What are we doing?

Dear Friends and Acquaintences --

As many of you know, we have a tendency to travel a bit. Our motto has been "jetset lifestyle on a pedestrian budget." Friends have suggested we pass some of our experiences along. So this is what this blog is about. Each post will cover either a generic topic or a specific travel destination. Look at the header to identify the subject ... if you would like to add your thoughts to what we post, please do. Remember you are getting words of wisdom based on our experience. You may not always agree with these words or your tastes may differ from ours. In any case, we hope you find this spot helpful.

Here's to adventure and having fun!

Slug and Snail

Airline Tickets: Cheap Deals, Around the World Tickets

These days finding a good airfare is hard (especially if you are traveling in Canada). We will provide a few tidbits. We usually find the best deals by going directly to an airline’s website. BUT this is not always true (we recommend your looking at several places for airfares).

Basics About Fares
It used to be that the cheapest ticket was obtained by either booking through a seat sale or well in advance. The climate, however, has changed. Sometimes the fares change on a daily basis – and not by always going up. We have see a high fare on day one, a lower fare on day two, and then a higher fare on day three (and then a week later seen the same pattern). In general, it seems that lower fares can be found if you are looking mid-week – the higher fares are seen at the end of the week.

How To Start Looking for a Low Fare
When looking for a fare, we start by going to http://matrix.itasoftware.com/cvg/dispatch/ This website will tell you what airlines fly to your destination and the current low fares available on each airline (as well as the number of connections). You can conduct a search for specific dates or you can look for a given period (e.g. over a month). After getting this information, we then look at other websites (the airline’s website and/or other travel websites) to see if we can find the low fare (or even a lower fare)

Booking the Deal
You should look at fares at general travel websites – e.g. www.expedia.com … if you are originating from the U.S. you may want to try to get a deal at www.priceline.com – this website now gives you two options – first you can take a deal (much like expedia and other travel websites) – or you can try your luck at making a bid for an airfare. If you are going to bid, you have to be flexible with respect to your time of travel. Priceline seems to operate in a fashion where it will go to the airlines and see what they are willing to take in terms of an airfare – most likely the better deals are received by customers willing to wait until the last minute to book their ticket. When dealing with any travel agent (via website or otherwise) do not forget to make sure you have done your homework to verify the agent is reputable. Also, make sure you understand the nature of the ticket – e.g. what happens if your flight is canceled? – what happens if you need to cancel your trip? If you are into collecting points (which we recommend) for your flights, will you receive points for the ticket and at what rate?

Secrets on Fare Classes
If you book on line directly with the airline, it is very difficult to figure out the "booking code" of your flights. American Airlines (www.aa.com ) recently added the booking code on the page that summarizes the flights just before you add in your payment information. But even with this information, it is difficult to figure out how to change your booking code if you are not using a travel agent. Why might you care? It turns out that (surprise, surprise) that fares do change based on booking code (for example not all business fares are the same). Also, if you like to collect airline miles or gain elite status with the airlines, the booking code can affect the number of qualifying points you receive. We did a bit of research on this and will refer you to three websites that will contain more information on this topic. www.flyertalk.com has forums and and bits of information on frequent flyer programs and airline ticket issues. http://matrix.itasoftware.com/cvg/dispatch/ will allow you to search for "seat availability" (look for the little button on the opening webpage titled "more options") -- it gives a bit more information but not as much as you would probably like. And the ITA website is a bit clunky -- you have to click on a particular flight and then click on the "booking details" to get the information on the booking code. It seems the best option is www.expertflyer.com -- this site has everything. BUT, you have to pay to use it (about $9.99 U.S. per month, less if you buy a yearly subscription). And if you want to see how many miles are you flying, go to tp://gc.kls2.com.

Seat Assignments
There are two ways to think about seat assignments -- first, how to avoid the middle seat; second, how to get the best seats given your fare class. Avoiding the middle seat is best done by getting a seat assigned as soon as you purchase your ticket. If you book on line you can usually do this as part of your booking. If you cannot, then call the airline directly and ask for a seat assignment. Getting the best seat can be tricky. Generally, bulk head and exit rows are the best. For longer flights, bulk heads are usually saved for families with babies. Exit rows usually (but not always) are assigned at the airport on the day of the flight. Be wary, however, of the first exit row if there are two exit rows (one in front of the other) and be wary of the row in front of an exit row -- often these seats do not recline -- which can be very annoying if you are on a long flight (or what happened to us, on a red-eye flight). The best source we have found for seeing the configuration of a plane is www.seatguru.com. The website tries to display a plane's configuration based on the airline and type of plane.

A Word of Caution
One of the current pitfalls to booking online (even through an airline’s website) is that if an airline closes shop before you take your flight, you could lose the money you paid for the now worthless ticket. If you go through a travel agent, you usually can get your money back. But do not rely on us for the legalities of this stuff. Ask the airline, the travel agency, etc. about this.

Around the World Tickets – Buying one
Given we recently spent some time in Australia, we decided to get there and back by getting an around the world ticket. One of us purchased the ticket. The other got one on points (next paragraph). An Around the World ticket means one travels in one direction (east or west), making stops in several countries/continents. Usually, there is a limit to the number of stops one can make on a given continent. The One World Network (www.oneworld.com, American Airlines, British Airways, Qantas, and others) offer an around the world ticket as does the Star Alliance Network (www.staralliance.com, Air Canada, United, Air New Zealand, and others). Each network prices the ticket differently – usually it is a function of time of year and distance or number of continents. There are also ways to purchase an around the world ticket through a broker (who uses different combinations of airlines). We used the One World option. Under this option all we really had to do was commit to the date and location of the first leg of the trip – all other legs were flexible and could be changed at any time – there is a restriction on the number of continents (but this is based on the price you pay). Note, if you book well in advanced (for example we booked in December for a ticket that began in January but whose most legs would occur in June) a given flight may not be available. But if you keep checking back, usually a seat that can be used with an around the world ticket opens up. Also, if you like to collect airline points -- each leg of the trip may end up being on a different class of fare and so you may not get full mileage for your trip.

Around the World Ticket – Using Airline Points
We also got an around the world ticket using points (from American Airlines). The points ticket pretty much works like a purchased ticket with one BIG exception. When you book the first leg, you must book all remaining legs. Once ticketed you can change the date and time of a flight of any given leg (without charge usually) but you CANNOT change the destination (e.g. if you are booked on a flight to Madrid – you can fly on a different flight but it has to be on the same airline and it has to land in Madrid). This is important to know because it limits flexibility and it can create some problems. If you book your flight in advance (e.g. 6 months in advance), the flights are chosen based on current schedules – if the schedule changes (which can happen if one is booking in winter but flying in summer, for example) you could end up with (a) a canceled flight or (b) a flight with a really tight connection if you have a layover. The airlines will try to accommodate such changes but you can end up with some very wacky layovers as a result. Note, even in this instance an airline would not be willing to switch a destination. For example, we were flying from Capetown to Seville with a layover in London. Because the flight from London changed we had to be put on another flight. This resulted in our having an 8 hour layover in London (before the change we were going to have a 2 hour layover).

