A peek behind the scenes at Budget Travel

By Nina Willdorf
October 3, 2012
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We just finished sending the last few pages of Budget Travel's September issue out the door. While I hope the final product appears effortless, you might be surprised to learn just what happens behind the scenes—all in the service of providing you with the best affordable vacation ideas your $4.50 can buy. Here's a taste of the highs and lows at our offices (and outposts) this month:

Number of images considered for the September cover: 88

Number of images considered for the first Table of Contents page: 30

Number of editors who got married in the middle of producing the issue: 1

Earliest morning by an editor: 7 a.m., working on a piece about Ely, Minnesota

Latest night by an editor: 8:45 p.m., working on a piece about how to reduce your data rates abroad

Number of hotels considered for the Essentials section on Europe's Best Values: dozens

Number of hotels that made the final cut: 5

Number of minutes spent trying to assess whether a person pictured in an image (page 20) was actually wearing clothes: 3

Number of people involved in assessment: 4

Final answer: yes, a bikini

Price of parking ticket a photo editor received shooting the image on page 37: $10

Most heated response (from a contributing illustrator): "I'm afraid I've been in this business too long to be fulfilling loopy, trivial requests like this."*

Second most heated response (from a contributing writer): "one more question and it's coming out of your salary."**

When you'll be able to see the fruits of all said labor: August 24th

*the person who comes closest to guessing what the request might have been will win a copy of Budget Travel's newest book, The Smart Family's Passport: 350 Money, Time, and Sanity Saving Tips.

** we think he was kidding, but we're not sure.

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Hidden airline fees to become thing of the past?

It turns out, members of Congress are just as fed up with airline fees as the rest of us. The federal watchdog Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released a report calling for airlines to disclose more information up front about hidden costs for checked bags and other services. "The fees are not very transparent," said Gerald Dillingham, the GAO report author, during a congressional hearing. "We do not think it would be a tremendous burden on the airlines" to make that information more clear. More interesting still, the GAO seems to suggest that the government should extend its tax on airfares to the additional fees. By the GAO's estimate, the government could have made some $186 million last year alone—just by taxing fees on checked bags. For the airlines' part, a spokesperson says that "airlines fully support price transparency." That may be true, but at least one of them, Spirit Airlines, doesn't seem all that sympathetic to travelers. Spirit CEO Ben Baldanza told Congress that bringing luggage on vacation was "not essential to travel." He went on to defend their $20 carry-on bag fee by saying that unbundling all "services not essential to the transportation of passengers has enabled more passengers to fly at lower cost. Indeed given our low fares, it has allowed many to travel who otherwise simply could not afford to do so." For our part, I'm not sold on Baldanza's theory—but maybe that's just because I like to have at least a change of clothes and toothbrush on hand for a trip. Those, at least, are certainly "essential" in my book. I'm all for traveling light, but that's not possible on every trip. What do you think?

News

Mark your calendar: Museum Day means free admission

On Saturday, September 25, Smithsonian is hosting its sixth-annual Museum Day, with hundreds of cultural institutions around the country offering free admission. Tickets are available now. All you have to do is go to the Museum Day site and fill out the form, and your ticket will be e-mailed to you. Print it out and bring it to your museum of choice; it's good for free general admission for two people at any one participating museum. (Note: You have to designate which museum you'll be visiting when you sign up for the ticket. And only one ticket per household is allowed.) As of right now, 940 museums have signed on, with an expected 1,500 to be taking part by the actual day of the event. Last year, over 300,000 museumgoers visited the 1,300 participating institutions. To decide where to spend your time that day, use the site's museum finder. And for the first time, this year's sponsor, Toyota, is providing on-site activities, including docent tours, interactive trivia contests, and giveaways, at five of the museums: the Dallas Museum of Art (normal admission $10); the Adler Planetarium in Chicago ($10); the Autry National Center in L.A. ($9); the Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, Mass. ($10); and the Tampa Museum of Art ($10). A few others you may want to check out: • The OZ Museum, in Wamego, Kans. ($7). "There's no place like" this tribute to all things Dorothy and friends. • Scotchtown, in Beaverdam, Va. ($8). No, this isn't a liquor-lover's paradise; it's the home of founding father Patrick Henry, of "Give me liberty, or give me death!" fame. • The Pro Football Hall of Fame, in Canton, Ohio ($20). Museum Day falls as the NFL season is just getting started, and on the heels of the August 7 enshrinement of the Hall's Class of 2010, which includes Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith. • The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, in New York City ($22). Renovated just two years ago, the historic aircraft carrier is one of the best values, saving you $22! • The Atomic Testing Museum, in Las Vegas ($12). The once top-secret nuclear test site, just a mile from the Strip, offers a radiation-free simulation of what it was like to watch an atomic explosion, complete with vibrating seats and a blast of air. Bonus: If you're feeling a little more like the great outdoors, September 25 is also Public Lands Day, one of the few days during the year when nearly 150 of the country's national parks that normally charge admission ($3-$25) are free.

