Budget Travel Upgrade

Anchorage Sheep-spotting along the Chugach Mountain Range, searching for beluga whales over the Turnagain Inlet, greater Anchorage. Rust's Flying Service, 800/544-2299, flyrusts.com, 30 minutes, $95. San Francisco The Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman's Wharf, downtown San Francisco, Pacific coastal islands (including Angel Island and Alcatraz), and Marin County cities Tiburon, Belvedere, and Sausalito. San Francisco Seaplane Tours, 888/732-7526, seaplane.com, 30 minutes, $139. Key West, Fla. Fly 40 minutes to historic Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas for two-and-a-half hours of snorkeling, bird-watching, and/or touring the fortress, the largest brick building in the western hemisphere. Seaplanes of Key West, 800/950-2359, seaplanesofkeywest.com, four hours, $199. Panama City Beach, Fla. Dolphins, stingrays, and large schools of fish in the emerald-green waters of the Gulf of Mexico off Panama City Beach. Wet 'N' Wild Adventures, 850/234-1532, wetnwildtours.com, 15 minutes, $25. Honolulu Honolulu Harbor, the USS Arizona Memorial, Diamond Head crater, snorkelers in Hanauma Bay, and the Robin Masters estate (of Magnum, P.I. fame) near Waimanalo Beach. Island Seaplane Service, 808/836-6273, islandseaplane.com, 30 minutes, $119. New Orleans The French Quarter, the Superdome, and a marsh landing on the bayou. Detours over hurricane-stricken neighborhoods like the Ninth Ward upon request. No photos; the company doesn't want to be seen as exploiting the area as a tourist attraction. Southern Seaplane, 504/394-5633, southernseaplane.com, 30 minutes, $125. Seattle Downtown Seattle, Ballard Locks (where the salmon make their way upstream), the Olympic Mountains, and, on a clear day, Mount Rainier in the distance. For a flyover of Bill Gates's mansion on Lake Washington, just ask. Kenmore Air, 800/543-9595, 25 minutes, kenmoreair.com, $75. Greenville Junction, Maine Vertical rise of over 700 feet to Mount Kineo and a look at its sheer cliff face. Spot moose in the shallow ponds near Moosehead Lake (three hours north of Portland), where the tour starts and ends. Currier's Flying Service, 207/695-2778, curriersflyingservice.com, 25 minutes, $40. Vancouver, B.C. Downtown Vancouver (including Burrard Inlet), Grouse Mountain, and Stanley Park, where, during the fall months, you can see red and golden leaves on the vine maples and alders. Harbour Air Seaplanes, 800/665-0212, harbour-air.com, 20 minutes, $99. Murray River, P.E.I. The Prince Edward Island coastline--with its dunes, white-sand beaches, seal colonies, and historic lighthouses--as well as Panmure Island and Cape Bear. Tartan Air, 902/962-2122, tartanair.com, 30 minutes, $102.

$15 Soap Santa Maria Novella is one of the world's oldest and most beautiful pharmacies. Housed in a frescoed former chapel since 1612, the shop is known for its natural products like fragrant, moisturizing olive oil soap. Free tours, offered by appointment, include the on-site library and museum, which display centuries-old recipe books and vases. Via della Scala 16, 011-39/055-216-276. $3 Eraser In the midst of the great paintings and architecture of the Renaissance, even a non-artist might be inspired to sketch. Pick up a pretty eraser depicting Brunelleschi's imposing dome--the city's most recognizable landmark--at Il Papiro, a shop next door. Piazza del Duomo 24r, 011-39/055-281-628. $21 Earrings At her tiny boutique, Falsi Gioielli (fake jewels), Silvia Franciosi hand-cuts Plexiglas for earrings and threads crystals onto necklaces. Her bold designs are popular with students at the university down the street. Via de' Ginori 34r, 011-39/055-287-237. $19 Photo Album Artisans have been marbleizing paper, known as carta fiorentina, by hand for centuries. An example of the swirly pavone (peacock) style, this album makes a fitting home for snapshots and mementos. Archetipo, via de' Ginori 13r, 011-39/055-210-088. $24 Gloves Madova, an 88-year-old shop now at the base of the Ponte Vecchio, sells its cashmere-lined kidskin gloves for upward of $50. But sifting through an easy-to-overlook basket on the counter for a few minutes can yield a pair with an imperceptible defect at a fraction of the price. Via Guicciardini 1r, 011-39/055-239-6526. $10 Wine Stopper Hand-painted tappi, good for preserving the last drops in a bottle of Chianti, are common souvenirs. They're made from the same terra-cotta that gives the city its famous red-tile roofs. Sbigoli Terrecotte, via Sant'Egidio 4r, 011-39/055-247-9713. $5 Honey Pecorino cheese drizzled with honey is a classic Tuscan starter. Re-create the dish with miele di girasole, sunflower honey made by Benedictine monks near Siena and sold by their brothers at San Miniato, a church that overlooks Florence. Via delle Porte Sante 34, 011-39/055-234-2731.

