Wild About Kenya

What's your best travel tip? Send us your tips, and if we publish one, you'll get a one-year subscription (or a renewal) to Budget Travel. You can e-mail them to us at Tips@BudgetTravel.com. Best Tips Ever The cleverest tips we've ever run are in The Smart Traveler's Passport, a handy book available at Amazon.com and select bookstores. Send us a tip: If yours is one that we illustrate, we'll send you a free book (and a year's subscription to the magazine). 1. DIY car insurance I collect vinyl bumper stickers—the kind that peel off without leaving a mark—and put them on the bumper when I get a rental. With my car dressed up like it's local, I don't have to worry about thieves who target tourists. Chris Manos, Centennial, Colo. 2. Beat the competition On our last cruise to Hawaii, most of the passengers rented cars to get around. When we got off the ship, everyone else began loading onto the rental-car bus, but my wife and I hopped into a taxi and paid a small fare to get to the rental-car agency. We were the first to get a car. As we drove off to explore, we noticed a long line of people from our cruise waiting for their wheels. Gary Kessler, Avondale, Ariz. 3. Strap happy If the strap from your travel bag or camera is digging into your shoulder, put a padded seat-belt cover on it. You can find these at most auto-parts stores for less than $10. Gretchen Hord, Weatherford, Tex. 4. Museum markdown The Museum of Modern Art in New York shows films every day for $10. If you keep your ticket stub from the film, you have 30 days to apply its value toward the museum's $20 admission fee. Carli Entin, Hoboken, N.J. 5. Scents and sensibility To avoid the hassle of taking a perfume bottle with me on trips, I spray my accessories with the fragrance before I pack. Dori Pappas, Drexel Hill, Pa. 6. Coming clean You can't always count on public restrooms to have soap, so it's best to take your own when you travel. The mini shampoos from hotels work great as liquid soap. Ed Foster, Texarkana, Tex. 7. Wrap star My husband and I line our suitcases with bubble wrap and layer it between our clothes. It's a life-saver: The wrap lies flat against the sides, keeps our clothes wrinkle-free, is almost weightless, and comes in handy when we buy breakables that we want to carry home. Nanette Ruffner, Miami, Fla. 8. Sew clever On a recent vacation in Rome, my husband accidentally sat on his glasses. As we were trying to fix them, we lost one of the screws. We searched throughout the whole city for inexpensive reading glasses but found only designer glasses that cost hundreds of dollars. In desperation, I got out my sewing kit and stitched the glasses together with a needle and thread. They held perfectly! Sandy Davenport, Destin, Fla. 9. Child's play When my husband and I travel with our kids, we always plan to spend a day at a local zoo or amusement park about midway through the trip. For example, we've gone to Leofoo Village Theme Park near Taipei and to Parc Astérix, an amusement park north of Paris. The trips are a good break from museums and monuments, and we always learn a lot about the local culture. Gwen Gibbons, Thousand Oaks, Calif. 10. If the shoe mitts¿ The little shoe mitts that are part of some hotels' complimentary toiletries are great for dusting your computer monitor or wiping the lenses of your glasses or camera. Kimberly Button, Orlando, Fla. 11. Show and cell Asking for help in another country can be tricky, but traveling with a camera-phone has made my trips easier. I've created a photo album with pictures of basic necessities like a bottle of water, a toilet, a taxi, and stamps. Now when I'm traveling and I don't know the word for what I need, I just show a local a picture of it on my phone. Jena Persico, Arlington, Va. 12. Indulge early At some point between booking and boarding a cruise, I go to the cruise line's website and order myself a gift or two—usually gift certificates to the spa or the casino. Prepaying for these is my way of treating myself without feeling like I'm blowing my budget while I'm on the vacation. Shauna Neuhauser, Apple Valley, Minn. 13. Ham it up On a recent trip to Ireland, my girlfriends and I rented two cars. In the southwest part of the country, the road signs can be very confusing, so