Southwest Airlines Changes Boarding Procedures

Beginning any day now, Southwest’s long standing open cattle call for boarding is coming to an end. With the intention of eliminating the hoards of passengers jostling for prime position to board the aircraft, SWA has drafted new boarding procedures. The popular open seating concept will remain, however passengers will now be issued an alpha boarding group along with a numeric place in line. Your alpha code and passenger number will be based on the time you check in. Read more

15 Words You Can’t Travel Without

You’re off to a foreign land and stressing about being able to communicate. Relax and brush up on just 15 words and phrases (or bring a cheat sheet with you) and you’ll be able to get by. Of course a good sprinkling of hand signs and body language adds to the understanding!

These 15 words are all it takes to communicate: Read more

Best Fall Foliage Maps and Guides

This is a love/hate time of year for me. I’m incredibly excited waiting for the roads near our house in Maine to burst into show stopping color. A sunny morning takes my breath away and makes me glad to be alive. Then of course there is the realization that the warm days of summer are really over. Oh well, time to grab a sweatshirt, embrace the chill in the air, and get out on the road to see nature’s greatest display. This year try something different – get lost in a corn maze at a local form, or take a New England foliage train ride!

Here are resources to find the peak color in your area. Read more

Keep Kids Happy On Long Trips

Thanks to Sue A. from Hudson for telling us about this great site!

Backseats are for poking, teasing, squirming and driving parents to distraction€¦.which is a very bad thing when you’re driving!! Rather than turn your kids into video zombies by pulling down a display screen, check out 4Kids2Go for neat kids’ activity travel kits (great for plane trips as well).

Other sites to check out: Kids Travel Zone, Four Peas Online

Important Safety Tip For Your Next Road Trip

Here’s a great safety tip for all you road warriors and for those who drive down to Florida each year. You’ll often need to stay in motel style properties where the doors face the parking lot. Park your car just outside the door with headlights facing the door. Place your car keys on the nightstand next to your bed. If you hear suspicious noise outside your door, hit the panic button on your keys. Your car horn will blast and lights will go on illuminating your hotel door and scare away anyone who is there.

Hey, You’re Missing Oktoberfest!!

Fear not – we’ve got your party right here!

Click on the video links below to jump right into the middle of Oktoberfest celebrations in Munich Germany.

#1 – Paulaner Beer Tent Celebration
#2 – Spaten Tent Celebration
#3 – A Beer Run Munich Style (along with a commercial)
#4 – Try This Bar Game With Your Friends
#5 – Take A Look At All The Tents
#6 – An Oktoberfest Overview

(And if you want to plan ahead so you don’t miss it again next year€¦
the dates will be September 20 to October 5, 2008)

Here’s my number one all time most important tip for Oktoberfest:
Ask where the toilets are as soon as you enter the beer tent – and don’t wait until you need to go, because by that time it will be WAY TOO LATE!!! Advance planning is everything.

Send to all your friends who need a party break today!

How To Find The Right Eurail Pass

For years choosing a rail pass has been a puzzle for even the best travel planners. Do you need a pass that combines two countries, is regional, maybe a global extravaganza of 18 countries? Should it be a Flexi pass stretching over several months, or will your travel be done in two weeks? How about a rail and drive pass? The options seem endless – there are over 5,000 combination choices in fact! Thank goodness RailEurope has come to the rescue with their new interactive Pass Finder. Read more

It’s Now Illegal to Picnic In Venice!

Venice officials are fed up with littering and loitering in St. Mark’s Square and surrounding areas, so they have enacted new strict rules for tourists and locals alike. Unless you want to be slapped with a fine of up to 500 Euros, forget about buying local delicacies for a picnic lunch to eat while enjoying the sites around Venice‘s most famous square. Eating is now limited to restaurant tables ONLY.

Here’s a sampling of newly prohibited behaviors: Read more

At Last, Convenient Airport Parking

We’ve all been there€¦.waiting for an arriving family member, dodging the traffic cops and circling the airport for a spot to park and hide until our loved one emerges. Since 9-11 it’s become impossible to wait near terminals for any length of time, creating a herd of circling vehicles clogging airport roadways. Happily, the solution to this frustrating juggling act may be at hand. A growing number of US airports have redesigned their parking facilities to create €œcell phone parking lots€ – Ingenious! Here’s how it works. Read more

The Ultimate Meditarranean Fantasy Cruise

When you read the words€¦St. Tropez, Cannes, Monte Carlo, €¦.what comes to mind? String bikinis, Grand Prix Formula One racing, mega luxury yachts, the Cannes Film Festival, Sean Connery at the baccarat table, living life like the rich and famous? WELL your ship has come in (so to speak). On May 18, 2008, the luxury sailing ship Windsurf (Windstar Cruises) will welcome aboard 300 very fortunate passengers to sail the heart of the French Riviera and witness both the Cannes Film Festival and the Formula One Grand Prix in Monaco. That’s right, you’ll be sitting at anchor right in Monaco harbor amidst the world’s most privileged travelers – talk about people watching, WOW! Read more

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