Exploring Hawaii's Big Island by Volkswagen

Alitalia has launched a sale to more than 20 Italian cities, with round-trip fares beginning at $569 for travel between Rome and New York City, including taxes and fees. The Winter Escape to Italy fares must be booked by August 20 and are good for trips from October 29, 2007 through March 13, 2008. (Be warned that there's a $50 surcharge for weekend travel.) Northwest Airlines still needs pilots. The beleaguered airline has been canceling and cutting flights by the hundreds thanks to a pilot shortage, and August may be the most trying month yet for passengers. While there are plans to hire another 250-350 pilots in the next year, for now, you'd be wise to steer clear of Northwest, if possible--and brush up on their flight delay and cancellation policies at nwa.com. American Airlines is putting in-flight WiFi to the test. We learned via Gadling that American has partnered with the company AirCell and will begin testing high-speed broadband service in 2008 on some of its Boeing 767-200 aircraft transatlantic flights. (Get the details at aa.com). If they succeed, passengers might soon be able to pay a fee to check e-mail and surf the Internet on PDAs or laptops all flight long. A step forward or backward for the air travel experience? You tell us.

Chris Idzikowski, director of the Edinburgh Sleep Centre, is a Scottish sleep researcher who surveyed thousands of passengers on British Airways to discover the best strategies for avoiding jet lag. Here are some of his tips for avoiding jet lag. If you're traveling east, be kinder to yourself because your body will find it more difficult to adjust to the shorter day, according to medical research. Be particularly careful with unfamiliar foods for the first day or so. Your gastrointestinal system has a biological clock that can be upset by the time change, making food processing more difficult. Beware of melatonin pills, which offer an artificial version of a hormone that helps regulate your body clock naturally. They're not a quick fix, and they only work if you use them along with a careful exposure to light. Consult your doctor before taking this medicine, or you risk making your jet lag worse. If you use melatonin and don't feel an effect, stop taking it rather than increase the dosage. The side effects are unpredictable. Light seems to be the best way to fight jet lag. Our eyes transmit light signals to our brains to control our body clocks. Expose yourself to light (sunlight is roughly three times as effective as standard indoor lighting). To learn how to do this, enter information about yourself and your upcoming trip at BritishAirways.com/jetlag. An online calculator will tell you which hours to seek light and which ones to avoid it, based on Dr. Idzikowski's tips. Get into the local time of your destination as soon as you get on the plane, eating small meals in synch with new meal times. Avoid alcohol because it will dehydrate you and aggravate your disorientation.

Ojai is a southern California town that editor Erik Torkells dreams of retiring to. Much of the town's charm is captured in this Budget Travel report. Pronounced (oh-high), Ojai is a home to many spas, including The Oaks at Ojai, which is turning 30 this year in October. Spa specials of 30 percent off can be found at the resort's website. We wrote about New York state's Roxbury Motel in our roundup of groovy motels in April 2005, but the owners just completed a significant expansion/extension last week. There are some pretty great images on the Roxbury Motel's website. Today's reader tip: You can knock $25 off your next restaurant tab by using a $50 gift certificate you buy at half-price through restaurant.com. You can buy gift certificates good at eateries in your destination city. The site has a database of thousands of restaurants.--Derrick Tennant, Atlanta, Ga.