Arthur Frommer's Blog, page 37
September 30, 2011
Numerous Times Are Available Late in the Day For Visiting the September 11 Memorial Site
As an addendum to my recent post about the September 11 Memorial in downtown Manhattan, the Memorial's website sets forth numerous dates for visiting the memorial in early October. As a security guide advised me at the time of my visit, the Memorial is almost always lightly visited late in the day; most tourists attempt to see it early in the morning, leaving them time for a matinee or evening visit to the theater. Thus, seek a visiting time of around 4pm, and you should have little difficulty in gaining admission.
Please note, as well, that the Visitors Center at 20 Vesey Street (about 8 blocks from the Memorial's entrance), also has a few passes available for persons who appear there around 9am.
Please note, as well, that the Visitors Center at 20 Vesey Street (about 8 blocks from the Memorial's entrance), also has a few passes available for persons who appear there around 9am.
September 29, 2011
Gate 1 Travel is Again Offering Its Near-Unbelievable $599 Package to Guatemala
Gate 1 (
www.gate1travel.com
) does it again: $599 for a fully escorted five-day tour of Guatemala (Antigua, Chichicastenango, and Lake Atitlan), including hotels, breakfast, transport, guides, sightseeing admissions, and airfare (and fuel surcharges) from New York. Airport taxes and security fees add roughly $100.
Poking into the details, I see that price available on at least 11 departures from late October though early December. (Technically the price is $649, but you get $50 off with the promo code DLCGUT50) Other departure dates are $50 to $100 higher.
This is one of those deals technically only available to newsletter subscribers, but as soon as you sign up (which is free), you can access the details.
Poking into the details, I see that price available on at least 11 departures from late October though early December. (Technically the price is $649, but you get $50 off with the promo code DLCGUT50) Other departure dates are $50 to $100 higher.
This is one of those deals technically only available to newsletter subscribers, but as soon as you sign up (which is free), you can access the details.
September 28, 2011
Ground Zero's September 11 Memorial is An Unusually Impressive Site -- Well Worth a Visit on Your Next Trip to New York
Having now made my own first trip to the September 11 Memorial in the Financial District of New York, I can, without hesitation, recommend that it be regarded as an indispensable visit on any stay in New York. It has, in my view, far greater impact, is far more memorable and touching, than any write-up in the press has yet pictured it.
The site, to begin with, is far more expansive than I had imagined. Although its centerpiece are the two square reflecting pools occupying the footprints where the Twin Towers once stood, they are flanked by a giant park containing large trees that supply a dramatic contrast with the surrounding skyline of office buildings. You occasionally sit on stone benches as you pass through that large park, reflecting on the commercial life that once inhabited the current, cleared area at least a hundred yards in size in the heart of urban New York.
The reflecting pools are perpetually filled from the largest man-made waterfalls in America. The sound of that falling water blots out all the other city noises as you stand alongside the pools, and provides the setting for reflection on the lost lives to which the pools are dedicated. On a short wall on the side of each pool are etched the names of the tragic victims, grouped according to the functions they performed at the former World Trade Center: firefighters in one area, passengers aboard the planes that crashed into the towers in another section of names, office workers. One of the latter is identified by her name accompanied with the words "and her unborn child." Into some of the etched names, relatives have placed small trinkets or religious emblems honoring a particular victim.
And standing at one edge of this park, you look up and ahead and you see 1 World Travel Center, the Freedom Tower, that has now reached a height of about 70 stories and is far more impressive when seen from the ground than in photographs of it. The total vista of park, pools and skyscrapers in construction is remarkable. Flanking the pools is also a giant, futuristic, flying-saucer-like building that will house the 9/11 Museum, scheduled to open in the fall of 2012. Since its walls are mainly of glass, you can peer inside at what will obviously be an extensive area of photographs, exhibits, and explanatory texts. And all around you, you see other skyscrapers in construction, smaller than but almost as large as the Freedom Tower.
Throughout the site, security is fierce. Literally dozens of uniformed security guards roam the area (as do a number of New York City police) and man successive checkpoints along the long path that you take from the entrance. I counted as many as 50 young persons in uniform who simply served to conduct the public along the entrance route, and to maintain crowd control. You are repeatedly stopped and asked to show your ticket of admission, and without one you would be prevented from entering. It is obvious that the city, and the foundation building the site, are intent on preventing it from being attacked a second time.
