Arthur Frommer's Blog, page 55
April 12, 2011
Follow Current Medical Tourism Trends Trends in the Pages of "Medical Tourism"
I've written before about the numerous books dealing with travel undertaken for medical or dental purposes (Patients Beyond Borders, by Josef Woodman, is perhaps the most prominent of these). Because so many Americans have no health or dental insurance, or have insurance that does not cover certain procedures, or does not involve affordable charges, tens of thousands of yearly travelers are felt to be seeking cheaper -- but good quality -- medical, dental and hospital care in foreign countries with lower costs for such treatments.
I have more recently become aware of a six-times-a-year magazine that deals on a continuing basis with issues in medical tourism. It's called Medical Tourism, is subtitled "Your Guide to International Medicine," and is a handsome, glossy, 100+ page publication now in its third year. Every issue concentrates on the medical facilities of three specific cities or countries (like Mexico City, Costa Rica, and Jordan, in the issue that I recently examined). It mainly singles out, as do all the publications on medical tourism, the overseas facilities that are certified as high quality by the same organization that issues such certifications to U.S. hospitals and clinics.
If you are considering going overseas for cheaper medical treatment, you might request a copy or a subscription, by accessing www.medicaltourismassociation.com or www.medicaltourismmag.com .
I have more recently become aware of a six-times-a-year magazine that deals on a continuing basis with issues in medical tourism. It's called Medical Tourism, is subtitled "Your Guide to International Medicine," and is a handsome, glossy, 100+ page publication now in its third year. Every issue concentrates on the medical facilities of three specific cities or countries (like Mexico City, Costa Rica, and Jordan, in the issue that I recently examined). It mainly singles out, as do all the publications on medical tourism, the overseas facilities that are certified as high quality by the same organization that issues such certifications to U.S. hospitals and clinics.
If you are considering going overseas for cheaper medical treatment, you might request a copy or a subscription, by accessing www.medicaltourismassociation.com or www.medicaltourismmag.com .
A Website that Lets You Ask for What You Want in Your Next Apartment Rental
Scores of websites provide you with short-term apartment rentals in cities all over the world. The typical service simply lists what's available, and then asks you to identify the apartment you'd like, for the dates you'll be in residence.
iStopOver ( www.istopover.com ) used to be that kind of service. It lists vacation apartments available for rent in numerous popular cities. But this month, they've added a special feature called Wise Ask! which you can access after registering on the site.
WiseAsk! asks you to specify all the special features in which you're interested. For example: "A pet-friendly two-bedroom apartment in Paris with a balcony for grilling barbecue, a breakfast-serving café within one block, and all for under $200 a night." Or: "A Chicago apartment whose kitchen is already stocked with food, and Wi-Fi enabled."
Says iStopOver's president: "There are no restrictions on what you can ask for, no matter how quirky the request or preference."
Apprised of your requests, iStopOver sends them to all the landlords with whom they work. Soon (the amount of time needed isn't stated), the service will respond to you with offers of exactly the kind of apartment you're seeking. You then accept the booking or, if nothing suitable is offered, you need not accept anything.
This, as I see it, is a reverse online travel agency. It's similar to the well-known Cruise Compete ( www.cruisecompete.com ), which invites would-be cruise passengers to declare what kind of cruise they're seeking, and what kind of price would be suitable; Cruise Compete then invites its many cruise-selling travel agents to bid on your business, to respond with offers of what they're willing to sell you and at what price.
It will be interesting to see whether iStopOver.com enjoys a large amount of additional business because of its WiseAsk! service.
iStopOver ( www.istopover.com ) used to be that kind of service. It lists vacation apartments available for rent in numerous popular cities. But this month, they've added a special feature called Wise Ask! which you can access after registering on the site.
WiseAsk! asks you to specify all the special features in which you're interested. For example: "A pet-friendly two-bedroom apartment in Paris with a balcony for grilling barbecue, a breakfast-serving café within one block, and all for under $200 a night." Or: "A Chicago apartment whose kitchen is already stocked with food, and Wi-Fi enabled."
Says iStopOver's president: "There are no restrictions on what you can ask for, no matter how quirky the request or preference."
Apprised of your requests, iStopOver sends them to all the landlords with whom they work. Soon (the amount of time needed isn't stated), the service will respond to you with offers of exactly the kind of apartment you're seeking. You then accept the booking or, if nothing suitable is offered, you need not accept anything.
