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September 2008
Where do you go to find the best travel deals?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Higher airline fees, exorbitant gas costs and closed fuel pumps can make it feel like the deck is stacked against Atlanta travelers who want to get out of town right now. For many, stretching travel dollars has become increasingly more important. So where do you go to get the best travel deals?
Most people, it seems, hit the Internet in one way or another. Long gone are the days we called our travel agents to book a trip. If today’s traveler has a question about a destination, we’re more likely to check out frommers.com or lonelyplanet.com to get the answer instantly. Need a hotel reservation? It’s a click away at hotels.com. Just want advice from fellow travelers? Type in www.tripadvisor.com. And the list of travel-related sites goes on and on and on.
So, it seems natural that the Internet’s the place to start when you want to “get your travel on” for less. Booking sites like orbitz.com and expedia.com allow you to compare flights, hotels, rental cars, etc. Priceline.com goes a step further to let you bid for your own price. Hotwire’s experts post deals on flights, condos, cruises, hotels and cars as they find them on their Travel Ticker (www.travel-ticker.com). Smartertravel.com and budgettravel.com offer similar deals. (Please don’t forget ajc.com’s Travel Deals!)
Even airlines - mostly European, like Lufthansa and KLM — are beginning to go beyond booking tickets on the Internet to full-on Facebook-type social networking sites for their customers. While this makes me think of the ill-fated Dunder-Mifflin social networking site on The Office, these airlines are offering reduced fares and special packages for their online users - so it might just work.
When all else fails, there’s always frequent flier miles. I know… redeeming awards tickets can often be about as fun as entering the lower circles of Dante’s inferno. (It takes more miles to get a free ticket that you can’t use to go where you want, when you want.) Now, Delta allows its American Express Skymiles customers to trade in some of the miles for reduced ticket fares.
How do you support your travel habit? What are some of the best deals you have seen lately? Which of these sites do you use most often? Where do you find the biggest and best savings? Would you use an airline-sponsored social network if you could get cheaper tickets? Would you use Skymiles to pay part of your ticket price?
• Cut spending with the AJC’s Your Money page
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Worried about porn on the plane?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
What to do if your fellow passenger is watching “Debbie Does Dallas” and it’s not a new video from the local chamber of commerce?
American Airlines is fielding concerns from The Association of Professional Flight Attendants and passengers that the airlines’ program offering paid, in-flight Wi-Fi internet access on some of its flights could open a Pandora’s box of porn.
Even with those concerns, however, it’s unlikely airlines will pull the plug on this paid service. It’s considered an additional perk for its passengers, particularly business travelers.
Does the burden fall on flights crews to monitor? Afterall, passengers can bring magazines and DVDs onboard. It seems like a lot of work for flight crews to take care of passengers’ needs and police offending internet users.
What do you think? Should controls be put in place to make sure your seat mate isn’t watching porn? Would you simply move to another seat, if possible?
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Falling for the mountains of Asheville
Are you planning a trip to southwest NC?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It has been awhile since I took a trip to Asheville, but lately the mountain city has been calling me. A massive ASHEVILLE NC billboard near my grocery store might have something to do with it. Still, I prefer to think my wanderlust stems from a desire to experience the beauty of the Blue Ridge at its most picturesque time of year, instead of a confirmation that outdoor advertising does indeed work.
The city itself mixes an artist colony vibe with plenty of shopping, historical touring, great dining and sidewalk coffee-sipping. But what I like best about Asheville is that it serves as a great jumping off point for so many outdoor activities nearby.
As autumn rolls round, Asheville and its environs really kick into gear. Over the next few weeks, you can participate in numerous heritage festivals in the southwestern corner of North Carolina, including the 96th annual Cherokee Indian Festival. Or head to the Chimney Rock Park southeast of Asheville to climb the 315-foot tall Chimney and watch hundreds of broad-winged hawks fly over as they migrate south for the winter.
A fan of colorful autumn leaves? You can get up close on many guided hikes in the area. Or see the beauty of the leaves from the comfort of your train car on the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad’s leaf-viewing train trips.
Back in Asheville…if you’ve ever wondered what wine you should pair with your Gran’s best pot likker or fancied a taste of homespun bacon cotton candy, head to the Biltmore Estate for its annual Field to Table Festival (Sept. 19-28).
Another good thing about Asheville is that it’s only about 200 miles away, making it an easy weekend trip for Atlantans. (Click here for a full listing of things to see and do around Asheville.) As soon as I can find an open weekend, I’m packing the car and taking the family on a trip up there. With any luck, we’ll make it before the last leaves fall.
Let us know what you think about Asheville as a travel destination. How often do you go there, and what would you recommend fellow travelers see or do on their trip? Do you go for the atmosphere? Outdoor activities? The shopping? The Biltmore Estate? Where do you stay? Do you stick to town or take day trips out from Asheville? When is your favorite time to go? When is the best time to beat the crowds?
