2011, the year of river cruising

You may have your favorite travel site, but often when you book matters more than which online agency you use. Tuesday at 3 p.m. Eastern is when airfares are their lowest on average, according to FareCompare, which gathers fare data from the same sources that major travel agencies use. But FareCompare is the only company that makes such a specific claim about the best time to shop for fares. It's hard to check independently. One voice of dissent is Airfarewatchdog, which scours travel databases for for flights and then fetches special sales that the major online travel sites miss. The site says there is no special hour to book plane tickets. Now The Wall Street Journal has weighed into the mix, reporting a vaguer claim that Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are generally the best days to buy fares. One of its sources is Bob Harrell, who tracks fares for his consulting firm Harrell Associates. Airlines tend to make the bulk of their promotional fares available on Sunday night and Monday, says Harrell, and they tend to hike their fares at the end of the week. Harrell did a study of the past 90 days of fare changes for the Wall Street Journal, and found that prices for tickets tend to drop mid-week. The Journal also used Kayak to do a daily check of fares in 10 markets for the past two weeks. It again found that mid-week prices were lowest. So, what to make of all this? It seems best to buy your tickets in the middle of the week. That said, the biggest factor on the price of your ticket can be how far in advance you purchase your ticket. Early-bird buyers get the best fares. Buy a month or two in advance if you can. (See our earlier post: "For the lowest airfare, study says book eight weeks in advance.") Another tip: Use the fare prediction tools at Bing Travel and FareCompare to see if you should buy now or wait later for specific itinerary, based on historical data.

Yes, this can happen to somebody who is in the business, and who travels all the time. Seth Kugel, the New York Times' Frugal Traveler, writes this week about his experience getting ripped off while attempting to rent a London apartment via Craigslist. How did it happen? Much to his credit, Kugel admits that he just plain did some stupid things -- starting with using Craigslist, which is the Internet's unregulated Wild, Wild West, where scams abound. After finding an apartment at what seemed to be a fantastic price, he contacted the agent, who demanded that Kugel wire money to the owner's British bank account. Neither a credit card nor PayPal would be accepted. Kugel had made many such payments while living in Brazil, and so he agreed. Days before heading to London, however, Kugel received a message from the apartment agent, stating that he'd been arrested and that the flat was shuttered because the landlord hadn't paid taxes. The agent said he would try to get Kugel a refund, which of course never came. It was all a scam. How could Kugel have avoided getting ripped off? After going through the experience, and after doing plenty of research to find out what happened, Kugel himself is a great source of information, laying out a series of tips including: Use reputable and tested sites. Ones linked to at visitlondon.com, for example, not rental agents found randomly via Craigslist. Check for previous scams. Search Web sites like Scamwarners.com, Fraudwatchers.org, Scam.com and 419legal.org, to see if people have reported similar scams. And here's the biggie, absolutely critical tip: Always use a credit card. Credit cards will usually refund your money if something goes wrong. As the Craigslist scam information page (which I wish they forced you to read before clicking on an ad) notes: "NEVER WIRE FUNDS VIA WESTERN UNION, MONEYGRAM, or any other wire service—anyone who asks you to do so is a scammer." Now Kugel knows—and so should you. MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL: Trip Coach: Vacation Rentals Can You Spot the Travel Rip-off? Are Vacation Rentals Still Legit?

You know the moment...the plane is prepared for take-off, the seatbelt lights come on, the flight attendants announce that it's time to turn off all electronic devices...and you...keep texting... Or do you? If you're Arianna Huffington you do. Or Josh Duhamel. As you may recall, earlier this month Arianna created quite a scene on a flight from D.C. to New York when she refused to turn off her Blackberry as the plane took off. She's not the only person in the news for flouting flight regulations, either. Josh Duhamel of Transformers fame was escorted right off of a flight in December when he ignored flight attendants' requests to stop texting and turn off his phone as the plane taxied down the runway. As a result, the pilot turned the craft around and Josh found himself back in the airport. Whether or not cell phone use during flights is actually dangerous is still up for debate, but it's an airline rule regardless. if (WIDGETBOX) WIDGETBOX.renderWidget('0bd03474-1476-4f4b-807e-f6746d7f4d6e');Get the Poll Creator Pro widget and many other great free widgets at Widgetbox! Not seeing a widget? (More info)So the question on my mind is: how many people actually turn off their cell phones during take-off and landing? The subject came up in our office recently and sparked quite a debate. I power down, but that has more to do with the fact that I'm a hypochondriac than anything else (if there's even a fraction of a chance that I can contribute to a safer flight by foregoing technology for a few hours I'm happy to oblige!). Other members of the BT staff brazenly admit that they leave their devices on. "Is it really such a big deal?" is a phrase that was bandied about in response to this question. So what about you? Do you shut off your cell phones (and other electronic devices) when asked? See more popular stories: 27 Outrageous Travel Signs Top 10 Hottest New Travel Gadgets Top 10 Beaches from the Movies

These days, designer collaborations are about as common as airline fees and security-line controversies—and even hotels have started getting into the game. The Standard Hotel group was an early proponent of the synergistic approach—launching a line of Quiksilver swim trunks and bikinis in 2009, which were dispensed from vending machines at the hotel chain's four properties. The Standard's next addition: white leather headphones, created with fashion and lifestyle brand WeSC, coming soon. Another product hot off the workshop floor is the limited-edition Converse All-Star designed exclusively for the Ace Hotel. The military-inspired olive-and-brown high-tops launched early this month, and sell for $100 on the hotel's website. (NB: They appear to have already sold out of all but the smallest sizes, so those with petite feet should hop to it if they're interested and may already be out of luck.) Of course, no hotel so far has outdone Brussels' new Pantone Hotel (featured in our November 2010 "Best New Boutique Hotels Under $150" story), a seven-story monument to the namesake company's color-matching system. Its gift shop sells one of the largest ranges of Pantone product out there, from cufflinks to coffee mugs and even cruiser bikes, all themed around the company's ubiquitous color-standardization services. Personally, I'd be psyched to see something smaller and more collectible come onto the scene—a well-designed toothbrush, perhaps, or some really great earplugs. What about you? Would you ever spring for a souvenir from a high-profile (or simply high-style) hotel? [via Refinery29 and Luxist]