This means that you must carefully follow the procedures for obtaining and using tickets of admission. You must apply online for a timed admission ( www.911memorial.org ), and either print out a ticket or obtain one at the temporary 9/11 Museum maintained eight blocks away from the Memorial's entrance at 20 Vesey Street. You cannot simply appear at the entrance with a printed confirmation, as I saw some people unsuccessfully attempt to do. You must either print out the ticket with its bar codes, or exchange your confirmation at 20 Vesey Street.
You will be amazed by the amount of activity surrounding the site -- throngs of onlookers at any time of day, including persons who simply show up to look from nearby, without having first applied for entrance online. On the streets surrounding Ground Zero, various entrepreneurs have set up shops for the sale of September 11 mementos and books dealing with the event. It is clear that the Ground Zero area will henceforth remain a major sightseeing attraction of New York City.
I am glad I went. As is the case with so much of travel, actually going to an important site or memorial, and witnessing it, is vastly superior in experience to simply reading about it.
The site, to begin with, is far more expansive than I had imagined. Although its centerpiece are the two square reflecting pools occupying the footprints where the Twin Towers once stood, they are flanked by a giant park containing large trees that supply a dramatic contrast with the surrounding skyline of office buildings. You occasionally sit on stone benches as you pass through that large park, reflecting on the commercial life that once inhabited the current, cleared area at least a hundred yards in size in the heart of urban New York.
The reflecting pools are perpetually filled from the largest man-made waterfalls in America. The sound of that falling water blots out all the other city noises as you stand alongside the pools, and provides the setting for reflection on the lost lives to which the pools are dedicated. On a short wall on the side of each pool are etched the names of the tragic victims, grouped according to the functions they performed at the former World Trade Center: firefighters in one area, passengers aboard the planes that crashed into the towers in another section of names, office workers. One of the latter is identified by her name accompanied with the words "and her unborn child." Into some of the etched names, relatives have placed small trinkets or religious emblems honoring a particular victim.
And standing at one edge of this park, you look up and ahead and you see 1 World Travel Center, the Freedom Tower, that has now reached a height of about 70 stories and is far more impressive when seen from the ground than in photographs of it. The total vista of park, pools and skyscrapers in construction is remarkable. Flanking the pools is also a giant, futuristic, flying-saucer-like building that will house the 9/11 Museum, scheduled to open in the fall of 2012. Since its walls are mainly of glass, you can peer inside at what will obviously be an extensive area of photographs, exhibits, and explanatory texts. And all around you, you see other skyscrapers in construction, smaller than but almost as large as the Freedom Tower.
Throughout the site, security is fierce. Literally dozens of uniformed security guards roam the area (as do a number of New York City police) and man successive checkpoints along the long path that you take from the entrance. I counted as many as 50 young persons in uniform who simply served to conduct the public along the entrance route, and to maintain crowd control. You are repeatedly stopped and asked to show your ticket of admission, and without one you would be prevented from entering. It is obvious that the city, and the foundation building the site, are intent on preventing it from being attacked a second time.
This means that you must carefully follow the procedures for obtaining and using tickets of admission. You must apply online for a timed admission ( www.911memorial.org ), and either print out a ticket or obtain one at the temporary 9/11 Museum maintained eight blocks away from the Memorial's entrance at 20 Vesey Street. You cannot simply appear at the entrance with a printed confirmation, as I saw some people unsuccessfully attempt to do. You must either print out the ticket with its bar codes, or exchange your confirmation at 20 Vesey Street.
You will be amazed by the amount of activity surrounding the site -- throngs of onlookers at any time of day, including persons who simply show up to look from nearby, without having first applied for entrance online. On the streets surrounding Ground Zero, various entrepreneurs have set up shops for the sale of September 11 mementos and books dealing with the event. It is clear that the Ground Zero area will henceforth remain a major sightseeing attraction of New York City.
I am glad I went. As is the case with so much of travel, actually going to an important site or memorial, and witnessing it, is vastly superior in experience to simply reading about it.
September 27, 2011
There Are Fewer Airfare Surcharges During the Holidays, But Good Luck Finding a Seat
The press is full of reports that most of the major airlines -- American, United, Delta, among them -- have reduced the number of holiday dates to six on which they will be charging surcharges of $20 to $40 each way. So this Thanksgiving and Christmas, it will only be a small number of instances -- like the day before Christmas or the day before Thanksgiving, or the day after New Year, etc., on which rates will suddenly skyrocket, as compared with the twelve or so days that saw such surcharges in 2010. Are the airlines frightened that they will be unable to fill their seats if they suddenly charge more on such days?
