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Norwegian Air Expands East Coast Markets

If you want to book a last-minute flight to the UK, Ireland, and Norway this summer, consider Norwegian Air. The low-cost carrier recently announced that they will offer new flights from Providence’s T. F. Green Airport to Belfast, Cork, Shannon, and Dublin, Edinburgh, and Bergen, Norway. Direct flights from Hartford’s Bradley Airport will head to Edinburgh. Norwegian will also be offering flights from Stewart Airport in New Windsor, New York, about 60 miles north of Manhattan to Belfast, Dublin, Shannon, Edinburgh, and Bergen. Service will begin in June or early July. The best part is the price. I just went on Norwegian Air’s website and looked at pricing for a Providence to Dublin round-trip flight, leaving July 4th and returning July 10th. Cost was only $315 round-trip including taxes! Don’t hesitate to book now because pricing will increase once word quickly spreads. 

 

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The Fall and Rise of the Travel Agent

In 1990, I left my job as a broker in Manhattan, booked an open-ended ticket to the South Pacific, New Zealand, and Australia, and wrote my first travel story, “Dining with the Descendants of Cannibals on a Fijian Island” for the Miami Herald. It would prove to be start of a career where I would write more than 1500 stories (over 300 articles for the Boston Globe alone) and visit over 80 countries. Then the recession hit. I lost more than half my editors in 2008/2009 as magazines folded and newspapers either eliminated or greatly reduced their travel sections. Wanting to utilize my travel expertise, I convinced my wife to join me in a business venture and become an accredited travel agent. 
 
Close family and friends scoffed at the idea, as if I just announced that I was becoming a blacksmith. After all, wasn’t it President Obama who suggested in a town hall meeting that travel agents were becoming obsolete? How could they possibly prosper against big-pocket online travel agencies (OTAs) like Expedia, Priceline, Travelocity, and Orbitz? There was just no need for them anymore, or was there? Since we opened our home-based travel agency, ActiveTravels.com, in May 2012, without benefit of advertising dollars or a marketing department, there has been a steady stream of traffic. At a recent breakfast at the Four Seasons Boston for travel agents, many people we met in that room said they had a banner year in 2013. 
 
To read my entire essay on the role of the travel agent, just published in an academic journal by the Boston University School of Hospitality, please click here. 
 
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Ski and Surf Jay Peak

A powerful nor’easter that swept up the East Coast this weekend dumped snow in Boston and the New England peaks. In fact, a few ski resorts like Sunday River and Killington opened early to get the first taste of winter weather. In northern Vermont, Jay Peak received 7 inches of snow. That’s no surprise. Bordering Quebec, Jay Peak receives more than 370 inches of powder, more snow than any other ski area in the East. Being this far north, Jay also accommodates far more Quebecois than New Yorkers. This might change now that the resort has poured more than $200 million into renovations in the past two years as it tries to rival Stowe as the premiere ski resort in northern New England. The Tram Haus Lodge, a 57-suite ski in/ski out lodge, made its debut last winter, along with a new nordic center, and ice skating arena. Set to debut this December is The Pumphouse, an indoor waterpark in the new Hotel Jay that will include a fully retractable open air roof and the longest indoor lazy river in America.  The park also features a 50-seat bar overlooking the rides, a slide that drops its passenger into a free-fall, and the Double Barrel Flowrider—a standing-wave ride that will allow visitors to “surf” in Vermont.
 

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Ko Olina Resort Week—Family-Friendly Rooms

At the JW Marriott Ihilani Resort, my family of four had two adjoining rooms, one with a king-sized bed, and the second room with two queen beds for the kids. Both rooms also had the signature JW Marriott dual vanities to give mom and dad some space. The oversized balconies at both rooms offered expansive views of the ocean and at night, we would leave the screen doors open to hear the waves rolling ashore. 
 
Even on crowded July 4th week, checking into the Disney Aulani, located next door to Ihilani, was a breeze. Someone takes the car and luggage, another person welcomes you with leis and cool water and then escorts you to the front desk, where at least a dozen people were checking in guests. Once we stepped foot into our room, luggage arrived within 5 minutes. We shared a room at Aulani, two queen beds with ocean view. The room was a standard double room and the beds were comfortable. Honestly, I didn’t spend much time in either of the two rooms, excited to go swimming in the lazy river, infinity pool, or hit the beach to paddleboard or kayak in the lagoon. When Hawaii beckons at your front door step, the room is used merely to shower and sleep. 
 
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Download the Best Translation Apps

Fear of overcoming the language barrier is one of most common anxieties travelers face. One experience with a surly Parisian waiter who mocks your stab at French will only exacerbate the situation. Or the futile attempt to explain to your taxi driver in Bangkok the name of your hotel when he uses a vastly different alphabet. That’s why I’m downright giddy about the latest language translation apps, found in my latest column for Men’s Journal. Try one of these technological beauties and you’ll no longer be fumbling through the pages of the Berlitz guide.

 
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Top Music in 2013, Beyond the Obvious

Like I do every year, I listened to every cut on the best songs and album lists from NPR, New York Times, Boston Globe, others. 2013 was another stellar year for music, and I’m not simply talking about the debut of Lorde or the latest release from Vampire Weekend, albums that you’re well aware of. I like to find that rare gem that falls below the radar. Take, for example, this beauty from Brooklyn’s Son Lux, which was released in late October. Yes, I already have tickets to his show at Boston’s ICA on March 21st. I love the sensualized sound of Rhye in “The Fall,” the soulful Billy Holiday-like jazz singing of Cecile Mclorin Salvant in “Womanchild,” the mesmerizing electronica of Rudimental’s “Spoons,” and the highly original “Magical Boy” by DJ Koze. “When I’m climbing lemon trees of feeling…” Robotic, yet hypnotic. Another song I love to play again and again is “Retrograde” by James Blake. Remarkably, he’s up for a Grammy for Best New Artist this coming Sunday. I hope they let him play my favorite, “The Wilhelm Scream.”

 
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ActiveTravels Custom Designs College Trips

Heading out with your child this fall to look at colleges? Well, we’re happy to report that ActiveTravels has already designed itineraries for college tours in New England and New York, the Mid-Atlantic, the Midwest, the Southeast, and California. Tell us the colleges you want to tour, and we’ll package it together with hotels, restaurants, and sites along the way. Also have a look at this story I wrote for the Boston Globe Sunday Magazine on 20 college towns in the Northeast. It’s a pretty good tip sheet on where to stay and eat and what to do when you’re in each one of these college towns, including Boston. If you are going on the college tour this year, have a look. 

 

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