Archive for May, 2007
You are currently browsing the TravelPost.com Insider weblog archives for May, 2007.
May 31, 2007
- Wedding Travel Survival Guide - For Guests
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There are umpteen million travel resources out there for people planning their own weddings, but what about those of us who end up attending multiple whirlwind wedding weekends each summer? Where’s the travel advice for us? Huh?
Please allow us to intervene. We’ve come up with a list of basic travel tips especially for out-of-town guests traveling to weddings. Enjoy!
posted in Destinations, Top 10 Lists, Travel Advice, Insider Tips. permalink
- Continental Airlines to Offer Carbon Offsets
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By end of summer 2007, Continental Airlines will be offering customers who purchase through its web site the opportunity to calculate and buy carbon offsets to neutralize the effects of air travel on greenhouse gas production. The offsets will be offered through Sustainable Travel International. Sustainable Travel International and Continental Airlines to Offer Carbon Offsetting Program
posted in Air Travel, Destinations, News, Healthy Travel. permalink
- Ask George: Pre-Cruise Vancouver Travel Suggestions?
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Ask George: We are taking an Alaskan cruise on the Celebrity line’s Mercury ship and leaving from Vancouver. We bought the cruise online, and have some questions we thought you could advise us on. We are arriving in Vancouver a few days before the cruise and would like a suggestion about how to get from the airport to the city. How much does a taxi cost or is there an airport bus or public transit? Can you also suggest a good hotel that is near the dock we will be departing from?
Answer: I would take a taxi from the airport rather than the airport bus. A taxi will cost you no more than $35 and takes about 30 minutes. The airport bus costs $13 per person, but takes forever to get to the city and the service is poorly run: it operates every 20 minutes but if the bus is full, which it often is at peak times, you’ll have to wait another 20 minutes, and last time I took it there was no air conditioning. Adding to the misery, to reach some hotels, you need to transfer to yet another, smaller bus once you reach downtown. This is no way to begin the trip of a lifetime. As for your hotel, the Pan Pacific Vancouver is a top choice, especially since you’ll be able to walk from the hotel to where the Mercury docks through a covered passageway. By the way, the Mercury recently underwent a very pleasing renovation, and you’ll find the service, cuisine, and shore excursions on Celebrity to be first rate, so you made a good choice.
George Hobica is a travel writer living in New York City.
Do you have a question to ask George? Send us your question, and George may feature it in an upcoming column.
posted in Destinations, Train Travel, Cruise Travel, Insider Tips, Ask George. permalink
May 30, 2007
- 101 Things To Do in Ohio
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Yes, apparently there are 101 interesting things to do in Ohio. If you, like me, needed some help elucidating what these activities might be, you should check out Discover Ohio’s 101 Things to Do in Ohio feature. For brevity’s sake, I’m listing a few highlights from the list here:
25. Spend the night at a very haunting destination , the Ohio State Reformatoryin Mansfield during the Overnight Experience. We dare you… The old prison is a spooky specter during the day, but goose bumps are guaranteed as the darkness and dampness of night creep in… The Reformatory served as the setting for movies from the Shawshank Redemption to Air Force One and more?
30. Dive the shipwrecks of the Lake Erie Islands . Lake Erie is the shallowest of the Great Lakes which can cause stormy waters in a hurry. Erie has claimed more ships than any of the other Great Lakes.
60. Admire the classic beauty of automobiles from the ’30s, ‘40s and ‘50s at Snook’s Dream Cars Museum in Bowling Green.
76. Spend the night in a luxury yurt on Kelleys Island after exploring the island’s famous Glacial Grooves.
91. Take a road trip to find some of Ohio’s quirkiest roadside attractions like the Dental Museum in Bainbridge, the world’s largest basket in Newark and the world’s largest cuckoo clock in Wilmot.
101. Feast on dozens of varieties of bratwurst at the Bucyrus Bratwurst Festival the first weekend in August.
posted in Destinations, Top 10 Lists. permalink
May 29, 2007
- Vacation the Maxim Way
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I usually don’t blog about properties that haven’t opened (you never know when projects will get delayed, abandoned, etc.) but this one was too good to pass up. The company that owns men’s magazine Maxim is branding luxury Maxim Bungalows in two Dominican Republic locations. Slated to open in October 2007 and early 2008 in Cofresi Beach (north coast, Puerto Plata region) and Juan Dolio (south coast, near Santo Domingo), respectively, the resorts will offer one- and two-bedroom accommodations capped with amenities like wi-fi and plasma TVs. When they arrive, guests will be picked up at the airport in luxury SUVs. They will also have access to a 54-foot resort yacht during their visit. But what I’m sure we all really want to know is this: are hot chicks and dude humor included with the room rate?
posted in Hotels, Destinations, News, Caribbean. permalink
- Avis Rents Portable Wi-Fi Hotspots
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Avis has begun offering mobile wireless Internet units at its San Francisco International Airport location and plans to have the devices available for rent at its San Jose, Los Angeles and Newark locations in the next few weeks. The $10.95/day service allows multiple users to connect multiple devices to the wireless router, which effectively creates a wireless hotspot that enables travelers to surf the web from their rental cars, hotel rooms or any other location. As Digital Trends reports in the article linked below, Avis has not announced officially which provider it is going with for the new service, but Sprint and Verizon are the only companies with the technology to support the car rental company’s new offering.
posted in Air Travel, News, Car and Bus Travel, Techie Travel, Gear, Business Travel, California, New York. permalink
- And You Thought Your Hotel Was Bad
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If you want to feel just a little bit better about your last sub-par hotel stay, check out MSNBC’s Bad Hotels slideshow. Around here, we like to give hotels the benefit of the doubt, but mushrooms growing from carpet? And torn lampshades? Now that’s just plain wrong!
posted in Hotels, Miscellaneous. permalink
May 28, 2007
- Relax, It’s Memorial Day
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I thought this shot of a massage chair in the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport would be an appropriate image to post today (don’t you wish more airports had these?). Those of us at TravelPost.com hope your Memorial Day Weekend has been a good one and that you’re lucky enough to have today off. We haven’t quite finished recreating, so posting will be light today. Check back tomorrow for your regular dose of travel news, advice and tips from around the web.
posted in Air Travel, Destinations, Holidays and Special Events. permalink
May 27, 2007
- Northwest Allows Check-in Via Cell Phone
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We’re going cell phone crazy this weekend. But there’s just so much friggin’ news involving travel and cell phones. It makes sense - those little suckers go practically everywhere with us. Last week Northwest Airlines rolled out a new service that allows travelers to check in for flights, purchase tickets and complete all other transactions available on the web site via their cell phones and PDAs. For now, the service is only offered in English, but more languages will be added in the coming months.
Northwest Airlines Customers Can Now Make All Transactions Using Mobile Devices
posted in Air Travel, Destinations, News, Techie Travel. permalink
May 26, 2007
- Where is the Cheapest Gas? Ask Your Cell Phone.
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Sure you could navigate to Gas Buddy’s mobile site to find cheap gas prices near you when you’re on the road, but that could get a little dangerous on a crowded highway, say, over a holiday weekend like this one. In those times of need, Gas Buddy Text Messaging Service will do the trick in an instant. Just text or email the city and state or zip code matching your location to gas@gasbuddy.com. The service will text you back with the five cheapest gas price options available in your immediate area.
posted in Destinations, Car and Bus Travel, Techie Travel, Insider Tips. permalink