Should you consider an around the world ticket using points? Most certainly. For many airlines the extra points needed for an around the world ticket is not significantly greater than getting a round trip ticket. For example an economy seat award between North America and Australia is 75,000 points on American Airlines. To get an around the world ticket was 100,000 points – with this type of ticket we visited Australia, South Arica, Spain, and Greece.

Around the World Ticket – helpful hints when dealing with the airline
Most airlines require you to talk to their “around the world” desk to book and ticket flights. The quality of the agents with whom you speak can very quite dramatically. Also, some are more or less creative than others. Before speaking to the agents, we suggest you go on line and figure out the various ways (and partner airlines) to get you from one destination to the next. It is good to know such things as flight numbers and times of departures and arrivals. This way you can assist a less informed or less creative agent when booking your flights.

Hotels and Special Deals, In General

In each destination we will try to tell you how we find hotels for that destination. There are, however, a few rules. First, it is usually not too difficult to find a discounted rate or a special deal. Although they have a great business, we rarely use websites like www.expedia.com . We do scour for deals. In some cities, countries, etc. you can find a discount broker that seems to offer good deals and is running a reputable website.

Second, regardless of how you find a hotel, we think you should try to investigate the hotel. Try to find some objective reviews of the hotel. Do not rely on the pictures on the hotel’s website or the booking website. But remember – not all reviewers will reflect your tastes and you have to put the reviews into context. In a small town in New Zealand we stayed at a hostel that had a room with a private bath for a very low price. The “customer” reviews were unbelievably great (literally). We enjoyed our stay, but in retrospect, the review was of a very low budget lodging option – and taking this into account what we got was a good deal. But did the room meet up to the raves in the review? – not really.

We use the following websites to get a feel for a hotel (and sometimes as ways to find out about other hotels in the area) … www.fodors.com – for many (not all) destinations Fodor’s will give you online its reviews of hotels as well as customer reviews of the hotels. www.tripadvisor.com has the most extensive website we have found for reviewing hotels. All of the reviews, however, are customer based. For specific destinations we will try to find a website of a local monthly magazine or paper that gives reviews. And in the last case, we will do a web search on the hotel name – and will just cruise the web for tidbits of information.

For U.S. cities, we do use www.priceline.com … if you do your homework, you can get a really good deal on a very nice hotel. But you need a U.S. credit card to use priceline. By homework – find out before you bid how many neighborhoods are in the city in which you are looking. And for each neighbhorhood, figure out what is the highest ranked hotel. Why? If you want a particular neighborhood and you are willing to just go after the best hotels in that neighborhood put in a lowball bid. If you fail, the only way to get a second chance is to add a second neighborhood. If you add in a neighborhood that only has hotels that are ranked lower, by default your next bid, if successful, will put you in your preferred neighborhood.

Hotel Chains
We prefer to find the interesting boutique hotels. We still do. But if you travel a lot (e.g. for business), there is a benefit to joining a hotel’s affinity program. Figure out which chain has the most number of hotels in the most number of places to which you travel for business and would like to travel for pleasure. If you start to get status through the chain, often you will get upgrades to nicer rooms and will build points towards free rooms. Through affinity programs we have ended up in five-star resorts staying for free. The affinity program we like the best is the one offered through Starwood at www.spg.com. This covers the Sheratons, Westins, W, Four Points, St. Regis, and Luxury Collection. If you do not travel very much, the Fairmont chain treats entry level president’s club guests quite well.

Luxury Hotels
Sometimes you just want to stay somewhere quite special. But, you may not be that interested spending a lot of money. We have gotten great deals by using www.luxurylink.com. This website offers many special deals at upscale resorts (but do you homework to make sure it is a good deal) by way of an auction. So you have to be willing to bid and pre-commit to a trip. But the deals can be great. If you know you are going somewhere for a specific period and so would have to use the lodging from a winning auction for that period, contact the hotel/resort before bidding and ask about availability. While the hotel cannot guarantee availability, you can certainly find out if it is possible. The website offered by Andrew Harper also offers deals through auctions.

Car Rentals

There is not a whole lot to say about car rentals. If you want to book online you have three options: book directly with the car rental company, book through a travel website that offers hotel deals, airline deals, etc., or book through a place like www.priceline.com. Generally we look at both the car rental company and the generic travel websites. Usually we get good deals going directly with the car rental company, especially when traveling in North America. When traveling outside of North America, however, we sometimes can find a better deal by looking around for a local travel site. For example, when in Austalia, we got better deals by using a site such as www.frogandtoad.com.au or www.lastminute.com.au than we did from using the car rental agency’s website. Also, sometimes you can get a better deal by calling a car rental company directly – other times the better deal is had by using the company’s website. In North America we have found priceline is really good. One option is to go for the cheapest car possible. Another option is to bid on a bigger car (or a convertible, etc) using the going posted rate for an economy car. If you use www.priceline.com, you usually only get one bidding opportunity per class of car. So limit each bid to one class of car. Also, you can get around the one bidding opportunity (we think) by using more than one credit card. We occasionally will fly into an airport without a car rental reservation. Sometimes this can result in getting a good rate (especially in big cities) – but it also can result in your not getting a car (this almost happened to us in St. John, New Brunswick – a very small airport with few cars).

Do You Really Need A Car?
Especially if you have never traveled to your destination or you are in a foreign country, you may not need a car. Inquire about the accessibility of public transportation at your destination. If you need a car just to reach your destination and to return to the airport, find out how much it would cost to hire a driver to take you to/from your destination (or maybe there is a shuttle van that operates to your location). When you add in the cost of the rental, the cost of gas, and the cost of parking as well as potential hair-raising experiences (e.g. if you are going into an area with narrow roads, inclement weather, etc.), hiring a driver may be well worth the money.

Insurance Coverage
Find this out before you pick up your car. Does your own auto insurance cover you for anything? Does your credit card cover you for “collision damage” or for “theft” (if your credit card covers insurance make sure you keep a copy of what is covered with your travel documents)? If so, you can usually decline coverage by the car rental company. If not, find out if there are ways other than using the car rental agency – in some locations it is possible to purchase insurance at a lower rate form a third party vendor.

