Last minute travel plans made easy with tour expert

by Chris Owen on

Looking for something unique to do this summer on short notice? Don’t have a lot of time to plan but want a good travel value? Finding destinations, flights and hotels sold out when you want to go? Travel agencies have pre-planned packages put together that bundle attractions, hotels, airfare and more making for what can be an economical travel option. Compared to doing it all on your own the economics of buying in to a travel agency package can sometimes make sense. Let’s take a look at ten last-minute travel destinations one tour operator has to offer over for those who can travel in the next week or so.

Viator is a leading online resource for travel experiences, providing access to nearly 9,000 tours, attractions and activities in 750-plus destinations in more than 150 countries. Their in-house travel experts hand-pick trusted local operators to ensure quality, value and service all backed by a low-price guarantee.

“Sometimes the best things do come to those who wait, and travelers who haven’t made plans yet for the July 4th holiday weekend will find many bargains on last-minute tours and activities at Viator.com,” said Ms. Barrie Seidenberg, president and CEO of Viator Inc. According to Viator, the top 10 list with the best deals to celebrate the July 4th holiday weekend, great for last-minute travel destinations include:

  1. New York – Watch one of the best fireworks displays in the country with a once-in-a-lifetime July 4th VIP Exclusive: Fireworks from the Empire State Building’s Observation Deck. A limited number of tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis for this two-hour, private evening event, guaranteed to sell out quickly.
  2. Washington, D.C. – See 100 of the most popular monuments and points of interest in America?s capital after the sun goes down on the Washington D.C. Monuments by Moonlight Night Tour by Trolley, currently more than 50 percent off.
  3. Philadelphia – There’s no better time to visit our nation?s first capital than during a weekend to celebrate America’s Independence. Travelers will save more than 45 percent on admission to six of the city’s premier attractions with a Viator Philadelphia CityPASS.
  4. Las Vegas – Hit the highway out of Las Vegas and spend the day touring two major tourist attractions on the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam Day Trip, currently on sale with savings more than 50 percent.
  5. Orlando – Get two days for the price of one at Kennedy Space Center, a short drive from Orlando and the launch site for every U.S. human space flight since December 1968.
  6. San Diego – Tour one of the largest aircraft carriers in the U.S. Navy fleet at the USS Midway Museum, San Diego’s newest visitor attraction. A visit to this historic naval aircraft carrier museum is an essential experience for patriots of all ages.
  7. Boston – Travel north from Boston to historic Marblehead, the birthplace of the American Navy. Along the way, visit Salem, the Witch City and learn about the history of witchcraft and the reasons why the trials occurred.
  8. Niagara Falls – Visit New York’s first state park on an overnight trip to Niagara Falls from New York City. On your journey, experience the state’s diverse ethnic heritage and the rolling hills of the Finger Lakes, one of the country’s premier wine producing areas.
  9. Oahu – Take a sobering journey through U.S. history on a tour of the Arizona Memorial and the USS Missouri, the last battleship built by the U.S. Navy. Tickets include skip-the-line access to make the most of a day at Pearl Harbor, complete with a tour of downtown Honolulu and a drive through Punchbowl National Cemetery of the Pacific. An added bonus: receive one free child ticket for each adult ticket purchased.
  10. Memphis – Walk in the footsteps of the King of Rock and Roll at Elvis Presley’s home, Graceland Mansion the number one thing to do in Memphis, Tenn. Upgrade to the Elvis Entourage VIP Package and also receive entrance to a VIP Only Exhibit, Front of the Line Access to the Mansion and more.

Looking at the tour company itself is important too just like choosing a travel agent.

Viator has a rich website with a lot of information as does their iPhone App that connects you to 9,000 “unforgettable tours and experiences around the world” they say, as well as more than 250,000 unbiased traveler reviews and photos. The Viator app lets us research and book tours from a trusted global resource quickly and easily (even at the last minute) directly from your iPhone.

“As passionate travelers ourselves (Viator is the Latin word for “traveler”), we understand the value of having a trusted resource where you can easily find, research and book the world’s best travel experiences” says the Viator website, adding “Over the last 15 years, Viator has built the industry’s largest selection of tours and activities — all provided by local tour operators we hand-pick for quality, value and service, all backed by our low-price guarantee, all supported by more than a quarter of a million unbiased traveler reviews and photos.”

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Flickr photo by Bruno Girin


Check your flights home — the weather is coming!

by Grant Martin on

With Christmas now behind us, many are starting to make the long journey home, maybe for a few more days of work in 2010 or for New Year’s Een preparations. Mother Nature, however, might have other plans.

Foul weather south of the Mason-Dison line has left swaths of fluffy white snow across patches of the south, California is still getting rained on and the works of a grand-scale noreaster are heading towards New Jersey and New York City — right in time for your flight to land on the 26th.

Prepare yourself, dear readers. If you need to standby on an early flight today, now might be a good time to make that $25 or $50 investment. And if you need to call your airline and rebook, we’ve dropped the customer service numbers below.

