Travel news roundup

We're always on the lookout for tour operators whose packages meet our Real Deal standards, and Go Ahead Tours is one of the latest to show up on our radar. The Boston-based company is part of EF Education, the largest private student travel operation worldwide, and it uses locally-based guides for its escorted trips, which each average about 25 to 30 travelers. (Most of its guides actually start off with EF's student groups, so by the time they migrate to the grown-up trips, you can bet they've got the shtick down pat!) Go Ahead Tours also gets points for its monthly last-minute travel deals, which just might put a trip to Europe within reach. If you book by August 4, for example, you'll save $250 per person, or $500 per couple, on trips departing in September. You could be spending ten nights in Berlin, Potsdam, Dresden, Bamberg, and Munich, with airfare, sightseeing tours, meals, local transportation, and more, from $2,499 per person. Note that the rate, like all of those listed by Go Ahead Tours, includes those pesky fuel surcharges (which can otherwise add as much as $250 per person to the total cost of a package). And if you have five others in tow, you're eligible for Go Ahead Tours' family and friends program, which entitles everyone on the tour to $50 off--and can be combined with the last-minute rate. For more information on the company's 60 itineraries, among them new culinary and spa tours, call 800/590-1161 or visit goaheadtours.com.

Thank you, Mary Davis of New Port Richey, Fla, for offering our blog readers the following two travel tips. (As a token of our appreciation, we've sent her a set of Streetwise maps of Italy.) Rome We went in April. Rather than stand in a long line to buy individual, same-day tickets, we visited the website of the Vatican Museums instead, which offers tourists the opportunity to purchase tickets to tour the Vatican Museums as part of a group led by one of their tour guides. It saved us from waiting in line and it was an excellent tour. We were fitted with headsets so we could hear every word the tour guide said. Florence Before traveling to this city, purchase a Friends of the Uffizi pass online. The cost is 60 euros for individuals, 100 euros for families of up to 4 people and 25 euros for students under 26. It will get you free entrance to the Uffizi Gallery and the State Museums in Florence. Plus, the Pitti Palace (Palatina Gallery e Royal Apartments, Gallery of Modern Art, Costume Gallery, Silver Museum, Porcelain Museum, Boboli Gardens), Accademia Gallery, Bargello Museum, Medici Chapels, Cenacolo by Sant'Andrea del Sarto (Refectory of the Santo Spirito Church), Medici Villa La Petraia, and Medici Villa at Poggio a Caiano. The best part is, you go straight to the entrance and skip the lines.

Editor Erik Torkells just called from the airport with a few choice words to share about his departure experience: "This has happened to me twice now at Newark with Continental. I've been lucky enough to fly business class, and both times I've noticed that the elite access security line is way longer and moves way slower than the other security lines. A bit of advice: look at the lines before you jump into one!" Related: It's been a particularly exasperating summer for air travel, as we've chronicled in earlier posts such as: The 7 day flight delay, Reader tips on handling flight delays, and Hot news: Passport rule change. Feel free to post your own complaints and suggestions below!

I've long been an avid runner, but I have to admit that until a handful of companies started offering running tours in the U.S. and abroad, I never really thought of taking an organized tour that required me to put on my training flats. The trend seems to be catching on, considering a company called City Running Tours has recently expanded into Washington, D.C. and Chicago after successfully introducing the concept in New York City one year ago. As of September 1, they'll be in San Diego, too. Led by experienced runners with insider knowledge (and rock hard calves), the tours take you past scenic points of each city and range from one mile to more than 20. Don't like any of their planned routes? Just ask and City Running Tours will customize a run to meet your needs--because any opportunity to get some exercise on vacation is probably a good one. Contact City Running Tours, 877/415-0058, cityrunningtours.com; guided runs up to six miles are $60, each mile afterwards is $6. Related: Check out our recent piece Running in Places for tips from experts and downloadable running maps for 12 cities!