Air France is running a two-day fare sale that ends tomorrow night (Dec. 8) at midnight EDT. While a slew of European destinations are on sale, the real deals are for routes from the U.S. to India, Africa and the Middle East. Most include free stopover privileges in Paris, so travelers can add a few days in the City of Lights on the front or back end of their journey. Here are a few examples (roundtrip fares):

New York to Cairo - $770

Chicago to Bombay - $1100

Chicago to Delhi - $1100

Houston to Dubai - $918

Fares are good for travel between Dec. 25, 2006 and March 31, 2o07. A Saturday night stay is required. For this fare, travelers can only stay a max of one month, so this isn’t a good option for a long RTW trip.

Air France Winter Fare Sale

Emirates has announced plans to roll out in-flight cell phone capabilities by January 2007. Passengers will be able to use their cell phones from their seats - an issue that has caused quite a bit of debating among frequent travelers and those in the travel industry.

Emirates to Launch In-Flight Mobile Phone Use

November’s issue of Conde Nast Traveler features the results of its annual Readers Choice Awards. The issue goes on sale Oct. 24th. In the mean time, you can check out the top three winners in each category. Real travel junkies can compare this list to last year’s Readers Choice Awards:

Top Cities - United States:

1. San Francisco, CA

2. Santa Fe, NM

3. New York, NY

Top Cities - Asia:

1. Bangkok, Thailand

2. Hong Kong

3. Chiang Mai, Thailand

Top Cities - Europe:

1. Florence, Italy

2. Rome, Italy

3. Venice, Italy

Top Cities - Africa/Middle East:

1. Cape Town, South Africa

2. Marrakech, Morocco

Top Cities - Pacific Rim:

1. Sydney, Australia

2. Melbourne, Australia

3. Queenstown, New Zealand

Top Cities - The Americas:

1. Vancouver, British Columbia

2. Buenos Aires, Argentina

3. San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

Top Islands - Europe:

1. Mykonos & the Cyclades, Greece

2. Madeira, Portugal

3. Capri, Italy

Top Islands - Pacific Rim:

1. Maui, Hawaii

2. Kauai, Hawaii

3. Moorea, French Polynesia

Top Islands - Caribbean/Atlantic:

1. Bermuda

2. St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands

3. British Virgin Islands

Top Islands - North America:

1. Vancouver Island, Canada

2. Kiawah, South Carolina

3. Nantucket, Massachusetts

Top Islands - Asia:

1. Maldives

2. Bali, Indonesia

3. Phuket, Thailand

Top International Route Airlines:

1. Singapore Airlines

2. Emirates

3. Cathay Pacific

Top Domestic Route Airlines:

1. JetBlue

2. Midwest

3. Hawaiian

Top Car Rental Agencies:

1. Hertz

2. Renault Eurodrive

3. Avis

Top Large Ship Cruise Lines:

1. Regent Seven Seas

2. Crystal Cruises

3. Disney

Top Small Ship Cruise Lines:

1. SeaDream Yacht Club

2. Grand Circle Cruise Line

3. Regent Seven Seas

Top Resorts - Africa:

1. Singita - Ebony & Boulders Lodges

2. Chief’s Camp, Botswana

3. Chobe Chilwero, Botswana

Top Resorts - Canada:

1. Pan Pacific Mountainside, Whistler

2. Four Seasons, Whistler

3. Westin Resort, Whistler

Top Resorts - Atlantic:

1. One&Only Ocean Club, Bahamas

2. The Reefs, Bermuda

3. Parrot Cay, Turks and Caicos

Top Resorts - Central/South America:

1. Four Seasons Peninsula Papagayo

2. Explora en Patagonia, Chile

3. Llao Llao Hotel & Resort, Argentina

Top Resorts - Asia:

1. Four Seasons Bali at Sayan

2. Four Seasons, Chiang Mai, Thailand

3. Banyan Tree, Phuket, Thailand

Top Resorts - Mexico:

1. La Casa Que Canta, Zihuatanejo

2. Royal Hideaway Playacar, Riviera Maya

3. JW Marriott, Cancun

Top Resorts - Pacific Rim:

1. Four Seasons Lodge at Koele, Lanai

2. Four Seasons Hualalai, Big Island

3. Voyages Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef

Top Resorts - Europe:

1. Gleneagles Hotel, Scotland

2. Westin Turnberry Resort, Scotland

3. Mount Juliet Conrad, Co. Kilkenny

Top Resorts - Caribbean:

1. Malliouhana Hotel, Anguilla

2. Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman

3. Sandy Lane, Barbados

Top Resorts - United States:

1. Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain, AZ

2. Inn at Palmetto Bluff, SC

3. Inn at Spanish Bay, CA

Top Hotels - Asia:

1. Fullerton Hotel, Singapore

2. Amandari, Bali

3. The Peninsula, Bangkok

Top Hotels - Caribbean/Atlantic:

1. Hotel Saint-Barth Isle de France

2. Ladera, St. Lucia

3. Waterloo House, Bermuda

Top Hotels - Pacific Rim:

1. Rialto Hotel on Collins, Melbourne

2. Park Hyatt, Sydney

3. Lilianfels Blue Mountains, Australia

Top Hotels - Africa:

1. Four Seasons Cairo at Nile Plaza

2. Cape Grace, Cape Town

3. Sofitel Palais Jamai, Fez

Top Hotels - Europe:

1. Four Seasons Gresham Palace

2. Chateau Les Crayeres, Reims

3. Four Seasons George V, Paris

Top Hotels - South America:

1. Hotel Monasterio, Cuzco, Peru

2. Four Seasons, Buenos Aires

3. Swissotel, Quito, Ecuador

Top Hotels - United States:

