Articles from 2008

Cheap and simple green travel

Would you travel greener if it were simple and inexpensive? 90% of travelers in a recent survey indicated that they would like to have less of an impa...

Tips for great hotel deals

Learn some great tips for finding hotel deals that are much better than those advertised. You don't have to pay $400+ in New York, $300+ in London or ...

Jazz on the Park, New York

Jazz on the Park is the hipster's hostel in New York, with house music blaring in the art-filled lobby, weekly barbecues in summer for just 5 bucks, ...

Great reads #17

Getting lost in a foreign city happens to the best of us, the rest of us, and the most seasoned of travelers. For tips on getting your bearings again,...

Drinking in France

Wherever you can eat you can invariably drink, and vice versa. Drinking is done at a leisurely pace whether it's before food (apéritif), after ...

Central Park Hostel, New York

Because it's not nearly as well-known as it eventually will be, and doesn't enjoy the marketing advantages of hostels belonging to the worldwide Hoste...

Jordan

Instead of Dubai, save your hard-earned dollars and visit neighboring Jordan for a cheaper and more down-to-Earth vacation spot. As Dubair has become ...

Charge all your electronic gadgets at once

Getting your electronic gadgets charged while you travel can be taxing. There are so many chargers, cords, and connections that all have to be brought...

Train networks around the world

Train travel is fast, convenient, and usually cheaper than flying. As an added benefit, you get to see the beautiful countryside you're traveling thou...

Great reads #16

Is that great American tradition - The Road Trip - be in danger? With gas hitting $4 per gallon and only rising, it certainly is costing more each day...

Bus travel around the world

Bus travel is economical, eco-friendly, and sometimes much faster than other options. In Mexico and Brazil for example, it's the cheapest way to get a...

Santa Ynez Valley, California

If you're looking for a better priced alternative for California's Napa Valley, head to Santa Ynez Valley to experience the same superb level of wine ...

Pigeons aren't welcome in St. Mark's Square

From this May 7, feeding pigeons in St. Mark's Square will be illegal. Tourists that feed pigeons and are caught will be fined 50 Euros, ca $80 USD, ...

Solar chargers for backpackers

Stuck outside, far from everything, and your iPod battery dies. Yep, we've all been there. But if you pack a travel-sized solar charger, you can boost...

Great reads #15

More messy air travel news this week, so maybe it's time to catch the train instead? And the Inca Trail is sold out, travelers to Peru will have to fi...

How to use your camera's built-in flash gun

While on the road, you're likely packing just a compact digital camera. And during travels, your photo opportunites are often in shadowy locations or ...

Get fingerprinted leaving the USA

If you hadn't read the exact words of Michael Chertoff, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, you wouldn't have believed it. The DHS, char...

Traveling with teens to New York

It can be difficult to keep teenagers entertained while on vacation. Here are some ideas on amping the excitement levels while on a trip to New York C...

Great reads #14

Loads of new travel finds for you to read this week. There's a lot of talk about airline security and it's nice to see it's finally being taken seri...

Shooting photos from a moving vehicle

On the road you often see some interesting sights out your window. Here are some travel photography tips on capturing photos from a moving vehicle. ...

Luton Airport

London has 5 main airports and Luton Airport is the least known but possibly easiest to use. There are no long-haul flights from Luton Airport, but pl...

Carnival of Cities 16 April 2008

Welcome to this edition of the Carnival of Cities, it's the first for eyeflare.com. If it's your first time here, have a look around, subscribe to our...

Great reads #13

Lonely Planet in shocking author admission of plagiarism and corruption. Roman catacombs, Civil War destinations, and more airline bankruptcies. It's ...

Cheap flights - our best tips for bargain air travel

Cheap air fare is the holy grail of travel. It used to be that I'd budget $500 for the flight and $250 for the rest of the trip... but now competition...

Keep your travel money safe from thieves

Never keep all your travel cash in one place when traveling, not even in the in-room safe. Here are our best tips to keep your money. Hotel room safe...

Concert and theatre tickets with viagogo

If you're looking to find entertainment at any European destination, viagogo can help you find theatre or concert tickets easily. viagogo is an on...

Hosting Carnival of Cities on 16 April 2008

We're hosting next week's Carnival of Cities here on eyeflare.com on Wednesday 16 April 2008. This great blog carnival is about finding and promoting...

Great reads #12

Wardrobe tips for India, declining U.S. tourism and faltering airlines, and how to get free stuff in the UK are all in this week's crop of articles. ...

Obituary of the late Mr Common Sense

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his...

Minestrone soup and pesto

Soup is one of the best one-pot meals. This hearty minestrone makes a perfect feast if you're staying in a hostel with friends or even cooking for you...

