Honeymoon Helper

Timing 'If you're traveling to a warm climate, go for a run in the early morning. Not only will the temperature be much cooler and more pleasant, but the ground won't radiate as much heat up onto your feet and legs.' Bob Glover, coauthor of The Runner's Handbook Meeting people "Most local running clubs love it when newcomers jump in on a run, so inquire in advance about organized runs in the area you're visiting. Just drop them an e-mail. If nothing is scheduled, they can still tip you off to a few good trails." Jean Knaack, executive director, Road Runners Club of America (rrca.org) Clothing "Always bring nylon running clothes that you can wash in your hotel sink. They dry a whole lot faster than cotton." Mark Wetmore, head coach, University of Colorado men's cross-country team Hydration "A lot of people underestimate how much flying can dehydrate the body. In addition to drinking lots of water on the plane, you should take a 20-minute bath as soon as you get to your hotel. There's an incredibly high rate of absorption when we bathe. It also helps soothe the swelling and muscle stiffness that are caused by long flights." Dr. Brian Dorfman, a kinesiologist who runs 10-20 miles per week Jet lag "To overcome jet lag, the first thing I do when I get off the plane overseas is go for a run. Your increased endorphin levels help revive you until it's time to sleep, making the transition from one time zone to the next much easier." Coolrunning.com cofounder Dave Camire Hotels "I make sure that my hotel always has a gym and a good treadmill, just in case the weather's cold or rainy. I'd rather be in a sleeping bag on the floor of a hotel that's got a nice workout area than in a king-size bed in a hotel that lacks a fitness center." Paul Heffernan, executive vice president of global marketing for New Balance Packing "A few days before the 2006 New York City marathon, my bag and all of my gear was lost on the flight from California. Luckily, the bags had a few days to find me. Still, it's always a good idea to pack your running flats (and anything else that's important) in your carry-on." Meb Keflezighi, 2004 Olympic marathon silver medalist Safety "Having identification on you is hugely important, especially if you plan on running in places where you've never been before--it's the only way that emergency personnel can help you in case something bad happens. Also, I always bring $10 in case I need a drink, something to eat, or a cab ride home." Runner's World editor-in-chief David Willey Fast tip Omni Hotels offers running maps at all 35 of its properties--as well as bottled water and towels for guests who break a sweat. At BudgetTravelOnline.com, you can download and print out Omni's suggested runs in Atlanta, Boston, Cancun, Charlotte, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Montreal, New Haven, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.

Save perfume ads from magazines. Those smelly magazine inserts may be annoying at home, but they can really come in handy at sea. I've used the ads to freshen the air in my stateroom bathroom. I also like to stick them in the closet and dresser drawers. Kevin Lum, San Francisco, Calif. Punch a hole in your key card. Bring a single-hole punch and lanyard on your next cruise. Once onboard, you can make a hole in your plastic key card and attach the lanyard, allowing you to carry the key around your neck. This is especially useful when your dress or slacks have no pockets. Just be sure to put the hole where it won't interfere with the card's magnetic strip. Sallie Clinard, Las Vegas, Nev. Join the frequent-cruiser program. If you're a new cruiser to a major cruise line such as carnival or Princess, make sure you check out its frequent-cruiser program before going on the cruise. The benefits, which may increase as you take more cruises, are great and are usually free. We've received access to a priority line for nightly shows (instead of standing in line with everyone else), and on one cruise, we returned to our cabin to discover a plate of chocolate-covered strawberries. You might also get exclusive discount son future cruises. Steve Maglich, Rolling Meadows, Ill. Go to the spa when the ship is in port. I've been on many cruises with various lines (Carnival, Costa, Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, American Hawaii, and most recently, Princess), and I've learned that the spas usually offer discounts on days that the ship is docked. Rhonda Grabov, Philadelphia, Pa. Use a diaper bag as a day pack. On a recent cruise to Bermuda, I found that a diaper bag is great to carry ashore for the day. The waterproof interior made sure our passports, credit cards, tour books, extra clothes, and beach towels stayed dry while we were near the water. The insulated bottle carrier kept my water bottle cool. The separate pouch usually used for soiled baby clothes held our wet swimsuits. There were pouches and elastic bands for sunscreen, sunglasses, and our camera. Because it had a shoulder strap, it was a lot easier to carry than many beach bags. And the newer styles don't look like "diaper bags" either. Susan Rixman, Louisville, Ky. Pack some candied ginger. Besides being a tasty treat, candied ginger is a preventative or remedy for motion sickness. (Some cruise ships even offer it with after-dinner mints.) We always carry a small supply with us in a resealable plastic bag, whether were on the road, in an airplane, or at sea. Weyman Lew, San Francisco, Calif.