we used handheld short-distance radios to communicate. Being able to talk saved us many times from getting separated on tricky turns and roundabouts! Lisa Gault, Starke, Fla. 14. ID your ID We have four passports to keep track of when our family travels, and we used to waste time at security trying to figure out whose was whose. Finally, I put the label maker to use and stuck our first names onto the front of each passport. Mary-Jeanine Ibarguen, Altamonte Springs, Fla. 15. Drop some pounds To avoid going over luggage weight limits, I've switched to using a large duffle with wheels. My midsize suitcase weighs 14 pounds, but my duffel bag weighs in at a mere 7 pounds. Shelby Spiva, Clifton, N.J. 16. Check it twice Look closely at your boarding passes when you do curbside check-in. On a recent flight, I checked in curbside and got boarding passes for both legs of my flight. As I headed to security, I realized I had been given someone else's boarding pass for the second leg! Tracey Madden, Dover, N.H. 17. Duck the cover charge If you're looking for a place to eat in Italy, check to see if the restaurant has a coperto, or cover charge. If you want only a light breakfast or lunch, skip the sit-down places, buy a pastry or panini from a bakery, and do some sightseeing while you eat. You can save a lot of money by doing this! Blair Sechrest, Cary, N.C. 18. When in Rome... Next time you book a rental car at a busy airport in a foreign country, don't be afraid to use the smaller European companies. On a recent trip to Rome, my husband and I decided to skip the American options and rent from Auto Europa instead (autoeuropa.it). When we landed, exhausted from an overnight flight from Boston, we walked right up to the rental counter and were on our way in less than a half hour. Jen Kelley, Acton, Mass. 19. Cruise control Because of a late connecting flight, my family and I missed our cruise departure from Miami. The cruise line offered to fly us to the ship's first scheduled port stop so we could join our group a few days later. We didn't want to miss so much time at sea, though, so we came up with a better solution: We asked the cruise line if we could join a different cruise leaving from Miami the next day. The company obliged, and we had a wonderful trip. It never hurts to ask! Mary Myers, Erie, Colo. 20. Throw on the towel My wife and I always bring our own towels to lay across our lounge chairs when we go to a beach resort, to a hotel with a pool, or on a cruise. Because most of the other guests use the white towels supplied by the resort, our chairs are easy to spot. We use the resort's towels to dry off if we go into the water. Brian Metzler, Fair Lawn, N.J.

New Prize: South American Cruise The best response we receive between Oct. 15, 2008, and Nov. 28, 2008, wins a 14-day Norwegian Cruise Line cruise for two in an ocean-view state­room on the Norwegian Sun between Santiago, Chile, and Buenos Aires, Argentina, courtesy of eCruises.com. For more info on eCruises.com: 800/223-6868, ecruises.com. How to enter E-mail us at TrueStories@BudgetTravel.com or mail us at True Stories, Budget Travel, 530 Seventh Ave., New York, NY 10018. For a complete rundown of the contest guidelines, please see BudgetTravel.com/truestories. This month's winner! This month's winner is Laura Grayson of Columbus, Ind. Her prize is a six-night trip to Tuscany and Umbria, courtesy of Foreign Independent Tours. On a cruise that stopped in Grand Turk, my boyfriend and I took a tour of Her Majesty's Prison. After walking through the place, we hit the gift shop, which was having an unusual sale. We liked these containers, but we didn't buy any. Because really—who needs an ass kicking, even if it is half off? Monkey see, monkey chew While on safari in Kenya, we stayed at the Kichwa Tembo camp on the edge of the Masai Mara Game Reserve. As our guide showed us our tent, he stressed that we had to keep the tent door closed or the monkeys would take everything. When the monkeys stole the sugar cubes for our morning tea, we thought it was cute—but when we saw one trying to eat a lightbulb, we knew our guide was serious! Jennifer Klein, Glendale, Calif. To be fair, they look yummy My wife, her sister, her sister's husband, and I went to Amsterdam and visited