Travel

The Vacation Doc Is In

By Pauline Frommer

Reading the headlines might make you think that no one can afford to travel anymore. The U.S. dollar keeps falling to new lows against the euro and the pound, and is now worth just about as much as the Canadian loonie. Airfares keep rising, with fuel charges and other fees driving the cost higher and higher, particularly on international trips. Hotel rates are pushing through the roof, with rooms in such popular cities as New York and Boston averaging between $280 and $300 a night. In just the last two years, rental car costs are up 20 percent—and that doesn't even include the price of filling up the tank. Even the national parks are upping their entrance fees! It's enough to make you decide to liquidate the vacation fund in favor of a new washer-dryer. But could that dryer spin you halfway around the world, to a place where, say, the restaurant's own home-pressed wine is served with lunch, and just down the street is one of the world's great museums? Or to a park where buffalo surround your car as you carefully inch by, while in the distance geysers spout, wolves howl and the landscape looks just as it did 500 years ago? Or to a bustling camel market in the middle of the Sahara? To a lost city perched on a mountaintop in the Andes? To a powdery beach where the waters are as aquamarine as the blue curaçao cocktail you hold in your hand?

Sure, state-of-the-art spin cycle is all fine and dandy, but it doesn't compare with travel, which has the hidden benefits of making you smarter, better-looking and a more upstanding citizen.

Smarter because there's no finer education than seeing the world; more attractive because a good vacation reduces stress more effectively than Prozac (and think of the shopping opportunities!); and a finer citizen because, like it or not, we exist in a global community. Firsthand knowledge of how those in other countries live their lives and choose their policies is essential to the informed voter.

Travel doesn't have to be extraordinarily expensive, either, to give you these benefits. Despite the gloom and doom of rising prices, there are still deals to be had, less expensive destinations to frequent and alternate forms of transportation and lodging that can cut your travel costs in half.

And I'm going to let you in on a dirty little secret: Traveling isn't the hassle-ridden activity that the pundits are making it out to be, either. You simply have too many eager travel writers in search of dramatic headlines (and I'll admit I've fallen prey to that temptation more than once).

True, the airports are much busier than they've ever been, with nightmare stories of passengers missing flights and being stuck on the tarmac. But even with record delays, 73 percent of planes are still getting where they're going on time, and a substantial percentage of the other 27 percent are clocking only 15 minutes or so in delays. And the backlog of millions of unissued passports is a shameful mess, but paying to have processing expedited still works (though it's frustrating that one has to resort to it).

So how do you sort through what's real and what's hype, and perhaps as important, find travel options that are affordable, whatever your budget happens to be?

That's where I come in.

At my new online home on MSN Travel, I'll be answering your questions and interacting with you, the readers. Want to go to destination X, Y or Z (or perhaps even a hot spot from the front of the alphabet)? I'll give you my advice on how to plan a vacation within your budget that will suit your tastes and expectations. Had a problem with a travel provider and want to know how to resolve it? I'll do my best to step into the fray and give you a workable solution. Can't decide on a destination that your kids will like, that would be appropriate for a family reunion or that's accessible for a traveler with disabilities? Send in your vacation specs, and I'll do my best to come up with a trip tailor-made for you.

Each month, I'll be writing one column on trends in travel, and another in response to the e-mails you send to msntrav@microsoft.com.

So let's start a conversation about how to make travel more rewarding. The more interesting, complicated or perhaps heartrending the question, the more likely we'll pick it to answer publicly in this column.

I look forward to coming up with prescriptions for your next trip. May it make you smarter, better-looking and a more informed citizen—and yes, may it also be affordable.

Pauline Frommer is the creator of the new Pauline Frommer guidebooks, geared toward budget-conscious adults. Her book Pauline Frommer's New York City was named best guidebook of the year by The North American Travel Journalists Association. In addition, she won a Lowell Thomas Medal from the Society of American Travel Writers for her magazine work. She co-hosts a weekly radio show on travel with her father, travel expert Arthur Frommer, that's heard on more than 110 stations nationwide.

