King Tut vs. Cleopatra: Egypt's 'Boy King' and 'Last Queen' on tour in the U.S.

We've blogged before about Dealbase, a site that lets you compare whether you would save money by booking a package or by buying the package's components separately, such as the resort rate, meal credit, and a spa treatment. Now the site is giving airfares the smart-filter treatment, too. A month-and-a-half-ago, DealBase began listing all of the top fare sales by departure airport. If you've ever been frustrated by e-mail lists that show the "Top 20" fare sales, without pointing out which ones are from your nearest airport, now you have an alternative. DealBase automatically shows the full round-trip fare, too, a nice difference from how a lot of fare sales are advertised in newspapers and e-mails lists by their one-way prices. (Click for an estimate for taxes and fees.) Now if only DealBase had e-mail alerts for these domestic and international fare sales… DealBase Flights EARLIER Hotel deals: A new site does the heavy sifting for you

When I recently complained on this blog that TripAdvisor plays it a little too straight, I wasn't sure I'd get any response—or even if I deserved one. But we recevied more than 40 wide-ranging, insightful comments from readers. (Thanks!) Here's one from TripAdvisor itself: Thanks to Sean, and everyone who has written a comment about additional content you would like to see on TripAdvisor. We are continually improving our site, and feature changes are frequently based on traveler suggestions. Whenever people advocate for a new data stream or filter, we evaluate adding it to the site, and we do plan to make that evaluation around gay & lesbian-friendly data collection. In addition, we're currently working on a gay & lesbian-friendly U.S. hotels list, and discussing the possibility of adding a gay & lesbian-friendly category to our Travelers' Choice Hotel and Destination awards. Topics on the Forums home page, including Gay Travel, all rotate so that each is featured for a period of time. While we can't adopt every suggestion we receive, our goal is to add the features that will help more travelers better plan their trips. We encourage travelers to keep the feedback coming so we can continue to improve our site. Thank you, April Robb Social Media Program Manager TripAdvisor

With the economy strengthening in some parts of the country, where are the best deals for hotels right now? We chatted with Clem Bason, President of the Hotwire Group, asking for the lowdown. He says Las Vegas, San Diego, Hawaii, Seattle, and Vancouver are showing the best offers. Here's more info on these four best bargain destinations, along with average daily rates and price drops, based on deals booked through Hotwire. LAS VEGAS We picked this town as one of our Top 10 Budget Travel Destinations for 2010, and it turns out we were on the money. Room rates have averaged only $68 a night this year, about the same as last year, a third cheaper than in 2008. Splurge on an upscale "five-star" hotel on the southern part of the Las Vegas Strip for $146 a night on Memorial Day holiday weekend. SAN DIEGO Room rates are averaging $82 a night so far this year, 19 percent less than last year, and 44 percent less than in 2008. You can find upscale business hotels in the desirable Gaslamp Quarter for sale from $155 during the Memorial Day weekend. HAWAII We picked this state for Top Budget Travel Destination of 2009, and it keeps on delivering incredible value. Flights have gotten much cheaper, too. The average nightly rate in Hawaii is now $82 a night, down 7 percent from last year and 28 percent cheaper than in 2008. SEATTLE Room rates have averaged $63 a night this year, down 8 percent from last year, and down 17 percent from a couple of years ago. VANCOUVER Olympic fever is over, and you can now enjoy the amazing new infrastructure of this Pacific Northwest Canadian city for only $104 a night on average, down 20 percent from 2008. MORE 5 steps for finding cheap fares for Memorial Day weekend Top 10 Budget Travel Destinations for 2010 Is Hotwire a safe bet for European hotel bargains? Pleasant Holidays is running some incredible air-plus hotel Hawaii packages. Budget Travel recently published a guide "Which Hawaii Is Right for You?"