the red-light district. When my brother-in-law and I heard moans of delight, we weren't surprised, until we realized they came from our wives, lagging behind us as we walked past prostitutes in picture windows. We turned and found our wives peering through a window, their tongues hanging out. The source of their pleasure? A bakery display of waffles topped with chocolate, strawberries, bananas, and mounds of whipped cream. Robert N. Turner, Centennial, Colo. When dinner bites back While in Tunisia, we stopped at a small hotel for lunch. The menu was in French. My companion chided me for ordering poulet rôti, since I could eat chicken at home. He chose the cerveau d'agneau. "Agneau means 'lamb.' I love lamb," he said. His enthusiasm dimmed when his plate arrived. "This is really bony," he announced. He sawed until he freed a bit of flesh. "Chewy," he said, as he ate it with difficulty. Then he hissed, "Teeth! Those are teeth!" It was true. The waiter, who hurried to our table to see what was amiss, snickered at the "gourmet" who'd just eaten the lips off a sheep's head while ignoring the brains¿baked to perfection and presented in their original container. I laughed so hard, I could barely finish my superb chicken. Jennie L. Brown, Bowling Green, Ky. Toilet story No. 1 I was practicing my Italian at a coffee bar in Assisi. I'd seen my Italian friend Liana avoid a charge for water by asking for it from the faucet, so I did the same. The barman gave me a funny look, but I felt proud of myself as I watched him fill the glass at the sink. When I told Liana about it later, she burst out laughing. Instead of asking for water from the rubinetto, I'd asked for it from the gabinetto (toilet). Celia Orona, Lakeside, Calif. Get back or we'll butter you! My friend Sue and I went to St. Croix for a vacation and got rooms in a bungalow on the beach. One night we heard tapping on the sliding doors. We had no phone to call for help, so we searched the kitchen for weapons. Butter knives in hand, we approached the doors. Sue pulled the curtains—the tapping came from two gigantic crabs. What a relief! Antoinette Kish, Katonah, N.Y. These kids have priorities My husband and I took our teenage daughters on a three-week camping safari in Kenya and Tanzania. The campsites provided the bare necessities, and few had flush toilets. This worried our daughters, but we all got used to it. We enjoyed seeing exotic animals in their natural habitat. At Serengeti National Park, our daughters came running up to us. "Mom! Dad! Guess what they have here!" They were so excited, we assumed it must be a very rare creature. "Flush toilets! Clean porcelain potties!" Talk about an appreciation of the "wild life!" Glenda Durano, Albuquerque, N.M. We'd go for the coffee After a week in Punta Cana, my family and I went to the airport to fly home. Gun-toting military policemen with drug-sniffing German shepherds were circulating through the crowd in customs. We didn't pay much attention, but then the dogs seized upon my suitcase, snarling and clawing. One of the men motioned to me with his gun to open my suitcase. "This is probably what the dogs smelled," I said, holding out a bag of fresh coffee. But the dogs were still feverishly clawing at a pocket on my suitcase, so the man opened it. A slight smile crossed his face as he slid three tennis balls out of my bag to the eager yelps of the dogs. Then the man told us that trainers use tennis balls to reward the dogs when they find drugs. Becki Chianese, Monmouth Beach, N.J. We are so going to hear from his lawyer My husband, Scott, and I went to England in 2004 during a heat wave. We were in a sweaty crowd wherever we went. At the British Museum, Scott went to the restroom. I sat down to wait, and I realized I was sitting next to travel guru Rick Steves, who's from my home state, so I had a conversation with him. When Scott returned, I pointed and mouthed, "Rick Steves!" He just nodded, and we walked away. His lack of reaction surprised me, but I let it go. Back home, we were showing our neighbors pictures of our trip, and I said, "This is where I sat next to Rick Steves." Scott asked, "When did you see Rick Steves?" I reminded him of the moment at the museum, and he said, "I thought you were saying, 'He stinks!'" Sheryl