This, as I see it, is a reverse online travel agency. It's similar to the well-known Cruise Compete ( www.cruisecompete.com ), which invites would-be cruise passengers to declare what kind of cruise they're seeking, and what kind of price would be suitable; Cruise Compete then invites its many cruise-selling travel agents to bid on your business, to respond with offers of what they're willing to sell you and at what price.
It will be interesting to see whether iStopOver.com enjoys a large amount of additional business because of its WiseAsk! service.
April 11, 2011
Will an Act of Protest by Thai Taxi Drivers at Cruise Ports Signal Trouble for Cruiseline Shore Excursions?
Late last month, 200 taxi drivers in Phuket, Thailand -- a big cruise port -- blocked the ability of motorcoaches to enter the dock area for the purpose of picking up cruise passengers who had booked a motorcoach sightseeing excursion of the area. These drivers themselves wanted to take passengers on tours, and were tired of seeing that business go to enterprises (motorcoach companies) that were mainly owned by the cruiselines.
If word of this partially successful blockade should reach other ports in the world (a compromise, reached a few hours later, split the available passengers between taxis and buses), the cruiselines may be in for trouble. Why shouldn't such business fill the coffers of local businessmen (i.e., taxi drivers) and not the cruiseline-sponsored motorcoaches? Already, a fair percentage of cruise passengers are discovering that they can combine into groups of four persons, and rent a taxi for a several-hour tour conducted for those four persons, for less than they'd pay for a seat on a 45-passengers motorcoach. In fact, that is often the advice I give to cruise passengers when they inquire about shore excursions: round up another couple, and take a better tour in a taxi.
(Or better yet, take a public trolley to the area where the major attractions are located, and tour them on foot).
If word of this partially successful blockade should reach other ports in the world (a compromise, reached a few hours later, split the available passengers between taxis and buses), the cruiselines may be in for trouble. Why shouldn't such business fill the coffers of local businessmen (i.e., taxi drivers) and not the cruiseline-sponsored motorcoaches? Already, a fair percentage of cruise passengers are discovering that they can combine into groups of four persons, and rent a taxi for a several-hour tour conducted for those four persons, for less than they'd pay for a seat on a 45-passengers motorcoach. In fact, that is often the advice I give to cruise passengers when they inquire about shore excursions: round up another couple, and take a better tour in a taxi.
(Or better yet, take a public trolley to the area where the major attractions are located, and tour them on foot).
How One Cellphone Can Be a Cost-Effective Step for Avoiding Unnecessary Expenses Abroad
Horror stories continue to reach me about international travelers who return home to find cellphone telephone bills for hundreds of dollars in roaming charges. Even persons who are sensitively aware of the need to keep the cellphone turned off when they travel abroad, may nevertheless incur charges for negligent actions like turning the phone on for a few seconds to check the time, or glance momentarily at e-mail, all of which "registers" the phone with a local carrier, and creates roaming charges for later incoming calls that you don't answer or even know about.
Without going into that arcane subject, I have been impressed by the arguments made for purchase of an international cell phone called Mobal for $49 ( www.mobal.com/international-cell-phones/ ). It works, apparently, in more than 190 countries, and once you've paid the $49 to buy it, you incur no charges other than the per-minute fees for actual use of the phone: no monthly fees, no minimum usage fees, no contract fees, no roaming charges.
With purchase of the Mobal, you are assigned a unique international telephone number, which remains yours for life. When you return from a trip, you simply stick the Mobal in a desk drawer to await being taken out for another trip.
Am I missing something here? Are there major drawbacks to use of a Mobal? Anything that the sales literature for the device fails to mention? I'd be happy to receive comments from readers, but pending their receipt, I'm giving serious thought to buying a Mobal for my own next international trip.
Without going into that arcane subject, I have been impressed by the arguments made for purchase of an international cell phone called Mobal for $49 ( www.mobal.com/international-cell-phones/ ). It works, apparently, in more than 190 countries, and once you've paid the $49 to buy it, you incur no charges other than the per-minute fees for actual use of the phone: no monthly fees, no minimum usage fees, no contract fees, no roaming charges.
With purchase of the Mobal, you are assigned a unique international telephone number, which remains yours for life. When you return from a trip, you simply stick the Mobal in a desk drawer to await being taken out for another trip.
Am I missing something here? Are there major drawbacks to use of a Mobal? Anything that the sales literature for the device fails to mention? I'd be happy to receive comments from readers, but pending their receipt, I'm giving serious thought to buying a Mobal for my own next international trip.