Tricks Some Agencies May Try
We do not know if this is legal, but some car rental agencies will claim that even if you have liability coverage through your own auto insurance policy, they must charge you for the coverage if you do not have proof of such coverage with you. To deal with this issue, we carry a copy of our insurance card when we travel.

We have also had a few instances (not often) where a car rental company tries to charge a higher daily rate than the quoted rate. As a precaution, make sure you carry a copy of your reservation with you – and check the rate on the form you are signing.

Pre-paid tanks of gasoline
It used to be that if you did not bring the car back with a full tank you would pay through the nose for re-fueling. Some agencies in some countries/states have figured out that they can make more money by offering you the option before you leave the agency of committing to paying a fixed amount for a full tank of gas. Often, the rates are quite good and can be less than the current price of gasoline at your destination (but not always). If it is a good deal and you know you will be doing a lot of driving, think about the convenience of being able to return the car on empty. The catch, of course, is to make sure you return the car on empty without running out of gas beforehand …

Car Rentals in Foreign Countries
Pre-internet bookings, it used to be the case that you often would get a better rate if you arranged for your car rental before you traveled. This was especially true in many European countries. Post-internet – so long as you have access to the internet, it may be that location of renting does not matter. But keep in mind that it may be the case that pre-booking will get you a better deal.

Safety Issues

Remember that whenever you are in a new location (even if it is in the same country in which you live), you do know the local customs, nor is it always easy to identify the safe from the unsafe areas. Always be aware of your surroundings. Having been pick-pocketed and having been with others when they were pick-pocketed , you kind of have to accept that it could happen to you – and if it does you want to minimize any damage … these may seem like common sense suggestions but we figure we should make them in case you have not thought of them. We will tell some stories of things that have happened (we are not making them up).

What to keep in your wallet/purse
Only what is essential while traveling – that library card, your social security card (or social insurance number), the local store’s credit card, etc. does not need to travel with you. Also, try to keep your credit cards, passports, other identification separated. That way if one thing gets stolen, you will not be without another source of identification and/or funds. Only carry as much cash as you need for the day. If you have taken out money to cover several days, store the money you do not need immediately.

Protecting valuables
If you are traveling and are in between hotels/destinations – invest in an undergarment holder – some go around your neck, some go around your waist. Put the stuff you do not want to disappear into it.

If you are in a particular destination – see if your hotel has a safe where you can store your valuables. The hotel staff usually is quite helpful in providing a safe place for you to keep these things.

Common ways to get pick-pocketed or to have something stolen
While sitting at a restaurant you sling your purse behind you on your chair – or you put the purse besides you on the ground
While talking on a pay phone you put your purse or briefcase down on the ground
While reading a book in a public area you put your things down in the chair besides you or on the ground
You board a crowded subway, bus, etc. and as you are getting on, someone is picking your pocket, backpack, purse and then jumping off – so when you get on the bus/subway, etc. move as quickly as possible to the middle of the car (away from doors)
As you go through a turn stile, the person behind you is picking your pocket, etc.
You are driving through a crowded city with the windows rolled down and your purse, backpack, briefcase is on the seat beside an open window or unlocked door
You walk down the street with a backpack on, or your purse hanging behind you or your wallet in your back pocket
In a city with mopeds you are walking down the street with your purse, etc. on the side of your body that is closest to the road – a person on a moped grabs the purse, etc. and then zooms away
In a crowded location, there are swarms of little kids who come up to you and grab anything you have in your pockets, fanny pack (even if it is in front of you)

Be Aware
Use your common sense – if something does not feel right, act on your instinct. A few examples – Snail was traveling with her dad and was in line to purchase some subway tokens after a long train trip. She noticed a young fellow jump the line in front of her and buy some tokens – on the platforms this young fellow and a friend were hanging close to Snail and her dad – so Snail moved down the platform. But the two blokes followed – when the subway came, Snail immediately moved to the center of the car and called out to her dad to do the same thing – by this point it was too late, her dad had been pick-pocketed and the blokes were able to jump off the train before the doors closed. In retrospect, although she was trying to save some money, Snail should have sensed that something was not right and then taken a taxi instead of the subway.

On another trip, Snail and her friend were traveling by bus to a restaurant. Initially the bus was empty. Snail noticed some odd looking men jumped onto the bus at the last minute (using the rear doors). Snail and her friend were situated in a good spot (although standing) near the door. Snail suggested they move and her friend resisted initially. After moving, nothing happened. On their return trip, when they got off, Snail and her friend noticed the two men hanging out by the bus stop – Snail’s friend admitted that these men were probably crooks and was thankful they moved away from the bus door.

If you are walking down a street and it is quiet you should try to get off the quiet street and onto a busy street. If you see a stranger walking near you, cross the street – make it difficult for the stranger to do anything that would be bad. On another trip, Snail and a friend were walking to the subway from a restaurant and felt as though some men were following them. They crossed the street, got onto a busy street. When they got closer to the subway station they noticed the men still looked as though they were following them but the men were on the opposite side of the street. Not wanting anything to happen, Snail and her friend wisely decided it would be better to take a taxi back to their hotel.

What do you do if something happens
The moment something happens your instinct will be to run after the predator. DO NOT DO EVER ATTEMPT TO GO AFTER THE PREDATOR!!! – accept that what has happened has happened and be thankful that the only thing the predator got was your purse, wallet, etc. If you run after the predator you could end up getting hurt. A friend’s father ran after a predator and ended up in a coma … do not try to be a hero, it is not worth it.

What you should do is go to the local police station and file a report. Do this for two reasons. First, so the police finds out what is going on. Second, with the report as proof that you had something stolen, your house insurance policy may allow you to get reimbursed for some of your lost belongings.

Do not forget to contact your credit card companies, etc. Most of the major credit card companies will issue you a temporary/emergency credit card within 24 hours of being notified. Also, contact the airlines if your airline ticket was stolen to find out what can be done. And if your passport or travel visa was stolen, contact the local embassy or consulate.

Train Travel/Watch your Drinks
Finally, there are some special instances where you should be more vigilant in being aware of your surroundings. We do not know if this remains true, but in the past when taking a long/overnight train trip, there have been stories of being drugged by a fellow passenger, being robbed while one was asleep, etc. If you can afford a higher class ticket, buy one. But even in first class, be aware of your surroundings!

Regardless of train travel, there are drugs that can be easily slipped into your drink. Watch your drink – make sure nothing goes into the drink that should not be there.

Remember to have fun on your trip. Be aware, try to minimize any risk of something bad happening – but do not let this talk of safety prevent you from traveling. Traveling can be enjoyable and a ton of fun – just be careful, wherever you are!

