Travel News You Can Use
By Judy Newell

International Travel News

Italy deals that Expedia won’t tell you about

Eurofly is a discount airline that flies between New York City and Rome, Naples and other Italian cities. All of its flights are nonstop on new Airbus 330-200 planes. Beginning in September, Eurofly is offering vacation packages, such as a four-night air/hotel package from New York that starts at $680 per person after taxes. Web travel agencies, such as Expedia and Orbitz, or meta-search websites, such as Kayak, will not show these specials.

The new castle course at St. Andrews

The biggest story in golf travel is the new castle course at St. Andrews. It opens for the season June 28, 2008 and unlike the other Links Trust courses, closes for the winter and will only be played through October. Tee times for next year are already on. If you think Scotland might be on your 2008 radar, plan and reserve now.

The castle course, like the other six courses, is public. It’s really owned by the people of Scotland and St. Andrews, but operated by the Links Trust, a quasi-governmental organization charged by Parliament with operating these national treasures. Until now, all of its courses have been on a single chunk of land right in the middle of town, alongside the fabled old course, the first golf course on earth.

The new castle course is on cliffs about 60 feet above St. Andrew’s bay, just a mile and a half outside of town. Designed by David Kidd, it offers frequent views of the historic ruins of St. Andrews castle.



Visite Mexico 

Los Cabos marathon programs

A new program called the cabo marathon vacation is available for travel January 18 to 21, 2008, featuring Los Cabos and the annual international half-marathon (13.1 miles), slated for January 19.

Three-night vacations begin at US$429 per person, including accommodations at Tesoro Los Cabos, registration for the marathon, pasta dinner the night before the race, and entry to the official cocktail party at Cabo Wabo Cantina after the big event, as well as Sunday brunch at Tesoro, round-trip airport/hotel transfers, all hotel taxes and service charges, and a souvenir gift bag for the runner.

Cancun Tourism Up

The sun is shining again on Cancun tourism. After being socked by Hurricane Wilma in October 2005 and having many resorts out of commission in 2006, Cancun is the No. 1 Caribbean destination for Americans. The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) reports that about 869,000 Americans registered at Cancun’s ever-more-upscale hotels from January through June, up 37 percent from the same period in 2006, when many lodgings were out of service. 



Money-Saving Hints

How to save on Thanksgiving and Christmas airfare

There’s just no getting around it: The holidays are always the most expensive time to fly. But, by knowing when to book and when to fly, you can save a bundle.

Make plans for Thanksgiving or Christmas soon to find reasonable fares and decent availability on flights. After all, prices are guaranteed to go up as the season gets closer.

You’ll be able to save the biggest bucks by avoiding peak travel dates and traveling a day or two earlier than the crowds. For Thanksgiving, the busiest travel days will be the Tuesday and Wednesday before the holiday (Nov. 20 and 21) and the three days following the holiday (Nov. 24 through 26). In December, the most expensive travel days are Dec. 21 through 23 and Dec. 26 through 31.

Christmas falls on a Tuesday this year, so consider flying on Christmas Eve, as many travelers will fly out on the Friday or Saturday before Christmas. Avoid flying between Christmas and New Year’s Eve—many travel home for Christmas and then head back to their own cities to celebrate New Year’s Eve with friends.



Cruise News

Crystal sets US$1,250-per-person Vintage Room Dinner

Love luxurious dinners? Check out this one. Crystal Cruises will host its second “Ultimate Vintage Room Dinner” on Oct. 6 during Crystal Serenity’s cruise from Istanbul to Athens. The dinner will feature seven wines, including a nearly impossible to get 1961 German Riesling and a 1959 Chateau Mouton Rothschild, Pauillac, rated 100 by Robert Parker.

The dinner is priced at $1,250 per person, the highest price the line has ever charged for an onboard Vintage Room Dinner. Participants will dine on an extravagant meal prepared by Master Chef Anton Mosimann, with each course paired with vintages presented by Master Sommelier and President of the Guild of Sommeliers Frederick Dame.

Sources: USA Today, Modern Agent, Smartertravel.com, The Golfer’s World.

Judy Newell, a writer and travel industry executive, heads the custom tour company Perfect Journeys that specializes in luxury and adventure travel. Contact her with comments or suggestions at JudyNewell_03@msn.com  or go to her website www.PerfectJourneys.net.