Knowles, Marysville, Wash. The Taj Mahal of toilets Recently, my husband and I went to a remote village in India's Jharkhand State to see how our relief organization could assist the people there. I was nervous about the bathroom facilities I would find in an area with no running water or electricity. We were told that I would be the first fair-skinned woman to visit the village and that the people were excited about our arrival. After a lovely welcome, I learned that the men had been busy erecting a bathroom for my use. I was never so touched to see a toilet in all my life. Duska Cornwell, Charleston, Ill. Well, you raised him I flew to Spain with my son and his family. It was quite warm on the plane, and we complained, but no adjustment was made. I dozed off for a bit and awoke to find a very crude man down the row from me sleeping with his shirt off. I was horrified to realize that the "crude man" was my son. Beverly Lerner, Houston, Tex. Bright side: No Dumpsters For our anniversary in Las Vegas, we wanted a view of the Strip, but when we checked in, we were given a room with a view of Dumpsters and the airport. We were told to call every hour or so to find out if a room with a better view had been cleaned. After four hours, we got a new one. We opened the door, ran to the window for our killer view—and counted 22 cranes and 35 port-a-potties! Bill and Cathleen Huckaby, Lodi, Calif. But did it have Lyme disease? One night at a mountain resort, my non-nature-loving mother-in-law, Ruth, noticed a puffy brown thing stuck to her arm. She thought it was a tick and put it in a baggie to have it examined for Lyme disease. Then her son-in-law looked at it. He stared, squinted, and then poked and smelled it. Finally he told her, "Ruth, this is a raisin." Anne Noonan, Orono, Minn. Hello, kitty! When I helped my daughter move, we took a red-eye and brought her two cats. When we got to security, all the TSA employees gathered around the monitor and laughed at my bag. I had accidentally placed one of the pet crates on the belt for the scanner—it was literally a cat scan! Elizabeth Crawford, New Smyrna Beach, Fla. Prize Report Becky Marchant won a nine-day China tour, courtesy of Champion Holidays, for her story about a bridge in Northern Ireland. "Thanks, Champion!" Becky says. "We saw the Great Wall, the temples of Beijing, the Forbidden City, and Shanghai!"

DAY 1 When I was a kid in the 1970s, my family visited our friends the Stewarts a couple of years in a row at their house on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. The lake was paradise for a young boy—my days were filled with swimming, sailing, and trips to the ice cream shop. My dad's most enduring memory of those trips is not nearly as idyllic. He was standing in the Stewarts' sailboat one summer when the boom came loose and smacked him in the face, breaking his nose. The silver lining: At least when we got home, the doctor didn't have to break his nose again—it set straight on its own. Thirty years later, my dad, also named Tom, and I are revisiting some of our favorite spots from those summers, including Lake Winnipesaukee—although we definitely won't be doing any sailing this time around. After flying into Portland, Maine, from our respective homes, we drive south to Portsmouth and grab a bite to eat atGilley's PM Lunch, a food stand from the 1940s. Despite the fact that the rusted truck at the front end looks like it's seen better days, the clam chowder, burgers, and extra-crispy French fries are excellent. Heading northwest, we make a detour in Barrington to taste the cheeses atCalef's Country Store, an almost-too-cute shop dating back to 1869 with a wide front porch and old wooden floors. Most of the store's cheddars are aged for one to three years, with the exception of the "four-year-old cheese," named after a block of cheese that got lost in the cellar and accidentally aged for that long. Just as I'm about to make a purchase, I realize that the cheeses probably won't age as well in the trunk of my car for four days. Luckily, Calef's ships; I decide to place my order when I get back to New York. New Hampshire is filled with touristy places like Calef's that seem as though they've been around forever. But one of my favorite childhood haunts