Italian speeding fines can kill your vacation budget

The Italian highway authorities have installed cameras and sensors on major roads that clock your average driving speed, read your license plate, and ...

The world's best coastal drives

Spanning from California's Highway 1 to cliff-hugging drives along the Tasmanian coast, sometimes the journey really is the destination. Book a flight...

ecoescape UK handbook for eco-friendly travel

A new series of eco-travel guides has launched for the United Kingdom. These ecoescape guides to "responsible escapism" feature 'slow travel...

Greek chicken with onions, olives, oregano, and feta

This easy to make meal is chock full of flavor. It cooks within an hour and like most one-pot meals is even better made a day ahead of eating s...

Europride in Stockholm summer 2008

Europride is taking place in Stockholm, Sweden, this year between 25 July and 3 August. It'll be the biggest event on the European Gay and Lesbian cal...

Great reads #11

A bumper reading roundup this week. Inside, we have some stringent warnings about the risks of becoming a traveling hippie and tales of Paris in the F...

Happy Easter!

Hope you all are having a better Easter holiday than this bunny :-) ...

Brazil's Florianopolis is perfect for surf holidays

The island of Florianopolis, in Brazil's Santa Catarina province, is one of the world's best surfing spots. There are a massive 42 beaches on the isla...

The Farmhouse Table, Covent Garden, London

Saturday saw us in Covent Garden and at The Farmhouse Table, a restaurant I've been curious about for a while. It turns out to be a good choice at a r...

10 amazing castles in Ireland

Ireland is as famous for castles as it is for Guinness. Dotted everywhere on the Emerald Isle, the castles connect modern day tourists with the dra...

Great reads #10

From the last week, we've got space travel, mountain climbing, everyday travel, and body language tips. Read on for a Monday morning travel fix. Tra...

Kayaking is adventure eco-travel for everyone

For the environmentally aware adventure traveler, kayaking is a great option either as a vacation theme or a day's activity. Here's rundown on what ka...

Fantasticable flights get your heart pumping

Adrenaline junkies will love this experience. Fantasticables are joyrides where you're strung to a metal wire and fly between mountaintops in a glorif...

Hotel fire safety - your steps for surviving

Almost without exception, each of us has traveled away from our homes and stayed in a hotel, motel, or a bed and breakfast establishment. Oftentimes...

Great reads #9

Monday morning reading for all you travel junkies. Here are some of the best articles I've come across during last week. Travel articles from other ...

i'Toscano - great Tuscan food in Florence

We found this Tuscan restaurant in Florence on a local's recommendation for our anniversary dinner. It's a great choice for classical Italian food fro...

Don't fall for vacation booking scams

Every year, thousands of travelers fall prey to scamming travel agencies that take their money and quickly vanish. Here are 5 vital checks. If you...

Great reads #8

More reading for a Monday morning. Here are my best finds for articles during the last week. Fantastic travel articles The Traveler's Notebook cove...

easyJet launches miles credit card

easyJet's Iannos Stelios has just launched a new airmiles credit card for his budget airline, and if you're a frequent easyJet traveler, it may be a u...

Strata with tomatoes, herbs, and goatcheese

This simple one-pot meal is originally a peasant's meal. It's quite hearty and very simple to make while on the move, whether in a hostel kitchen or a...

Circuit workout video for travelers

It's hard to get a good workout in while on the road; cramped hotel rooms, no gyms, and no space in the carry-on bag all conspire to get you out of sh...

Help travelers save by gifting them your used transport tickets

Most urban public transport systems in the west can be quite expensive for a visitor. London is outrageous, but so are cities like Venice, and even Pa...

Great reads #7

It's Monday and time for another collection of great articles and links to liven up your work week. Take a look at these and look busy in front of the...

Hotels in Murano, Venice

Murano, the island where all the glass art is made, is a quiet and cheaper alternative to the Venice islands for a hotel. There are only two on the is...

Make your own small and cheap first aid kit

Make your own small and cheap first aid kit When you’re traveling, it’s a good idea to keep a small first-aid kit on hand for unexpected ...

Perfect carry-on cases for travel photographers

Air travel is the perfect opportunity for your photographic gear to be ruined while traveling. Checking it means that the 'baggage handlers' can get t...

See New York from a double-decker bus

One of the fastest ways to see New York's sights is to take a tour on a double-decker bus from City Sights NY. Starting at $37 per day and person, yo...

Sausage and sage with white beans in Tuscan style

Italian food can be as easy as this one-pot dish from Tuscany. This sausages, sage, and white beans dish is hearty, easy to make, and feeds all your n...

Visit Kauai for the outdoors

Only 20 minutes from Honolulu by air, is the tropical paradise of Kauai, Hawaii. It's an outdoor paradise, and its famous for fishing, golfing, and ...