News

The Opry celebrates a grand ole birthday

Heading to Nashville, Tenn., this year? You may notice a couple of abnormally large guitars beckoning you through the entrance of the Grand Ole Opry House—guitars reaching 20 feet high and made up of 3,000 pounds of steel and aluminum, to be exact. This new memorial honors the country music venue's 85th birthday, a bash that will draw participation from such classic legends as Loretta Lynn and Charley Pride to relative newcomers like Carrie Underwood and Dierks Bentley. Leading up to the grand finale on Oct. 8th and 9th, venues all around the city will be featuring additional concerts and special gallery exhibits throughout the summer. Grand Ole Opry House: In a strange turn of events last month, the Opry House was hit with the worst Middle Tennessee floods in more than 100 years, with water rising nearly four feet above the stage. While renovations are frantically underway, various area locations—the Ryman Auditorium, Allen Arena at Lipscomb University, and War Memorial Auditorium—are housing the Grand Ole Opry and Opry Country Classics shows until they return to their digs in October. Don't be surprised if you spot celebrities about town as they accept the duties of "guest announcer" from now until the party in Oct. (2804 Opryland Dr., 800/733-6779, ticket prices vary) Grand Ole Opry Museum: Due to reopen the first week of October and located just steps away from the Opry House, three new exhibits will allow a behind-the-scenes peek into Opry secrets, including images captured by the official show photographers Chris Hollo and Les Leverett, artifacts from young country performers rapidly rising to stardom, and memorabilia from the late Opry icon Porter Wagoner. (Grand Ole Opry Plaza, 2802 Opryland Dr., 800/733-6779, $5) Acuff Theatre: The venue for the grand finale Opry Birthday Concert is guaranteed to be full of surprises yet to be announced, and will bring out every who's who of country music entertainment. If you can only attend one event this year, this would be the one that you shouldn't miss. (2804 Opryland Dr., 800/733-6779, tickets and tour packages from $95) EARLIER Trip Coach: Dreamin' of Nashville

News

London: The Museum of London re-opens with a new look

The world's largest urban museum, the Museum of London re-opened today with five new galleries. The museum has long been a London highlight. It tells the story of the city from the Great Fire of London in 1666 to the present day, using state of the art interactive displays, re-creations of period urban scenes, and cleverly designed neighborhood maps. The five new "Galleries of Modern London" sit in a stunning glass cube perched over the street. Rooms are decorated with models, posters, paintings and artifacts. There's a lavish gilt Lord Mayor's coach, gritty displays showcasing the troubled 1970s and 1980s (with the rise of the fascist National Front and the Poll tax riots) and cutesier items like an old two-penny red phone box, which was once as much a London icon as the black cab and bowler hat. There's also an 18th-century "pleasure garden" and an interactive map of the Thames showing how London is changing with new high rise buildings and modernist architecture. Browse on your own or take a guided tour with Cockney "Pearly King" John Walters, who gives colorful running commentary dressed from head to toe in traditional East End pearly buttons and a black cap. museumoflondon.org.uk, free.