is long gone. After we search the town of Wolfeboro for the Hansel and Gretel Shop, where my sisters and I used to try to win prizes by catching plastic goldfish in a pond, a local tells me that it was actually located in nearby Melvin Village and closed years ago. It's just as well. I might have looked silly holding one of the miniature rods as an adult. Dad and I check in toThe Lake Motel, an old-fashioned inn with a huge backyard and private beach on Crescent Lake right next to Lake Winnipesaukee. Then we hurry over toCastle in the Clouds, a historic mountaintop estate, before it closes. The house was built in 1914 for Thomas Plant, a millionaire shoe manufacturer, and it has a lot of really unusual details, like indoor fire hydrants and a central vacuuming system. The views are also incredible, which makes the property a popular spot for weddings. A ceremony is happening while we're there, but we're not dressed well enough to crash it. Besides, my dad has better manners than to do that. LODGING The Lake Motel 280 S. Main St., Wolfeboro, 888/569-1110, thelakemotel.com, from $89 FOOD Gilley's PM Lunch 175 Fleet St., Portsmouth, 603/431-6343, gilleyspmlunch.com, burger $2.50 ACTIVITIES Castle in the Clouds Rte. 171, Moultonborough, 603/476-5900, castleintheclouds.org, $10 SHOPPING Calef's Country Store Rtes. 9 and 125, Barrington, 800/462-2118, calefs.com DAY 2 Now that he is retired, Dad has a motto: "Every day is Saturday except Sunday." This weekend, even Sunday is a Saturday because I have no idea where to find a church here. Instead, we opt for two breakfasts. First, we stop at theYum Yum Shop, where Dad and Mr. Stewart used to go for raspberry tarts. Although the store has moved since the '70s, it still sells them. "I think maybe they were better before," Dad says after biting into a tart. Having admired Lake Winnipesaukee for two days, Dad and I are anxious to get out on the water, so we buy tickets for a ride on one of theMount Washington Cruises. The ship is enormous—it's 230 feet long and carries more than 1,000 people on four decks—but the views of the fall foliage are even more impressive. The colors of the leaves are nearly at their peak, making us glad we picked October to visit. Back on land, I'm finally able to feel like a kid again at an arcade near the dock,Half Moon Amusement Arcades. We're too late in the season for the bumper cars, but I happily while away some time playing old-school video games like Paperboy. I don't abandon Dad for long, though. I used to be good at these games (I swear!), but I'm not anymore. My quarters are gone in a flash. In the afternoon, we take the Kancamagus Highway, or the Kanc, through the White Mountain National Forest toward Bretton Woods. We're staying at a motel calledThe Lodge, which is across from the Mount Washington Hotel, a grandiose estate where the Allied nations signed agreements in 1944 creating the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. (Guests can stay the night there, too, although the rates are really expensive.) Our dinner later that night atFabyan's Station Restaurantis a bit disappointing, mainly because Dad is peeved that the guy at the next table gets the last order of pot roast. He settles for the salmon in lemon sauce—a poor substitute for a man with meat on the brain. LODGING The Lodge Rte. 302, Bretton Woods, 800/258-0330, mtwashingtonhotel.com, from $99 FOOD Yum Yum Shop 16 N. Main St., Wolfeboro, 603/569-1919, raspberry tart 75¢ Fabyan's Station Restaurant Rte. 302, Bretton Woods, 603/278-2222, mountwashingtonresort.com, salmon $16 ACTIVITIES Mount Washington Cruises 211 Lakeside Ave., Weirs Beach, 888/843-6686, cruisenh.com, $26 Half Moon Amusement Arcades 240-260 Lakeside Ave., Weirs Beach, 603/366-4315 DAY 3 Although there's a free, guided tour of the Mount Washington Hotel this morning, we decide to bypass it because we want to take a ride onThe Mount Washington Cog Railway. To say that the rail line to the top of nearby Mount Washington is the highlight of the trip for my dad is an understatement. "Anyone who comes here and doesn't ride the train is crazy," he says afterwards. I suppose that if I can get excited over obscure video games from my childhood, he has a right to feel this strongly about a train ride. Built in