Holiday Surcharges

The $10 and $20 surcharges that air travelers are paying this holiday travel season are generating so much extra money that three airlines are extending them – and increasing them up to $50 –from Thanksgiving till Memorial Day. A fourth airline, US Airways, is imposing a different new surcharge equal to 5% of the fare price on all domestic flights starting May 8. United began the new round of surcharges, and Delta and its subsidiary, Northwest, have matched them. Most surcharges extending into the spring range from $10 to $30. Many are in March or April, which would coincide with Easter or spring breaks. The $50 surcharge applies to tickets only on one day: Monday, Feb. 8, the day after the Super Bowl in Miami.

Here are the details:

$20 surcharges
Nov. 29, 30
Dec. 18, 19, 23, 26, 27, 30
Jan. 2, 3
Feb. 12
May 20

$30 surcharges
March 14, 20, 21, 28
April 5, 11

$50 surcharges
Feb. 8

What to Eat in Montreal

Thank you guest blogger Evelyne from Cheap Ethnic Eatz

A city filled with energy, culture, art, chaos, calm, youth, old stubbornness, openness, compassion and life. That is what Montreal is. Montreal is unlike any other city in the world and it contains all 4 corners of the world in it too.

From its early beginnings the French and the English had to learn to live together, to endure and to learn from one another. As a culture this turned into a gift: what seemed like a fight or a clash developed into a particularly open minded city. Immigrants found a certain comfort in this and they easily settled and shared their cultures with the locals. Today Montreal is known as one of the most exciting cities to live and/or visit in the world.

Tourists will include the usual visits of Old Montreal , Downtown, the many historical and modern buildings, churches, and museums. Fun attractions toured will be the Olympic Stadium, the Insectarium, the Jardin Botanique, and the Biodôme. Hours will be spent exploring and window shopping in the districts like Le Plateau, the Quartier Latin, Saint-Laurent and Saint-Denis streets, or the 30 Km of underground paths that connect office buildings and malls. Nature lovers will seek out the Parc du Mont-Royal, a beautiful, immense urban park that overlooks all of Montreal and lends the city its name, and the Parc Jean-Drapeau, site of the 1967 World’s Fair now devoted to green spaces. Sports fans may catch a game of the Canadiens, the Alouettes, or the Impact. Night dwellers will party to the wee hours of the morning in Montreal’s many pubs, clubs and after hours, or tempt lady luck in their favor at the Montreal Casino. Festival hoppers won’t know where to throw themselves first with Montreal’s bewildering variety of festivals, such as the Just For Laughs Festival, Fete de St-Jean-Baptiste, Montreal International Jazz Festival, and the Montreal World Film Festival.

Woo! that was a big paragraph and as you can see there is enough in Montreal to keep you busy for quite some time. You’ll get a great glimpse of the city…but how about experiencing the city as well? How? Well that is easy, by rubbing elbows at the dinner table with the locals. We are crazy about food. We love everything about it: buying it, cooking it, eating it or going out to have it served to us.

Certain districts are known for their ethnic groceries stores: Saint-Laurent and Jean-Talon has Italian stores; NDG has Korean, Russian and Jamaican store; Chinatown is obviously great for anything Asian; Le Plateau has the Portuguese stores; and Outremont the Kosher stores. A great place to explore the local produce is at the nearest farmer’s market. The two biggest ones are the Jean-Talon market and the Atwater Market. Both are lined with specialty shops filled with cheeses, meats, fish, herbs, spices, sauces, pastries and just about anything edible.

Montreal even has festivals that revolve around food. One such festival is the Festival Mondiale de la bière, usually in early June where you can taste beers, ciders, and other beverages from all over Quebec and the world. The Montreal Highlights Festival is a wintertime affair which covers food and wine, performing arts, and free activities both indoor and outdoor. Outside of Montreal you can find duck festivals, chocolate festivals and of course apple festivals. During February and March sugar shacks in Quebec are busy serving meals drenched in maple syrup.

But given your limited time and cooking resource, as a visitor, your best bet may be dinners out. We love going out to restaurants to enjoy a fabulous meal. And we particularly love a small, quaint, perhaps ethnic place that serves up delicious food for a budget price. There are so many restaurants in Montreal some say it has the most restaurants per capita in North America. Let me be your guide to hidden little gems you will probably not find in your tour guide.