Miscellaneous: Currency and Internet Access

Currency
It used to be that if you were going to a foreign country, you would have to get (a) traveler’s checks and (b) some of the foreign currency at a bad exchange rate in your home country. Today, however, you are likely to get better exchange rates by using either your bank card to withdraw cash from an automated banking machine or from using your credit card to pay for a transaction. Usually you will get a better exchange rate under these options. For both the bank and the credit cards, a surcharge can be assessed for any transaction that involves a different currency. Check with your bank/credit card company to find out when (if ever) a surcharge will be imposed. Getting some traveler’s checks is not a bad idea, even with ATMs. You could end up in a small town that does not have an ATM or the local ATM may not take your card. Also, if the traveler’s check is stolen, you will get your money back. Generally, most people like to carry traveler’s checks that are in a U.S. dollar denomination.

When you get into the foreign country for the first time on your trip (e.g. airport or train station), look for an ATM. Most airports and train stations (at least the ones to which we have traveled) have ATMs today. We usually get a better exchange rate using the ATM machine than we do if we go to the foreign exchange counter at the airport.

Internet Access
There are basically three ways to get internet access while traveling. Option 1: do not carry a computer and rely on an internet café or the business center of your hotel. If they exist, usually the internet cafes are the cheaper option. In some places, internet cafes can be difficult to find. While we had no problem finding them in Australia, Paris, etc. We did have a difficult time finding a café in Athens (but not in smaller towns in Greece).

Option 2: Carry a computer and rely on the internet accessibility from your hotel (via Ethernet or modem). Some hotels are wired for Ethernet and provide the service at a reasonable price.

Option 3: Carry a computer and rely on your computer’s wireless access card. These days you can get wireless access through a card or though a usb port. If you have wireless access you usually have to purchase your time through a local carrier. Often you will have the option of purchasing by the minute/hour or pre-paying for a fixed amount of time. Some countries (e.g. Australia) are quite good at offering wireless access in cafes and other public places. Others are not so good. You have to be careful when deciding which option you use for your wireless access. Some cafes will offer access under only one company – if you purchased time from another company you are out of luck.

Sometimes you can buy time from a “reseller” of a company’s wireless access service. The best reseller we have come across is Boingo, www.boingo.com. You can purchase daily access ($9.95 U.S.) or monthly access ($21.95 U.S.) – this gives you unlimited access for the period of your purchase (day or month). Boingo has teamed up with a number of providers across the world. There are lots of Boingo hotspots as a result. So if you are traveling a lot, this is a pretty good option. The website has a good search engine that allows you to see the number of hotspots in a given locale.

Australia -- General Information

Remember that Australia covers an entire continent – just as you might not recommend that someone visiting North America for a short period should try to do it all (e.g. see the east coast, the south, the Rockies, the west coast, etc), you probably will not want to try to tackle all of Australia in one trip. Each part of the country is interesting and worthy of exploring in its own right. It would be difficult to go wrong … in the following postings we will provide highlights for the various places to which we have been … This posting is about some of the practical matters associated with traveling to Australia.

Visas
Yes, this is a country where even North Americans must get a visa before entering. Fortunately, getting a visa electronically is quite easy. You can get one through the airline or do it on your own. If you want to do it on your own, the official site for getting an ETA (electronic travel authority) is http://www.eta.immi.gov.au/ETAAusXEn.html.

Flights
To/From Australia: You have several options for flying to Australia. From North America, the common way is to fly from east to west on Qantas (get a ticket from their website www.qantas.com.au or from American Airlines, www.aa.com). You can also fly United Airlines (www.united.com) and Air Canada (www.aircanada.ca). American/Qantas and United start from the west coast (Los Angeles or San Francisco). Air Canada makes a stop in Hawaii after leaving from Vancouver. In the past stopping in Hawaii was a bit of a pain because you had to clear US customs even though you were “in transit.” We hear this is no longer the case – and that by stopping in Hawaii you are breaking a very long trip into two parts. Also, Air New Zealand (partnered with United) will fly from the west coast to Australia, making a stop in Auckland.

If you are looking for a great airfare, sometimes if you fly in the opposite direction (west to east) and you go through Asia you can get a good fare on one of the airlines that fly to Asia and to Australia. We think there are even ways to fly through Europe.

The price of a fare really depends on the time of year in which you will be flying. We have seen a dramatic variance in the roundtrip economy airfares over the last few years. Most flights go into Sydney or Melbourne. Sometimes, however, you can get a better fare if you are willing to fly through Brisbane.

Within Australia: Sometimes, Qantas will offer a special deal where you can fly to/from Australia and for just a bit more add in a few segments within Australia. This is usually a good deal. Otherwise, you should try to book your flights within Australia separately from your flight to/from Australia. Currently, there are two key airlines that fly within Australia: Qantas (and it’s subsidiary Jet Star – www.qantas.com.au, www.jetstar.com.au) and Virgin Blue, www.virginblue.com.au). The best deals can be found on Jet Star and Virgin Blue. It is worth watching both websites as they often offer pretty good seat sales. Also, at this point, every day both Jet Star and Virgin Blue have special “happy hour” deals where they will put certain flights on a deep discounted fare. These flights change everyday. Go to their websites to learn more about the happy hour deals.

Driving in Australia
Apart from the fact that you have to drive on the different side of the road, do not expect to get from one destination to another quickly in Australia. While there are a few freeways to be found – most often you are driving along a 2-lane highway with periodic passing lanes. Our first time we thought we would drive from Sydney to Brisbane, about 500 miles. Knowing this would take about 10 hours straight, we decided to do it over 3 days. Were we ever wrong. Each day we were barely making it to our next destination (yes we made stops along the way, but not as many as we thought we would make). If you have limited time in Australia, unless you are going somewhere that is just outside of the city, try to fly.

If you do want to rent a car, a few tidbits. In general, booking on the car rental’s agency’s website will get you a better rate than booking through the agency (even the folks at the agency will tell you this). You can find last minute deals so long as you book with at least 36 hours notice. We were quite happy using either www.frogandtoad.com.au or www.lastminute.com.au). Also, make sure you drive on the correct side of the road. Some insurance companies may not insure an accident that was caused by not abiding by the “rules of the road.”

Train Travel in Australia
We have never taken a train in Australia. A friend has though. Our impression is that it is quite a civilized (and interesting) way to see the country. But there are very few passenger trains in operation.

