Budget Travel's Blog

The latest travel news, vacation tips & advice, travel apps, and more

Archive: March 2008
mar 31

Carnival refunds fuel surcharges

Thanks to pressure from Florida's Attorney General's office, Carnival will refund supplemental fuel charges for bookings made before Nov. 7 last year for trips starting Feb. 1, 2008.
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8 by Budget Travel Cruises
mar 31

Airport security: Mood lighting and music?

Recent news from the TSA doesn't make us feel any less stressed about security screening.
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1 by Erik Torkells Airport Check-in, Safety and Security
mar 31

Airfares: Finding Europe's discounters

Europe has its own versions of JetBlue and Southwest, and these discount airlines can save you money when you want to hop around the Continent.
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17 by Sean O'Neill Airlines, Helpful Websites
mar 31

Affordable travel tips from around the Web

European bargains are elusive these days. Luckily, the blog Cheapest Destinations knows how not to go broke while traveling in Europe this summer.
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0 by Sean O'Neill Airfares & Flying
mar 28

A low-fare bus revolution?

BoltBus, a new super-discount express service operated by Greyhound, launched Thursday, joining other heavily discounted bus operations.
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7 by Budget Travel Local and Public Transportation
mar 28

Deals: Book a bike tour and get €200

Ciclismo Classico has introduced its own sort of stimulus plan: €200 in spending money.
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0 by Kate Appleton Wine, Italy
mar 28

NYC to DC by bus for $3: We test it!

BoltBus, a new discount express service operated by Greyhound, has launched. We take a test ride.
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25 by Sean O'Neill Local and Public Transportation
mar 27

Fare Geek: Do the Feds track fares properly?

We're always being told how much cheaper it is to fly today than in the past. But do official statistics exaggerate the savings?
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0 by Sean O'Neill Airfares & Flying, Questions and Opinions
mar 27

What the blogs are buzzing about

All the latest travel news (and even a little gossip) with our blog roundup, including traveling to Amsterdam with kids.
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1 by Sean O'Neill
mar 27

Guatemala: Trip coach and photos

Ever wanted to visit Guatemala? The author of Moon Handbooks: Guatemala answers your questions.
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1 by Budget Travel Guatemala
mar 27

"What exactly is that down there?"

The next time you call "window seat!" you'll be able to know what you're looking at overhead, with this new handy guide.
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0 by Budget Travel Travel Photography
mar 27

Where in the world is JetBlue's founder?

David Neeleman is busy launching a new discount airline—in Brazil.
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3 by Sean O'Neill Airlines
mar 27

Airlines: More nonstops to Europe

New rules make for good news: Open Skies will allow U.S. and EU airlines to operate transatlantic flights between any cities they like.
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3 by Sean O'Neill Airlines, Airport Check-in
mar 26

Extra, extra: Airline news roundup

News on India's Jet Airways and "Deltalina," all in today's roundup.
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0 by Sean O'Neill Airlines
mar 26

Tibet: 130 readers react to our story

Last week, editor Erik Torkells posted a question on this blog; here's a sampling of the many comments from our readers.
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11 by Budget Travel Questions and Opinions
mar 25

Court overturns passenger rights law

The law required airlines to provide adequate food and water to passengers stuck on planes for over three hours before takeoff.
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37 by Sean O'Neill Airlines
mar 25

New cheap bus rides

I'm not a huge fan of buses, myself, but you have to admire Megabus. The low-fare bus line is expanding like crazy.
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6 by Erik Torkells Local and Public Transportation
mar 25

World's scariest airport landings

If you think touching down at Boston's Logan Airport on a windy day is a harrowing experience, be glad you’re not on the list of the most dangerous aircraft landings in the world.
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2 by Budget Travel Airfares & Flying
mar 24

Affordable Europe: High culture on a low budget

In 2008, there are several ways for culture hunters to sample Europe's fine arts without spending a eurocent.
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2 by Budget Travel Art + Culture, Europe
mar 21

Skycaps: Do you tip if there's a fee?

A group of Skycaps is suing American Airlines because now that the airline charges $2-3 per bag for the service, fewer passengers are tipping.
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14 by Erik Torkells Airlines, Questions and Opinions
mar 21

Family travel: California theme parks deal

Is the Southern California CityPass worth buying? We do the math.
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3 by Amy Chen Amusement and Theme Parks, Disney, California
mar 20

London: A guidebook with a new gimmick

It's a little bit "Choose Your Own Adventure"—you're encouraged to flip back and forth through different pages, discovering boutique shops, foodie havens, and similar venues.
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0 by Sean O'Neill United Kingdom, London, Travel Gear
mar 20

Shopping: Souvenir savior

KioskKiosk offers you some great souvenirs—and you don't even have to leave home.
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1 by JD Rinne Travel Gear
mar 19

Family travel: Hostels that are unhostile

When you think of hostels, you probably imagine a hangout for twenty-something backpackers. But many hostels are surprisingly well-suited for families.
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5 by Sean O'Neill Hotels, Family Travel
mar 19

JetBlue offers more legroom for a fee

Starting in April 2008, JetBlue will offer passengers a chance to sit in seats that have 38 inches of legroom for a fee.
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6 by Sean O'Neill Airlines
mar 19

Airfares: Price hikes that go unreported

Feel as though airfares today are emptying your pockets? You're not alone—and it might not all get reported.
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7 by Sean O'Neill Airfares & Flying
mar 18

Paris through a photographer's eyes

We challenged a photographer to capture glimpses of unexpected, everyday life in Paris—and found ourselves falling in love with the city all over again.
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1 by Budget Travel France, Paris, Travel Photography
mar 18

A roller coaster based on... the Eagles?