- Le Plateau neighbourhood is the king of restaurants. A lot of the city’s best restos are here and it can cover all price ranges. Here are some of the good and reasonably priced ones. The best place to have Quebec’s quintessential poutine is at La Banquise (994 Rue Rachel Est). Don’t know what poutine is? This unique dish is a plate of French fries drowned in gravy and topped with chewy curds of white cheddar. Bière et Compagnie (4350 Rue St-Denis) serves caribou burgers, wapiti Sheppard’s pie, a lot of game dishes and has over 100 beers. For generous Portuguese go to Chez Doval (150 rue Marie-Anne Est) and head to Schwartz’s (3895 Boulevard Saint-Laurent) for the most authentic smoked meat sandwich. The real bagel comes from Montreal and the best places to get one hot from the oven are St-Viateur’s Bagels (263 Rue St-Vitter Ouest ) and Fairmount Bagels (74 Avenue Fairmount Ouest). A Quebec food experience is Pied de Cochon (536 Avenue Duluth Est). Now you can spend a fortune here or you can be reasonable. Either way it is a must and so worth it. This place became famous for its Foie Gras poutine and decadent pig’s feet stew. You will eat about 10,000 calories but who cares. A couple of places that are not restaurants but are worth the detour : La Maison du Macaron (4479 Rue De la Roche) makes the French Macarons (meringue and ganache), Meu Meu (4458 St-Denis) is the best ice cream parlor in town in my opinion and Lab Cocktail (1351 Rue Rachel Est ) bar prepares truly unique drinks and Absinthe.

- Rosemont – La Petite-Patrie is really an up and coming neighbourhood. Here you will find Montreal’s Little Italy and the Jean-Talon market. El Chalateco (520 Rue Beaubien Est) offer great Salvadorian, Salon Mogador (310 Rue Beaubien Est) prepares Moroccan dishes, and Le Petit Alep (191 rue Jean-Talon Est) serves unusual Syrian food.

- Go to Chinatown for an unusual breakfast of Dim Sum at Lotte Furama (1115 Rue Clark). Head for the top third floor…its quieter and faster service.

- Downtown can be tough for a good and cheap meal. Try Atti (2077 Rue University ) for some Korean fare, Magdala (1222 Rue Bishop) for some Ethiopean and Mango Bay (1202 Rue Bishop ) for some Caribbean.

- The Quartier Latin can be tricky to if you want something original. Go to Chez Gatsé (317 Rue Ontario Est ) for Tibetan food and Juliette et Chocolat (1615 Rue St-Denis ) for everything chocolate. They make the best hot chocolates but make sure to ask for the old fashion style.

- The Gay Village has a lot of restaurants. In this area I recommend Asian fare at Bato Thai (1310 Ste-Catherine Est) or awesome sandwiches and to die for cakes at Kilo (1495 Rue Ste-Catherine Est).

- NDG is more Anglophone and very multicultural. It’s where I live (although I am Francophone). Sherbrooke and Monkland Streets particularly are lined with eateries. The bests are the Mexican Amaranto (5974 Monkland), Jamaican Anancy (6587 Somerled), Trinidadian Jean’s (5914 Rue Sherbrooke Ouest) and Russian Le Georgia (5112, boul. Décarie).

- A new area developing rapidly is the South West which includes Lachine canal, Atwater, St. Henri, and Petite-Bourgogne. This is home to the earlier mentioned Atwater Market. Burgundy Lion Pub (2496 Notre Dame Ouest) offers old British favourites with a modern twist. Su (5145 Rue Wellington ) was a fabulous find serving delicious Turkish dishes.

A couple of things you need to know about dining out in Montreal:

• The tip is not included and 15% of the bill before tax is usually given.
• Separate bills are common, just tell the waiter before ordering.
• Many restaurants are “apportez votre vin” (bring your own wine). This keeps your bill low and there usually is a SAQ (government liquor store) or a convenience store nearby.
• No matter how small a place is call to make a reservation.

Top 10 Safest Countries for Travel

What are the top ten safest countries for travel? The answers may surprise you- the United States is not on the list!

According to Yahoo Canada Travel they are-

10. Slovenia- yes! This former Yugoslav republic boasts low levels of violent crime and being little risk from terrorist attacks.

9. Finland- With a strong respect for civil liberties, the democratic process and human rights make Finland another safe bet for travelers.

8. Canada- Scores well for low levels of violent crime.

7. Japan-  Boasting extremely low levels of violent crime, andvery strict gun-laws in place. Robberies are almost non-existent when compared to figures from other westernized industrial nations, although statistics are criticized for being unreported by some watchdog groups.

6. Sweden- Ironically Sweden is a major exporter of weaponry, but scores big across the board in a number of categories including respect for human rights, levels of violent crime, political participation and civil liberties.

5. Austria- if you don’t include the death defying ski runs, this is a very safe and clean country to visit.

4. Iceland- Renowned for its first-rate social welfare system, low levels of violent crime and high respect for human rights.

3. Norway- This beautiful country has very little crime and boasts tremendous tolerance for different races, religions and backgrounds. Check out cheap flights to Oslo.