Lodging
In the major cities, it is easy to find the common names in hotels as well as Australia based hotel chains. The rates may be good, the locations good … or the rates may be high. If the rates are high and you are looking for a deal, two websites we used frequently when we were traveling through Australia were www.frogandtoad.com.au and www.lastminute.com.au. The frog and toad website is run by a travel agency that seems to be based in Sydney. It has search engines for both discount accommodation and last minute accommodation. It covers both areas in the big cities as well as the smaller towns and areas outside of the big cities. The last minute site also provides discounted rates. It covers areas outside of the cities, but is not always as extensive as the frog and toad site.

For areas outside of the big cities, each state in Australia runs a tourist service. Some (at least in Victoria) of these tourist services can help you with finding accommodation in these areas. The website for Victoria is www.visitvictoria.com. In addition to the generic hotels, motels, and inns, there are unique types of accommodation. For example, we discovered that former lighthouse keeper cottages at several lighthouses in Australia are now operated as a bed and breakfast. Although not as posh as today’s hotels, staying at a lighthouse is a great way to see a bit of the outdoors along the coast.

Maps
It can be hard to find a good map when you are planning a trip. While mapquest or yahoo do not have maps of Australia, www.whereis.com.au does … it also has links to let you do a search of business by category near a specified location.

Australia -- Melbourne

From our travels, it appears that Melbourne is somewhat overlooked as a destination if one is going to Australia … in part this may be due to the association of Sydney with the 2000 Olympics and in part it may be due to the reputation for unpredictable weather in Melbourne. Yes, the weather is somewhat unpredictable – but as the locals will tell you, if you do not currently like the weather in Melbourne, just wait 20 minutes … having spent six months living in Melbourne the weather is no worse than most other destinations so long as you dress accordingly. In Australia’s spring/summer (October – March roughly) the weather is usually nice. Sometimes it can get very hot but it usually does not last for more than one or two days. During the fall/winter, it will never snow but it can be rainy and damp (much like a Vancouver or north U.S. west coast winter). The weather, however, should not prevent you from visiting!

From our travels, it appears that Melbourne is somewhat overlooked as a destination if one is going to Australia … in part this may be due to the association of Sydney with the 2000 Olympics and in part it may be due to the reputation for unpredictable weather in Melbourne. Yes, the weather is somewhat unpredictable – but as the locals will tell you, if you do not currently like the weather in Melbourne, just wait 20 minutes … having spent six months living in Melbourne the weather is no worse than most other destinations so long as you dress accordingly. In Australia’s spring/summer (October – March roughly) the weather is usually nice. Sometimes it can get very hot but it usually does not last for more than one or two days. During the fall/winter, it will never snow but it can be rainy and damp (much like a Vancouver or north U.S. west coast winter). The weather, however, should not prevent you from visiting!

Neighborhoods
Make sure you take the time to explore different neighborhoods and take in the wonderful architecture. Melbourne has the feel of an European city in terms of architecture and ambience. Of the North American cities, we think it most resembles Montreal, but on a much larger scale. It is worth taking a tram to a given neighborhood and then walking around.
St. Kilda: Farthest a field is St. Kilda (not to be confused with St. Kilda Road, although you can use the tram along St. Kilda road to get to St. Kilda). St. Kilda is bohemian, is next to a beach, and has some very trendy restaurants. Outdoor cafes and local bars are in abundance. There is even a Coney Island like roller coaster (Luna Park). The key streets for cafes, shops, etc. are Fitzroy, Acland and the Esplanade. Along Acland there are some wonderful old bakeries that will definitely satisfy your sweet tooth. If you are visiting at the right time, the St. Kilda festival is a great experience. Also, there are often street vendors along the Esplanade on Sundays. A word to the wise that although we never felt threatened, you may see needles and other evidence of drug use.

South Melbourne: Closer to the city and just north of St. Kilda is the slightly more residential neighborhood of South Melbourne. There are some stunning houses along the bayside of South Melbourne (it melds in with the trendy neighborhood of Albert Park). Over by Dorcas Street, Clarendon Street, and Ferrars Street is the South Melbourne market and some great places for breakfast on a Saturday. The South Melbourne market is smaller, less touristy, and more low-key than the Queen Victoria.

Prahran, South Yarra: Prahran (sounds more like pa-ran) and South Yarra are south-east of the Yarra River. South Yarra is the place to go if you like designer clothes/things in high fashion. Prahran has lots of shops but is less haute couture. There are some good neighborhood restaurants and great pubs to be found in these neighborhoods. Also the Prahran market is the place to go if you like gourmet food (the market is open at the end of the week and on Saturdays – although opened on Sunday, only a few vendors actually operate on Sunday).

Central Melbourne: there are lots of buildings and shops to be seen in the central city. The best walk we know of is to pick up the free brochure on the “laneways” of Melbourne from the tourist office at Federation Square. This walk is best done during the week when all shops are opened – but it can be done on the weekend as well.

Richmond: the real reason to visit Richmond is for the discounted shops … there are tons and tons of stores along Bridge Road – many offer great deals.

Carlton: Carlton is a great place to explore around dinner time or in the late afternoon. It is the part of the city that is close to the University of Melbourne – so has a bit of a university feel. There is a nice mix of shops, cafes, and restaurants.

Fitzroy: Another great neighborhood to explore – especially for the pubs. Fitzroy has a similar feel as Prahran (discussed above).

Sights
Remember we are not trying to be a guidebook. So what we identify below are the places we have enjoyed visiting.

The Royal Botanic Gardens is a great place to explore – there is a nice collection of trees, plants and wildlife that is mostly indigenous. Inside the park are several places to stop for a cup of tea or lunch (or bring your picnic). In the summer time, there are plays and other events held throughout the gardens (and just outside the gardens in Kings Domain).

National Gallery of Art: There are two buildings. The one on St. Kilda road has a nice collection of European and more traditional art as well as art from other countries and special exhibitions. The building at Federation Square is devoted primarily to the display of aboriginal and native Australian art. We highly recommend the building at Federation Square – the other building is worth going to if you have the time.

Also at Federation Square is the Australian Centre for the Moving Image – it claims to be the first in the world to be devoted to all things moving. Lots of short films and other types of art (including photography) can be found here. An interesting museum worth checking out.

The Melbourne Aquarium is interesting for a look at local water life – it is not as dramatic as the Sydney Aquarium but is still quite interesting.

If you get a chance to go to a wildlife sanctuary (there are tons across Australia) you should. A next best alternative is the Melbourne Zoo – one of the oldest zoo in Australia (opened in 1862).

If you want to learn more about who was who in Melbourne and in Victoria, the State Library of Victoria (at Swanston and LaTrobe) is not to be missed. The building itself is quite beautiful. But if you explore the library further there is a nice exhibition of portraits and the history of folks depicted in the portraits. Another tidbit – for a reasonable price there are storage lockers that can be used during the day if you are exploring the area and do not want to be carrying a lot of stuff around.