Not likely. Flights are already going out nearly full on days having no relationship to holidays. The airlines have cut their domestic capacity so drastically that it is only occasional flights that have empty seats, and there will be no such lightly booked planes around Thanksgiving and Christmas. I suspect the airlines have eliminated several peak-season surcharge days only because they have already greatly increased their domestic airfares this past year. Even without surcharges, the average American will be paying considerably more for flights this November and December.
And any thought that last-minute discounts will be available for holiday dates is surely without any realistic basis. The tendency of some travelers to delay booking in the hope of obtaining later holiday-season discounts is also without justification. If you need to plan a trip by air for Thanksgiving or Christmas purposes, you should buy your tickets now. They will never be offered at a lesser price as we approach Thanksgiving and Christmas.
And if you are determined to fly for less during those holiday periods, your only successful tactic will be to fly on Thanksgiving day itself or on Christmas itself. Planes are lightly booked on those dates, because passengers are then unable, in most cases, to reach the homes of relatives in time for a Thanksgiving or Christmas feast. Apart from that unusual scheduling, the other sure-fire tactic is to schedule your outbound Christmas trip for before December 15, when rates will remain low.
Sorry to be the bearer of such bad news.
Not likely. Flights are already going out nearly full on days having no relationship to holidays. The airlines have cut their domestic capacity so drastically that it is only occasional flights that have empty seats, and there will be no such lightly booked planes around Thanksgiving and Christmas. I suspect the airlines have eliminated several peak-season surcharge days only because they have already greatly increased their domestic airfares this past year. Even without surcharges, the average American will be paying considerably more for flights this November and December.
And any thought that last-minute discounts will be available for holiday dates is surely without any realistic basis. The tendency of some travelers to delay booking in the hope of obtaining later holiday-season discounts is also without justification. If you need to plan a trip by air for Thanksgiving or Christmas purposes, you should buy your tickets now. They will never be offered at a lesser price as we approach Thanksgiving and Christmas.
And if you are determined to fly for less during those holiday periods, your only successful tactic will be to fly on Thanksgiving day itself or on Christmas itself. Planes are lightly booked on those dates, because passengers are then unable, in most cases, to reach the homes of relatives in time for a Thanksgiving or Christmas feast. Apart from that unusual scheduling, the other sure-fire tactic is to schedule your outbound Christmas trip for before December 15, when rates will remain low.
Sorry to be the bearer of such bad news.
September 26, 2011
Thinking Europe for a Thanksgiving Escape? The High Prices Will Leave You Feeling Like a Turkey
Around this time in recent years, I've been enthusiastic about the prospect for an affordable four-night stay in European capitals at Thanksgiving, even including the cost of trans-Atlantic air transportation. Leaving the U.S. around November 23, and then spending four Thanksgiving-period nights in London, Paris, Prague and the like, was a do-able proposition. Such tour packagers as Gate 1 Travel offered alluring prices. And for some Americans, the idea of spending Thanksgiving away from their families was appealing.
[image error] Prague rooftops. MRSask/Frommers.com Community
I can't exhibit the same enthusiasm this year. The steady growth in trans-Atlantic airfares including fuel surcharges, and the need to add steadily increasing government fees and taxes to those rates, makes a short Thanksgiving trip a pricey proposition.
On their face, the four-night Thanksgiving packages seem reasonably priced: air and land (including fuel surcharge and four nights of B&B arrangements), for departures from the U.S. on November 23, are currently priced by such packagers as Gate 1 Travel ( www.gate1travel.com ) at $699 per person to Dublin, $799 to London, $929 to Paris, $749 to Barcelona, $779 to Rome. But none of those lead prices includes government taxes and fees amounting to at least $200 per person, and in some cases to considerably more than $200. The idea of spending $1,000 just for the basic ingredients of a short London stay, for instance, to which must be added all the other costs of transfers, meals and sightseeing, has badly affected the desirability of one of those fast Thanksgiving flings.
Just four or so years ago, friends of mine spent Thanksgiving (4 hotel nights) in Prague for about $599 apiece, including all taxes and fees. Today, they'd need to spend nearly double that amount for the basic features of a short air-and-land package to Prague, if promotional Thanksgiving packages to Prague were still offered.
So in the interests of candor and full disclosure, I'm not writing about Thanksgiving in Europe this year. Have turkey with your folks instead.
[image error] Prague rooftops. MRSask/Frommers.com Community
I can't exhibit the same enthusiasm this year. The steady growth in trans-Atlantic airfares including fuel surcharges, and the need to add steadily increasing government fees and taxes to those rates, makes a short Thanksgiving trip a pricey proposition.
