Moon Monterey & Carmel Giveaway

by Brenda Yun on

If you’ve been following my recent posts on the latest happenings around Monterey and Carmel (a.k.a. read my posts about the scenic Monterey coastline or taking a tour of Carmel’s wine country), then it shouldn’t come as a huge shock to you that I’ve fallen in love all over again with coastal California this summer. I guess I’m not alone — and that I don’t have to be, either!

In celebration of the release of its six new and fully updated California guidebooks (Coastal California , Tahoe, Monterey & Carmel, Northern California, Southern California and California Beaches), Moon Handbooks is giving away a copy of its Moon Monterey & Carmel, along with four tickets (admission for two adults and two children) to the world-class Monterey Bay Aquarium. That means you and three friends can enjoy a full day of fun in Monterey. Of course, if you’re there, you might as well make a weekend of it, right?

All you have to do to enter the giveaway is submit your full name, mailing address, and phone number (for shipping purposes only) to giveaway@moon.com by midnight on October 18th. One winner will be selected at random and announced on the staff blog the week of October 19th.

In addition to the giveaway, California trip ideas, and guest blog posts by Liz Hamill Scott, the author of several of Moon’s California guides, can be found this week on the site.

Start the new year in China for $888

by Brenda Yun on

In the year that I’ve been writing for Gadling I’ve not once promoted a package tour — until now. China Spree, an agency that offers affordable trips to China, has a new 10-day Golden Triangle Tour starting at just $888, a lucky number in China, that’s a bit too hard to pass up. China Spree has been known as a first-class travel agency that offers trips at bargain prices. While the Golden Triangle may be the lowest-priced tour on the market, it’s also the best-quality, with more included features than any other.

The lucky $888 price includes round-trip non-stop Air China flights from San Francisco to Beijing, all intra-China transfers and transportation, eight nights accommodation with private bath in 4-star hotels, eight American buffet breakfasts, five Chinese lunches, comprehensive private sightseeing tours, entrance fees and professional guides in each city.
While you may be sacrificing all-important independent travel, you’ll have the advantage of having a native guide to show you around for 10 days. The trip begins in Beijing, where participants will discover China’s timeless imperial treasures: the Forbidden City, Summer Palace and Great Wall. Then take an overnight train ride with comfortable soft-sleeper accommodations to Xian to see the fabled First Emperor’s life-sized Army of Terracotta Warriors. Finally, a the group will fly to Shanghai for great shopping and memorable dining in China’s most modern metropolis.

The $888 price is for departures in January and February; thereafter the cost is somewhat higher. For additional information and reservations, visit China Spree’s website and click “China Tours,” then “Super Value” or call the company’s toll-free telephone number #866-652-5656.

New travel inspiration: AFAR magazine

by Katie Hammel on

Greg Sullivan and Joseph Diaz, the founders of AFAR magazine, saw a need for a magazine that focused on “experiential travel that helps people experience every destination as local residents do.” So they started their new travel magazine to fill that niche.

When major glossies are closing down at an alarming rate, starting up a new magazine – with an online community, tv partnerships, and books in the works – is a bold move. But, if the first issue of AFAR is any indication of what’s to come, it’s one that will enrich the travel community as the company grows.

The goal of AFAR is to encourage authentic travel that avoids superficial, mass-consumed, beaten path tourism and digs deeper into a local cuture in all aspects of the trip, from where you stay to what you eat to how you can make a difference in a local community. AFAR hits that middle ground between offering details that you can use (a calendar section lists events around the world and each feature has the typical “if you go” logistical info), facts that educate (a piece on the culture of maid cafes in Japan was fascinating) and stories that inspire (a feature on Berber culture in Morocco only fueled my desire to go there).

The premier issue also contained an interview with a long-term traveler, information on ocean-cleanup vacations, a profile of the rock music scene in China, and a closing essay by Tim Cahill. The editors also promise to continue this issue’s “Spin the Globe” section, in which they send one writer on a spontaneous journey. This issue’s destination was Caracas, and while the article didn’t offer much in the way of “where to stay, what to do” information, it did offer a very intriguing, honest portrait of the city. For foodies, there was also a feature detailing how one writer learned to make bread from a French master baker.

The writing is solid, the photos are beautiful, and in keeping with the editors’ statement that “life is about more than how much we consume”, the magazine isn’t cluttered with ads (though, ironically, many of the ads are for luxury products). At $19.95 for 6 issues (the magazine will be published bi-monthly), I recommend subscribing. You can get a taste of what you’re in for if you do, or just satiate your thirst for travel inspiration in between issues, on the AFAR blog.

Travelocity survey says: fat, smelly and coughing the worst to be sitting next to

by Scott Carmichael on

A Travelocity survey confirms what we knew all along – smelly passengers, coughing passengers and “passengers of size” are amongst the worst people to be sitting next to in the air.

The results are from the Travelocity 2009 “rudeness poll”, asking people a variety of questions. In total, the survey interviewed just under 1600 people, from the US and Canada. When the survey expanded on “large passengers”, 44% said the airlines should provide a second seat for free, while 39% said fat passengers should pay for their own space.

When asked about hotel items taken from the property, people either lied, or are just more honest than I expected – 13% of people never take anything from their room, and just 1% admitted to stealing dishes and silverware.

The survey is very well put together, and a lot of work was put into explaining the results. If you’d like to read more about rude passengers, check out the full version of the 2009 Travelocity Rudeness Poll (PDF file).

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Gadlinks for Wednesday 10.7.09

by Brenda Yun on

TGI Wednesday! I am really craving some down time and am ready for the weekend already. Only two more days to go, everyone. Hang in there. To keep your week plugging along, here are the latest and greatest travel reads from around the web.

‘Til tomorrow, have a great evening!

More Gadlinks here.