Airfares rise and fall in ways that are impossible to predict--until now, according to a company called Farecast. Its crystal ball is historical airfare data--some 150 billion (and counting) "airfare observations"--that the company uses to deduce whether prices will go up or down on a particular route. Farecast is just one of several websites taking aim at answering the age-old travel question of when you should buy an airline ticket. We tested the sites over the course of several weeks to answer an equally important question: Can they actually do what they promise? Predicting the future Say you're shopping for a flight from Minneapolis to Denver departing in 30 days. After you enter the cities and dates at Farecast, a line graph shows the best prices for that route over the past 60 days, a list of current fares, and a prediction--for example, "There is a high likelihood of major price increases over the next week." Flexible travelers will be especially interested in the site's grid-view option, which displays a range of current fares available for anyone able to shift dates. For now, Farecast only analyzes round-trip domestic flights that last two to eight nights and depart within the next 90 days. The company says it's accurate about three quarters of the time. In a series of tests conducted by The Seattle Times, however, Farecast's predictions were correct only 61 percent of the time--not much to brag about, considering that flipping a coin results in 50 percent accuracy. If you're nervous, you can buy the $10 Fare Guard option. Let's imagine that Farecast indicates that the Minneapolis--Denver fare will drop. You can hold off on booking the trip and buy the protection policy. Farecast will then track prices for a week, e-mailing you the best fares daily. If the company is wrong and the price goes up--and you book a ticket within that week--you'll receive a check for the difference between the original quote and what you ended up paying. (If the price goes down, your $10 will, you hope, be made up for in the savings.) Farecast, which is still in beta testing, only predicts what prices will do over seven days, which doesn't resolve the question of whether to book now or wait another month. In December, Farecast correctly foretold that a $165 ticket from Minneapolis to Denver would stay about the same for seven days. But three weeks after the initial search, we saw the fare take a dip, to $149. Learning from history Another site, FareCompare, also mines old airfares to create informative charts. Plug in a departure and arrival city, and three lines will illustrate the highest, lowest, and average prices for flights bought during each of the previous 12 months. A list of the cheapest fares in the coming 12 months will also appear, alongside ratings: Four stars means the price is at or below the lowest historical precedent, and zero stars indicates it's nowhere near a good deal. Actually booking that flight can be difficult. After the 12-month calendar of current fares pops up, you have to click on a month, week, and day to see date-specific fares. Only then does the site search for availability--and often, there aren't any seats at the best price. If the fare does exist, departure times may not be ideal, so you have to start all over again. Itineraries and prices mysteriously disappeared during several of our tests, and extra charges vary depending on the route, making it hard to compare apples to apples. Finally, when it comes time to buy a ticket, you're often sent to partner sites like Orbitz and Travelocity, which tack on service charges. The other players Large travel sites Expedia and Kayak now show the ups and downs of recent fares for a given route. While Farecast's data come from a wide range of resources, Expedia's and Kayak's numbers come solely from searches conducted on each site. For less popular routes, there may be only a handful of previous fares (if any) on which to base a decision. Rather than predicting the future--or telling folks what they could have paid two months ago--some websites are displaying more options as to what's available right now. Travelocity has a flexible date search that finds the best fares for up to three days before and after your chosen dates. Travelocity doesn't guarantee availability at displayed prices, however, which certainly makes the feature a lot less useful. And at first there's no telling what the departure times are. A new site, FlySpy, does far more ambitious flexible-date searches, creating line graphs that display how prices fluctuate as you adjust dates over a 30-day period. For now, however, FlySpy searches only Northwest Airlines flights from Minneapolis to 50 cities. The company plans on expanding, and we look forward to it. For modern travelers, every little bit of information helps. Three rules for smarter searches 1. These days it's rarely in your interest to book more than two months in advance. The exception is for high-season flights and routes with infrequent connections, when buying four or more months ahead may get you a better deal. In low season, it's OK to wait as few as three weeks before departure. 2. No matter how good a fare is at a booking engine, always see if the airline website has a better one. All things being equal, book directly with the airline. 3. Try to get an idea of what fare you're hoping to pay; Farecast and FareCompare reveal the best prices other folks have found. The cheapest seats disappear quickly, so have your exact dates, names of people going, and your credit card handy. Pounce the moment you see a good price available.