New Seven Wonders of the World - How to Get There by Air

From Arlene Fleming,
Your Guide to Air Travel.
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The new 7 wonders of the world were announced in Portugal on July 7, 2007. Hmmm, 7 wonders announced on 07/07/07, coincidence? I think not. More than 100 million votes from around the globe determined the list. But how does one get to these new 7 wonders of the world? Some are easier than others but to get there by air? These are the newly-christened man-made wonders of the world and the most convenient airports for them.

Great Wall of China
When I traveled to see the Great Wall of China, I followed the advice of the guidebooks for a city bus out of Beijing. It can definitely be done as a day trip if you have time constraints. Well, in the end it turned out that the public transit route no longer existed, and at that point in the morning I had missed the bus in terms of ones organized by the hotel.
Instead, although it was cheap, the "public" bus had become a tourist one intended for Chinese visitors. This meant endless stops at tombs, a sad theme park, and finally 2 hours at the Badaling portion of the Great Wall in the late afternoon. Lucky for me a student was kind enough to practice his English with me so he translated the tour guide's explanations. Still, learn from my experience and hire a taxi or take a bus organized by the hotel.
Making your way out of Beijing's airport should give you an idea of how to get to the city center from the Beijing airport.
Beijing International Airport Information

Chichen Itza, Mexico
The remote location of Chichen Itza, means that organizing transportation is key to visiting this wonder. It is located close enough for a day trip from the resort town of Cancun, so securing transportation shouldn't be too difficult. Most resorts in the Yucatan will be able to at least set up your transportation, or a tour of this wonder of the world.
Cancun International Airport - Cancun, Mexico Information

Christ the Redeemer Statue, Rio de Janeiro
This statue stands atop Corcovado mountain in the Tijuca Forest National Park. From the city or airport, this popular visitor attraction can be reached by taking public transit or taxi, and then taking the tram up the mountain for a closer look. The nice thing about the location is it's not all that far from the beach!

Galeao - Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport Information

Machu Picchu, Peru
Machu Picchu is not located anywhere close to an international airport. The closest town to the site is Aguas Calientes, where a lot of visitors who are not doing the Inca trail will stay in order to get an early start visiting this newly named wonder. Cusco, which is a bumpy train ride away does have an airport with several domestic flights.
However, many travelers choose Lima's international airport as their last airport before embarking on their treks towards the mountainous location of Machu Picchu (myself included). I had planned on flying into Cusco, but Aero Peru went under the week before, rendering my airline tickets useless. I did find bus and train travel to be quite comfortable and very inexpensive throughout Peru, with the exception of the rather bumpy train ride between Cusco and Aguas Calientes. From there you can purchase a round trip minibus ride for a few dollars.
Jorge Chávez International Airport - Lima, Peru Information

Petra, Jordan
Jordan is not a large country, so Petra is a potential day trip from Amman or its surroundings, and it is certainly the easiest of Jordanian airports to fly into in terms of choice. Because of Petra's location, you won't be able to look at public transportation, so hiring a taxi or taking a tourist bus will be the viable options for visiting this wonder of the world.
Queen Alia International Airport - Amman Information

Roman Colosseum, Italy
This is probably the most easily accessible new wonder of the world. Really a subway ride away. And although Rome has several airports, it is Fiumicino that is most known by international visitors. My most recent travels to Rome had me arriving during the dog days of summer, and an airport that was bursting at the seams with passengers (read - complete and utter chaos). It was a confusing enough time that I felt it necessary to write about navigating this not so wonder-ful airport.
Rome Leonardo da Vinci Fiumicino Airport Information

Taj Mahal, India
There is no airport in Agra, where the Taj Mahal is located, but you can fly to Delhi and then take a train between the two cities. The travel time between the two is approximately three hours, give or take your ability to jockey for a spot on one of the usually crowded trains. The best train station to arrive into in terms of both proximity and frequency of trains is Agra Cantt. There is also bus service from Delhi.
Indira Gandhi International Airport Information