"I love a big flea market. The monthly one at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena can be very competitive, but the regional crafts and furniture are amazing. I've bought great Mexican and Southwestern pieces there. And then there's the mama of all flea markets, the Brimfield Antique Show in Massachusetts. But talk about competitive: Unless you go with a posse of people on walkie-talkies at the crack of dawn, don't even bother!" --Isaac Mizrahi Mizrahi's fashion and home design collections are at Target Stores nationwide. Rose Bowl flea market: rgcshows.com. Brimfield: brimfieldshow.com.

The Basics Saris are made of six yards of fabric. The most ornate work usually appears on the pallav, which is slung over your shoulder and hangs to just below the knees. Some stitching is needed or a sari will curl up at the edges. A tailor attaches a thin stretch of starched cloth, called a fall piece, along the edge that drapes around your feet. A bidding, or hem, is sewn at each short side. Underneath the sari, you wear a blouse and a petticoat, no exceptions. (For more background on the sari, go to tourismofindia.com/exi/sari.htm.) Locals almost never buy blouses off the rack, though some shops sell packages that include a pre-stitched sari with a petticoat sewn in and a T-shirt-like blouse--fine if all you want is a souvenir. Finding a Shop Stores in big cities have fantastic fabrics, salespeople who speak English, and firm prices (no haggling). The most reputable shops tend to be glittery places, but even the splashiest stock reasonably priced saris. Emporiums such as Kala Niketan in Mumbai (95 Queens Rd., near the Marine Lines station, 011-91/22-2200-5001) and Nalli Silk Sarees, with locations in Mumbai, Chennai, and Delhi (F-44, in South Extension 1, Delhi, 011-91/11-2462-9926), have in-house tailors who will stitch the fall piece and bidding for free or for a nominal charge. If the shop doesn't have an in-house tailor, it probably works with one nearby. Likewise, a matching center, where petticoats and blouse fabrics are sold, may not be in the same store as the one selling saris. The price is about the same whether you have all the work done in one building or three, so try for a store that does it all. Getting an outfit made usually takes three days. Picking a Fabric Cotton saris can cost anywhere from $10 to $100 depending on the weave and the thread count (100-120 is good) and whether the fabric is hand-loomed. Polyester and cotton-poly blends cost the same as or less than pure cotton. Muslin saris start at about $50, and you'll pay $120 to $3,000 for silk. On the high end, you can expect exquisite handiwork and perhaps a smattering of crystals. Colors and Prints Younger women tend to like vibrant reds, yellows, and oranges, even neon pink. White and muted colors turn up more on older women. Black is fashionable for everyone as evening wear. But saris are rarely a solid color; nearly all are jazzed up with golden embroidery, jacquard weaves, tie-dyes, sequins, and other touches. Creating an Outfit Material for a blouse typically costs $2 to $10 ($3 to $12 more for tailoring), though it's sometimes included with the sari. Blouse styles include low and high backs, spaghetti straps, cap sleeves, and tank-top shoulders. Petticoats, in cotton poplin or satin, usually come in small, medium, and large. They're not supposed to be seen, so the color should match the sari. Middle-class Indians pay $5 to $10 for petticoats, but shopkeepers may charge tourists a little bit more. If they ask for double or triple that, they're ripping you off.