This Just In!
The new Holly Trolley is a red streetcar that makes 13 stops around Hollywood. A $1 ticket buys on-off access from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. Thursdays through Saturdays (ladottransit.com).
This month, a new ferry in Alaska connects Wrangell, Petersburg, and Coffman Cove, a town on Prince of Wales Island. It's the first direct service between the three communities (interislandferry.com, from $25).
Montreal's Mirabel airport, closed to passenger flights since 2004, will be transformed into a year-round tropical theme park called AeroDream, with an aquarium, an indoor beach, and several 3-D movie screens under multiple geodesic domes. The park is slated to open in late 2007.
Download free podcast walking tours--such as one on Georgian Dublin--from Dublin's tourism website (visitdublin.com).
Tupac Shakur is the first rapper to be on display at the Vegas outpost of Madame Tussauds. Other musicians previously enshrined include Elvis Presley, Prince, and Elton John (mtvegas.com, $23).
North Korea is inviting several U.S. tour operators to run trips between August and October, during the country's Mass Games.
Branson Landing, a $420 million shopping, restaurant, and hotel complex in Branson, Mo., opens May 26. And last month, the town's Silver Dollar City theme park added 10 new rides (bransonsilverdollarcity.com, $43, kids $33).
"Mrs. President: From Martha to Laura" runs May 13-October 29 at The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Ill. The exhibit features items owned by First Ladies, such as Mary Todd Lincoln's favorite carved coral necklace, pictured, and Grace Coolidge's Girl Scout uniform (alplm.org, $7.50).
Electronic message boards at Universal Studios Orlando display the current wait times at all major attractions.
Tour operator Globus has expanded its independent Monograms programs to North American destinations; the company is selling road trips that include hotel and car rental, as well as city stays that come with lodging and options to add excursions and transfers (monogramstravel.com).
A few cruise lines are passing along fuel surcharges to passengers--for example, you can expect to pay an extra $4-$5 per person, per day on Regent Seven Seas and Crystal Cruises sailings.
Festival, a new low-fare airline, says it will begin flying out of Rockford, Ill. (90 miles from Chicago) and other Midwestern airports by the end of 2006.
Though the hotels it finds are mostly limited to major chains, searchparty.com gives quick rate comparisons--including a breakdown of taxes and fees--between a variety of booking engines as well as each property's own website.
Led by France, 13 countries in Europe, Africa, and Latin America will soon be assessing taxes of $1-$48 per flight to raise money to fight diseases in poor countries.
The Solaris 6 from Brunton (left) is a solar-powered panel that charges iPods and other small digital devices after only a few hours in the sun (brunton.com, $129).
Go to farecompare.com and click on "My Airport Map" for a U.S. map displaying the best fares from a selected airport to 50 cities.