April 8, 2011
Iceland Express is Currently Quoting Roundtrip Summer Rates as Low as $785 Between New York and London
This year, the most frequently-posed question to numerous travel sites is: Where can I get an inexpensive trans-Atlantic airfare for vacationing in Europe this summer? Would-be travelers recoil in amazement at the prices quoted by most standard airfare search engines: a minimum of $1,200 to $1,500 round-trip to London or Paris. I've suggested, in earlier blogs, that XL Airways of France might finally get its act together and offer fares as low as $747 to Paris on some summer days -- but it remains to be seen whether that European upstart will ever create an English-language website enabling persons to buy those fares on trips that originate in the United States.
Which leaves Iceland Express as the sole remaining safety valve. Although the Iceland-based upstart will no longer be offering round-trip fares in the $400s and $500s, as they did last year, it is possible on some dates -- I stress the word "some" -- to fly trans-Atlantic this summer on Iceland Express for as little as $785 round-trip, including all government taxes and fees. And that occasional price will probably save you some $360.
A test booking on British Airways for a round-trip flight between New York and London on Mondays in June results in a total price of $1,146 per person, including all taxes and fees. The same dates on Iceland Express result in a total price of $785 -- but that, of course, requires a one-stop flight via Reykjavik.
Keep in mind that on other dates, Iceland Express sometimes quotes rates as high as $905 (including tax and fees) round-trip between New York and London. But that quote still produces a saving of at least $241.
To come up with a price of only $785 round-trip on Iceland Express will sometimes require that you shift the dates of your flights away from what you wanted to choose. But careful analysis will permit some travelers to cross the ocean for less than $800.
Which leaves Iceland Express as the sole remaining safety valve. Although the Iceland-based upstart will no longer be offering round-trip fares in the $400s and $500s, as they did last year, it is possible on some dates -- I stress the word "some" -- to fly trans-Atlantic this summer on Iceland Express for as little as $785 round-trip, including all government taxes and fees. And that occasional price will probably save you some $360.
A test booking on British Airways for a round-trip flight between New York and London on Mondays in June results in a total price of $1,146 per person, including all taxes and fees. The same dates on Iceland Express result in a total price of $785 -- but that, of course, requires a one-stop flight via Reykjavik.
Keep in mind that on other dates, Iceland Express sometimes quotes rates as high as $905 (including tax and fees) round-trip between New York and London. But that quote still produces a saving of at least $241.
To come up with a price of only $785 round-trip on Iceland Express will sometimes require that you shift the dates of your flights away from what you wanted to choose. But careful analysis will permit some travelers to cross the ocean for less than $800.
China Focus Travel Has Just Announced Remarkable Rates for November
Based on that absurdly under-valued Chinese currency, which keeps Chinese travel as cheap as Chinese apparel in Wal-Mart, China Focus Travel (
www.chinafocustravel.com
) has just announced a startling sale. It has published its rates for November -- simply for November and only one week later in one instance -- for the purpose of making a dramatic show of its tour bargains. In a month when the weather in China isn't bad at all (and prices are usually much higher than in winter), China Focus Travel has pledged to operate tours of multiple, valuable features (good hotels, many meals, much sightseeing) for as little as $899 per person, including round-trip airfare from San Francisco (with government air taxes included). You'd undoubtedly pay that much simply for round-trip airfare from New York to Dublin!
Four promotions are especially dramatic:
Simply Beijing from $899: Flies you round-trip to the Chinese capital from San Francisco and puts you up in a five-star hotel for six nights, including breakfast and lunch on two days and breakfast only on the others. The price per person from San Francisco, including all air fees and taxes (but not the visa fee), is $899 per person for the departures of November 15, November 22, and November 29. The price goes up to $999 per person for the departures of November 1 and November 8, and the price is $329 more throughout November from New York.
The Great Getaway (Beijing, Suzhou, Tongli, and Shanghai) from $999: The first of the multi-city tours, yet offered at a stunning price of $999, again including round-trip air from Shanghai (with all air fees and taxes included), four- and five-star hotels for 7 nights, breakfast and lunch on 5 days, breakfast only on 2 days, all for $999 on the departures of November 22 and November 29, and for $1099 on November 1, November 8, and November 15; $320 more if you fly from New York City.
The Great Wall and Terra Cotta Soldiers (Beijing, Xian, Shanghai) from $1399: Flies you from San Francisco to Beijing, then to Xian, then to Shanghai, puts you up for 7 nights at 4- and 5-star hotels, provides three meals a day on 4 days, breakfast only on 3 days, includes government fees and taxes on air transportation both to and within China, and costs only $1,399 for departures on November 30 and December 7, $1,499 on departures of November 9, November 16, and November 23, and charges $320 more from New York City.