2. Denmark- A great respect for human rights, high levels of gender equality and low levels of homicide and violent crime make Denmark a very safe and exciting destination. Check out cheap flights to Copenhagen.

1. New Zealand- The nation is considered the World’s safest thanks in part to Kiwi society’s high respect for human rights and lack of hostility toward foreigners, along with the low risk of political instability and internal conflict.

 

So why wasn’t the United States on the list? The list is compiled by a range of data and statistics from the Global Peace Index (GPI). Several factors, including threat of a terrorist attack, hostility towards foreigners, murders, and political instability are considered.  Among other factors, the threat of a terrorist attack alone keeps the United States off this list.

Recommended Cheap Travel Tips for Visiting Disney

Book cheap Orlando flights on OneTravel and treat your family to an exciting getaway! One of the world’s premier vacation destinations, Orlando (MCO) attracts an estimated 52 million visitors every year with its year-round warm, sunny weather and easy access to all the area’s popular tourist destination, including NASA’s Rocket Garden, SeaWorld Orlando and Walt Disney World Resort, Orlando’s largest tourist destination. With cheap flights to Orlando on OneTravel, you can enjoy visiting this world-class destination, all within your budget! If you are looking for travel tips on how to do Orlando on a budget, here are a few great resources-

How to pinch pennies and still live the dream (visiting Disney) from CNN and Travel + Leisure

Check out MouseSavers.com for ways to save money when visiting the Mouse!

Fodors has great travel recommendations and reviews for Orlando.

WDWinfo is the largest online, unofficial, resource for visiting DisneyWorld.

Riding the World’s Most Amazing Streets

Streets or roads are perhaps just seen as a way or course to get you from one place to another. However, there are some which stand as exceptions. Today we take you on a ride on some amazing streets that are more than just smooth and paved course to get from one place to another.

 

Parliament Street

The Parliament Street earns its name into the record books by being narrowest street in the world. Parliament Street is a 50 meters long street in the city of Exeter in England. It links the High Street to Waterbeer Street and dates from the 14th century. The street, which is a mere 45 inches at its widest point and less than 25 inches at is narrowest, used to be referred to as Small Lane. Even at the widest point it would not be easy for two people pass in Parliament Street.

 

Magnetic Road

In case you are planning to visit Canada for your next vacation, then make a quick trip to the magnetic hill in Chartierville, Quebec. You can find this road on north on Route 3 while crossing into Chartierville. What makes this road unique is the magnetic property that leads to an optical illusion. The administration has put up a billboard near the “Magnetic Hill” for tourists stating that if a vehicle is placed on a particular spot on the road and the engine is switched off, it would not slide down but move up.

 

Baldwin Street

Baldwin Street, in a suburban part of New Zealand’s southern city of Dunedin, is reputed to be the world’s steepest street. Baldwin Street runs east from the valley of the Lindsay Creek up the side of Signal Hill towards Opoho, rising from 30 meters above sea level at its junction with North Road to 100 meters above sea level at the top. At its maximum, the slope of Baldwin Street is approximately 1:2.86 i.e. for every 2.86 meters travelled horizontally, the elevation rises by 1 meter.

 

Lombard Street

Much closer to home is San Francisco’s Lombard Street, also known as the crookedest or the most winding street in the world. Lombard Street is best known for the one-way section on Russian Hill between Hyde and Leavenworth Streets, in which the roadway has eight sharp turns or switchbacks that have earned the street this distinction. It was designed this way to minimize the steep 27% grade, which most cars couldn’t climb. Lombard Street is one way only and the speed limit is 5 mph.

 

Visiting EPCOT

Considering a trip to DisneyWorld in Orlando? Check out this video about visiting world famous EPCOT!

The Soggy Kayaker

Welcome Guest Blogger, Cara Lopez Lee from Girls Trek Too.

In Seward, Alaska, the clouds sag low and heavy in Resurrection Bay, like a pregnant woman ready to give birth. I call Sunny Cove Sea Kayaking, to see if their 3-hour guided paddle at 1:00 is still on. They’ll decide by 12:30. The forecast calls for 3-to-5-foot waves.

Seward's Mountains, Ghost Ships in the Mist

My husband and I head to Ray’s Waterfront restaurant, where we warm up with seafood chowder. Outside the picture windows, hypnotic clouds sinkdown the mountainsides, and docked boats huddle in the rain.

The View from Ray's Waterfront restaurant

At 12:30, I make the call, ready to sigh with relief. Instead, “You’re still going?!” I laugh. “What will we see?” A woman explains that at one point we’ll get out and walk to a salmon spawning stream. After 2 days of fishing near Soldotna, fish sex isn’t a convincer. But the possibility of otters is. I have 15 minutes to struggle into five layers of clothing, plus rain gear, in a moving car. Dale, my sensible husband, will drive me to Lowell Point, but he won’t paddle.