the late 1860s, the cog railway was the first in the world to be able to climb a mountain. The coal-fired locomotive pushes the passenger car up the mountain very slowly—at a speed of about three miles per hour. Both the locomotive and the passenger car also have brakes to keep the train from speeding out of control on the way down. Dad is fascinated by the train's history, especially the fact that it's known as the "Railway to the Moon" because a state lawmaker deemed the project so foolish during the planning stages that he said the builder should be given a charter to extend the railway all the way to outer space. TheLittleton Dineris the most fitting place possible for us to eat lunch after our morning ride: It's a train car transformed into a restaurant. The 1930 Sterling Steamliner diner car has old wooden benches and the original arched ceiling, which keeps the narrow space from feeling cramped. I order the Reuben, and Dad has a hot dog with a side of homemade baked beans. While the food is just OK, the waitresses' T-shirts are truly memorable, with a philosophy for good living on the backs: EAT IN DINERS. RIDE TRAINS. PUT A PORCH ON YOUR HOUSE. SHOP ON MAIN STREET. LIVE IN A WALKABLE COMMUNITY. Littleton pretty much fits the bill. We take a leisurely drive back to the Lake Winnipesaukee area and find a room at theBoulders Motel & Cottagesin Holderness. Then the two of us get down to some serious card playing in our screened-in sitting room. Cribbage is more exciting to us than the cog railway ride and the arcade combined. Since Dad taught me the game when I was in high school, I've gotten a lot more practice at it than he has, but filial piety prevents me from revealing who usually wins. We play a couple of games and then go in search of dinner down the road atWalter's Basin, a restaurant on the shore of Little Squam Lake whose claim to fame is that it was in the filmOn Golden Pond. We sit by one of the huge windows inside and gaze out at the water, wishing we could eat every meal on a lake (or on a pond, for that matter). LODGING Boulders Motel & Cottages 981 Rte. 3, Holderness, 800/968-3601, boulderslakefrontmotel.com, from $60 FOOD Littleton Diner 145 Main St., Littleton, 603/444-3994, littletondiner.com, Reuben $6.50 Walter's Basin 859 Rte. 3, Holderness, 603/968-4412, haddock $17 ACTIVITIES The Mount Washington Cog Railway Off Rte. 302, Bretton Woods, 800/922-8825, thecog.com, $59 DAY 4 I'm surprised that after all this time in the New Hampshire countryside, we haven't really seen any wildlife. In an effort to remedy that, we take a morning stroll at theSquam Lakes Natural Science Center, where a number of species that are native to the state, such as black bears, bald eagles, red-tailed hawks, and mountain lions, are kept in fenced-in wooded areas along a pleasant path. The majority of the animals are either orphaned or injured and are not able to survive on their own in the wilderness. Interestingly, the science center doesn't have moose, because they don't do very well in captivity. Instead, there's a life-size sculpture of one. I've planned one last stop in Portsmouth: a self-guided tour of theUSSAlbacore, an experimental nuclear submarine built in the 1950s at the town's Naval Shipyard. But on the way, I start to have second thoughts about whether this is a good idea. My dad has a low opinion of subs after 20 years in the Navy, and setting foot on one might be the last thing he wants to do. I'm relieved, however, when he says he's game for the tour. And he even serves as a guide, telling me all about how subs are built and how this one differs from those still in operation. I enjoy listening to his stories from the past, especially those about our summers here. Our trip back 30 years later has been eventful, too, despite the fact I didn't win any prizes from the goldfish pond and Dad didn't wind up with a broken nose. ACTIVITIES Squam Lakes Natural Science Center 23 Science Center Rd., Holderness, 603/968-7194, nhnature.org, $13 USS Albacore 600 Market St., Portsmouth, 603/436-3680, ussalbacore.org, $5 FINDING THE WAY Manchester is the more convenient city to fly into, but Portland, Maine, can be cheaper. One of the most scenic drives is on Route 11, which hugs the southern shore of Lake Winnipesaukee.