1. The Peninsula, Chicago, IL

2. Watermark Hotel, San Antonio, TX

3. St. Regis, New York, NY

Top Hotels - Canada:

1. Auberge du Vieux-Port, Montreal

2. Hotel Dominion 1912, Quebec City

3. Auberge Saint-Antoine, Quebec City

Top Hotels - British Isles:

1. Buckland Manor, The Cotswolds

2. Gidleigh Park, Devon

3. Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London

Top Hotels - Central America/Mexico:

1. JW Marriott, Mexico City

2. Esperanza, Cabo San Lucas

3. Casa Santo Domingo, Guatemala

Top Hotels - Middle East:

1. Grand Hyatt, Amman

2. King David, Jerusalem

3. David Citadel, Jerusalem

Conde Nast Traveler’s Readers Choice Awards

The AAA is warning would-be travelers abroad not to fall prey to international driver’s permit scams, which can result in fake licenses for as much as $350. Why would you want to fork over a hunk of change when a real international driver’s permit costs only $10?

All you need to get your international driving permit is your U.S. license, $10 and two original passport-size photos (or let them take ‘em for you at the AAA office). You can apply for your permit in person or by mail.

The permits are valid - as long as you have your U.S. license to show alongside the international permit - in 150 countries for up to one year. They also have your information printed in 11 different languages - helpful if you’re traveling outside English-speaking countries.

AAA International Driving Permit

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I don’t read travel lit. Frankly, it makes me jealous. I’d rather be traveling - obviously - not reading about someone else’s flippin’ trip.

But occasionally there comes a title that piques my interest and actually gets me to put aside my immature distaste for the travel lit genre. Rory Stewart’s The Places in Between is about his journey - on foot - across Afghanistan just months after the fall of the Taliban. A journalist by trade, Stewart tells about the people he meets along the way and the places he visits in a matter-of-fact voice that is clearly trying to present his experience for what it was, as opposed to making it about politics or some other such agenda. But think about it. Walking across Af-freakin-ghanistan? Um, we can all safely put that under the heading, Things Lorraine Will Never Do.

Now a Segway tour of Afghanistan? Bring it on.

I’ll stop being silly. It’s just been one of those days where you end up feeling punchy and full of stupid remarks.

But the book - a window into another world, one where the past and present seem so much closer together than in more developed countries. Here’s a little blurb about it from Publisher’s Weekly:

By turns harrowing and meditative, Stewart’s trek through Afghanistan in the footsteps of the 15th-century emperor Babur is edifying at every step, grounded by his knowledge of local history, politics and dialects. His prose is lean and unsentimental: whether pushing through chest-high snow in the mountains of Hazarajat or through villages still under de facto Taliban control, his descriptions offer a cool assessment of a landscape and a people eviscerated by war, forgotten by time and isolated by geography.

TravelPoster braggy gives a good crash course to Istanbul, Turkey in the blog post Cultural Clashes. He starts with a dash of history:

Back and forwards through history men, gods and empires have vied for control for the gateway of Asia. Even in our modern history, Istanbul has been a politically and strategically import location that every king queen president and despot has sought to control.

Moves on to a little smattering of the current political situation:

Decidedly western, Sultanamet and the european side of the Bosphorous is vocally clamoring for EU membership while just on the side of the river, civil unrest, conservative beliefs and fierce national pride seek to pull turkey towards more conservative social and political policies.

Runs down a list of religious landmarks, including the Blue Mosque and Aye Sophia, before touching on the Topkapi Palace:

This place is my favorite, now Turkey’s national museum. This amazing building showcases the best of the Ottoman sultans, the Romans, the Catholics and the Muslims. Amazing jewels, historical artifacts, not to mention some extremely culturally and religiously significant relics. Footprints, sandals, teeth and hair of the prophet Mohammed.

And finishes with a few suggestions for the younger, nightlife-seeking set:

Anyway for the younger crowd the night life is fantastic, Taxim, Sultanamet and the Bosphous are all great venues if your looking for a good time.

Quite the mini-guide!

I love pictures that look like they could have been taken today, 10 years ago, 100 years ago, 1,000 years ago. I think the word I’m looking for here is timeless? Or something like that. It’s a rarity in today’s world that you’ll get a picture that completely avoids any signs of modern life. Click the pic for more on TravelPoster mpreston6’s adventures in Egypt.

About six weeks before you travel abroad, check the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention web site for information on the routine, recommended and required vaccinations associated with different countries. While vaccinations are only required for parts of sub-Saharan Africa and Saudi Arabia (during the annual Haj pilgrimage), many destinations are safer with a little help from your primary care doc.

CDC Travelers’ Health Vaccinations

Okay, unless you’re going to Hawaii, Marriott’s Stay For Breakfast summer promo isn’t being offered in the U.S., but it is good for Marriott hotels in the UK, Australia, Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, the Middle East and Africa. Here’s the deal: Book a two-night stay at a participating Marriott, JW Marriott or Renaissance hotel with your Visa card between May and September, have breakfast at the hotel, and you’ll receive a $100 pounds, Euro, etc., toward a future stay. The deal is also good for Marriott Courtyards, but you’ll only get $50. There are some pesky restrictions, but regular Marriott guests should take note.

Marriott Stay For Breakfast promotion

Pretty good story from last weekend’s Washington Post about tipping in the U.S. and abroad called Tipping and Travel: It’s No Easy Equation. Sadly, the chart the paper mentions in the story is not available online, but the point of the story is one that will hit home with frequent international travelers: tipping customs vary widely from place to place, and knowing them makes you a kinder traveler when in foreign lands.

The WaPo chart isn’t available online, but the BBC has a good rundown of international tipping customs called International Tipping Ettiquette.