Advice: What if your flight is oversold?

Tips to keep in mind if your flight is oversold: • Know your rights and the maximum compensation if you’re bumped, which depends on how quickly the airline can put you on another flight. You aren’t compensated if the airline gets you to your destination up to an hour late. You receive up to $400 [...]

These apps will help you conquer a fear of flying

As family, friends and that woman who sat next to me on my last flight all know, I’m a nervous flyer. My anxiety has gotten better over the years — I don’t weep openly anymore — but I still get sweaty palms and a racing heartbeat upon takeoff. When the engine noise changes, I go [...]

Parents who shouldn’t be allowed on planes

During a recent 2-1/2-hour flight from Portland, Maine, to Charlotte, North Carolina, Tom Meador heard nothing but crying. “The baby in the back row screamed bloody murder,” he remembers. “Its mother did everything she could think of to quiet the baby. She actually was dripping with sweat because you could tell she worried about what [...]

Rome to let tourists see Colosseum underground

Tourists will soon be able to visit the underground of the Colosseum, where gladiators once prepared for fights and lions and tigers were caged before entertaining a bloodthirsty public. Rome culture officials said Wednesday that, after several months of work to make the area safe for visits, the public will be allowed to add the [...]

9 ways to keep your car safe on the road

Travelers put their cars to almost every use imaginable: as a place to eat meals, hide things, take shelter from the elements and even live (on a trip to Pamplona several years ago, the smallest guy in our traveling party slept in the trunk). Since your car can be almost your home away from home [...]

Caves, canoes in France’s Dordogne

A reader once asked me if I were to bring a spry, 73-year-old grandmother to Europe, where would I go? My response: France’s Dordogne River Valley. I’d take her for a float down the river in a canoe, then cap the day with a great riverside meal — letting her enjoy goose liver (explaining what [...]

Travel deals: Orbitz summer hotel sale

Still looking for a summer getaway? Orbitz’s Summer Hotel Sale is offering up to 40 percent off at thousands of hotels worldwide. Travel dates vary by hotel, but most are offering discounts through August. Additionally, book by June 20 to receive two coupons, with a combined value of $300, for additional trips in 2010. Here’s [...]