Kayaking in Resurrection Bay

I arrive as Mitch and his father Ken are donning spray skirts — men in blue plastic tutus. Mitch, a healthy 40-and-change, has kayaked in a lake before. Ken, the rough side of 70, has never kayaked at all. I’ve paddled maybe a dozen times. They’re from Fort Collins, an hour from my home in Denver: only crazy people from the land of the locked would hit the ocean on a day like this. Brett, our young guide, says today is his birthday. Sorry, Brett. We head out in two double kayaks.

“If you weren’t working, would you purposely go out on a day like this?” I ask Brett.

“Nope.” But his grin tells me that, if he must work in the rain, he’d rather paddle through misty Alaskan scenery than do anything else.

We see a couple of sea otters, whiskered old men with slippery ways. But we’re so cold and wet we can’t be bothered to visit the salmon stream. We just want to hunker down and hope for a whale, though we won’t be paddling far enough. Two graceful, long-necked cormorants float past. Then a trio of black and white puffins flap mad little wings in defiance of gravity. The mountains are ghost ships in the mist.

The waves get bigger, about 2 feet. Not scarier, just more fun, at least for me. Mitch and Ken look tense.

Though the waves pose no problem, I’m soaked. How did every raindrop sneak under my raingear? “I’ve had about all the fun I can stand.When do we turn back?”

On the return trip, with the rain and waves now at our backs, Ken and Mitch look downright relaxed. “That’s because you can’t hear how fast our hearts are pounding,” Ken says.

As for me, I feel like an idiot,still not sure why I did this. As I squish into the car, Dale grins. I’ll admit he made the right choice.But I won’t admit it to him.



How to Pick the Best Airline Seat

How to pick the best airline seat!

 

 

Alien Landscapes of the World

Visiting Alien Landscapes of World

The idea vacation builds an image of beaches, sun and amazing architecture. How about using your vacation to travel to a different planet,  or at least an alien landscape?  We take you on an amazing ride to some of the most unreal landscapes here on Earth, but appear to be transplanted from a different world.

Salar de Uyuni

Salar de Uyuni, the world’s largest salt flat is located in southwest Bolivia. Salar de Uyuni steadily attracts tourists from all around the world. As it is located far from the cities, a number of hotels have been raised in the area over the years.
The Salar was formed as a result of transformations between several prehistoric lakes. It is covered by a few meters of salt crust, which has an extraordinary flatness. The salt desert surrounded by cacti, volcanoes and geysers looks as if it was a remote planet, far from our solar system.

Rio Tinto River

The Río Tinto meaning the “Painted River” is in southwestern Spain that originates in the Sierra Morena mountains of Andalusia. Since ancient times, a site along the river has been mined for copper, silver, gold and other minerals. As a result of the mining, Río Tinto is notable for being very acidic and its deep reddish hue is due to iron dissolved in the water. It doesn’t look human-friendly but it is definitely worth visiting this amazing unreal landscape.

Socotra

Socotra or Soqotra is a small archipelago of four islands in the Indian Ocean. It is very isolated, and through the process of speciation, a third of its plant life is found nowhere else on the planet. It has been described as the most alien-looking place on Earth. Hyperbolic plants and funky-looking trees can be great inspiration for vacationers looking for an alien experience. The island is situated in the Indian Ocean 250 km from Somalia and 340 km from Yemen and has been isolated from mainland Africa for the last 6 or 7 million years.

Blood Pond Hot Springs

Located in Beppu, a city on the island of Japan, it feels like the set of a sci-fi movie when you visit Blood Pond Hot Springs. The high iron content turns the waters a deep, unsettling red and the effect is magnified by the steam that rolls off the surface. Perhaps it’s the effect and appearance that earns it the name of “Hell” by the locals.

Air France takes delivery of its first Airbus A380. air

Air France has taken delivery of its first Airbus A380. The French carrier is the first European airline to fly the all-new double-deck aircraft on scheduled services. The aircraft is the twentieth A380 delivered by Airbus.The aircraft was handed over in a delivery ceremony in Hamburg, Germany.  At the ceremony Air France unveiled its spacious and comfortable cabin, featuring 538 seats in a three class configuration (nine First, 80 Business and 449 Voyageur Economy). The cabin features innovative mood lighting with several different lighting scenarios to create a calm atmosphere and environment for its passengers.

The new Air France A380 is the 20th A380 delivered by Airbus – 10 are already flying with Singapore, five with Emirates and four with Qantas. These aircraft are connecting four continents on 13 major international routes. Today 12 major international hub-airports around the world regularly welcome the A380 including: Auckland, Bangkok, Dubai, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Melbourne, Paris, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo and Toronto.