Keeping You a Step Ahead In our humble opinion, vacation should never be a dirty word. But with oil prices soaring, getting away today is a lot harder to do. That's why we're especially thrilled to present this year's Extra Mile Award winners, whose innovations have made travel easier or more affordable at a trying time. As a token of our respect, we offer them one cool snow globe—they offer you happier travels. TSA: Grooming a smoother path through airport security checks Drawing inspiration from ski slopes, the Transportation Security Administration's new self-select security checkpoint lanes are dramatically cutting travelers' wait times at dozens of airports. With color-coded signs pointing the way, the system works like this: Black-diamond lanes are used by ace travelers who can speed through security, blue-square lanes are for infrequent travelers who don't know the ropes quite as well, and green-circle lanes are geared toward families who require extra time. "We didn't think there would be such a demand for it," says TSA federal security director Earl Morris, who spearheaded the program. "The goal is to create a more passenger-friendly checkpoint and to have a calmer atmosphere, and it's working." At airports with the program, travelers in the expert lanes are clearing security up to 40 percent faster, and families using the green-circle lanes are setting off the metal detector alarms an average of 11 percent fewer times than at airports that don't have the lanes, the TSA says. Screeners are on hand to help travelers select the best lane, but the main thing keeping people in line is peer pressure. "It's like when you are in a supermarket and you're only supposed to have 12 items in the express lane—peer pressure is very helpful," Morris says. —Elissa Leibowitz Poma ORBITZ: Providing passengers with a way to share their travel secrets Since 2001, Orbitz has employed a team of former air-traffic controllers to scan data from the Federal Aviation Administration and air-traffic-control systems so it can send people instant updates on flight delays and cancellations. Now the company is enlisting everyday passengers to be its eyes and ears at airports: Its new Traveler Update system allows people to share tips on flight delays, security wait times, taxi lines, and anything else they observe while they're on the go. "Our customers have information that can help each other, and the whole idea was to find a way to foster an exchange," says Tom Russell, Orbitz's group vice president of brand marketing. Anyone can submit updates from their computers or Web-enabled PDAs at updates.orbitz.com, or by text message from a cell phone. All you have to do is send a message like "JFK update" to 672489, and the system will walk you through the steps. Tips are then posted at updates.orbitz.com, and passengers who book tickets through Orbitz will receive updates via e-mail or cell phone. "The most useful tips reveal an insider secret or a trick of the trade at an airport," says Russell. For instance, after the update system debuted last year, travelers tipped each other off to an underutilized security line at O'Hare airport. "Another checkpoint had 100 people in line one day, and this one had only 20," Russell says. "People loved finding out about that." —Kate Appleton InsideTrip When you book plane tickets, the Internet can be a source of both convenience and frustration: There are more and more ways to compare airlines and find cheap flights, but most travelers don't have the time to sort through all the data. Enter insidetrip.com, which compiles statistics on nearly every factor that makes for a good flying experience—from on-time ratings to legroom in cabins—and gives each flight a score from 1 to 100. "It's like a report card," says founder Dave Pelter. "If I get a 91, I'm pretty happy. But a 64? I can do better than that." According to Pelter, price is still the top concern for many people, but it's not the only thing that matters. "We wanted to look at flight options from a more holistic point of view," he says. —Brad Tuttle Megabus: Taking buses to the next level Call it prescient: In the past year, Megabus has expanded its operations to 25 cities in the United States and Canada as fuel costs have risen, giving travelers a cheap alternative to driving and flying when they need it most. The bus line keeps its fares extremely low—starting from $1 for the first few people who book seats on each bus—by selling tickets online and doing pickups and drop-offs in the centers of cities rather than at terminals. At the same time, Megabus hasn't skimped on quality—its double-decker fleet is equipped with free Wi-Fi, video screens, headsets, and seat belts. Plus, many buses run on biodiesel fuel. "We're conscious of what the traveling public wants," says Dale Moser, president and chief operating officer. "We're saving people money but still giving them a coach outfitted with the latest technology." Now even the 94-year-old grande dame of bus companies, Greyhound, is rethinking its business model. Greyhound joined with competitors this year to launch two bus lines, BoltBus and NeOn, with similar low fares and high-tech amenities. Megabus didn't