• MORE: Deals in Asheville, Asheville travel guide
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Travel + Leisure readers say Atlantans are not so attractive
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta may be the best city for singles, but those singles apparently aren’t all that good-looking, according to Travel + Leisure Magazine, which released its “America’s favorite cities 2008” reader survey results recently. In the survey, 25 major cities were ranked in 45 categories, and Atlanta came in 23rd out of 25 in the “attractiveness” category.
Well.
From where we sit and ogle, there are lots of beautiful people, men and women, to look at in Atlanta. OK, maybe not as beautiful as Travel + Leisure’s No. 1 city, Miami, but come on — we’re less attractive than Phoenix? Than Nashville? Than Orlando?
Right: Travel + Leisure readers say Miami has the most hotties (pictured: Mango’s Tropical Cafe across from South Beach), but Atlanta has fewer than almost every major U.S. city. Photo: Cheryl Blackerby/Palm Beach Post.
We ranked 3.79 out of a high score of 5, as compared to Miami, which scored a well-deserved 4.45. (See Atlanta’s full survey results here.)
Even so, our best rating was in the affordability category, where we came in 11th. Here’s a thought: Maybe we can take advantage of the affordable goods and services in the city and use them to gussy ourselves up?
Are Atlantans really that unattractive? Or do Travel + Leisure readers need to look again?
MORE: Read more about the survey here.
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Tap into your inner German at Helen’s Oktoberfest
Where do you go for Oktoberfest?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mention Oktoberfest, and most Georgians will tell you Helen, Ga. is THE place to head for oom-pah bands, the best of the wursts and of course, mass quantities of German beer (oder “bier” wenn Sie Deutsch sprechen.)
This week, Helen jump-starts its Oktoberfest celebrations, which run Thursdays through Sundays until September 28 and then daily through November 2. The little Alpine-themed village will host an Oktoberfest parade this Saturday at noon, before beckoning visitors to settle down for ein mass dunkles or helles (dark or pale beer) in the Festhalle and biergarten.
When I was a teenager, my German class would make the annual trek to Helen in lieu of the more expensive journey to Deutschland. Even without the beer, the Helen trip was fun for the handful of us who didn’t study French or Spanish in my school - campy, but fun. It’s not a real Bavarian town and singing “Ein prosit” in Helen doesn’t compare to singing it in Munich’s Theresienwiese. BUT… it’s a heckuva lot cheaper, and at two months long, it’s a heckuva party.
While Helen may host the biggest Oktoberfest in the region, it is by no means the only town around with an affinity for German autumnal celebrations. Some are big, some are small. Many focus on their town’s German heritage through music, history and food. And at least one - the fest in Cullman, Ala. — puts a true southern twist on the German tradition - no beer!! Dry county; dry Oktoberfest.
Here are links to a few of the many other Oktoberfests coming up in the southeast over the next few weeks:
*Historic Germantown (Nashville), Tenn.
What makes a good Oktoberfest? Do you travel to Helen for the party, or have you tried festivals elsewhere in the region? Where do you stay when you go? Aside from brat eating, beer drinking and polka dancing, what else do you do when you’re at a festival like this? If you’re a well-traveled Oktoberfest fan, feel free to list your favorite festival sites for us… and tell us how they nudge out their competition. (And if anyone knows…why is the Chicken Dance a must-do at Oktoberfest?!)
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What are your favorite tailgating destinations?
Fans hit the road for college football. How far will you travel to follow your team this fall?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
College football officially kicked off this past weekend, and fans of UGA and Ga. Tech were lucky to find their faves home for the season openers. As Georgia’s teams begin to take their games further afield to places like Columbia, Jacksonville, Chapel Hill and Blacksburg, many Atlantans will also follow.
Whenever football fans hit the road to follow their teams, they’re sure to find a small city of revelers parked outside each stadium — eating, drinking and counting down the minutes until kick off.
In our neighborhood, we know some Florida State University grads who drive to Tallahassee nearly every weekend to see the ‘Noles play there. Others rave about tailgating on The Grove at the Ole Miss campus in Oxford. And many a Georgian will converge to party in Jacksonville the weekend of the Georgia-Florida game.
While a true fan can tailgate anywhere, some schools have definitely elevated tailgating to an art form. In addition, certain university towns have more entertainment options after the game ends - making the journey more inviting to the away-game traveler. Four SEC schools recently made the ESPN Road Warrior’s list of 10 Best College Tailgating Scenes. Louisiana State University claimed the crown, as Ole Miss (#2), Tennessee (#3) and Auburn (#10) rounded out the list.
If you’ll need to take to the skies to follow your team’s schedule, check out Air Tran’s football deals. The airline recently announced special air fares to help transport football fans to some of the nation’s most anticipated college games - including Jacksonville and Phoenix, Ariz. (for UGA’s matchup against Arizona State).
Tell us … Will you be traveling to any away games this college football season? Which ones? Do you find some schools are more travel-worthy? Do you fly or drive? Where do you stay when you get there? (I always think of huge RVs filling the student parking lots for tailgating in Athens.) What’s your favorite tailgating school, and do you have a special spot where you tailgate there? Which campus/town offers the best post-game entertainment?
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