Historic China (Shanghai, Suzhou, Taian, Qufu, Jinan and Beijing) from $1,299: China Focus' most popular tour and a particular value, in that your stay in China is for 9 nights (in 4-star and 5-star hotels), air transportation is from San Francisco to Shanghai and from Beijing back to San Francisco (including all air taxes and fees), includes all three meals daily on 7 days and breakfast only on 2 days, and takes you to visit five Chinese cities: Shanghai, Suzhou, Taian, Qufu, Jinan and Beijing, including all transportation within China. The price is a surprising $1,299 for departures on November 21 and November 28, $1,399 for departures on November 7 and November 14, and $320 more from New York City.
Prices for all four programs reflect a considerable drop from summer rates, and are yet for departures in a month -- November -- when temperatures are relatively comfortable. Finally, there is considerable daily, escorted sightseeing on all but one day of the three multi-city programs, and on all but two days of the program devoted simply to Beijing. You'll find all the details by accessing China Focus' website.
At these rates, the trips are bound to sell out quickly, and if you have any interest in them, you should book early.
Four promotions are especially dramatic:
Simply Beijing from $899: Flies you round-trip to the Chinese capital from San Francisco and puts you up in a five-star hotel for six nights, including breakfast and lunch on two days and breakfast only on the others. The price per person from San Francisco, including all air fees and taxes (but not the visa fee), is $899 per person for the departures of November 15, November 22, and November 29. The price goes up to $999 per person for the departures of November 1 and November 8, and the price is $329 more throughout November from New York.
The Great Getaway (Beijing, Suzhou, Tongli, and Shanghai) from $999: The first of the multi-city tours, yet offered at a stunning price of $999, again including round-trip air from Shanghai (with all air fees and taxes included), four- and five-star hotels for 7 nights, breakfast and lunch on 5 days, breakfast only on 2 days, all for $999 on the departures of November 22 and November 29, and for $1099 on November 1, November 8, and November 15; $320 more if you fly from New York City.
The Great Wall and Terra Cotta Soldiers (Beijing, Xian, Shanghai) from $1399: Flies you from San Francisco to Beijing, then to Xian, then to Shanghai, puts you up for 7 nights at 4- and 5-star hotels, provides three meals a day on 4 days, breakfast only on 3 days, includes government fees and taxes on air transportation both to and within China, and costs only $1,399 for departures on November 30 and December 7, $1,499 on departures of November 9, November 16, and November 23, and charges $320 more from New York City.
Historic China (Shanghai, Suzhou, Taian, Qufu, Jinan and Beijing) from $1,299: China Focus' most popular tour and a particular value, in that your stay in China is for 9 nights (in 4-star and 5-star hotels), air transportation is from San Francisco to Shanghai and from Beijing back to San Francisco (including all air taxes and fees), includes all three meals daily on 7 days and breakfast only on 2 days, and takes you to visit five Chinese cities: Shanghai, Suzhou, Taian, Qufu, Jinan and Beijing, including all transportation within China. The price is a surprising $1,299 for departures on November 21 and November 28, $1,399 for departures on November 7 and November 14, and $320 more from New York City.
Prices for all four programs reflect a considerable drop from summer rates, and are yet for departures in a month -- November -- when temperatures are relatively comfortable. Finally, there is considerable daily, escorted sightseeing on all but one day of the three multi-city programs, and on all but two days of the program devoted simply to Beijing. You'll find all the details by accessing China Focus' website.
At these rates, the trips are bound to sell out quickly, and if you have any interest in them, you should book early.
April 7, 2011
Las Vegas on Sale: Dramatic Discounts at Luxurious Aria Hotel, from $129 Per Night in April and May
Things are still looking soft at the ultra-deluxe Aria Hotel in Las Vegas. The booking charts of MGM Resorts (
www.mgmresorts.com
) for that elegant property still show five remaining April dates when rooms are available for only $129 a night (April 17, 18, 19, 20 and 24) and nine days in May when rooms are offered for only $129 a night (May 4, 5, 8, 15, 16, 26, 30 and 31).
The stretch of rock-bottom rates from April 17-20 is particularly enticing. Note that Aria normally tries to get $300-plus for those spiffy accommodations. Considering the dramatic discounts presently offered for the luxurious Aria Hotel, there appears to be no real upturn in business for the deluxe hotels of Las Vegas.
