For bookings made by September 15, 2007, Holland America is offering Early Advantage discounts on 2008 cruises and cruise packages. Some of the deals include:

- 7-day Caribbean cruise starting at $1049 for verandah rooms.

- 15-day Circle Hawaii cruise starting at $1,799 for an outside stateroom

- 10-day Yukon CruiseTour starting at $1,489 for an outside stateroom.

- 16-day South America cruise starting at $2,099 for an inside stateroom

Are you a geotourist? If you love exploring unique neighborhoods in destination cities, dining at independently-owned and operated restaurants relying on local produce and ingredients, buying souvenirs made by local craftspeople and artists and staying in family-run lodging options, you’re on your way to being a geotourist. In the current issue of Ode Magazine, Jay Walljasper writes about his tour of Chile with Jonathan Tourtellot, an editor at National Geographic Traveler who’s pretty much considered to be “the man” behind the geotourism movement. If you have any interest at all in helping local communities improve during your travels, you should read the article linked below. And as Tourtellot points out in the story, you don’t even have to donate to local charities or spend part of your vacation volunteering to be a geotourist. It’s much more about where you choose to travel and how you spend your money once you get there.

Geotourism by Jay Walljasper

I’ve noticed an interesting thing lately. More and more places are coming up with travel experiences that, well, don’t have anything to do with fun or relaxation. We’ve blogged about volunteer vacations, but what about vacations, tours and overnight experiences that allow you do something altogether unpalatable? Like scare yourself silly in a prison. Or attempt a border-crossing between the U.S. and Mexico. Or get up close and personal with toxic waste. I’ve decided to list some of the ones I’ve found:

1. Caminata Nocturna: This 4-hour nighttime hike takes interested travelers along the same route illegal immigrants might use to enter the U.S. from Mexico. You even get chased by fake border control police in the pitch black darkness.

2. Toxic Tour: California-based Communities for a Better Environment takes tour participants to refineries, chemical sites, “brownfields” and other areas to educate them about the environmental and social impacts of pollution.

3. Liepaja Prison: How about an overnight in a Latvian prison once run by the KGB? They even give you a faux medical exam when you arrive for your stay.

4. Street Retreats: A San Francisco organization offers day-long experiences living on the streets like the city’s many homeless. You can stand in soup kitchen lines, panhandle and try to get into drop-in centers.

5. Reality Tours: The tours offered by San Francisco’s Global Exchange can involve anything from visiting a landmine field in Afghanistan to meeting with coffee farmers in the Andes. The offerings are educationally-driven, but do include cultural excursions to prominent museums and historical sites.

6. Slum Tours: Tourists can visit the small alleys of Mumbai’s famous Dharavi slum. An extended tour option includes visits to the Red Light district, open air laundry and a home for boys.

Travelers can find lots of meaty “best of” picks in Conde Nast Traveler’s 2007 Gold List, its definitive guide to the best hotels and cruise accommodations the world has to offer. Search by location or categories like rooms, service, design, food and activities. If, for example, you wanted to know which hotels have the most impressive rooms on each continent, you’d find these results:

United States

Four Seasons Resort Hualalai (Hawaii)

Inn at Palmetto Bluff (Bluffton, SC)

Rancho Valencia Resort (Rancho Santa Fe, CA)

Africa

Bateleur Camp (Kenya)

Chobe Chilwero (Botswana)

Singita Private Game Reserve (South Africa)

Asia

Amandari (Indonesia)

Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan (Indonesia)

JW Marriott Seoul (South Korea)

Australia and Pacific Nations

Rialto Hotel on Collins (Melbourne, Australia)

Park Hyatt Sydney (Australia)

Huka Lodge (Taupo, New Zealand)

Canada

Auberge du Vieux-Port (Montreal)

Pan Pacific WHistler Mountainside (Whistler)

Auberge Saint-Antoine (Quebec)

Caribbean and Atlantic Islands

Hotel St. Barth Isle de France (Guadeloupe)

Sandy Lane (St. James, Barbados)

Malliouhana Hotel & Spa (Anguilla)

Central America and South America

Four Seasons Peninsula Papagayo (Costa Rica)

Swisshotel Quito (Ecuador)

Ritz Carlton Santiago (Chile)

Europe

Buckland Manor (Gloucestershire, UK)

Chateau Les Crayeres (Reims, Frances)

Four Seasons Gresham Palace (Budapest, Hungary)

Mexico

Las Casa Que Canta (Zihuatanejo)

Four Seasons Resort (Punta Mita)

JW Marriott Mexico City

Middle East

Four Seasons Cairo Nile Plaza (Cairo, Egypt)

Four Seasons Cairo at the First Residence (Cairo, Egypt)

Burj Al Arab (Dubai)

The complete guide is too exhaustive to publish here, but this is definitely a good resource to browse if you’re planning a luxury getaway, honeymoon or world adventure for the coming year.

Just when you thought we couldn’t get any cooler, we come out with our brand-new, super fabulous Guide to Wireless Access at 80 International Airports. See, we’re thinkin’ about ya and your tech addictions wherever it is that you roam, not just within the US of A.

Where can you find free wi-fi? These airports offer it:

Vienna International Airport

Moscow-Sheremetyevo Airport

Madrid Barajas International Airport

Montreal - Trudeau International Airport

Vancouver International Airport

Toronto - Pearson International Airport

Nassau International Airport

Grantley Adams International Airport (Barbados)

Antigua - VC Bird International Airport

San Jose - Juan Santamaria Airport (Costa Rica)

Sao Paulo - Guarulhos International Airport (Brazil)

Beijing - Capital International Airport

Hong Kong International Airport

Osaka - Kansai International Airport

Tokyo - Narita International Airport

Taipei - Chiang Kai Shek International Airport

Each of the above airports offers free wi-fi somewhere - not necessarily throughout the airport. Clearly, Canada and the Caribbean are kicking all our international butts with the free access, though many Asian countries also offer free wi-fi. Check out the chart for more juicy wi-fi info from around the world.

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

Great little story from MSNBC about one traveler’s two-week trip to a Spanish language school in Chile. And it only cost her $310/week for classes and lodging with a local family.

Spanish Immersion

Perhaps you’re jonesing for some of that French rap you heard in gay Paris or the Afro-Peruvian beats you soaked in on Peru’s coast. Hey, you may get back there someday to hear your favorite international music genres in person, but in the mean time, check out National Geographic’s World Music department. You can listen to a bajillion genres you’ve never even heard of, listen to and download your favorites. And there are free downloads offered each week. Cool beans.

I learned of this new development via World Hum. Must give credit where credit is due.

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

Cool shot of reed boats from TravelPoster Spikey’s adventures in Copacabana, Bolivia. As always, click the pic 4 more….