Join a trek study, travel for free!

by Kraig Becker on

Have you ever wanted to travel to an exotic, tropical locale, while taking part in an important study that could end a scourge that has plagued travelers for centuries? If you answered yes to that run-on question, then we have a travel tip for you.

TrekStudy.com is currently seeking travelers to take part in a clinical research study to test an experimental new patch designed to prevent Travelers’ Diarrhea. In fact, they’re even willing to pay for all travel expenses for the men and women who join the study, provided they are willing to go to one of nine different destinations in Mexico or Guatemala and stay for at least seven days. The destination cities in Mexico include Guadalajara, Oaxaca, San Miguel de Allende, and Mexico City. Those interested in visiting Guatemala instead, are asked to visit Antigua, Quetzaltenango, Panajachel, or Guatemala City instead.

Eligible travelers must be between the ages of 18-64, in good overall health, and be willing to maintain a diary of their usage of the new patch for up to 17 days. To remain eligible, you must also meet some other criteria, such as not having received a diarrhea or cholera vaccine before you travel. To view the complete list of requirements, click here. You can also find answers to many other questions on the research studies’ FAQ which is found here.

Unfortunately, this study, and therefore the travel deal, are not open to just everyone. There are also a list of departure cities with clinics which will be conducting the research, and all participants will have to travel through those cities. That list includes Belfast, Glasgow, London, Manchester, Birmingham, and Reading in the U.K., and Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, and Potsdam in Germany.

Interested travelers who meet the requirements and would like to join the study are encouraged to apply online.
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Qantas & Tourism Northern Territory offer cheap flights to Australia’s Red Center

by Mike Barish on

Gadling loves Australia. We’ve been proponents of Americans visiting Oz for a while and I was fortunate enough to check out Australia’s Red Center last year. The added flights – and the costs of those flights – have often kept Americans from delving deep into the heart of this fascinating country. Now, however, Qantas and Tourism Northern Territory are partnering to make travel from America’s West Coast to Central Australia cheaper than ever.

Packages to Alice Springs, Darwin or Uluru (Ayers Rock) are only $999 from Los Angeles and San Francisco. Travel must be booked by January 26, 2010 and your visit to Australia will have to be between May 1 and June 8, 2010. You’ll want to spend a few weeks Down Under, so this five week window is more than enough time to explore the heart of Australia.

Qantas and Tourism NT are also partnering with local tour operators and hotels to offer deals for visitors. You can learn more on the Qantas Vacations website.

For more information on Australia’s Northern Territory, check out the series from my trip there last year.

It may seem like 2010 just started, but there’s no better time to plan your travel for the year than now!

Valentine’s Day in St. Maarten – you’re worth it

by Annie Scott on

Valentine’s Day is coming, folks. Don’t screw it up.

Even if you’ve spoiled your honey all year round, Valentine’s Day is a time to surprise your loved one with some wonderful gift that will make them feel all loved up. If the thought of forced gift-giving aggravates you, consider getting him or her something that is a gift for you, too. It may be a selfish tack, but everyone wins. A vacation gift is a great the best way to do this.

That brings us to the topic of St. Maarten. St. Maarten, which tends to be an absolutely perfect 75-86°F all year round, is home to two Sonesta 3-star beachfront resorts with “Seduction in St. Maarten” deals. Here they are:

Sonesta Maho Beach Resort & Casino (pictured)’s Seduction in St. Maarten:

  • Round trip Transfers from Airport
  • Sparkling wine and chocolates in the room
  • In room dinner for two from a special menu (one per stay)
  • In room breakfast for two from a special menu (one per stay)
  • Nightly turndown service
  • 20% off Treatments at Good Life Spa.

Sonesta Great Bay Beach Resort & Casino‘s Seduction in St. Maarten:

  • Ocean view accommodations
  • A bottle of champagne and Belgian chocolates upon arrival.
  • Romantic dinner for two in one of the resort’s restaurants (one glass of house wine per person included)
  • Free US$ 20.00 casino match bet per person
  • Daily Turn Down Service

The three-night packages are priced at $329 per room, per night for stays through April 3, 2010 and $229 per room, per night for stays April 4 to December 18, 2010. So, if you want the exceptionally good deal, book one for after April 4 and just tell your love-muffin (or whatever you call them) about the vacay on Valentine’s Day.

You should probably take them to dinner, too, though. Just sayin’.

Make your reservations now for Chicago Restaurant Week

by Katie Hammel on

Ah, Chicago Restaurant Week. One of the few things that will get city residents out of their apartments when the temperature dips into the negative double-digits. From February 19 to 26, over 100 restaurants in the city and suburbs will be offering special prix fixe menus at $22 for lunch and $32 for dinner.

Known as one of the best times to try a new or normally too expensive restaurant at an affordable price, Restaurant Week is also often a time when the chefs try a few more daring dishes to spice up the usual menu. And some of the city’s most celebrated chefs and restaurants are participating. Among them are Topolobampo (owned by celeb-chef Rick Bayless), NoMi, Carnivale, and Blue 13, where the lobster pizza is to-die-for. At several of these places, it would be darn near impossible to get a three-course meal for under $60 per person, let alone a mere $32.

Most of the restaurants participating already have their menus up and are taking reservations. Many are also offering drink specials along with dinner, so you can use the money you save to enjoy a few more glasses of wine.

Last year, the city extended Restaurant Week into March, but don’t count on it happening again. You can view the full list of participating restaurants here.

New website helps Seattle visitors share a taxi

by Katie Hammel on

Now that visitors to Seattle can hop on the light rail from Sea-Tac Airport into downtown (or take the 45-minute bus), fewer may be likely to take an expensive cab. But for those who don’t want to hassle with lugging baggage onto public transportation or who are arriving at odd hours, there is a new way to get from the airport into the city without spending the usual $40 on cab fare.

RidePenguin.com, which was just launched last week and is still in beta, promises to connect passengers looking for a cab with others who want to share. If you are interested in sharing a cab to defer costs, just log on and either search for a posted ride (rides are posted by time, origin, and destination) or post your own and invite people to share with you.

Sharing a cab would save you quite a bit of money (though not as much as taking public transportation). If you share with one other person, your fare would drop to about $20 from the airport into the city. Share with two people and it’s less than $15. Obviously, the more people who use the service, the better your odds of finding a taxi to share. When I searched recently, I only found one posted ride for the day, and it wasn’t even going into the city center.

It’s a good idea in theory…of course, you could just get in the taxi line and ask around to see if anyone is heading your way and willing to share their cab.

[via The Seattle Times]