Free audio tour guides for business travelers

The Economist produces a number of very good audio guides for busy business travelers to use before and during a visit to the major cities of the worl...

Carcassonne, France

Carcassonne is a pristine medieval town located about 45 minutes south of Toulouse. It is a very easy day trip if you are traveling from the Toulouse ...

Chinese New Year in London

London's Chinese New Year celebrations are a great, free, day out for visitors and Londoners alike. It's also one of the most child-friendly events: W...

Use online check-in to save time at the airport

Everyone knows about online check-in but most of us still don't use it. I know I haven't, mostly because I couldn't figure out how to check my bags! U...

Piccolo Diavolo, Italian food in London's Soho

The 'Little Devil' is an appropriate name for a central Soho restaurant, and one of our favorites too. They always serve up great Italian food at dece...

Great reads #6

Travel's getting more obnoxious every day. Whether it's horrible airplane food or being charged for basics such as checking in, it's a wonder we reall...

Use Delocator to find independent coffee shops

I love taking some time out while travelling and visiting a coffee shop or great café. But finding a good independent one in a strange city can...

Visiting Pisa and Florence

For our first wedding anniversary, Lauri and I visited Pisa with a day trip to Florence. Here's what's good to see and where to stay in Pisa and Flo...

The world's worst airports listed

We all spend more and more time in airports, and here are the ones you should avoid if at all possible. Updated 25 January 2008. Worst European air...

See the northern lights up close and personal

Virgin Galactic will soon offer up trips through the northern lights if Richard Branson's plans come to fruition. Certainly never one to shy away f...

Website tip: cFares promises cheaper air fares

In a market saturated with cheap flight search engines and online air travel consolidators, cFares promises a different proposal: Get access to the su...

Ice skating in London

London's gifted with a number of great ice rinks during the winter. I really enjoy skating, and here's where you can join me on a pair of blades. Som...

12 tips to survive an airplane crash

Following the BA Boeing 777 crash earlier this week, I found some tips on an older Condé Nast travel article about getting out alive when your ...

Stop your travel bottles from leaking

To stop your shampoos, cremes and everything else you pack in a bottle wile traveling from leaking out and ruining your baggage, squeeze the bottle w...

BA plane crashlands at Heathrow Airport

A plane from China operated by British Airways crashed at Heathrow today after shearing off its rear landing gear by touching down short of the runway...

Travelers rely on search engines to book vacations

A UK study with Google and comScore is showing that travelers are getting smarter when they're looking for vacation bookings online. Over 20 million t...

3 islands in the Mediterranean

The Mediterranean islands are great destinations all year round, but spring and fall are the most pleasant and beautiful. Malta, Crete, and Cyprus are...

What to pack: Moleskine City Notebooks

My new favorite guidebooks are Moleskine's City Notebooks. Instead of telling you what they think is best, they give you a map and empty pages...

Website tip: Finding hotels in Italy

Following on my article about finding hotels in Rome, and Italy, I came across another local site that's worth checking out for a budget or luxury h...

Help Brave New Traveler reach 1k subscribers

One of my favorite travel sites, Brave New Traveler, is making a rush for a full 1,000 RSS subscribers. If they reach it, the editors are promising ...

Top 10 cool destinations for 2008

This year, intrepid travelers are finding new, and newly cool old, destinations to jet off to. Luxury travel mag Concierge.com share's their Top 10 li...

Carpool for eco-friendly commuting

Not all travel involves jetting off to exotic places (or Cleveland...). Most of our miles and co2 emissions are caused by our daily commute - usually ...

New York City

New York City, the city that never sleeps. A metropolitan world city for hundreds of years and one of the world's most impressive destinations. Here...

Caffe Vergnano 1882, London

A coffee lover’s paradise, this proper Italian coffee shop at 62 Charing Cross Road serves some of the best espresso and cappuccino anywhere. Caffe...

Great reads #5

More great articles from around the travel sphere. Best of all is that we now get to have two carry-ons again traveling to and from England! This issu...

Paris tours for the unorganized visitor

If you need some assistance with finding a perfect tour to the sights of Paris and surrounds, try isango! This specialist can help you work out an iti...

A place for your wheels in London

Anyone who drives in London sooner or later runs into parking problems. Severe parking problems, given the state of the streets around where I live. H...

Waxy O'Connor's, Soho, London

In the heart of the West End, Waxy O'Connors is like no other bar. The fantastic features cathedral like timber carvings, stained glass windows, beaut...

Website tip: Finding hotels in Rome, Italy

The major travel consolidators are quite thin when it comes to well priced and central hotels for Rome. RomaClick is a good local alternative. The R...