start a trend, it reinvented bus travel for a new generation. —Jean Tang Cathay Pacific: Redesigning economy-class seats so they're fit for a king "When a passenger flies economy, there shouldn't be a sacrifice of comfort or luxury," says Dennis Owen, vice president of marketing in the U.S. for Cathay Pacific Airways. While other airlines have spent millions in recent years revamping their first- and business-class cabins by adding amenities such as flat-bed seats, Cathay Pacific has focused on making flying more comfortable for all of its passengers—including those in coach. Late last year, the Hong Kong¿based airline rolled out a significant redesign of the economy-class cabins on most of its flights serving New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. One of the most noticeable changes is in the seats, which don't recline into the space of the person sitting behind you. Instead, the new seats have a hard-shell back and slide forward as they recline. To give your knees more room, the seat-back pocket has been moved to the space beneath the seat cushion—you can access it by reaching between your knees. Tray tables are a little longer than they used to be, and they've been tricked out with a cup holder on the back. A hook has also been added to the seat back so you can hang a jacket or a purse. Another plus: The nine-inch TV screens are nearly a third larger than their predecessors, and the entertainment library for passengers in coach has been expanded to include more than 100 movies, 350 TV shows, and 900 music CDs. "We aimed to have enough entertainment options for our passengers, no matter what cabin class they're in or which language they speak," says Owen. Taken together, the improvements make coach feel almost like first class, minus (of course) the caviar and flutes of champagne. —Sean O'Neill Hotels.com: Launching a hotel reward program that actually pays off—and is easy to use Hotel loyalty programs are sometimes not worth the hassle. You may need years to rack up the points required to earn a free room, and when you try to redeem them, many of the most popular dates are off-limits. In July, Hotels.com introduced a blissfully straightforward reward program, designed like a punch card: After booking 10 nights at hotels with a price-match guarantee (there are more than 35,000 of them), you get a night for free. And there are no blackout dates. "The key to the whole program is that it's easy to use and the free rooms are attainable," says Scott Booker, the company's chief hotel expert and guest advocate. "We know that every traveler has different needs and that every trip is different. People are no longer limited to a single brand's properties in any given place." To underscore that point, Hotels.com does not restrict you to a handful of options when it comes to claiming your free stay—as long as you spent at least $40 a night on each booking, you can choose any hotel from the price-match-guarantee pool that costs up to $400 a night. What could be more satisfying than scoring a night at a Bali resort after a few stays at a motel in Buffalo? —Brooke Kosofsky Glassberg Hertz Rent A Car While the airline check-in process has become much more efficient thanks to online check-in and self-service kiosks, the lines at rental-car desks can still be painfully long. In an effort to speed up the process, Hertz has instituted a new system it promises will get you on the road in 10 minutes, or you'll receive $50 off your rental. The program, which is in effect at about 50 airports nationwide, combines online check-in with new self-service kiosks and express desks at airport locations. "Our customers had asked us to make the check-in process simpler," says Frank Camacho, Hertz's staff vice president of marketing. "And customer response was incredible—about 2,000 people checked in online the day the system launched." Plus, he says, check-in times at airports are now averaging an eye-popping three minutes per person. —Amy Westervelt Southwest: Holding firm against fees Air travelers are learning all too well that with most carriers these days, the listed fare is not the bottom line—it's just the starting point. Then come the fees for everything from checking a bag to reserving a seat on the aisle or window. Not true with Southwest Airlines, which has resisted joining other carriers in nickel-and-diming passengers to offset skyrocketing fuel costs. "People want to know what they're paying for," says Dave Ridley, Southwest's senior vice president for marketing, revenue management, and pricing. "What sets us apart is that what you see is what you pay. No tricks. No games. No gimmicks." One reason the airline can avoid levying extra fees on customers is that it hedged against possible rises in oil prices way back in the 1990s by locking in some of its fuel costs at a low fixed price through 2012. Only time will tell whether Southwest stands by its no-fees policy. In 2006, rising fuel prices did force the airline to ditch its $299 cap on one-way airfares. Ridley promises, though, that fees are not coming anytime soon: "We are committed [to the policy] through this period of intense oil-price increases." —Berit Thorkelson