Who's traveling Wendy Crawford: A corrections officer in a county jail, she's looking forward to doing 'things together with my daughter, as well as having time apart.' Karen McCleery: "I want to be treated like a queen for the week," says Karen, a nurse at a mental-health facility. "No beds to make, no dinners to cook, no dishes to wash!" Leticia Crawford: Wendy's daughter, 13, likes to hang out with her friends and watch Prison Break with her mom. "I guess you can say it's an appropriate show for us to watch, since my mom works at the county jail!" she says. Nicole McCleery: Karen's daughter, 14, and Leticia became friends as Girl Scouts. Nicole plays softball, and like Leticia, is a member of the school marching band. Where they're going and why Wendy and Karen became friends five years ago, after their daughters joined the same Girl Scout troop in Port Charlotte, Fla. When the foursome went on a Girl Scout trip to Key West, they realized they were good travel companions. Now that Leticia and Nicole are teenagers, they all sought a vacation that gave the girls some independence--while giving the single moms a chance to relax. While none of them has been on a cruise, everyone likes the idea of having a safe, semi-independent environment for the girls, with plenty of activities on the ship and in port. The women eagerly signed up when the office where Wendy works organized a sailing in the Western Caribbean. The Carnival Miracle is a 2,124-passenger ship with plenty to do. There's a Gothic-castle-themed disco named Dr. Frankenstein's Lab; three restaurants, including an upscale steak house called Nick & Nora's; Frankie & Johnnie's jazz club; and a Broadway-style theater. How can we help? First-time jitters: "None of us really know what to expect on a cruise," says Wendy. "We'd appreciate any tips to make the most of our trip." Seasickness: "I'm concerned about it," says Karen. "A friend of mine got seasick on a ship once." The right excursions: "On our cruise, we don't want to do anything we can do at home in Florida," says Wendy. That means they'll pass on hanging out at the beach. Instead, the foursome wants history, culture, and adventure. But which of the cruise excursions are worth the money? Packing: "What kind of clothes should we bring?" asks Nicole. She's particularly concerned about the two formal dinners, because she's not into wearing dresses. Souvenirs: Wendy asks about "shopping hotspots." Making friends: Leticia, who likes to go to dances, is curious about the ship's teen program. Getting ready Because they're single moms, Wendy and Karen should complete a notarized form stating that each child's father knows she is being taken out of the country. In order to curb possible kidnappings by parents, border authorities are extra cautious about children traveling with one parent. Ships like the Miracle are so big and stable that it's unlikely anybody will get seasick. To play it safe, we recommend a trip to the drugstore to pick up Bonine and Dramamine, as well as Sea-bands--wristbands that cost around $10 and combat seasickness by pushing on pressure points. What's great about the latter is that there are no side effects (Dramamine can cause drowsiness). After check-in at the cruise port in Tampa, luggage is taken away, to be delivered to the cabins around dinnertime. We make sure the women hold on to anything they might want during the interim (such as their swimsuits, so they can hang out by the pool). Casual clothing like sneakers and T-shirts is fine for breakfast, lunch, and most activities, though shorts, jeans, and sneakers aren't allowed during the sit-down formal dinner. There's no need to wear a dress to the formal dinners, though; dressy black pants and a nice top will do. Or the women could opt for the casual, no-reservations buffet, where shorts and flip-flops are always fine. On board the ship A roster of activities--such as trivia contests, variety shows, piano sing-alongs, comedian performances, even men's hairy-chest competitions--is distributed every morning. The activities are all free, though it's always a good idea to arrive 20 minutes early to get seats. "I think the towel-folding and other demonstrations sound interesting," says Karen. Nicole, who aspires to be a chef, should look out for the food-oriented presentations, including the programs in which passengers make their own pizza and ice cream. "Cool," she says. "We can eat our creations!" There'll probably be plenty of other kids to hang out with; more children and teens sail on Carnival ships than on any other cruise line. The ship's Club 02 teen program hosts nightly dances as well as waterslide races, scavenger hunts, and other games. Because teens tend to make friends and form groups quickly, we urge the girls to join the group soon after boarding. Many teen activities last until