It’s high noon in Sedona, Ariz., and the vacation crowds are swelling in the early spring heat. They’re jamming up Highway 89A with their RVs, playing bumper-cars on the roundabouts, and forming long lines at the grocery stores and restaurants.
summer
These travel agents go above and beyond the call of duty
Travel agents should really stop calling themselves travel agents. Travel advisors is a better word. Or perhaps even travel advocates.
6 consumer mistakes you absolutely have to avoid this summer
You’ve probably already heard a lot of advice about what you should do do this summer — buy this, vacation there, see that movie. But what shouldn’t you do?
Skiing in summer? Only at this California resort
Don’t look now, but there’s a guy next to me at the bottom of the chairlift. He’s snowboarding in a swimsuit. And nothing else.
Avoid visa problems this summer. Here’s how.
If you travel abroad this summer, look out for visa trouble.
Bait-and-switched into booking a summer “bargain”? Then read this
Now you see those summer travel deals. Now you don’t.
Is the TSA’s PreCheck program ready for what comes next?
The Transportation Security Administration’s vaunted new PreCheck system, which offers selected air travelers access to expedited security screening, is hurtling toward its first big test: a crowd of spring break passengers, quickly followed by a crush of inexperienced summer vacationers.
Although the agency assigned to protect U.S. transportation systems says that it’s ready, some travelers remain unconvinced. They point to problems with the existing PreCheck procedures and their own often inconsistent experiences with them.
Here’s how PreCheck is supposed to work: Passengers pay an $85 enrollment fee and submit to a background check and interview. In exchange, they may receive a pre-9/11 type of screening that allows them to keep on their shoes, belts and light outerwear, leave their laptops in their cases and not remove clear zip-top bags of liquids and gels from their carry-on luggage.
Going anywhere this spring and summer? (SURVEY)
It’s that time of year. I’m interested in your upcoming travel plans — and your best advice for a better trip.
Please take the survey. I’ll report the results soon.
Who would you ban from your car this summer?
We’re on a three-week road trip from Orlando to Philadelphia, with stops in the Florida Panhandle (we’re currently at the Holiday Inn Resort here) Atlanta and Washington. It’s all of us — two adults, three kids ages 6, 8 and 11.
Our “banned” list already includes any food that crumbles, particularly cookies and crackers. Our Hertz rental car would look like a federal disaster area, otherwise. There’s also a moratorium on loud toys, like my daughter’s stuffed bear that belts out Take Me Out to the Ballgame.
But we can’t agree on the music.