Booking an Emirates flight? Save $100 today only

by Grant Martin on

If you’ve got any transoceanic travel coming up in the next few months, today is a great day to buy tickets. Why, you ask? Because Emirates, one of the best airlines on the planet, is having a one day sale where they’re taking $100 off any online booking.

This could be your opportunity to try out one of the hottest carriers for a discounted price, or maybe get $100 back on the primo-expensive first class tickets from New York to Dubai. Emirates is also one of the only two carriers flying the A380, so if you’ve been itching for an excuse to fly one of the giant creatures of the sky, you’ve got it. And for those of you in Australia and New Zealand, Emirates offers very competitive service between your two countries (in addition to the A380 SYD-AKL route.)

Check out details and book your tickets at Emirates.com.

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Budget Summer destination from Chicago – Indianapolis

by Scott Carmichael on

If you are still looking for an affordable Summer destination from Chicago, and don’t want to spend too long on the road, then Indianapolis may be just what you need.

Indianapolis is a strange city – it is quite large (14th largest city in the US), but rarely do you hear much about it.

The city certainly isn’t very high on the list of destinations for people to fly to, and I doubt you’ll ever hear anyone in New York or Los Angeles talking about spending their Summer vacation in Indy.

Despite this, the city has quite a lot to offer, though maybe not enough to spend a week in the area, there is plenty to do on a long weekend.



How to get there

Getting to Indianapolis from Chicago is simple – though it can be rather time consuming. With bad traffic in the Chicago area, you could spend 3 hours just trying to leave the city.

The drive is about 180 miles, and will take about 4 hours (with no bad traffic). Of course, if you hate driving, you can also fly, but the total time and cost involved with that trip really does not make sense.

Alternatively, you could consider Amtrak. At just $38 per round trip, the train is a very affordable option. Sadly, the Amtrak schedule to Indianapolis is quite useless, and most of the trains involve either a very late arrival into the city, or a very early departure back home.

Finally, for an even cheaper way to get into Indianapolis, you can reserve a seat on Megabus. Seats on the bus start at just $1, and the trip takes just over 4 hours.

Where to stay

There are 100’s of places to stay in Indianapolis – varying from upscale downtown hotels to the many chain hotels located around the city.

A convenient location to spend the night is the Marriott Fairfield Inn and Suites Indianapolis East.

This location is just 10 minutes from the Children’s Museum, and its location means you can drive clear from any traffic heading to the racetrack.

Rooms at this hotel start at just $89, and the rate includes free breakfast and Internet Access.

The hotel is right off the highway, and the vicinity is home to loads of restaurants and other facilities.

What to do

Indianapolis is home to the largest children’s museum in the world – though when I visited the museum, I was not terribly impressed with the number of “hands on” attractions available for kids.

Admission to the museum is $14 for adults and $9 for children, which means a family of 4 will spend close to $50 just to get in.

The Indianapolis Children’s museum does not participate in any reciprocal admission programs and some of the exhibits cost extra, in addition to your entry fee.

Of course, nothing says Indianapolis more than the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Speedway itself is actually in Speedway, Indiana and the entire area around the complex is a great place to spend some time.

Unless you love being stuck in traffic and paying $10 for a drink, I recommend staying clear of this area on race days (the schedule can be found here).

The Motor Speedway Museum is open every day of the year (except Christmas), and admission is just $3. A lap on the actual track is an additional $3.

When you leave Indianapolis, be sure to leave early enough to take advantage of 2 great attractions on the way home. About 70 miles outside Indy (between Lafayette and Merillville) is the Fair Oaks dairy farm. This massive multiple farm dairy facility has a modern visitors center with various indoor and outdoor attractions. The highlights of the facility are the “birthing barn” and a bus tour through an actual working dairy farm.

The birthing barn is quite amazing, and several times a day you can sit behind a large glass wall and watch the resident vet assist with the birth of a baby. Of course, you’ll need a bit of a strong stomach, as this is a real birth, not a video tape with edits. Outside the birthing barn is a traffic light, showing whether a birth is in progress.

The dairy farm tour takes about 45 minutes, and drives to one of the Fair Oaks farms a mile from the visitor center. The tour takes your around the barns (each housing 1400 cows), and then drops visitors off at the milking parlor, where you can watch from a viewing room and see 100’s of cows being milked on the massive carousel.

Before you leave, you can buy some fresh milk, ice cream or cheese from the Fair Oaks store/restaurant. With over 20 different varieties of cheese, you are bound to find something you like. Samples are handed out all the time, so even if you don’t leave with a bag full of cheese, you’ll be able to taste their products.

The next attraction on the way home is the Albanese candy factory and outlet store. This may sound like your average candy store, but it is in fact one of the largest candy outlets in the world.

The store sells thousands of different varieties of candy, nuts and snacks. During the week, the facility offers tours, but you are also free to stand and watch their massive chocolate fountain (think Willy Wonka massive!).

So there you have it – a budget friendly destination from the Chicagoland area. Be sure to check out our other budget friendly summer vacation destinations!


10 places to enjoy May flowers for free

by Jamie Rhein on

When my daughter was about five we went on a wildflower hike for Mother’s Day. The hike was free and I remember the day’s loveliness even though this was over 10 years ago. May’s flowers are one of life’s great pleasures. It’s a visual feast with the world’s locations offering their own special palate.

With this weekend being the last chance to see May flowers as in “April showers bring May flowers,” head outdoors to look for gorgeous colors and lovely scents–urban areas are included. Go for a long, leisurely walk around a neighborhood known for flower beds–or find a city garden that’s in bloom.

Here are 10 flower hotspots that I’ve enjoyed in my travels. Besides being beautiful, I’ve included them here because they are free and flowers are part of their glory. The list is in alphabetical order. Even if you don’t find as many flowers as you might have hoped depending upon your timing, none will disappoint.

  • Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden, Honolulu, Hawaii. The first time I visited Brenda’s stomping ground, I was mesmerized by its lushness. This botanical garden was designed to “make a place of peace and tranquility.” Featuring endangered and rare plants from several geographic regions of the world that have tropical environments. Stroll here to take in a wealth of diversity, but in one location.
  • Inniswood Metro Parks Garden, Westerville, Ohio. The gardens are exquisite and the children’s area is quite well done. I never tire of going here. Because it’s part of the Columbus MetroParks system it’s free including the fabulous public events that are frequenlty held.
  • Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris. To escape the bustle of the city and tourists who flock to other landmarks like the Eiffel Tower, this is a place to head. People-watching also offers pleasure.
  • Lexington Cemetery, Lexington, Kentucky. Once, my history buff cousin and I spent a few hours walking along the grounds while he pointed out the burial spots of famous Kentuckians. I also noticed the gardens and trees.
  • Munsinger/Clemens Gardens, St. Cloud, Minnesota. Last summer when we were on our great American road trip, we spent an afternoon strolling through these two adjacent garden’s delights. Each section pays tribute to certain flowers in this park that was begun in 1915, enhanced thanks to WPA money in the Depression, and added onto in the 1990s. It’s sublime and a prime example of what happens when a community works together to create something that everyone can enjoy, even those from out of town.
  • Pino Trail in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The first section is a marked nature trail where signage tells you what you’re looking at. You don’t have to hike the whole trail to enjoy the scenery. Take in the smell of juniper and pinons. Wildflowers with a desert twist are on the menu.
  • San Francisco Botanical Garden, San Francisco, California. I strolled through here years ago. Irises, one of my favorite flowers, are in bloom right now.
  • The Singapore Botanic Gardens, Singapore at the edge of Singapore’s downtown is known for its orchids. This is a gorgeous place for wandering, particularly since each section has its own nuances.
  • St. Stephens Green, Dublin, Ireland. This Victorian-style garden in the center of the city has been adding beauty since 1880. When I was here, a group of school children kept wanting to play.
  • The United States Botanic Garden, Washington, D.C. Here’s a garden where a part of it was designed to give people ideas to use at home. Pop into the conservatory for a visual and olfactory explosion. The wonderful aspect of a conservatory is that flowers bloom year round. Paul Busse’s wondrous trains, along with their showing in New York, chug here in December.

For an article that lists sublime places to hike for wildflower viewing, click here. The range is from California to Tennessee.

JetAmerica, new Ohio-based budget airline launched today

by Jamie Rhein on

When Skybus folded last year, there were rumblings that it might resurrect but in another form. JetAmerica, a new budget airlines has just launched in Toledo. Is Skybus rising like a phoenix from the ashes? Like Skybus, JetAmerica is borrowing some of Ryanair’s strategies but unlike Columbus’s defunct airline that left behind a hole in airline service and oodles of bills is hoping to avoid Skybus’s folly.

From the description in this article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, there is a similarity that is close to what we’ve heard before except one number has been switched for another. Instead of ten $10 one-way seats on each flight, a hallmark of Skybus’s glory days, JetAmerica flights will have nine seats for $9. I hope 9 is a luckier number.

Instead of looking to Columbus for its start, Toledo was picked as a hub because the airport is no longer served by a major carrier ever since Continental pulled the plug on Toledo service last fall.

The addition of JetAmerica to the Toledo skies is welcome news. First off, people won’t have to go to Cleveland to catch a plane and the hope is that the airlines will attract more business which will help perk up Toledo’s economy.

People who live in Lansing, Michigan and South Bend, Indiana and Melbourne, Florida will also benefit from JetAmerica’s venture since they are part of the initial route set-up, as is Newark, New Jersey.

The only way I see JetAmerica working is if there is a real person on the phone for customer service questions, the flights aren’t canceled due to aircraft troubles, thus leaving people stranded because the airline doesn’t have a relationship with any others, and if the other seats’ costs are not as low or as high as Skybus’s were.

As a person who rode on Skybus once, but had plans for future flights, particularly to Newburgh, New York until the airline dissed me, buying tickets felt like some sort of strange game show. Like if I wait, will I get those $10 seats?

On a note that makes me feel hopeful that this time a budget airline launched in Ohio will succeed, JetAmerica’s first two airplanes, 737-800s are to be leased from Miami Air International until it’s clear that the airline will be a success. The flight crew will also be provided. Also, non-stop service from smaller cities is something I do think people will pay for. Tom Barlow, my good friend over at Wallet Pop has his own opinions about JetAmerica and offers more details about the business end of how this airline will work. I have my fingers crossed since Columbus is on the list for future possibilities. I’m hoping for that inexpensive non-stop to Newburgh.

Flights don’t begin until July 13, but you can book now.

Students can get two free Eurail travel days in June and July

by Catherine Bodry on

Calling all students: with an International Student Identity Card (ISIC), you can add two free days of rail travel to an eight-day Eurail Select Pass. The offer, which comes from the STA Travel, lasts through June and July, the height of summer travel.

Though budget carriers such as EasyJet may tempt you with their unbelievably cheap fairs, consider traveling the romantic, old-fashioned way – by rail.

Besides getting two free days of travel, there are many reasons why taking the train is cooler than flying: smaller carbon footprint; you can bring more than three ounces of liquid on board; train stations are in the center of town, rather than the outskirts (where budget airlines often leave you); you don’t have to pay to check your bags; it’s easier to meet people; it’s relaxing (I actually can barely stay awake on trains); you can catch an all-nighter and skip paying for a bed one night.

So get your ISIC, and get your train travel on.