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6 Family Travel Headaches–Solved!

When I got into the travel business back in the ’90s, I had no idea where it would take me, but over the years, I’ve come to specialize in a couple of niche markets: family travel and single-parent travel (in that order, thanks to a divorce in 2000). I have done many television and radio interviews on these topic over the years, and the same six questions keep popping up. So if you are getting a headache trying to figure out how to finagle your family travel, start here. I…

EZ Find: Where Was This Service 10 Years Ago?

I remember back in the summer of ’79 (no, this is not some knockoff Bryan Adams song), when I was heading to Bermuda with my parents. As a rebellious 18-year-old, there were a million other places I would rather have been, but hey, it was Bermuda, and it was free. So, I kicked back in my seat on Eastern Airlines out of Philadelphia and lost myself in the high-tech world of my brand-new Sony Walkman. With this piece of technology, along with eight or nine cassette tapes and a pocketful…

Traveler Comments That Make You Say, "Duh!"

I have been in the travel industry for over a decade. I have owned retail agencies and online agencies and have spent countless hours working with clients helping to plan that perfect trip. My recent column on “Become an Instant Travel Agent!” schemes brought out the fury of the multi-level marketing (MLM) crowd, who claim that most Internet-savvy consumers do not need the hand-holding and personal advice of a professional travel agent. I beg to differ. Below is a small sample of the many obtuse comments clients have made to…

Six Jeers For Six Flags

A few weeks ago, I snuck off from work and played hooky with my kids. We gathered up my girlfriend and her kids and headed straight for that icon of American summer fun: the amusement park. Fortunately, I live in Annapolis, Md., and a Six Flags theme park is literally around the corner. We did have a fun day. We left tired, sunburned, wet and poor — all indicative of some fun, for sure. But this visit left me thinking. Remember the old rivalry between the two rental car companies…

Hey, I’m Not THAT Old…Yet!

OK, now I am ticked off. Last week I received a solicitation in the mail to join AARP. Yes, that AARP! The American Association of Retired Persons. Sure, I have the silver hair, and my kids think I am ancient, but believe me, the only way I’m going to enter their little club is kicking and screaming every step of the way. But indignation did not stop me from perusing the AARP flier and checking out the benefits of being what I prefer to call “maturely young” (or, as…

Oh No! Is It Summer Already?

Procrastination seems to be my middle name. Late last week, I got the dreaded e-mail from my editor reminding me that I was once again past deadline for one of my Tripso columns. This one, in fact. So after I lied to her (“It’s almost done!”), I sat down and put pen to paper only to realize that not only had I procrastinated writing the column, I also hadn’t I figured out what to do with my three kids for a summer vacation. In the interest of killing two birds…

Thou Shalt Not Travel Like An Idiot

Remember when you were a kid and all your friends would throw you down on the ground and begin to beat you till you cried “Uncle!”? Well, apparently I am reliving my youth, and you heard it here first: Uncle! In my last column, I suggested that there were Twelve Commandments of Travel that Moses seems to have lost as he came down the mountain. I made the mistake of asking if my readers had suggestions for more. Apparently, I struck a nerve. It seems everyone has an opinion about…

The Ten Commandments of Travel

OK, so I am not a religion scholar and I have no idea how long it took God to come up with the Ten Commandments for us mortals to live a good and moral life. (I do know that travelers the world over have been squawking for a Passenger’s Bill of Rights for many years.) But over the years, I have learned a thing or two about travel, and — believe me — the airlines, cruise lines, car rental agencies, and the hotel industry are not always the devils in…

Holiday Inn Makes A Big Splash

Unless you live on one of the coasts, getting to the beach for some splash fun usually involves a plane trip or a cross-country jaunt in the station wagon. Well, water lovers, take heart. There is a new breed of water park out there that brings that family fun a lot closer to home. Quietly over the past few years, one of the icons of the American roadway has been developing themed water parks with the idea of bringing the beach to Middle America. Flume rides, hot tubs, splash zones,…

How to Eliminate the Single Supplement

Readers have asked me “IS THERE A WAY TO AVOID THE SINGLE SUPPLEMENT CHARGED TO SINGLE PARENTS?” The answer is both YES and NO. Let’s talk about the NO first. If you are traveling during high season, hotels and cruise lines are not likely to give you any breaks. For example, let’s say you are traveling in July to Rapid City, South Dakota, the jumping off point for Mt. Rushmore. The “Wild West” Motel charges $80 for a double and $70 for a single room. Kids under 18…