Thursday, November 29, 2007

Forget the Oscars: We're interested in the year's most travel-inspiring movies. Here are our top 10, with how to re-create the best moments. Starring the original Golden Globe trotter, our own Bud Travel.
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• Slide Show: See Bud Star in This Year's Movie Picks!
• This Just In: How to Visit Movie and TV Sites in Florida
• Where Celebs Hang Out in L.A. and New York City
• Classic U.S. Movie Palaces

It's unheard of, right? You agree to a price and pay it, and that's it. Not in the cruise industry. Pretty much every North American cruise line has added a fuel surcharge (of $5 to $8.50 per passenger per day; some cap it at $70 per person per voyage). While many cruise lines are applying the surcharge only to passengers who have yet to fully pay the fare, or for bookings made after the surcharge was announced, others are behaving less reasonably. read post AND SHARE YOUR OPINION

• New! Readers' Share Passport Stamps from Zimbabwe and Afghanistan

Maui is home to Haleakala—one of the tallest peaks in the Pacific—and has balmy winter weather suited to snorkeling, surfing, and whale-watching. A package from Pleasant Holidays combines round-trip airfare and a five-night resort stay for $700. why it's a deal

• Slide Show: Tour Hawaii Through Its Architecture
• Maui: Friendly, Quirky, and Full of Soul
• Maui Shuts Down B&Bs and Rentals
• Maui's Chic Boutiques

Cheapest Places on Earth: Máncora, Peru reveals what makes this fishing town so fun and affordable (think beach hotel for $40 and surfing lesson for $16)…. 39 Affordable Hotel Chains Only Locals Know spotlights reliable chains around the globe beyond Marriott and Motel 6…. Slide Show: Welcome to Pyongyang has rare photos of daily life in North Korea's capital. Admit it, you're curious—after all, it's part of the "axis of evil"….

Independent filmmaker—and former backpacker—Neil Mandt traveled the world to shoot his latest work, Last Stop for Paul, on a budget of 50 grand. The film has racked up festival awards and opens in select cities in March. Here, Mandt shares his top travel tips, such as how to find where the locals hang out, plus his picks for great video cameras. read more

• Traveling Around the World to Reach a New State of Mind
• Is Globetrotting As Amazing As It Sounds?
• Expert Advice: Lessons Learned the Hard Way

Thirteen nights' accommodations; seven days of cycling; boat, bus, and train transportation; and sightseeing tours from $1,305.
why it's a deal

• Laos: A Tour That Even Loners Can Love
• Best Places You've Never Heard Of: Kong Lo Cave, Thailand
• Five Hotels: Bangkok

Airfare, six nights' accommodations, airport-hotel transfers, intercity train transportation, and breakfast daily from $937. why it's a deal

• Gently Down the Stream: Cruising in Germany, Austria, and Hungary
• Landscape: Vienna's Hip Freihausviertel
• Europe, Day 4: Vienna to Bratislava

Before we travel in buggy or malarial areas, my husband and I treat all of our pants and shirts with Permethrin (available in a concentrate from travel-supply companies). We dilute it in a spray bottle, spritz it on the clothes, and let them dry. (Never spray it directly on your skin.) The treatment lasts through six washings. More than once, we remained bite-free at jungle locations while other guests were suffering. —Marci Fuller, San Benito, Tex. read more

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