Hard Rock Park, an amusement park opening May 9 in Myrtle Beach, S.C., just announced a new ride.
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9 by Erik Torkells Amusement and Theme Parks
mar 17

Extra, extra: Travel news roundup

A better way to board a plane? That and more in today's roundup.
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0 by Budget Travel
mar 17

Beer guide

Brewmasters and industry insiders weigh in on how to pour, store, and judge a fine beer—and survive a long night at the pub—in our Web-only story.
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0 by Sean O'Neill Food + Drink
mar 17

Tibet: Were we wrong to cover it?

Several readers complained about the story in our March issue about the new Sky Train from Beijing, China, to Lhasa, Tibet.
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150 by Erik Torkells Questions and Opinions
mar 14

Mount Everest to be temporarily closed

The Nepali government will close the mountain to trekkers from May 1-10, when the Olympic torch is to be carried to the summit.
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0 by Justin Bergman Landmarks and Monuments, China
mar 14

Video: Queen opens Heathrow's new terminal

Long fly the Queen! Hopefully, the new terminal will allow her to do just that.
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0 by Sean O'Neill Airport Check-in
mar 14

D.C. is debuting a spy-themed hotel

It's not Mission:Impossible to find a cool place to stay in DC. This message will self-destruct ...
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2 by Sean O'Neill Hotels
mar 14

Greenland: No more nonstop flights from the U.S.

Unfortunately, you'll have to take the long way around to this cool country.
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1 by Erik Torkells Airlines
mar 14

Tea and travel: The top 5 reader stories

We asked you to share stories of your most memorable vacation involving tea, and we were wowed by the response. We received 68 stories, including three poems.
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1 by Budget Travel Questions and Opinions
mar 13

A shutdown of California's state parks?

Taking away access to the state parks seems a little bit like kicking a puppy.
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7 by Laura MacNeil State Parks, Questions and Opinions
mar 13

Airplane etiquette

We've covered several topics about bad behavior on airplanes in the past few months.
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0 by Budget Travel
mar 13

Disney brings booking power to your TV

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts has recently announced the launch of a new slate of programming for 2008 for Disney Travel on Demand, but the real highlight is the interactive capability of the channel.
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0 by Anthony Falcone Disney
mar 12

Fuel surcharges: Royal Caribbean does the right thing

An olive branch to angry passengers? Possibly.
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12 by Erik Torkells Cruises
mar 11

Airlines: More ads on tray tables

US Airways is trying to cash in on the boredom of its passengers by inviting companies to slap advertisements on its airplane tray tables.
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39 by Sean O'Neill Airlines
mar 11

Freebie: Get 1,000 photos digitized

We all know that we ought to digitize our most precious photo prints, but who has the time? A great deal on a photo service might be the answer.
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1 by Sean O'Neill Travel Photography
mar 10

You can't just check bags in Spain

It's not as easy as you thought, as a compadre who's traveling around Spain found out.
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0 by Erik Torkells Spain, Luggage
mar 10

A tour of baseball's cathedral

With its destruction imminent, now is your last chance to take in the history of Yankee Stadium.
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13 by Anthony Falcone Landmarks and Monuments
mar 07

Movies: The ultimate budget travel flick?

Neil Mandt traveled the world to shoot his latest film, debuting in March 2008, on a budget of $50,000.
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2 by Sean O'Neill Pop Culture and Travel
mar 07

Should airlines cancel near-empty flights?

American Airlines decided to go ahead with a five-person Chicago-Heathrow flight on February 8, and now environmentalists are giving them flak.
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18 by Erik Torkells Questions and Opinions
mar 06

Should airports censor what you can read on WiFi?

The airport's content filters are set aggressively to prevent anything that might be construed as objectionable content.
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6 by Sean O'Neill Airfares & Flying
mar 06

Hotels Underwater: Sleep with the fishes

It's weird but true—you can now rest comfortably at 10,000 leagues under the sea. But will it be a trend?
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3 by Sean O'Neill Florida, Hotels
mar 06

Paying departure taxes in cash

As you may know, many countries in Latin America, Asia, and Africa expect you to pay a departure tax when you check in at their airports.
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6 by Sean O'Neill Airfares & Flying
mar 05

Fares: Airfarewatchdog gets an upgrade

The farewatcher will help you find the cheapest ticket, so have your trigger finger ready when you see a good deal.
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22 by Budget Travel Airfares & Flying, Helpful Websites
mar 05

Kudos to...Fodor's

Their new book explores traveling in an eco-friendly way—something we can all get excited about.
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0 by Budget Travel Travel Gear, Eco-Green
mar 05

Win! A tea basket with treats

For fun this March, we're giving away a tea basket that contains Harney & Sons Organic Green Iced Tea Bags plus Caribe Green and Back Tea and Guava.
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77 by Budget Travel Questions and Opinions
mar 05

Rome: The Forum's no longer free

Anyone in Rome used to be able to wander among the city's most famous ancient ruins for free. But starting March 8, entrance tickets will be required.
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88 by Sean O'Neill Landmarks and Monuments, Rome
mar 04

Greyhound's new low-cost buses, with Wi-Fi

Attention fellow cheapskates: Greyhound has launched a low-fare spin-off service, BoltBus.
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14 by Budget Travel Local and Public Transportation
mar 03

Airlines: Delta aims to outsmart cheaters

If you live to cheat the carry-on rule, Delta knows who you are—and will catch you.
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27 by Sean O'Neill Airlines, Luggage