Trip tips

Enter the Cupcake Vineyards “Treat Today” sweepstakes by March 15, 2016, for a chance to win the grand prize: a five-day trip for two to the 2016 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, including air, hotel, airport transfers, and event passes. Runner-up prizes include $100 and $50 gift cards.

Enter the Pernod Ricard “St. Patrick’s Day” sweepstakes by April 30, 2016, for a chance to win one of six grand prizes: each a trip for two to Ireland, including air, three nights’ hotel, and a tour of the Jameson distillery in Dublin.

Enter the Atout France USA “Lancome Paris 2016” sweepstakes by August 8, 2016, for a chance to win the grand prize: a one-week trip for two to Paris, including air, hotel, and a day trip out of the city.

Enter the PureWow “2016 London Trip” sweepstakes by May 14, 2016, for a chance to win the grand prize: a three-night trip for two to London, including business-class air on La Compagnie, hotel, breakfast, and afternoon tea.

Enter the Hamptons Lane “Discover Historic London” sweepstakes by July 15, 2016, for a chance to win the grand prize: a five-day trip for two to London, including air from New York, hotel, a $500 gift certificate redeemable for art at 20×200, and a Tarts & Pies box from Hamptons Lane.

Enter the Visit St. Pete Clearwater “Get Amped Getaway” sweepstakes by September 8, 2016, for a chance to win the grand prize: a five-day trip for four people to St. Pete, Florida, including four nights at the Loews Don CeSar Resort, a $250 resort credit, first-class air, $500 gift card, and private car hire.

Enter the Copa Airlines “My Paradise” sweepstakes by July 5, 2016, for a chance to win the grand prize: a four-day trip for four to Nassau, Bahamas, including air, transfers, hotel, some meals, and a dolphin swim.

Enter the General Assembly Space “Go Places: Burgundy” sweepstakes by October 2, 2016, for a chance to win the grand prize: a 10-day trip for two people to Burgundy, France, including air, hotel, market and vineyard tours, and wine tastings.

Enter the Travel Channel “The Trip: 2018” sweepstakes by March 30, 2018, for a chance to win the grand prize: a trip for two to Antigua and St. Lucia, including airfare to, between, and from the islands, six nights’ accommodations in Antigua, 13 nights in St. Lucia, spa treatments, a swim with sting rays, a cooking class, a jet ski adventure, a water ski lesson, a scuba lesson, and a catamaran cruise.

La Compagnie, an all-business-class airline based in France, is selling round-trip flights from Newark to Paris for just $1,300. And because it’s called the Family Trip Offer, the airline has cut the fare for kids ages 2 to 11 to $1,000.

Stay warm and make your winter ski house rental feel like home with these ski trip essentials. From household items that’ll make your stay easier to cool new products that’ll keep you warm, this packing list for a ski trip has everything you need to bring on a ski vacation.

When Kevin Maloney started to plan his trip to Iceland, a friend mentioned a new service called ViaHero. “I knew there was a lot to see in Iceland and I had a short period of time. I didn’t want to spend a lot of personal time doing the research,” Maloney says. “My goal was to have an expert map it out for me.”

If your flight on American Airlines is canceled or delayed, forget calling customer service or waiting in line at an airport. You can now rearrange your trip yourself, using American’s newly launched “dynamic reaccom” (read: re-accommodation) tool online, on the mobile app, or at an American Airlines kiosk.

As an American traveler, I too often let airlines dictate my life. When am I going on that cross-country trip I’ve been planning? Whatever dates the Big Three (Delta, United, American) or Southwest decides are cheapest. With few other modes of affordable transportation in this vast country, airfare reigns supreme.

It’s no secret that air travel is uncomfortable. And judging by the sheer volume of travel gear available at the airport, the market knows it, too. Every day brings a new type of travel gadget that promises to make travel better and more comfortable.

J.D. Power’s annual list of the best hotel chains in the world based on its North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index finds that overall satisfaction with hotel chains is on the rise, with one key area of improvement across brands. The study highlights the best hotel chains for every type of trip, from economical and short stays to luxury and extended stay.

Do you rely on a Citi travel card for perks like insurance and lost baggage protection? You might want to take a look at your card’s newly updated benefits: Citibank is sharply reducing the travel add-ons, dropping a slew of protection benefits on all the cards that previously offered them.

If seeing the seven wonders of the world is on your bucket list, then group-travel operator, Contiki, wants to help you achieve this dream by paying your rent while you do it. With the company’s new Jordan trip, it now has itineraries to all of the “new” Seven Wonders of the World. To get the savings, book each of Contiki’s trips to the seven wonders (these are individual trips that visit the Taj Mahal, Great Wall of China, Christ the Redeemer, Chichen Itza, Machu Picchu, Petra, and the Colosseum) and then prove your rent amount with your rental agreement. Contiki is offering a savings of up to $2,840, the national average of rent for two months.

All you need is a dream and a dollar to book your next bucket list vacation. From now through February 15th, 2019, you can book one of Intrepid Travel’s group trips with only a dollar deposit. The dollar down promotion is valid on more than 1,000 trips in over 100 countries departing before December 14th, 2019. Click here to see full terms and conditions and to book.

Last week, I wrote about my upcoming round-the-world trip, which I had been planning for several months (here’s the story). My friends and family were concerned about me going to Asia amid the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak. Of course, I had some concerns, too. After asking for answers to the question “Should I cancel my trip to Asia?” on both my website and my Facebook page, I was shocked by how many people said that I should cancel. Some of the comments were coming from big-time travelers, including executives of Asian airlines.

In our A Total Trip series, writers document what they spent on a recent getaway. In this edition, Stephanie Ong shows us how much a weekend of food and fun cost her and her partner in Paris.