The stretch of rock-bottom rates from April 17-20 is particularly enticing. Note that Aria normally tries to get $300-plus for those spiffy accommodations. Considering the dramatic discounts presently offered for the luxurious Aria Hotel, there appears to be no real upturn in business for the deluxe hotels of Las Vegas.
How to Book a Balcony Cabin from $799 Per Person on Royal Caribbean's "Allure" and "Oasis of the Seas"
I recently drew attention to the heavy discounts on two gigantic ships that were supposedly (according to Royal Caribbean) the most popular vessels afloat: the 6,000-passenger
Allure of the Seas
and 6,000-passenger
Oasis of the Seas
. Both of them are currently sailing one-week cruises round-trip from Ft. Lauderdale every weekend.
That something is amiss with these two theme-parks-at-sea is now further confirmed by a substantial improvement in the size of those discounts from the discount cruise broker Online Vacation Center ( www.onlinevacationcenter.com ). Not only has the price been lowered to $799 per person on upcoming sailings of these two ships, but payment of the $799 (which used to buy you an inside cabin, without portholes) will now get you a balcony-equipped cabin (though one gazing out at inward "neighborhoods") on both ships.
Specifically, $799 per person will get you a neighborhood balcony cabin on a 7-night sailing of the eastern Caribbean aboard the Oasis of the Seas, departing round-trip from Ft. Lauderdale on Saturday, April 23. You can also pay $799 per person for a 7-night sailing of the western Caribbean, departing round-trip from Ft. Lauderdale on Saturday, April 16.
Similarly, $799 per person will get you a neighborhood balcony cabin on a 7-night sailing of the western Caribbean aboard the Allure of the Seas, departing round-trip from Ft. Lauderdale on Sunday, April 24, or a 7-night sailing of the eastern Caribbean departing round-trip from Ft. Lauderdale on Sunday, April 17.
To take advantage of deals on either ship -- at a price and for a cabin situation never before offered -- phone Online Vacation Center at tel. 800/329-9002.
That something is amiss with these two theme-parks-at-sea is now further confirmed by a substantial improvement in the size of those discounts from the discount cruise broker Online Vacation Center ( www.onlinevacationcenter.com ). Not only has the price been lowered to $799 per person on upcoming sailings of these two ships, but payment of the $799 (which used to buy you an inside cabin, without portholes) will now get you a balcony-equipped cabin (though one gazing out at inward "neighborhoods") on both ships.
Specifically, $799 per person will get you a neighborhood balcony cabin on a 7-night sailing of the eastern Caribbean aboard the Oasis of the Seas, departing round-trip from Ft. Lauderdale on Saturday, April 23. You can also pay $799 per person for a 7-night sailing of the western Caribbean, departing round-trip from Ft. Lauderdale on Saturday, April 16.
Similarly, $799 per person will get you a neighborhood balcony cabin on a 7-night sailing of the western Caribbean aboard the Allure of the Seas, departing round-trip from Ft. Lauderdale on Sunday, April 24, or a 7-night sailing of the eastern Caribbean departing round-trip from Ft. Lauderdale on Sunday, April 17.
To take advantage of deals on either ship -- at a price and for a cabin situation never before offered -- phone Online Vacation Center at tel. 800/329-9002.
April 6, 2011
Good Deal/Booking Nightmare: How to Get to France on XL Airways
Remember France's XL Airways? It's the small carrier that's supposedly going to undercut all the standard fares this summer for crossing the Atlantic. Whereas heavy-handed, old fashioned companies like Air France are going to be charging as much as $1,500 round-trip between New York and Paris (including all fees and taxes), XL Airways (with 16 years of experience flying within Europe and on long-haul routes to Africa and Asia) is going to be charging as little (on some dates) as $747 round-trip between New York and Paris -- a big saving.
Trouble is, it's hard to find a method of booking XL Airways' flights on the Internet (thus avoiding the extra booking fees you'd have to pay to intermediaries). I, for one, haven't been able to find an English-language website for XL Airways, and the French-language site seems designed for persons originating their trans-Atlantic flights in Paris.
And yet... And yet... Would you believe that some airfare search engines are offering to confirm low-cost flights across the Atlantic on XL Airways? If you'll go to www.vayama.com (as a friend of mine did three weeks ago, and as I did yesterday), you'll find that an XL Airways flight scheduled to depart on May 23 (when its service is supposed to commence) and returning a week later, can be booked on that site for $747 (including all taxes and fees). The closest other rate is $900-some-odd for an awkward one-stop flight to Paris on Iberia Airlines, going there via Madrid, and then all the other airlines are cited as charging $1,100 all the way up to $1,500 for the non-stop itinerary to Paris.
