Free flights to the Galapagos Islands (with purchase)

This press release caught my attention because it's about a talked about but not often visited destination: the Galápagos Islands.

LAN Airlines (www.lan.com) and its affiliates are celebrating LAN Ecuador's newest route - flights to the Galapagos Islands starting on September 16, 2010 -by offering a complimentary roundtrip ticket to the Galapagos Islands for passengers who book travel by June 21, 2010.

"LAN's 'Galapagos on Us' promotion is an exciting way to showcase LAN Ecuador's new route as well as give travelers an incentive to visit the mysterious islands that offer an uncanny look into tropical life of fish and coral with endless opportunities for adventure," said Pablo Yunis, LAN Airlines'

Would you be interested in a tour of places people died?

I guess you would call this grief tourism or dark tourism. Someone recently recommended a tour of New York City: "You ride around in an old hearse and check out sites where famous people have died in Manhattan. It's really fun."

Sounded weird so I checked out the website of Deadappletours. I didn't see anything about John Lennon which surprised me but they promise to tell you the stories of a few other big names: Jean-Michel Basquiat, President James Monroe, "Crazy Joe" Gallo (where he ate his last plate of pasta), and so on.

What do you say? Would you consider touring murder spots and the like in a hearse in NYC?

Scenes From "Australia"

After two years of filming, the much anticipated movie "Australia" was released in 2008. Baz Luhrmann, writer, producer, and director, has created a story of the outback in epic proportions, the largest in this country's film making history.

Starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, and a large cast of supporting Australian actors, the scenes were filmed in 4 of the 8 states or territories, including Northern Australia, Queensland, and New South Wales. This article will cover only a few of the many attractions from the movie. Travelers will want to visit some, if not all, the locations that are portrayed in the wonderful cinematography of the bush country, the coast, the waterfalls and rivers, and the rugged mountain ranges and deep ravines. Boosted by the millions of dollars

Outdoor Dramas / World leaders cruise

Have you been to an outdoor drama, or play? It's a popular activity now that summer is here (and summer is really here in North Carolina - its 97 degrees today. Too hot!) I keep meaning to go to one, but never seem to get round to it. Many of these outdoor dramas feature historical or religious themes and apparently, NC is home to thirteen outdoor dramas, more than any other state, so I really have no excuse not to go to one.

The oldest and longest running outdoor play in the country is in North Carolina as well, featuring the mysterious 'lost colony' of Roanoke Island. And one of the largest outdoor dramas in the US is the

Any ideas where to go in Charleston SC?

Question: I rented a house in downtown Charleston SC for a week for a mini getaway. An old Civil War era house built in 1865 on Tradd street. Looks like a nice place, the veranda apparently has a nice view of the Battery. Any suggestions where to sightsee? I have plans to visit a few old plantations which are pretty much still intact from the mid-1800's. I understand there are a few good ghost tours to be had.

What else? Any restaurants that are great places? Can anyone suggest a few good sights? Bars, strip clubs whatever?

Answer 1: The plantations are a good start, also if you're into history, Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie. If they happen to be home when you visit, the Charleston Riverdogs are a single A Yankee farm club and they're only a couple of minutes

Weird stuff on planes - Why upset people?

The story about human heads on a Southwest commercial flight has been making the rounds but apparently it's just luck that this became public and not some other kind of weird cargo. Quote of the day:

"Frankly, heads don't pose a risk," industry expert Sam Coats said. Customers, usually, never know a thing about it. "Why upset people about something they don't need to be upset about?"

Good question - I guess I don't need to know!

Review: On Thin Ice by Hugh Rowland with Michael Lent

We sometimes talk about road trips and business travel and this book is sort of an odd combination of the two.

This is the extreme story of an extreme guy - Hugh Rowland from History Channel's 'Ice Road Truckers'. He has lasted in a wildly dangerous occupation for almost thirty years. As you read about his adventures, it's amazing to think some people can thrive in the conditions faced by the drivers who take on the winter ice roads.