On their face, the four-night Thanksgiving packages seem reasonably priced: air and land (including fuel surcharge and four nights of B&B arrangements), for departures from the U.S. on November 23, are currently priced by such packagers as Gate 1 Travel ( www.gate1travel.com ) at $699 per person to Dublin, $799 to London, $929 to Paris, $749 to Barcelona, $779 to Rome. But none of those lead prices includes government taxes and fees amounting to at least $200 per person, and in some cases to considerably more than $200. The idea of spending $1,000 just for the basic ingredients of a short London stay, for instance, to which must be added all the other costs of transfers, meals and sightseeing, has badly affected the desirability of one of those fast Thanksgiving flings.
Just four or so years ago, friends of mine spent Thanksgiving (4 hotel nights) in Prague for about $599 apiece, including all taxes and fees. Today, they'd need to spend nearly double that amount for the basic features of a short air-and-land package to Prague, if promotional Thanksgiving packages to Prague were still offered.
So in the interests of candor and full disclosure, I'm not writing about Thanksgiving in Europe this year. Have turkey with your folks instead.
September 23, 2011
If You're Thinking of Going to Europe This Winter, Take a Look at Aer Lingus to Getting There
The economic crisis in Ireland is among the worst in Europe, and has decimated business travel to and from Dublin. The result of that are airfares to or via Dublin that are among the best offered by any trans-Atlantic carrier. Go to the website of Aer Lingus (
www.aerlingus.com
) and you'll discover that you can fly round-trip between New York and Dublin between November 6 and March 31 for as little as $608, including all government taxes and fees, on mid-week flights purchased online. You can fly to Paris or Rome, via Dublin, for about $125 more. Going anywhere in Europe this winter, you might always want to check the prices offered by the flag carrier of Ireland.
A single caution: the above fares are supposed to be booked prior to September 28, but I have no doubt they'll be extended beyond that deadline.
A single caution: the above fares are supposed to be booked prior to September 28, but I have no doubt they'll be extended beyond that deadline.
If You're Thinking of Going to Europe This Winter, Take a Look at Aer Lingus' to Getting There
The economic crisis in Ireland is among the worst in Europe, and has decimated business travel to and from Dublin. The result of that are airfares to or via Dublin that are among the best offered by any trans-Atlantic carrier. Go to the website of Aer Lingus (
www.aerlingus.com
) and you'll discover that you can fly round-trip between New York and Dublin between November 6 and March 31 for as little as $608, including all government taxes and fees, on mid-week flights purchased online. You can fly to Paris or Rome, via Dublin, for about $125 more. Going anywhere in Europe this winter, you might always want to check the prices offered by the flag carrier of Ireland.
A single caution: the above fares are supposed to be booked prior to September 28, but I have no doubt they'll be extended beyond that deadline.
A single caution: the above fares are supposed to be booked prior to September 28, but I have no doubt they'll be extended beyond that deadline.
The Scrappy Momondo Is Still Convinced That it Offers the Cheapest and Best Flights for Your Travel Needs
Yesterday I met with Martin Lumbye, one of the founding partners of Copenhagen-based Momondo (
www.momondo.com
), who's in New York on a short working trip. Momondo (a name created from the Esperanto for "my world") is an airfare search engine of only 23 employees that competes with the hundreds of persons staffing such giants as Travelocity or Expedia. I had requested the meeting because of my concern over Momondo's recent merger with Cheapflights (
www.cheapflights.com
) and the almost simultaneous emergence of Google/flights as a new competitor of Momondo in the airfare search engine business.
On the merger with Britain's Cheapflights, Martin made all the standard arguments: Momondo has simply obtained greater resources by permitting itself to be acquired, that it will continue to operate as an independent entity, that it has lost none of its entrepreneurial spirit and zest for innovation, that we consumers will hardly notice the difference. And on the challenge offered by the mighty Google, he was surprisingly optimistic.
According to this very effective spokesperson for Momondo, Google's initial foray into airfare search is surprisingly weak. It surveys only the fares offered directly by airlines (and by a fraction of those airlines only), and passes up the bargain fares often offered by lesser airlines and by online travel agencies (namely, the other airfare search engines). He is at a loss to explain why Google began in such a tentative manner, and is unable to predict whether they will take the steps needed to create a really effective search engine. But for the time being, he asserted, this giant in the world of search hasn't really made an effort to excel.
We talked about a great many other things, but his assertion about the tentative nature of Google's initial program is similar to that of several other qualified observers. For the time being at least, Google/flights is a helpful service, but not a definitive one; and it often misses some of the best flights for your own travel needs.