For more history, visit the Parliament House and the Old Treasury Building along with the Treasury gardens and old hotels along Spring Street.

If you have never been in a Casino before – then visit the Crown Casino in Southbank – a huge complex full of betting and shops.

Of course there is the Queen Victoria Market – definitely the biggest of the three markets to which we have visited (South Melbourne and Prahran) – also the most touristy. There are two parts to the QVM – the main building where there are tons of food shops and the open air market that has lots of produce and stalls selling “stuff.” It is not a bad place to go if you are looking for souvenirs. It has a bit of a feel that is similar to Canal Street in NY City.

Local festivals – often on the weekend there is some sort of a festival. We enjoyed going to many of the festivals. To find out what is on, see www.visitvictoria.com.

Eating in Melbourne
While we will mention a few of our favorite places in Melbourne. For specifics on restaurants we recommend the following websites: http://www.miettas.com/cgi/srch.cgi here you can do a search based on type of cuisine, rating, and/or location. Also, if you go into a local bookstore, one of the local newspapers (the Age) has two books on its reviews of restaurants (one for regular restaurants, one for cheap eats). When taking into account food prices, remember that tax and tip are included in the price (if you get really good service you may want to leave a small amount, one or two dollars, on top of your food bill).

In general, there are restaurants and there are pubs. Pubs are the place to go if you are looking for (a) a family atmosphere, (b) good food, and (c) reasonable prices. Yes, pubs are not always just the place to go for a pint. And yes, pubs do serve traditional pub fare like “steak and kidney pie” and “bangers and mash” but they also have food that North Americans would expect to find in a regular restaurant. And while there is a pub part that allows for smoking, etc., most pubs have a restaurant part that is smoke-free and kid friendly. In the more popular pubs (especially in the neighborhoods), try to make a reservation if you can (not always needed but we have been shut out of a pub because it was full on a given night). On the restaurant side – Melbourne has the tradition of being a “foodie” town with lots of good chefs, etc. While we were there the local newspapers complained that this reputation was getting a bit tarnished. But still, there are lots of restaurants in the city, many with very good chefs. The other thing – pubs are often called “hotels” … long story about this …

Aussie Burger: This is a must experience dish – found best in the pubs. When the Aussies do a burger it is huge (think about ordering one for two people) and has things on it like: fried eggs and beet root – it is so hard to explain we just have to recommend you try one for yourself.

Wood-fired pizza is a big thing in Melbourne. So big that for the top rated pizza restaurant you need to call weeks in advance to get a reservation (Ladro in Fitzroy) or you have to show up very early to get an unreserved table. The pizzas are good, often they have unusual (but good) toppings – worth trying out when in Melbourne.

Our favorites: On the pub front we recommend the College Lawn Hotel (in Prahran on Greville a few blocks west of Chapel, near the Prahran train station), Richmond Club Hotel (on Swan Street). Something that is like a pub but is known more for its nice wine is the Argo (in Prahran on Argo Street north of Commercial Road and east of Punt Road). For wood-fired pizza we recommend Ecco (Toorak Road, East of Punt in South Yarra). For good no-nonsense Italian food (and you can bring your own wine) try Tamani Bistro (on Toorak Road west of Chapel). And for a nice meal that will not break the bank (that also serves wine that are only slightly marked up), go to Vin on High Street in Prahran. Vin is a small intimate restaurant so make sure you make a reservation. For a nice upscale thai food, go to Lemongrass (in Carlton on Lygon). A nice bistro (with good wine) try Jimmy Watson’s (in Carlton on Lygon). And for good, creative vegetarian fare (even meat eaters will like this place), try Shakahari (in Carlton on Faraday).

An unusual dining experience: believe it or not, there is a local reality T.V. show called “My Restaurant Rules.” Essentially the producers have contestants in all of the state capital cities in Australia compete to become the best restaurant in the group. It is worth going to www.seven.com.au to see if the show is running while you are there and then checking out the restaurant. Mind you, it is not likely to be an inexpensive experience.

Sporting Events
Melbourne is a great place to take in a game of Aussie Rules Football, Cricket, etc. There are two huge stadiums (MCG and Telstra Dome) and it is easy to find reasonably priced tickets. If you are in Melbourne in January, definitely try to catch some of the Australian Open. Although the prices for tickets in the main arena (Rod Laver) can be pricey, a all-day grounds pass that will let you watch matches being played in the Vodafone Arena and other courts is quite reasonable (about $20). If you go for rounds 1 through 4, you will get to see tons of great tennis being played. In March there is the Formula One racing event – this is the one sporting event where tickets can be pricey.

Getting around
As mentioned in our general “Australia” posting, you can save money by taking an airport bus to the city and then either catching a tram or continuing on to your hotel (if it is in the city) from the airport bus. The airport bus stops at Spencer Street Train station and then allows passengers to get into different vans depending on where they are going.

Alternatively, you can take a taxi or hire a private car to get you to/from the airport. A hired car is only slightly more than a taxi (about $5 to $10) and is usually a better experience. We have used David at (email: mcgcc@telstra.com).

When in the city we recommend relying on the trams and trains. You can purchase a variety of passes that include unlimited daily, weekly, and monthly passes. There is a store devoted to this on Swanston between Collins and Burke … or you can pick up passes at train stations (e.g. Flinders street station) and at local convenience stores. Otherwise you can purchase daily and two-hour passes on the trams (but you need coins to do this). Note, every time you get on a tram you must re-validate your pass – otherwise an inspector can give you a pretty hefty fine. And yes, there are inspectors.

Renting a car: although we do not recommend using a car for use in the city, you may want to rent a car if you are getting out of the city. We have gotten our best deals by using either www.lastminute.com.au or www.frogandtoad.com.au. NOTE you do not want to drink and drive in Australia. The law permits the police to set up a check point and test every single driver. We have seen this happen quite often. Most Australians do not drink and drive – they use a tram, taxi, etc. to get home.

Staying in Melbourne
Unfortunately hotel prices in Melbourne have been rising (probably because they are hosting the Commonwealth Games next year). There are lots of nice hotels and many so-so hotels. Realize that except for the top hotels, lodging in Australia often provides the essentials needed in a room but not much more. If you are looking for a good deal, we have found www.lastminute.com.au and www.frogandtoad.com.au as good sources for deals. But remember to do your homework on the hotels before you book. Try to find a review (e.g. from www.fodors.com or the user reviews at www.tripadvisor.com). As you can tell from the rest of this posting, there is a lot to be said about Melbourne’s neighborhoods. If you willing to rely on trams (streetcars) and other public transportation, staying outside of the core of the city can save you some money.

