Fall And Winter Packages at Alisal Ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley Alisal Guest Ranch & Resort near Santa Barbara may, indeed, be in peak season from September-May, when guests can partake in the Round- Up Vacation Package, Couples Bootcamp, the November Harvest Weekend, Cowboy Christmas, and March’s annual BBQ Bootcamp. Round-Up Vacation: From September-May […]

By Lark Ellen Gould Baggage fees are like that oddly camouflaged elephant in the living room. You know you have to buy a ticket to get from Point A to Point B; you know approximately what that ticket should cost and your budget available for it, and you expect the transaction and subsequent flights to […]

How fickle are U.S. travelers for an irresistible travel bargain? Quite fickle and even more spontaneous if the deal is right, says a recent survey by Travel-Ticker, which sought to learn how amiable American travelers are to changing their summer travel plans mid stream. The 2012 Summer Traveler Intentions Survey was conducted in May and […]

By Lark Ellen Gould Hawaii is hot these days. The come-back state is on the rise with hotel occupancy rates reaching the 80 percent mark and room rates climbing 6.4 percent to a whopping $212 per night on average. Despite the doldrums economy and relatively high cost of a Hawaii vacation, the people are coming, […]

  The orders are clear: must be warm, have a beach, have room service, great weather, and shopping nearby. Must be clean, uncrowded and possess a shimmer of luxury. While this list could be the contents of a classified ad, or even an odd and desperate take on a personals blurb, it is neither. It […]

Iraq? North Korea? No problem. Adventures Abroad, a small Canadian group-tour specialist, has introduced an odd, but potentially very popular new series of tours to Iraq and North Korea. The north of the DMZ itineraries provide a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit one of the most secretive and intriguing countries in the world. And an organized […]

While Washington lawmakers are looking at the language of a Privacy Bill of Rights act circulating through the Halls of Congress, more and more greedy mobile phone apps are crowding the consumer landscape with unusual ways of extracting consumer information and exacting buyer attention. A recent National Public Radio report shed light on a topic […]

A new study by Egencia, a member of the Expedia group, proves there’s plenty of room for travel sellers to get an edge if they’re armed with the right information. Surveying a database of 300 travel buyers world wide and then incorporating information from Smith Travel Research, ARC and OAG filings, Egencia came up with […]

While Americans are traveling in droves over the Independence Day Holiday, taking advantage of tepidly positive economic indicators and a welcome drop in gas prices, travel is looking bullish all around on the summer vacation front. Allianz Global Assistance USA, the seller of travel insurance formerly known as Access America, notes the portion of Americans […]

A summer spent wandering the gardens, markets and alleyways of Italy simply simmers with aroma. Fresh tomatoes, flavorful basils, magnificent sidewalk produce and the refreshing flows from baroque fountains combine for a magical experience in any season, but especially in summer. But summers in Italy are also alive with art and sound. Outdoor opera performances […]