Top 10 Holiday Travel Tips
As the economy recovers, so does travel volume. As you gird yourself to wade into the crowds, here are 10 tips to keep you moving over the river and through the woods… Expand Your Fly-vs.-Drive Tipping Point — My normal tipping point is 350 miles; anything less and I drive it. However, the holiday traffic changes the...
What’s In My Briefcase – 2015?
It’s spring cleaning time, which for me means it’s time to wade through my briefcase. Within every frequent traveler is the desire to carry everything you could possibly need on the road — to make your briefcase into the road warrior version of Batman’s utility belt, letting you amaze your travel companions by pulling out just...
Travel Tips — Holiday Airport Etiquette
Coming into the holiday travel season, every travel news outlet publishes their top travel tips. Rather than repeat the typical “pack light” and “give yourself extra time” nostrums, I decided to create an advice list of what’s really the problem during holiday travel — airport etiquette. The challenge of holiday travel isn’t necessarily the crowds;...
Top 10 Holiday Travel Tips
Snow, ice, and cold temperatures have hit North America a lot earlier this year. With the crush of Christmas/New Years travel starting this weekend, here’s the TravelCommons’ top holiday travel tips… Fly Direct — This is the top tip every time I put this list together. Holiday travel stacks up problems — high passenger load...
Video – What to do in Madrid… in 180 Seconds
Here’s a 3-minute summary of what I liked best during my Spring 2013 visit to Madrid, Spain. Some of the places mentioned include Reina Sofia museum Plaza Mayor Mercado de San Miguel Mercado de Antón Martín Viandas de Salamanca Malasaña District Fábrica Maravillas Madrid Food Tour
“Heads In Beds” Review — The Story Behind The Front Desk
I read Jacob Tomsky’s Heads in Beds: A Reckless Memoir of Hotels, Hustles, and So-Called Hospitality during my Christmas ski vacation in Park City, UT. It’s a fun, easy read. Just looking at the cover, you can tell that Tomsky wants to give us the hotel version of Anthony Bourdain‘s Kitchen Confidential — the flawed insider with...
Video – ORD Layover Excursion: a 6-Hour Tour of Chicago
A long layover can be an impromptu vacation or a mind-numbing marathon of CNN Airport Network shows. Inspired by my own 5-hour layover excursion through Frankfurt, I grabbed my iPhone and shot what I’d recommend you do and see on a long layover at O’Hare Airport. Using foot power and a one-day unlimited pass on...
Ruthless Packing Tips
My longest packing sessions involve trying to get 10-14 days of clothes for multiple climates and/or activities into a single 22-inch carry-on bag. Two years ago, it was packing for a March trip that spanned Iceland and Southern Spain. Last month, it was a 10-day drive through Scotland with clothes for rainy day hikes and...