Monday, June 18, 2007

A BlackBerry, Palm Treo, or other PDA is useful for a lot more than e-mail. Find out how you can use one to nab a hotel room at the last minute, scope out the scene at the airport, translate languages, and much more. read more

• 105 Super Smart Travel Strategies
• How to Use Google Earth as a Travel Tool
• Maximizing Your Cell Phone

There's more to online maps than Google. One new website, trivop.com, is the first video guide for hotels; it adds video tours of hotels and customer reviews to its online maps. Coming soon from the University of Virginia is a 3-D simulation of the cityscape of ancient Rome, which will be used to help visitors to Rome make better sense of the ruins they see. read post

• Intelligent Design
  Marriott is launching a chain of boutique hotels…
• Mexico City Remembers Frida Kahlo
  The largest retrospective of this famous painter's work is underway…

A beautifully draped sari is always fashionable, whether the occasion is fancy, casual, or holy. Find out what to look for—and where to shop—when purchasing one in India. Plus, click through our slide show for step-by-step instructions on how to wrap a sari. read more

• Trip Coach: Tips for Two Weeks in India
• True Bollywood Story: How to Be a Movie Extra
• Agra Beyond the Taj Mahal

Tell us! Send an e-mail with your travel tale—be it funny, quirky, or heartwarming—to TrueStories@BudgetTravelOnline.com. If your submission is the best one we receive by June 30, you'll win a four-night stay for two at the CasaMagna Marriott Cancun Resort.
Get the details

Airfare and three winter nights in the City of Light from $389—valid over Thanksgiving, too! why it's a deal

• Europe: Day 4, Paris to Provins
• Face-lift: New Museums in Paris
• Picky & Proud of It: Paris's Top Baguettes

Airfare, car rental, and a five-night stay in the Hawaiian resort town of Kailua-Kona Village, from $663. why it's a deal

• Road Trip: The Big Island of Hawaii
• How to Buy Koa Wood on the Big Island
• 25 Reasons We Love Kauai
• Maui's Chic Boutiques

AnneLise Sorensen, author of the guidebook DK Top Ten: Barcelona, will answer your questions on Barcelona and Catalonia tomorrow at noon (ET). Submit a question now

• Plus: Find more advice in our special Tips & Experts section and check out our Trip Coach archive for transcripts from previous chats on everything from renting time shares to scenic train trips.

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