May 21st, 2011 at 7:00AM:
When we think of what we need for a road trip, a common list unfolds. A cooler, ice, beverages, snacks, maps and pillows are all normal items we might bring along. We'll fill up with gas and head out on the highway to get away, even if just for the Memorial Day road trip weekend. This year, some of those items will cost a bit more, some a bit less and there are some new things we might want to ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
AAA posts
Memorial Day road trip plans focus on spending, safety and...Justin Bieber?
May 21st, 2011 at 7:00AM:
When we think of what we need for a road trip, a common list unfolds. A cooler, ice, beverages, snacks, maps and pillows are all normal items we might bring along. We'll fill up with gas and head out on the highway to get away, even if just for the Memorial Day road trip weekend. This year, some of those items will cost a bit more, some a bit less and there are some new things we might want to ...AAA launches new online guide books
Apr 8th, 2011 at 4:00PM:
Members of AAA (formerly known as the American Automobile Association if you haven't been paying attention lately) have long-relied on guide books and the famous AAA TripTik page-by-page maps that looked to be doomed as Internet applications like Google maps became more popular. But now, things are looking up for the world's largest auto club.
Announced today, AAA members can take along ...Five reasons why you'll be miserable during Thanksgiving travel
Nov 23rd, 2010 at 2:00PM: We've all heard that the day before Thanksgiving is the busiest of the year for air travel. And, the roads tend to get clogged up with people going to visit friends and family – not to mention stuff their faces with turkey, potatoes and other traditional holiday fare. Travel isn't going to be fun tomorrow, but you already know that.
But, do you know why?
Personally, of course, I have ...Five sleepy driving stats to scare you for Thanksgiving
Nov 11th, 2010 at 2:00PM: Are you heading over the river and through the woods for Thanksgiving this year? Well, you better stop for coffee along the way! A new study by AAA finds there's a pretty big number of sleepy drivers out there. Think about every 10 cars around you: there's a good chance at least one of those driver's has dozed off behind the wheel. So, how bad is the problem? Let's take a look at five sleepy ...Calculate your fuel cost - Road trip tip
Aug 7th, 2010 at 1:44PM: An essential ingredient for any road trip is fuel. While you know the cost of your accommodations, you may not always know how much gas will cost for the length of your road trip.
There are websites to help you determine that cost, however. For example, AAA's Fuel Cost Calculator allows you to calculate the fuel cost of your trip. Using drop-down menus, you select your starting city, ...Are hotel star ratings getting out of hand?
Apr 5th, 2010 at 4:30PM: At one time, staying in a "four-star hotel" meant you were experiencing the peak of luxury. Luxurious rooms, top-notch accommodations and plenty of amenities. But increasingly a four-star hotel is no longer enough, with uber-high-end properties in Europe racing to claim six or, in the case of the Burj-al-Arab in Dubai, even seven-star ratings. At what point do the hotel stars become meaningless? ...Snow, sweat, and salami: A day in the life of an avalanche dog
Mar 10th, 2010 at 10:00AM: With avalanches, timing is everything. Your chances of surviving burial without asphyxiating (if you're not instantaneously pulverized) are 90-percent during the first fifteen minutes. Things go downhill quickly after that, and at 30 minutes, your odds are 50:50. The most important thing to do if buried in a slide is create an air pocket.
Salami is also helpful to your survival (as you will ...Rafting the Smith River in Montana: Now is the time to plan
Dec 29th, 2009 at 9:30AM: Rafting the Smith River in Montana requires planning ahead and a permit. Without the permit, you're not going. Obtaining one is simiilar to acquring a permit for a private rafting trip through the Grand Canyon. A lottery system says who goes and when a trip can happen. Not everyone wins.
The application process for 2010 begins in January permits closes the end of February for trips starting mid- ...Passengers to become drivers for Thanksgiving this year
Nov 19th, 2009 at 3:00PM: We aren't staying at home, but we're definitely not flying. That's the word out of AAA this year. Thanksgiving, always a travel-heavy holiday, will see more cars in the road than people crammed at the gate, as travelers respond to the recession and recent increases in airfares.