So there it is. If you'll believe Vayama.com (and there's no reason not to do so), you can fly the Atlantic this summer for far less than others will be charging. Though XL Airways has massively botched its introduction to the American public (in my view), it apparently will be flying trans-Atlantic several times a week this coming summer, and offers a chance to reduce the cost substantially. Just know that you'll be on a plane that's mainly filled with privileged French travelers, to whom XL Airways apparently does offer a convenient means of booking these low fares.
One caveat: it's almost impossible to tell from any published source whether XL Airways' prices include a fuel surcharge, and whether the competing prices also include a fuel surcharge. It's possible that the $747 price on Vayama.com (including government taxes and fees) doesn't include such a surcharge, but if that's the case, then the competing fares don't include such a surcharge either. If I sound confused, it's because I've been left in that condition by XL Airways' failure to create an explanatory website.
Trouble is, it's hard to find a method of booking XL Airways' flights on the Internet (thus avoiding the extra booking fees you'd have to pay to intermediaries). I, for one, haven't been able to find an English-language website for XL Airways, and the French-language site seems designed for persons originating their trans-Atlantic flights in Paris.
And yet... And yet... Would you believe that some airfare search engines are offering to confirm low-cost flights across the Atlantic on XL Airways? If you'll go to www.vayama.com (as a friend of mine did three weeks ago, and as I did yesterday), you'll find that an XL Airways flight scheduled to depart on May 23 (when its service is supposed to commence) and returning a week later, can be booked on that site for $747 (including all taxes and fees). The closest other rate is $900-some-odd for an awkward one-stop flight to Paris on Iberia Airlines, going there via Madrid, and then all the other airlines are cited as charging $1,100 all the way up to $1,500 for the non-stop itinerary to Paris.
So there it is. If you'll believe Vayama.com (and there's no reason not to do so), you can fly the Atlantic this summer for far less than others will be charging. Though XL Airways has massively botched its introduction to the American public (in my view), it apparently will be flying trans-Atlantic several times a week this coming summer, and offers a chance to reduce the cost substantially. Just know that you'll be on a plane that's mainly filled with privileged French travelers, to whom XL Airways apparently does offer a convenient means of booking these low fares.
One caveat: it's almost impossible to tell from any published source whether XL Airways' prices include a fuel surcharge, and whether the competing prices also include a fuel surcharge. It's possible that the $747 price on Vayama.com (including government taxes and fees) doesn't include such a surcharge, but if that's the case, then the competing fares don't include such a surcharge either. If I sound confused, it's because I've been left in that condition by XL Airways' failure to create an explanatory website.
April 5, 2011
Travel Writer Roger Wade Returns to the Internet with a Site Devoted to the Real Cost of Travel
It's interesting to track the careers of travel writers who challenge normal boundaries, always trying to discover new and different approaches to journeys and vacations. I used to follow the efforts of Roger Wade, former Content Director at BootsnAll Travel (who once wrote an article dissecting my own former efforts to live on $5 a day), but was then puzzled when he seemed to disappear -- almost consciously left the travel writing field -- for at least the past eighteen-or-so months.
The reason why he vanished from view became clear this week with receipt of an e-mail in which he tells of his latest project. I thought you might be interested in it:
The reason why he vanished from view became clear this week with receipt of an e-mail in which he tells of his latest project. I thought you might be interested in it:
I left my position at BootsnAll Travel at the end of 2009, and since then I've been traveling around Asia and working on a new online resource... It's www.priceoftravel.com and among other things I've researched and tracked prices for tourist expenses like hotels, hostels, attractions, transportation, food and drinks, in over 110 cities around the world, all converted into U.S. dollars at today's exchange rate.Among other things, as I've since discovered, Roger Wade has recently published a price index for backpackers' travel, listing the places where the most frugal travelers on earth can live for less than even they envision. He has followed up most recently with a price index for the "three-star" tourist -- i.e., the cost-conscious (but non-backpacking) traveler -- listing, among other places, the cities of best value budget travel. His European index, starting with Krakow, Poland; Budapest; and Istanbul; and going on later to Bruges, Lisbon and Berlin; is well documented; but then becomes highly controversial with the inclusion of Prague and London, but he makes a mighty effort to show how even budget-minded travelers can live affordably in the latter two places.
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