On the merger with Britain's Cheapflights, Martin made all the standard arguments: Momondo has simply obtained greater resources by permitting itself to be acquired, that it will continue to operate as an independent entity, that it has lost none of its entrepreneurial spirit and zest for innovation, that we consumers will hardly notice the difference. And on the challenge offered by the mighty Google, he was surprisingly optimistic.
According to this very effective spokesperson for Momondo, Google's initial foray into airfare search is surprisingly weak. It surveys only the fares offered directly by airlines (and by a fraction of those airlines only), and passes up the bargain fares often offered by lesser airlines and by online travel agencies (namely, the other airfare search engines). He is at a loss to explain why Google began in such a tentative manner, and is unable to predict whether they will take the steps needed to create a really effective search engine. But for the time being, he asserted, this giant in the world of search hasn't really made an effort to excel.
We talked about a great many other things, but his assertion about the tentative nature of Google's initial program is similar to that of several other qualified observers. For the time being at least, Google/flights is a helpful service, but not a definitive one; and it often misses some of the best flights for your own travel needs.
September 22, 2011
For as Many as 27 Out of 33 Days This Fall, Hotels in Vegas Will Have Incredibly Low Rates
Up until now, the way to stay inexpensively in Las Vegas was to take advantage of the various scattered dates when business to the casino capital was unusually low, and hotel discounts were frequent. Suddenly, it now becomes possible to schedule your trip within almost a solid month (omitting only the weekends) and yet be assured of unusually low hotel rates.
From November 20 until December 22, the bottom falls out of business in Las Vegas. In that period of approximately 31 days (actually around 33), the ultra-deluxe Vdara hotel on the Strip (in the City Center development) will be charging as little as $105 for one of its glamorous suites on 27 days: November 20-30, December 1, 4-8, 11-15, and 18-22 (and those are typical of the deep hotel discounts throughout the city). During the same period and on virtually the same days (20 of them), the 4,000-room Aria Hotel, next door, will be charging as little as $129 for one of its glamorous rooms. Provided you simply avoid the weekends, you can stay during those remaining weekdays in two of Vegas' most elegant hotels for either $105 per suite or $129 per room per night.
It can also be assumed that tickets to evening entertainment attractions will also be unusually low on the 27 days listed above, from theater ticket brokers located on the Strip. If you've had a vague desire to visit Sin City, you might want to study the calendar and make plans for a late-November/early-December trip.
From November 20 until December 22, the bottom falls out of business in Las Vegas. In that period of approximately 31 days (actually around 33), the ultra-deluxe Vdara hotel on the Strip (in the City Center development) will be charging as little as $105 for one of its glamorous suites on 27 days: November 20-30, December 1, 4-8, 11-15, and 18-22 (and those are typical of the deep hotel discounts throughout the city). During the same period and on virtually the same days (20 of them), the 4,000-room Aria Hotel, next door, will be charging as little as $129 for one of its glamorous rooms. Provided you simply avoid the weekends, you can stay during those remaining weekdays in two of Vegas' most elegant hotels for either $105 per suite or $129 per room per night.
It can also be assumed that tickets to evening entertainment attractions will also be unusually low on the 27 days listed above, from theater ticket brokers located on the Strip. If you've had a vague desire to visit Sin City, you might want to study the calendar and make plans for a late-November/early-December trip.
September 21, 2011
Travel to Europe in January or February to Enjoy a Real Bargain on Transportation
Airfares across the Atlantic begin to drop in mid-October, and then they plummet during the months of January and February, when the cost of reaching western Europe is truly low. Some indication of that is found in this week's special bargain from Gate 1 Travel (tel. 800/682-3333;
www.gate1travel.com
), whereby it will fly you from New York to Paris for a three-night hotel stay (including daily breakfast), then fly you from Paris to London for another three-night hotel stay (including daily breakfast), and then fly you back to New York, for a total of $899, including fuel surcharge. But that price requires that you depart on January 4, 11, 18 or 25, or on February 1, 15 or 22, making your booking prior to September 26 (by mentioning discount code DLPARL100).
Departures are available from other U.S. cities for slightly more. Here's an example of how scheduling your European trip for January or February can bring you a truly affordable winter vacation. And January and February are the height of the cultural season in both Paris and London.
Departures are available from other U.S. cities for slightly more. Here's an example of how scheduling your European trip for January or February can bring you a truly affordable winter vacation. And January and February are the height of the cultural season in both Paris and London.
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