NEW YORK CITY

New York is a lot to everyone. And it is not to everyone’s liking. I was reminded of this the other day when I was searching for hotel options for some relatives and I saw a bad review of a hotel from a traveler based solely on the experience he/she had with the shuttle driver who managed to lock his keys in the van (with the traveler’s luggage inside) and failed to fix the problem immediately. By reputation New Yorkers are not always extremely accommodating. While you can certainly find very friendly, very outgoing New Yorkers, many have an edge. That’s life in a big city.

Before you go to NYC for the first time, we recommend you talk to a lot of friends about their experiences. There is so much to do and everyone has a different take. If you talk to lots of friends, it will help you to figure out what you want to do. Do not try to do it all the first time. You will come back exhausted. At the same time, make sure you explore. A friend of ours went to NY by train his first time. He limited his area to the part around Penn Station and Times Square. When he returned, his comment was that NY was a busy and dirty city. Well, no wonder. He limited his visit to the part of NY that is most full of tourists and in some ways can be grungy (depending on which streets you explore in the Times Square Area). Our friend missed out on the wonderful neighborhoods, the interesting shops, etc. No wonder he had a terrible experience.

We find New York great because it has so many different types of folks. One of our (okay snail’s) favorite things to do is to grab a cup of coffee and then walk from neighborhood to neighborhood. There are so many things to explore on foot in the city. The people, the shops, the buildings. Yes there are lots of attractions, but do not forget to make some time for just simply exploring. Some easy walks (in no particular order): 1. Walk along the upper west side (e.g. along Broadway from the high 80s/90s) to the edge of Central Park. 2. In midtown, walking along Fifth Avenue or Madison Avenue is interesting, especially if you like to shop and want to see such things as Tiffany’s, FAO Schwartz, the Plaza, Old King Cole, etc. 3. If you are in midtown, walk along Fifth Avenue down to the Village, making time to explore the NY Public Library, Union Square area, and Washington Square. 4. West Village (also known as Greenwich Village), e.g. 5th Avenue, 7th Avenue, 8th Avenue, Broadway … and all the streets in between. 5. SOHO (the area south of Houston) 6. Chinatown 7. the lower tip of Manhattan (this is best explored during the week as the area is pretty quiet on the weekend) 8. Central Park – can you find the zoo? How about the statue of Alice in Wonderland? How about the rock garden or the castle? Tons of stuff to see in Central Park if you are willing to explore …

Attractions: These are just some of the things we have done that we enjoyed. If you want a full list, please read a guidebook.

High View Points
Empire State Building: okay, it is no longer the tallest building in the world. But it does give you an interesting view of midtown Manhattan and the architecture of the surrounding buildings. One of the amazing things about the New York is the amount of masonry detail in the older buildings. All of the views are interesting. And if you have seen the various movies that highlight this building, go see it for sentimental reasons. There are extras you can add onto your ticket (e.g. a 3-D ride) – these are fun if you are traveling with a 10 year old child. Otherwise, just get the ticket to see the top of the building.

Rainbow Room at Rockefeller Center: This is a great spot around sundown. Go for a drink and get a great view of the Empire State Building. If you are into ballroom dancing we hear it can be a fun place to go for dinner and dancing. We just go for drinks.

Rock Garden at the Metropolitan Museum of Art: If you do not know to look for it you can miss a spectacular place. In the MET (Central Park, Upper East Side), there is a rock garden where you can enjoy a glass of champagne. You feel as though you are in the middle of Central Park (just high up) and then surrounded by tall buildings. On a nice day, it’s a great place to sit and enjoy life for a moment.

The top of the 6s (the 666 Building on 5th Avenue): we know it exists but have never been there – another drinking spot.

Ferries
There are three ferries. The first one is for those who want to stay in New Jersey. You can stay in nice hotels in Weehawken

The second ferry is the one that covers the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. It took Snail many many many trips to finally take this ferry. Both places are quite interesting. If you are smart, you will bring picnic supplies and enjoy some refreshments when hanging out and waiting for the return ferry.

The third ferry goes to Staten Island. We are told it is not expensive as the ferries to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island – but you get a view of the Statue of Liberty on the Staten Island ferry. We have not taken this ferry. From what we here, best thing to do is to stay on the ferry and take it back to Manhattan.

Museums
There are tons of museums – in Manhattan and elsewhere. Pick the museums based on your tastes. Be sure to find out about the temporary exhibits at all of the museums as there are lots of interesting things to see. And sometimes it is the little museums that have the most interesting exhibits. The key ones:
Museum of Metropolitan Art (MET): a very nice and extensive collection of lots of things. Well worth spending a half day or longer. Do not forget about the rock garden (above)
Museum of Modern Art (MOMA): note the term “Modern” – an easy museum to explore in a short amount of time and the traveling exhibits are usually quite good.
Guggenheim: While there are a couple of rooms with permanent collections, you go to the Guggenheim for the traveling exhibition (find out what it is) and for the architecture (a different type of building). Sometimes the exhibitions at the Guggenheim are out there.
Museum of Natural History: This has a very impressive collection worth a visit. Not a bad thing to combine with a trip to explore the Upper West Side or Central Park.

Other Attractions
If you want an experience that is very north … go visit the Cloisters. It is accessible by subway and is a part of the MET.
Baseball games and other sporting venues are worth the effort if the season is right – if for no other reason than to see Yankee Stadium or Madison Square Garden.
If it is winter time, it is always fun to go ice skating in Rockefeller Plaza and/or Central Park.
And do not forget to find Eloise (she’s in the Plaza Hotel)

Plays/Musicals/Etc.
As you should know, NYC is home to much theater. Two common mistakes can be made. First, going to a show that has made the rounds and is dying a slow death. If you have seen A Chorus Line, Phantom of the Opera, Rent, Cats, etc. at home, do not bother seeing it in New York – the original cast and even the cast that replaced the original cast have long, long been gone. Go see something that is relatively new. Second, paying full price for an event that has not just opened. There are a few shows that do sell out and are worth buying tickets to well in advance of your trip. The majority, however, can be gotten at a discount. The best place to look for a discounted ticket it TKTS. There are two outlets. The one that is easiest to find is in Times Square on 47th Street between Broadway and 7th Avenue. Essentially you need to go there the day of the show and wait in line and then get the tickets to the performance you like best. If you want to get a listing and a sense of the reviews of the shows, we recommend using one of the following magazines/tabloids: New York Magazine, The New Yorker, Time Out, Village Voice. Do not forget about Lincoln Center (they host tons of things), Carnegie Hall, Joyce Theater (for Dance).

