Sick of snow? Lobby for summer!

If you're gearing up for a trip to New Zealand, reports about a devastating 6.3 magnitude earthquake that struck the country's second largest city of Christchurch on Tuesday may have you concerned about whether now is the best time to go. Here are some facts to consider: Indeed, a state of national emergency has been declared in Christchurch and some 75 people are considered dead, according to news reports. However, the state of emergency does not have any direct impact on other areas of New Zealand, according to Tourism New Zealand. Considerable damage has been reported in Christchurch's central business district and in Lyttelton, a town just outside of Christchurch, according to the country's ministry of civil defense and emergency management. Not surprisingly, given the amount of destruction, Tourism New Zealand has advised against any non-essential travel to Christchurch over the next week, and has said that travelers with a trip planned to Christchurch in the coming days should check with their airline company and/or travel provider. As for the remainder of the country, all New Zealand airports, including Christchurch, are open and operating, and Tourism New Zealand stressed that the rest of the country is up and running. The organization did advise travelers to check with their airline regarding possible delays. Additionally, travelers with upcoming trips might have some protection if they purchased travel insurance. "In many of our programs if a travel delay exceeds 50% of the scheduled trip, it may allow policy holders to recover lost non-refundable and pre-paid trip expenses. Customers may also qualify for trip cancellation/interruption benefits if their travel supplier experienced a complete cessation of services for 24 or more consecutive hours due to a natural disaster, or their destination is uninhabitable because of a natural disaster," advised Daniel Durazo of Access America. He added that customers should call their travel insurance providers before canceling their trip to New Zealand to review their coverage. More from Budget Travel: Australia goes on sale, Oprah tries to help Riots in Egypt: How much can travel insurance help? 95% of Americans plan to travel more in 2011

Some information is simply meant to be passed on from person to person, rather than harvested from aimless internet searches—how to ride a bike, say, or tie a Double Windsor or assemble a perfect pie crust—and in my opinion, that list includes piloting an RV for the first time. With summer out there on the horizon (albeit still so far off, sadly!), I've been doing some serious RV dreaming. But having grown up in a family that never RV'ed (unless you count tossing a mattress in the back of my dad's cargo van for our annual 16-hour ski-season drive to Colorado, which I don't), I could use some first-person advice from real-world road-masters. What would you tell a first-timer about to embark on her inaugural RV vacation? I want to hear all your best road-tested tips—the easiest vehicles to operate, the best strategies for plotting a route, your favorite RV campgrounds, the ultimate packing list, smart money-saving tricks, your worst mistakes and your greatest discoveries. If you have a free minute, post your advice and expertise in the comments—I can't wait to read it (and put it to use)! See more from Budget Travel San Francisco: 3 Worthy Bike Rides Ask Trip Coach: Ski Vacations The Ultimate Packing Guide RV Rental Saving Tips

There's a theory that once the airfare surpasses the price of the land portion of a trip, travelers will opt out of said trip. Whether or not that's true, tour operators and vacation packagers are worried that increasing airfares, spurred by improving demand and surging fuel costs, will give travelers a sticker shock that will make them think twice about that vacation to Italy, Hawaii, or farther afield. One way to avoid that, they say, is for travelers to trade in the last-minute, price-shopping that may have worked at the height of the recession for a book-sooner-rather-than-later strategy. "We have a 'perfect storm' in 2011 of reduced capacity and much higher demand, and this is leading to airlines operating very profitably on those routes and they have all declared clearly that they will not be increasing capacity in 2011," said Paul Wiseman, president of escorted tour company Trafalgar Tours. In fact, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, airline capacity in available seat miles domestically and internationally will actually increase 4.5% this year after posting a 0.5% decrease for 2010. But as business travelers return to the road, tour operators are worried that leisure travelers who wait too long to book will be fighting for seats, at a price. And that certain high-priority destinations, like Europe, will be the first to go. Wiseman said that Trafalgar has been comparing air prices between October and now and that 2011 fares have already risen by at least 30% in some cases. He said that in October, British Airways round-trip flights between Los Angeles and Rome were around $1,100. "If you shop British Airways from Los Angeles to Rome out June 10 back June 20, it currently shops at $1920.87," cited Wiseman. A recent search on britishairways.com found the same flight for between June 10 and 20, for $1,675.87 (without an overnight layover, with an overnight layover it was a couple hundred lower). Regardless, even the lowest current price represents around a 50% increase over Wiseman's October example. Jack Richards, president and CEO of Pleasant Holidays, said the political unrest in Egypt and Libya hasn't helped either. "These are large oil producing countries and the political unrest makes the markets nervous and uncertain so the price of oil has been driving higher airfares," said Richards. Richards advised that if customers find a reasonable fare, they should book the flight as soon as possible to lock in the price and avoid higher airline-imposed fuel surcharges. To encourage vacationers to book earlier, several tour operators have air-inclusive specials in the market. Trafalgar started off 2011 with a Europe promotion that boasts $1,000 in savings per couple on air-inclusive packages with British Airways flights, or $800 in savings per couple on all other air-inclusive packages, good for bookings made through Feb. 28, 2011. Another tour operator, Globus, rung in the new year with an offer of 10% off per person on the land portion of a 2011 air-inclusive Europe vacation when booked and paid in full by March 1, 2011, for travel between May 1 and December 31, 2011. More from Budget Travel: Airlines hike fees for baggage 95% of Americans plan to travel more in 2011 http://blog.budgettravel.com/budgettravel/2011/02/earn_flight_reward_points_on_f.html