AAA puts the number of people driving 50 miles or more from home for Thanksgiving at 38.4 million -- up 1.4 percent ...The Pierre spends $100 million for five diamonds
Nov 19th, 2009 at 1:00PM: It took $100 million in renovations, but The Pierre is now open ... an occasion celebrated almost immediately with a AAA rating of Five Diamonds. The Pierre is now among only 113 hotels in North America and the Caribbean. Set just up from the corner of Central Park South and Fifth Ave and with amazing views of the park, The Pierre is inches from any luxury offering you could possibly want.
Heiko ...Memorial Day travel surge to be followed by silence
May 13th, 2009 at 1:00PM: So, there are two visions of the near future: one immediate, the other a bit further out. For Memorial Day, expect to see plenty of traffic, thanks to a drop in gas prices, according to AAA. More than 10 percent of the country's population – north of 32 million people – is expected to ht the road (though some will take planes). This stands in stark contrast to last year, when it cost ...Creative ways to work the system for cheap travel
Jan 30th, 2009 at 4:00PM: Call it cheap. Call it resourceful. But when you've got travel on the brain and you're on a budget, you gotta do whatcha gotta do. A post on MSNBC.com embraces the cheap with ingenuity. They've pulled together a list of ideas for shaving a few dollars off of some of those travel necessities. Some are a little questionable, others are tried-and-true favorites, but they all do the trick. Try them ...Cruises are big this year: Where to look for deals
Jan 20th, 2009 at 12:00PM: If the trip bookings at the AAA travel show, Great Vacations Expo this past weekend are any indication of the type of travel many people are looking for, it's cruises, cruises and more cruises. While there, I ran into Bill Purpera, editor of Home and Away magazine for the Ohio section who filled me in on the statistics when I asked him about the biggest vacation sellers on Saturday.
Given that ...AAA Great Vacations Expo: Andrew Zimmern, Jack Hanna and travel info galore
Jan 13th, 2009 at 5:00PM: Last year I went to a AAA virtual travel show. Although it was very cool indeed, this weekend's in person travel show opportunity--AAA Great Vacations Expo, is a perfect place to scout out travel options for 2009. The fact that it's in Columbus makes it a no brainer for me. If you can swing it, come.
First off, Andrew Zimmern is going to be there on Sunday. As a Bizarre Foods fan, it will be a ...Program that provides safe driving tips for parents and their teens
Aug 15th, 2008 at 11:30AM: My daughter is approaching driving age. Gaad! Let's just say, I'm not thrilled. Dings and dents abound in Columbus. This is a city. It's not that people drive like maniacs, but there are many cars and many possibilities for an amiss to happen while navigating the roads. Dents and dings are the mildest forms of mishaps.
One day though, it's inevitable; my daughter will be driving. To get her ready ...The AAA virtual travel show
Mar 11th, 2008 at 11:00AM: Technology can certainly be an awesome thing. Yesterday I attended my first virtual travel show through AAA. The show, "Europe is Closer Than You Think" was designed for people to find out about various trips and deals about traveling in Europe. It was set up similarly to a trade show one would attend in person--physically. After registering, with a click of a mouse, an attendee had a variety of ...The Truth About Taxi Drivers in Prague
Jul 27th, 2007 at 8:00AM: The cab drivers in Prague really are that bad. The problem has gotten slightly better after the Prague mayor dressed up as an Italian tourist and saw for himself how much they rip off foreigners. But it is still not nearly good enough.
The thing is, they don't only overcharge foreigners. It occasionally happens to locals, too, if they don't pay attention to the hyperactive meters. Sadly, a lot of ...AAA Road Trip Tool
Jul 2nd, 2007 at 7:56AM: A road trip across America is one of the great rites of passage in life.
The best way to manage one, however, without a host of problems, is to buy yourself an AAA memberships.
For many years, the Automobile Association of America has provided numerous benefits for their relatively low membership cost – the best of which is free towing if your car breaks down. AAA is moving with the ...A Quest for a Cheap Car Rental
Jun 19th, 2007 at 3:45PM: As part of my family's trip to Montana via Seattle, (aka Bellingham, Washington,) finding a car rental was the next step after I picked the airline--Skybus (see post), I was particularly interested in making a car rental reservation ASAP since one Gadling reader commented that when he flew into Bellingham he noticed there weren't many car rental options. Since Sky Bus has a link to Avis on its ...
