Web writer offers budget-travel advice
Mark Kahler is the About.com Guide to Budget Travel, http://budgettravel.about.com. Currently, he writes about how to get refunds or relief if you have had an unfair travel experience, such as not receiving services for which you paid.
He also has a good article on Ten Expensive Cities You Think You Can't Afford, with tips on how to plan in advance so you can afford them. Other articles include Budget Train Vacation, or how to be kind to your travel budget by taking the train, especially in the Northeast U.S. where cities are concentrated.
Usually there is a destination story, and at last glance it was Munich on a Budget with tips on how to go to Oktoberfest. It includes ideas on using Munich as a base to explore Bavaria later, including cost-cutting tips for where to stay and eat.
Sign up for Mark's free newsletter to keep the budget tips coming.
It's time to plan your fall-color trip to see the leaves at their most brilliant. For help, go to the Foliage Network, www.foliagenetwork.com, which covers states in the Northeast, Southeast and Midwest. The Network collects data from 567 Fall Foliage Spotters twice a week during the season, including September, October and November. Sign up for the Foliage Report newsletter for constant updates. You can also sign up to be a spotter on this site. For the Foliage Network, the Midwest includes Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin; the Southeast includes Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia; and the Northeast includes Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Outdoor Places.com, www.outdoorplaces.com is a helpful site for those who like camping or paddling vacations. In its Park Finder, it covers mores than 500 city and state parks. Put in your city or region and up will come dozens of ideas for outdoor trips. In the Community section there are forums on everything from places to go paddling to RV travel to Gear Reviews. There is also a Hypothermia Guide, a Frostbite Guide and feature stories that include backcountry ethics and meal planning, winter hiking, altitude sickness for those into mountaineering, a canoe-buying guide for paddlers and even funny stories about the outdoors by Floyd B. Wilson. There is also a good section on hiking and camping with children.
In print
The "Insight Guide to Continental Europe," by Roger Williams, sold at $18.96 , published by Insight Guides, covers every European country from Austria to Wales.
It discusses the usefulness of the euro system to travelers, gives tips for climbing the Alps, reviews the best Renaissance treasures in Italy and notes how to swim with the dolphins in the Aegean.
It is particularly helpful while you're in the planning stage of your trip to the Continent, giving the absolute "Don't Miss" sights, including the British Museum in England, the Louvre in France, the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland, the Italian Lakes in Italy and the Highlands in Scotland.