Washington DC Taxi Fare Estimator

The Washington Post has a very good tool to estimate taxi fares in the Washington DC area. I have used it several times and the ranges they give have been pretty accurate all times I’ve compared with my cab rides. Link: District Taxi Fare Estimator Tool
Please note that the estimator does not include extra fees [...]

airfarewatchdog – Get answers to all your airline related questions!

I found out about airfarewatchdog a couple of years ago when I was searching for airfare deals, and since then I became a huge fan of these guys. Their search engine is not really that different from many others I typically use, though their fare alerts typically show unadvertised deals, based on the departure airport(s) [...]

Booking an Award Trip? Here are some tools!

I had mentioned about Expert Flyer here on kristraveler.com before. Here’s another article from the WSJ that gives more details of how it works and also mentions another tool – MileageManager.
——————–
Have Miles but Can’t Get a Seat? How to Snare One
JANUARY 14, 2010 By SCOTT MCCARTNEY
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Even though recession-weary consumers may [...]

NewYorkology

Going to New York in the near future? Then you have to check this website: NewYorkology
Sure, there are many (and many!) books and online guides to New York, but few are as fun or up-to-date with everything that’s going on in the city as NewYorkology is.

I’ve been following their tweets for a couple of months [...]

Expert Flyer – How to upgrade your seats

I’ve used Expert Flyer’s service before, and while I’m still not convinced it was worth my $9.99 a month for finding upgradeable seats - as with other free tools such as SeatCounter (which I talk about in this post) I can track the flights I need myself – I found it useful for other features, such [...]

Finding number of seats available in a flight

I was trying to get an upgrade for my next flight to Hawaii, though upgrade seats were sold out. And since there’s no waitlist for upgrades, I have to check on a daily basis to see if anything opens, otherwise try my luck 2 hours before the flight at the airport.
SeatCounter is a simple website, though [...]

Save miles when booking your award trip

Gary Leff, from the View from the Wing blog, launched a service for booking award trips – something I hadn’t heard so far though long needed. While his service is not cheap, and you may not see the value for a simple round trip domestic travel, his customized and detailed work can come in handy for those [...]

Travel Insurance – the peace of mind that airlines can’t offer anymore….

As airlines change their policies daily and add fees or restrictions to every step of yours from the buying process until you land back home, travel insurance may be the only alternative left for you to have some flexibility and peace of mind in your trip.
InsureMyTrip is a ‘travel insurance aggregator’, basically a one-stop-shop site that allows [...]

When in Doubt, Barter

Short on cash, people are offering to paint houses and balance books in exchange for a free room or flight. Here’s how three creative travelers pulled it off.
Bunny Wong | Budget Travel Magazine | May 2009 issue

Barterer #1
Jesse Larson, 22, housepainter in Rohnert Park, Calif.
What he offered To paint one room at a bed-and-breakfast—a [...]

Forbes Traveler – “Best Of” 2009 Lists

America’s Prettiest Towns:
Dillon, Montana
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Annapolis, Maryland
Union, Washington
Guttenberg, Iowa
Marfa, Texas
Savannah, Georgia
Aspen, Colorado
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Deadwood, South Dakota
Spring City, Utah
Crescent City, California
Lanesboro, Minnesota
Rockport, Maine
Cape May, New Jersey
Lake Placid, New York
Sedona, Arizona
 
America’s Loveliest Lakes:
Lake Tahoe, California
Lake O’hara, Canada
Crater Lake, Oregon
Holland Lake, Montana
Caddo Lake, Texas/Lousiana Border
Rainy Lake, Minnesota
Lake Champlain, NY, Vermont and Canada
kristraveler.com note: we’d add Lake [...]