the wee hours of the night, so the mothers will want to discuss curfews beforehand. Cruises are cashless environments: Everything passengers buy is charged directly to their accounts by way of a stateroom key card. The moms aren't sure if they should allow Nicole and Leticia charging privileges. If they do, we strongly advise ground rules, perhaps telling the girls they're limited to a certain amount each day. Karen and Wendy can periodically ask for a printout of their accounts. Ports and excursions Exploring independently often costs less than organized ship excursions. In Grand Cayman, the foursome can take a walk to George Town for upscale boutiques. In Cozumel, there are good jewelry stores in a huge building right by the pier. Haggling is a must. As for organized day trips, a tubing adventure through caves in Belize costs $79 through Carnival. There's no requirement to book excursions through the ship, though. Belize Cruise Shore Excursions, an independent tour group, sells a slightly shorter version for $60 (belizecruiseexcursions.com). "That leaves us time for shopping," says Wendy. Of the ship's excursions, a few stand out as likely favorites. The Stingray City trip in Grand Cayman ($74) includes a tour of the island and the chance to get in the water with actual rays. In Mexico, they might prefer the Chacchoben Mayan Ruins program ($69), which visits impressive pyramids in a secluded jungle, to the Tulúm trip ($79). The group is most fascinated by an all-day, Mayan Jungle Explorer tour ($109) with biking, snorkeling, and zip lining. "What a day that'll be!" exclaims Wendy. Bon voyage! Just some of the answers that experts have given during weekly chats at our website, BudgetTravelOnline.com . . . Costa Rica: "Forget the malaria concerns. You have a much better chance of being eaten by a polar bear." -- Rob Hodel, cofounder of Tico Travel Mount Kilimanjaro: "Find yourself a lunar calendar and plan to hit the summit on or around full moon. You'll not regret it." -- 2Afrika president Kenneth R. Hieber Las Vegas: "Pirates can serve as the ring bearers and even give the bride away." -- John Bigley and Paris Permenter, authors of The Destination Wedding Workbook, on getting married at Treasure Island Cell Phones: "Your standard Verizon phone is a paperweight overseas." -- Ken Grunski, CEO of Telestial, on the limitations of some U.S.-based cell phones in Ireland Buy any good souvenirs? "I like to buy things native to the area," says Wendy. "At some of the souvenir shops, there was stuff made in the U.S. Why would I want that?" Instead, she purchased a stone Mayan calendar and Mexican blanket at a market near the Chacchoben Ruins in Costa Maya, as well as an elephant figurine while in Belize. "The blanket is draped across our couch right now," she says. Was the food delicious? "Food was available 24/7, and I loved absolutely every minute of it," says Karen. "The highlight was the Chocolate Buffet, when they set up an area with chocolate cakes, ice-cream sundaes, pudding, mousse, pie--you name it." Wendy couldn't agree more: "I'm kind of loud and kept on saying, 'Oh my God! Oh my God! Where do I start?' The crew was laughing at what a kick I was getting out of the whole setup." How was your trip? Hands down, Mayan Jungle Explorer was the women's favorite excursion. Wendy paid extra to get a video of the zip lining because she "didn't think people would believe" her otherwise. "The one problem we had was that if Carnival said the excursions would take four hours, it actually wound up being more like six once you added in travel time and waiting for other passengers," says Wendy. "As a result, we didn't have time for much shopping. I complained about it to Carnival." Because the other excursions ate up so much of their time, the group decided to skip any organized activities in Belize. "We wandered around and found some markets," says Wendy. "It felt good exploring on our own. The girls got their hair braided." How did you like cruising? "We had an absolute blast!" says Wendy. "The staff was wonderful. Whenever we came back to our room, everything was tidied up and towels were magically refolded. I grew so used to things that on the day we got home, I told Leticia that we should just call room service for dinner." Would you do anything differently? "It was a very busy week," says Karen. "I wouldn't have minded staying in a port for a few days to relax." Did the girls have fun? "There was so much to do on the ship that you never saw kids bored," says Wendy. "The girls loved that they had all that freedom, and I loved that there was no place they could get into trouble. They went to the dances, and days would pass by when we only saw each other during the meals." Parting gift As a memento, we sent the group Carnival's book showing how to fold towels into cute animals and shapes.