Travel Blog

Holiday Air Travel Checklist

So, you're watching the clock and ready to escape for your end-of-year vacation. Frequent flyers don't need a reminder of the boring basics (prescription meds and a change of clothes in carry-on: check!) from their regular travel checklist. Here are four more timely tips for this peak travel season from the Fodor's community. Safe and happy travels! Read more

Posted by Fodor's Editors on December 20, 2010 at 6:09:47 PM EST Tagged: Community
Last Minute Thanksgiving Getaways

Don't have to go home for Thanksgiving this year? Take advantage of the upcoming long-weekend for a quick beach escape, urban adventure, or early-season ski trip. There are still deals to be had—if you know where to look. You'll get the most bang for your buck by leaving on Thanksgiving day itself and booking a package that bundles airfare and hotel together. That said, there's no getting around the fact that airfare anywhere is expensive this year. We tracked great rates in several destinations. Read more

Posted by Arabella Bowen on November 03, 2010 at 12:33:10 PM EDT Tagged: Paris, Florida
Where to Be in 30 Days: Celebrate Labor Day at Chicago's Jazz Festival

Chicagoans love to party almost as much as they revere their music. During their short sweet summers, they pull out all the stops, celebrating blues, country, gospel, Celtic, and world music with festival after festival. Labor Day weekend and the annual Jazz Festival are the perfect finale to summer in the city.
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Posted by Stephanie Butler on August 03, 2010 at 9:37:18 AM EDT Tagged: Chicago, Illinois
Where to Be in 30 Days: July Fourth in Washington, D.C.

Celebrating Independence Day in the nation's capital is an unforgettable experience. Washington knows how to throw a birthday party, and despite the city's sometimes stifling summer heat and humidity, thousands of people don red, white, and blue and join in the festivities. This year the Fourth falls on a Sunday, but the whole weekend is packed with events, and many of them are free.
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Posted by Jess Moss on June 02, 2010 at 8:15:13 AM EDT Tagged: Washington DC
April 21-25: Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Revel in the beauty of spring with the brilliant display of wildflowers at Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Before summer gets going and the leaf cover shadows the ground the plants on the forest floor steal the show. Flowers like trillium, lady slipper orchids, flame azalea, violets, jack-in-the-pulpit, and many others are at their brightly-colored peak in mid- to late- April.
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Posted by Salwa Jabado on March 23, 2010 at 4:11:10 PM EDT Tagged: Tennessee, North Carolina
Where to Be in 30 Days: Spend St. Patrick's Day in Dublin

It's easy being green in mid-March when Dublin hosts Ireland's biggest annual bash in honor of St. Patrick: that pious fellow who brought Christianity to the Emerald Isle some 1500 years ago and (if legend holds true) still found time to rid it of pesky snakes. Not content with a single day of remembrance, Dubliners stage a six-day celebration, complete with traditional music, dance, street theater, Irish language workshops and sundry other cultural offerings – many of them free.
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Posted by Fodor's Guest Blogger on February 15, 2010 at 3:01:00 PM EST
Where to Be in 30 Days: Experience an Authentic Cajun Mardi Gras

There's no denying that the over-the-top Mardi Gras festivities in New Orleans are something everyone should experience at least once. But if you're looking to celebrate in a way that doesn't include as much booze, beads, and another "b" word, head to Eunice, Louisiana's prairie Cajun capital, 170 miles west of the Big Easy.
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Posted by Molly Moker on January 20, 2010 at 2:33:34 PM EST
Where to Be in 30 Days: Los Cabos Two Ways for Valentines Day

Whether you're contemplating a romantic escape or a singles getaway for Valentine's Day, Los Cabos makes the perfect long-weekend destination. Here's what you need to know about where to stay and what to do.
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Posted by Laura Kidder on January 13, 2010 at 1:01:03 PM EST Tagged: Escapes, Los Angeles, Los Cabos
30 Days Out: Take a birding trip in Texas

Every November, Harlingen, Texas, hosts the area's biggest and best birding festival. For going on 15 years now, the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival has drawn crowds because of its reputation for having terrific guided field trips, seminars, kids' activities, and the joy of meeting others with an enthusiasm for birds.
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Posted by Fodor's Editors on October 08, 2009 at 6:28:32 AM EDT Tagged: Texas
30 Days Out: Celebrate Halloween in Derry, Northern Ireland

Every Halloween the entire populace of Derry—the second-largest city in Northern Ireland—turns out in wild homemade costumes, and pubs have been known to refuse a drink to anyone who hasn't made the effort to dress up.
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Posted by Fodor's Editors on September 30, 2009 at 9:40:14 AM EDT Tagged: Ireland