Food and Drink
We are not going to recommend specific restaurants as the landscape is constantly changing. Here are a few tidbits … because there are so many restaurants in NY, we find it fun to pick a given neighborhood (e.g. Union Square, the Village (East or West), SOHO, Tribeca, Upper West Side, Little Italy, and the Garment District) and visit a few places in one night. For example, get drinks in one place, appetizers in another, dinner in a third, and dessert or more drinks in a fourth. Notice we did not recommend exploring Times Square (or for that matter most of mid-town Manhattan) for dinner. In general we find the restaurants in these areas overpriced and/or of low quality.

For restaurant recommendations – try to find in book or on line a Zagats (many NYers think it is the bible), New York Magazine, the New York Times newspaper. For the dinner part it is a good idea to make a reservation. For the most part, do not expect to get into the trendiest restaurants unless you book well in advance (the exception to this rule is if you are visiting during the middle of the summer).

For during the day – either for eating or for just observing .. you might want to check out H&H Bagels (upper west side), Zabar’s (upper west side), Ray’s pizza (in the west village on 7th Avenue – even though you will notice tons of Ray’s pizzas this is the best). If you are into nostalgia and want a lot of corned beef, although expensive, try one of the delis such as Carnegie Deli.

As for drinks – this advice is admittedly dated – but places to check out – during the day the basement of Barney’s department store has a nice wine bar. The bar (called 44) at the Hotel Royalton is fun (can you find the special champagne bar – it is hidden away in the place), there’s Temple Bar (in between SOHO and the Village), lots of watering spots in SOHO, the oak bar at the Plaza.

Time of Year to Visit
Except for probably February and March and the couple of weeks before Christmas, almost any time is great. You will just see a different side of the city. In the fall (a very busy season for visitors), the air is crisp and the weather invites long walks. You just have to deal with a lot of tourists and high hotel prices. But there is a reason you want to go there at that time, the city is alive. The week between Christmas and New Year’s (but do not stay for New Year’s eve) can be quite pleasant as there are not as many tourists and everyone in the city is in a good mood and relaxed (with some folks out of town). The spring, especially if you get those days where the weather is unexpectedly nice can also be great. And finally the dregs of summer. Yes it can be hot and humid. But the city is virtually empty on the weekends (the residents have gone to the beach) and so it is very easy to get into restaurants and other places.

Shopping
You can shop anywhere -- some of the more interesting places -- Fifth Avenue/Madison Avenue in mid-town. Along Broadway in the upper west side. SOHO. For knockoffs go to Canal Street. Chinatown is always interesting.

Where to Stay
Remember that Manhattan (we would recommend staying on the island if you can) is divided up into neighborhoods with each neighborhood with a different personality. We hate staying in Times Square. Why you ask? It is very crowded, full of tourists, and has lots of overpriced or low quality restaurants. You get no feel for the city from Times Square. The other neighborhoods – here is a rough description … The upper west side tends to be a mix of yuppie and laid back folks with some artist types thrown in for good measure. It is a bit more reasonably priced than the upper east side (which represents the more well to do, established wealth type of person). The hotels in the upper west side used to be of the older type – but this is certainly changing. Mid-town (as far west as 6th avenue – and we would recommend not going any more east than Lexington Avenue) has the most concentration of hotels – a bit more business than neighborhood – but you are close to lots of things and close to public transportation. And often you can find good hotel deals in this area. The union square/gramercy park/Chelsea areas are more residential – still centrally located – and in an area with lots of trendy restaurants that are somewhat reasonably priced. The village has fewer hotel options but can be quite an interesting area in which to stay – west village is old hippy (folks our age should feel quite comfortable there); east village will have more of an edge (and a bit of a grunge feel to it – but still safe). Trendy hotels in recent years have opened in SOHO – a place with lots of lofts, restaurants, local art galleries, etc. We would not recommend lower Manhattan, especially if you are going to be visiting on a weekend – Wall street, etc. is interesting but very quiet on the weekends (and a bit of hike to get out of).

In terms of particular hotels .. you can go small boutique, popular chain, etc. Also, you can go old and dowdy (which can be interesting and usually not as expensive) or trendy and small. Just remember one rule – the more recent the renovation or opening, the smaller the rooms. If you are from Iowa and are used to hotel rooms with lots of space, NY may not be for you. The older, established hotels that fall more into the “refurbished”/unrenovated spectrum are likely to have bigger rooms. But the bathrooms may not be up to your standards (clean but quite old). As to how to find a hotel … we used to use a lot either www.expressreservations.com or www.quikbook.com especially if they had a special on a recently renovated /newly opened hotel. Last time we checked, there were no great deals to be found on these sites. In any event, for whatever hotel you are thinking about, try to find some reviews – try fodors.com (which has regular reviews and customer reviews), tripadvisor.com (which has customer reviews), and places like New York Magazine, and New York Times … remember to take the customer reviews with a grain of salt – some of the customers are just like you – some are not. A recent website we have found is through the New York Magazine: http://www.newyorkmetro.com/visitorsguide/index.htm it has hotel recommendations (as well as restaurant, etc. recommendations) … not a bad site to visit before going to see what is going on in the city.

Regardless of where you end up – if you go into your room and your first reaction is “what a dump” … go back to reception and ask to see another room. Worst thing that will happen – you end up with the first room you are given.

Transportation
Two things – absolutely avoid driving in the city … it is a busy city with lots of drivers that like to race in between traffic lights and who know where they are going … do not tempt fate. We find the subway and buses quite easy to figure out (they usually run north to south or east to west). And the taxis are rather reasonable – they sometimes just drive a bit erratically (so ask to get out if you do not like the driving). Second, if you fly into the city – you may NOT want to jump right into the first taxi. If you fly into Newark – there is an easy connection on the New Jersey Transit (a commuter train) for a reasonable price – it will take you right into Penn Station. If you fly into Laguardia – either take a taxi or check out the bus service (we think they go to Grand Central Station). And if you fly into JFK, there is a subway line (we think it is express now) that will take you into the city.

Safety
Neither of us have ever had anything happen in NY … but remember – it is a city and things do happen. Be aware of your surroundings. Watch out for pickpockets. Only carry what you really need for the day (in terms of cash, credit cards, etc) – minimize your loss in case there is an incident. If you are a woman and you sit down -- do not sling your purse behind your chair or out of your immediate sight – otherwise it may disappear. If you are walking down a street and it is dark and quiet – try to find a busy street as soon as possible. Remember, you are enjoying the city but are trying to minimize the probability of anything happening.