Hotel ZaZa in Dallas is offering special meal deals during the month of January.
By Mark Chesnut
A recent survey of senior corporate travel buyers commissioned by the Business Travel Show has revealed that budgets are on the increase for 2013. But that doesn’t mean that business travelers aren’t keeping an eye on expenses. For anyone looking to make affordable business travel one of their New Year’s resolutions, here are a few tips to keep in mind. (more…)
Sweet ride: Orbitz for Business has unveiled new options for ground transportation.
By Mark Chesnut
Whether traveling on business a weeklong seminar or morning meeting, nothing beats the convenience of private car service. Now, thanks to a new partnership between Limos.com, the world’s largest online marketplace for private car service, and Orbitz for Business, professionals can easily access premium car service at special rates for exclusive discounts at more than 2,000 local town car and limousine suppliers. (more…)
Lift off: Hundreds of hot air balloons take to Albuquerque skies this October. Credit: snowpeak.
By Derek Brown
Alarm clocks ring extra early in New Mexico during the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. The first balloons lift off at 6 a.m. for Dawn Patrol and glow a fiery orange in the early-morning desert sky. Mass Ascension takes place about one hour later — it’s said to be a spectacle of color and shapes when more than 500 hot air balloons take to the sky at once. (more…)
Avis features cars that are SmartWay Certified by the EPA.
By Mark Chesnut
As hybrid vehicles find their way into more and more driveways, car rental companies are gradually adding eco-friendly options to their fleets as well.
Hertz offers the Green Collection, which includes Toyota Prius and Camry hybrids. National has a “standard hybrid” and an “SUV hybrid” car category. Enterprise has hybrid vehicles but, according to rental terms, cannot guarantee the model until you arrive at the counter.
Indeed, most rental car companies only have hybrids in limited locations — if at all. “We have very little demand either from consumers or companies for hybrids or electric cars at this time,” said John R. Barrows, vice president of communications at Avis Budget Group, “and so as a result we have virtually no electric vehicles and only a very small quantity of gas/electric hybrids available for rent.” (more…)
A New York City sunset. Credit: Global Jet.
By Joe Brancatelli
No one would argue that downtown Seattle–or downtown anywhere–needs more hotels, but business travelers looking for iterations of their favorite mid-priced chains in the Emerald City now have more choice. Hyatt Place has opened a 160-room outlet on 6th Avenue North near Denny Way. Not too far away, in Pioneer Square, a 222-room Courtyard by Marriott has opened in the historic, turn-of-the-century Alaska Building. (more…)
InterContinental Nairobi
By Carolyne Matseshe-Crawford
Growing up in the Chicago area as a Kenyan immigrant, we took a family vacation to Kenya almost every year. As a mother of three daughters, ranging from 4 to 15 years old, I continue that tradition — albeit not at the same frequency.
For anyone making this trek with their family, here are my best tips on where to stay and what to do:
Finding fantastic, centrally located hotels can be a challenge when traveling to any country. Upon arrival in Nairobi, we prefer to base ourselves out of the InterContinental Nairobi Hotel. It is centrally located, has the best concierge services, and is well known by any family from more remote areas of Kenya who want to spend time with us. (more…)
By Frank Gruger
My wife and her best friend recently took our one-year-old daughter to Tokyo because they always wanted to see Tokyo, and because she loves Japanese toys and wants to instill that love in our daughter!
She was surprised to find that Tokyo was not nearly as expensive a family vacation spot as conventional wisdom would suggest. She avoided the central business districts and found a safe, clean Toyko hotel in the Shiodome district (she felt the more obvious Ginza and Shibuya districts were too crowded, noisy and dirty for a baby) at a rate that would be a steal in NYC and was on par with prices in any major U.S. city.
Taxis are expensive, so she did a lot of walking. With a one-year-old that meant bringing a stroller and a sling. Strollers will get you most places, but Sundays on the streets of Harajuku, or anywhere during rush hour, they’re not feasible. We think the sling is best for international travel with a baby. (more…)
Alaska is one of those places where people go to seek adventure. Its fierce beauty, overwhelming silence and lack of luxury hotels makes it a natural spectacle. Once you get off the main roads and into the wilderness, a whole new world opens up: raw, magnificent and still. But most places in Alaska are not even accessible by car, so I decided to make my first trip there by taking a cruise.
As a child I knew that Russia had sold Alaska to America back in 1867 for a mere $7 million. But it wasn’t until I saw Alaska that I felt how foolish the Russians were.
Alaska is massive. Its coastline is more than double the length of the entire U.S. coast, and it’s a fifth of the size of the United States. But with population of only 686,293 people, it is pretty much deserted.
Cruising is probably the best way to see Alaska for the first time. As our cruise ship, Crystal Harmony, was slowly gliding through Glacier Bay, passengers gathered on every inch of deck in silence, like in an amphitheater before a symphony was about to start, granite peaks surrounding the ship, echoing sounds from the wild as we passed. (more…)
By April Cafiso
Massachusetts is known as Ireland’s 6th county. So if you want to really get into the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day, book a Boston hotel room and be there for the big event: Boston’s St. Patrick’s Day parade.
Southie (South Boston) hosts one of the largest St. Patrick’s Day parades in the nation, with more than 60,000 people attending each year. This year’s parade is Sunday, March 14, starting at 1 p.m. The parade winds through the neighborhoods where you’ll see every house trying to out-decorate the next. Residents take their place on the stoop with relatives and friends, while passers-by stroll the streets with baby carriages decked out in green and their babies in Aran sweaters, hats, mittens and blankets. People prepare for months for St. Patrick’s Day to celebrate Irish heritage — even if they’re not Irish. (more…)
There is something distinctively soulful and romantic about Paris. No matter how much I travel I find myself longing to be back in the City of Light. From the first time I wandered the Champs-Élysées on Valentine’s Day in 1993 until a recent visit in October, my heart cannot but leap at the sight of romance on every corner, embracing me like a long-lost love returned home. Each time I visit, I discover a new street, a new boutique or a new bistro, but I mainly like observing people. A hug, a laugh, an attitude can be illuminating.
I still can’t decide whether kissing in public is a French thing, or just something you feel like doing more of in France. Either way, passion comes easy no matter where you stroll, whether along the Seine that winds through the heart of the city, or beneath its arches and monuments — like awnings to the brightness that drenches the city, even on a rainy day.
I feel passion in everything in Paris. Passion for beauty, passion for style, passion for food. People just love this city and I can really see what they love about it. But mostly I see how living life’s everyday moments to its fullest creates a vibe of its own. Paris is full of these spirits and all of its spaces and coveted places are just a stage for the art of living.
The photographs I chose are simply pictures I like. I hope they inspire you to travel to Paris and discover its beauty on your own. And if you end up falling in love with the city, pick up a camera and look through its lens.
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Elina Fuhrman is an intrepid traveler based in Los Angeles. She grew up in Russia but knew before she was 10 years old that she would spend her life exploring the world. She is now a contributing editor to Travelgirl and JEZEBEL magazines. Her work has appeared on CNN, in The New York Times, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Conde Nast Traveler, InStyle and other publications. Fuhrman’s photos often accompany her stories. To see more, visit her website www.elinafuhrman.com.
We love to travel, and we love to talk about it. The Orbitz Blog is another way we can share our expertise, advice and the occasional random thought.
Check back often for fresh insight from Orbitz staff and contributors about cool places to visit, fun things to do and smart ways to save.
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