The pay is good for those who transport supplies for the gold, diamond and oil & gas exploration

Tikal in Guatemala

This is in Tikal, a national park in Guatemala. I believe this view is from the top of Temple 3 and shows the main plaza. I already showed you one pic of these Mayan ruins when we talked about the crazy stairs.

Dog road trippers: advice needed on car sickeness

Reader question: We recently found out that our dog gets car sick on any rides more than 15 minutes, and especially if there's a lot of stop-and-go involved. Does anyone have any recommendations on how to help the pooch deal with the car sickness? Is it just a matter of not feeding her till we get where we're going or is there something we can do for her to make car rides more pleasant? She does enjoy riding in the car, but I would imagine it's not fun to have that queasy feeling.

1. Many people report that keeping a window down helped:

We keep a window down and keep her calm during any car rides and that seems to do the trick. If the window goes up, so does her dinner. However please don't let your dog hang its head out the window if you're

Travel To "Eat, Pray, Love"

With award-winning actress Julia Roberts and co-stars Jacques Bardem and James Franco, the film "Eat, Pray, Love" should be a box office success scheduled to release 13 Aug of this year. Based on author Elizabeth Gilbert's life story, the movie follows the young divorcee as she escapes the humdrum, familiar life in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, known for Italian meat markets and family owned shops, to the adventure and excitement of "la dolce vita" in Rome. This article will not include all the attractions in Rome or India where filming took place, as the spotlight will be on Bali.

After four months of fun, food, and companionship, a desire for spirituality takes her to the Hindu Ashram Hari Mandir in the suburbs of Pataudi near Mumbai, India. Yoga and meditation sessions taught

Greek Islands for sale - nice tourism business opportunity

If you have money and want to start a tourism-related business, check out this article.

Greece is preparing to sell, or offering long-term leases on, some of its 6,000 sunkissed islands in a desperate attempt to repay its mountainous debts....an area in Mykonos, one of Greece's top tourist destinations, is one of the sites for sale. The area is one-third owned by the government, which is looking for a buyer willing to inject capital and develop a luxury tourism complex, according to a source close to the negotiations.

New Jersey / Flight Delays / Christmas in July

Guest entry by Mancunian

Exciting news - I may be taking a travel agent job in New Jersey, so I thought I would devote some of this posting to that state. If I take the job, I will still be posting on here a couple of times a month! Despite being somewhat familiar with the area where the job is located (near to Cherry Hill, which sounds rather nice) I didn't know too much about New Jersey, although a quick look online and in my local bookstore seems to suggest that there is a lot to see and do. Atlantic City sounds interesting, Cape May is beautiful and full of Victorian houses and Philadelphia is just about a 20 minute drive away from where I would be working.

Does anyone else know of any

Get a workout and maybe see a celebrity at Muscle Beach

I've never been to Muscle Beach, but according to Wikipedia, "Dave Draper, Larry Scott, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Danny Trejo and Crips Co-founder Stanley Tookie Williams used to be regulars, among many famous bodybuilders and actors who have trained there. In fiction, Hulk Hogan appeared training there in an episode of TV show Baywatch."

These days your more likely to run into current bodybuilders like Jay Cutler:

Actually I think that was more of a one-time thing so I don't think you're like to run into many Mr. Olympia-types but you could at least get in a workout.

And they have

Help with a 2 month European travel plan

One lucky reader is planning a 2 month trip to Europe and needs some advice.

So this is in the very early stages, but me and a few buddies are planning a trip to Europe for next summer. We're obviously going to do the main cities (Barcelona, Paris, Amsterdam, etc.) but we want to make this trip as unique (and affordable) as possible. Really just some general stuff here... was wondering if you guys had any spots someone who hasn't been to Europe wouldn't know to check out. What are some hidden gems across the continent that a travel agent might not come up with? Any and every suggestion is welcomed. Additionally, any ideas for saving money and traveling efficiently would be much appreciated as well. Really, any advice for someone looking to do this would be