and rental cars all at once. Frommers lists a few sites where you can look for these packages.
I visited Go Today and found one (actually a bunch but I'm only telling you about one) I wish I could go on:
Amsterdam, Brussels & Paris Special - Air Inclusive 6 Hotel NightsSpend two nights each in the cities of Monet, Rubens and Van Gogh.
Travel 1/6/2005 - 3/10/2005 from $649 plus tax Purchase deadline: 2/17/2005
January 7, 2005
Orbitz special
So Orbitz is running a new special:
The Blackberry 6710 is a wireless device with lots of neat features for traveleers: Email, phone, SMS, browser and organizer applications in a single wireless handheld
Java development platform based on open standards
Full-featured connected organizer with PC synchronization
International roaming support
World band handheld, operates on 900/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS wireless networks, allowing for international roaming between in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific
But even if you get the device for free, you still have to pay for service...
November 18, 2004
Mobissimo - good or bad?
Mobissimo has officially launched its travel search engine. I went to mobissimo.com and tried a search from ICN (Incheon) to PRG (Prague) this January (2005). I clicked on the cheapest result (which was very expensive at 1600+/ticket and got a nice little note about how I was being sent to a US web site and that prices were in US dollars; it's nice to know what to expect.
Anyway I saw a 20 hour trip from Seoul to Tokyo to London to Prague. Now that doesn't sound like a good vacation! I tried Jan. 21 (a little better) - 22 - 23 - etc. What I'd really like to see is a button for people like me who are flexible. I'll fly whwnever I can get the best connections, but I don't want to ahve to try 20 different dates to figure it out. I might just end up using a travel agent after all...
One more try, an easy one: Incheon to Sydney. Feb 8 - Feb 15 = 1567.00 (for 2) on Qantas through Onetravel. Feb 9-16 = 1553.00 (for 2) on Asiana through Destina. Feb 10 - Feb 17 = 1575.00 (for 2) on Asiana through Travelocity. I'm still willing to call a travel agent to see if they can arrange something better. None of those deals strike me as unbeatable.
September 8, 2004
Yahoo! Travel search beta
Yahoo! is beta testing a travel search engine. The service is supposed to search 150 travel sites, compare the prices, and send searchers to the actual site. Kind of reminds me of mobissimo.com which allows users to search for cheap airfare.
If you're wondering whether there's a need for this kind of search, consider that there a lots of options cheaper than Expedia, Travelocity, and Orbitz (which get 75% of online travel business). This article suggests "Some well-known travel search engines include SideStep, Mobissimo, Qixo (which adds a $20 fee) and Yahoo!, which recently bought the aggregator FareChase."
August 29, 2004
Australia
I've always wanted to go to Australia. No plans yet, but I'm going to start collecting resources to plan an Australian vacation.
1. Safari Tours and Australia
adventure tours : Australian travel agent offering Australia safari tour, luxury wildlife tours, aboriginal Australia, outback safari.