Safe travels from the staff at Gadling Labs

American Airlines: 800-433-7300
Delta Airlines: 800-221-1212
Continental Airlines: 800-300-1547
Southwest: 800-I-FLY-SWA
United: 800-864-8331
Virgin America: 877-359-8474

[image via Wikipedia Commons]

Five ways holiday travelers annoy business travelers

by Tom Johansmeyer on

On December 23, 1999, I was trying to get from Madison, Wisconsin to Boston Massachusetts. On paper, it didn’t look hard. I had to catch a short fight from Madison to Chicago and another flight from Chicago to Boston. Unsurprisingly, it was snowing in Madison. It was also snowing in Chicago. Flights were canceled quickly and routinely, and crowds backed up in the gate areas. I was starting to wonder if I would make it home in time for Christmas. I finally made it back some time on Christmas Eve, but it was stressful … and yet another taxing holiday experience in what had become a blur of them.

Holiday season travel is rarely enjoyable for anyone, but it can be particularly brutal on business travelers. The pressures of family holiday obligations converge with business demands, and it all comes on the back of a full year of hitting the road, which can mean 40 weeks or more of round trips and enough miles to have nailed platinum status by the end of the second quarter. The one thing business travelers cling to is efficiency. Even if it doesn’t buy much in real impact, it feels better to get through security faster, board the plane smoothly and make a quick exit from the plane and airport upon arrival.

And holiday leisure travelers just make that exponentially more difficult.The folks who travel once or twice a year – or even less frequently than that – tend to throw a monkey wrench into the finely honed travel operations of road warriors. They fumble for documents at airport security checkpoints, take forever to order something as simple as a slice of pizza (how do you choose from both those toppings?!) After a while, the white-collar traveler, perpetually exhausted anyway, begin to hatch conspiracy theories about how leisure travelers are all in cahoots, intent on making his life miserable when all he wants to do is get home and rack open a bottle of holiday cheer.

So, let’s take a look at five ways you can annoy business travelers this holiday season. I’m not suggesting that anyone on either side of this dynamic engage in any behavior modification … because we all know that isn’t going to happen. But if you decide to try – to annoy either less or more – this is how you can go about it:

1. Your kids: I know this is a tough one. If the end-to-end air travel process is difficult for adults on a good day it’s even harder (a) during the holidays, (b) for adults with children and (c) for children. It really does suck. Do what you can, and make an honest effort. Don’t let your kid “cry it out” or practice his first step. You can give up on good parenting for a few hours without causing any lasting damage. Please try to avoid saying, “It’s only for a few hours; we don’t travel often,” to a weary business traveler.

2. Your awareness: is the airport security line moving forward without you? Do you wait until you’re at the x-ray machine to realize you need to remove your coat and shoes? You could turn around to see the eyes rolling, but that would just consume even more time. This also goes for your trip to the food court. Be ready ahead of time, or expect someone to say something.

3. Spread out: take extra seats in the gate area – for your bags or anything else. And then, let your kids play on the floor between seats, so nobody can walk by. The gate area is crowded already, and this is just a heroic way to make a bad situation worse.

4. Camp near a power outlet: it’s hard enough to find a place to plug in, and business travelers are desperate for the short supply. So, be sure to take up this prime real estate … even though you don’t plan to use it at all.

5. Sense of entitlement: assume the same sense of entitlement that road warriors have. And, I’m actually encouraging this one. Nobody really has a right to feel this way, but it is a formula for some incredible street theater!

[photo by

Christmas travel begins — are you wearing your travel pants?

by Grant Martin on

If you’re one of the millions of Americans traveling this week for this Christmas holiday, you’re probably already dreading the journey. Metropolitan streets across the country are jam-packed each evening, filled with worker bees fleeing the concrete jungles and filtering back across country roads to their home bases. Security checkpoints are stuffed to the gills, confusion reigns at the ticket desks and everyone seems to be on their last shred of patience.

Here at Gadling Labs our intel at the Amtrak station in Chicago reports half-hour lines just to reach the checkin kiosk with longer lines snaking through the terminal to actually see a real human being. Huge herds of passengers are being shepherded from the Great Hall of Union Station towards the tracks like sheep traversing the hills of New Zealand. It’s a madhouse.

Prepare yourselves, dear readers. If you’re hitting the road with public transportation this week, make sure to budget extra time to manage logistics and deal with security. Have a sandwich before you leave. Watch some failblog to release steam. And when you finally reach the thick of the traveling masses, when you’re surrounded by three hundred travelers, starving, pawing for space and hot beyond belief, remember one thing: it’s Christmas. You’re almost home. Soon you can wear whatever you want and watch TV for seventy straight hours. You’ll be there soon. We promise.

Safe travels and happy holidays from everyone at Gadling!

Plan your holiday guilt trip with Babelgum

by Grant Martin on

In a week where most young folks are hitting the road to visit loved ones or relatives all over the country it’s fun to compare tactics that friends and family use to solicit visits. You know you’ve been there before: you’re only in town for two nights and your hometown friends are calling from the bar — only it’s pudding night at the Martin residence and gee howdy, you can’t miss pudding night for the third year in a row.

Babelgum puts a hilarious spin on the whole situation in the short video below. Beware: it might strike closer to home than you think it will.