Travel Tonic

Travel related news and tweets for November 25th 2009 through December 1st 2009:

• RoomAtlas Puts Hotel Searches on a Google Map, Is Awesome – Lifehacker’s Sarah Rae Trover just posted this article:
  

  Many sites that help you find a hotel can be a little frustrating to use. They’re either pumped full of ads or jumble results according to advertisers. RoomAtlas does away with all that, providing a simplified but impressive Google Maps-powered hotel search. …

  Read the rest at Lifehacker

• Paris Treat #24: Tarte tatin – Meg Zimbeck recently posted this on This Just In… Newsweek’s Travel Blog:It’s especially difficult now to find treats in Paris because of the weakened buying power of the dollar in France.
• Top Five Christmas Deals – Smarter Travel has posted some info about vacations destinations: Get away for the holidays with these Scrooge-proof vacations! Destinations include Las Vegas, Madrid, Puerto Vallarta, and London, among others.Head over to www.smartertravel.com to read the whole article.
• Paris: Museums on strike? – Sean O’Neill recently posted this on This Just In… Newsweek’s Travel Blog:
  

  (Courtesy Meg Zimbeck)
• Avoid Airline Charges by Checking Luggage Limits Before You Travel – Lifehacker’s Jason Fitzpatrick just posted this article:
  

  Nobody wants to get hit with a massive over-limit luggage charge when they’re already stressed and rushing to catch their flight. Hit up Luggage Limits before you travel to avoid any check-in counter surprises. …

  Read the rest at Lifehacker

• 26 affordable Caribbean hotels – RobinD_travel recently posted this over on the Bing Travel Blog:Close your eyes. Coconuts tumble down and thump the beach. Steel drums reverberate through an outdoor restaurant.  Trade winds whistle, and a sailboat’s rigging clangs gently against the mast. Suddenly, cha-CHING! You are handed the bill at your charming and luxurious resort and – poof – the spell is broken.
• Bundle Up to Fill Your Belly: Winter Restaurant Weeks are Back in North America – Carrie Havranek posted this over on Frommer’s : It’s that time of year again — or at least one of those two times of year. The post-holidays dining bargains get you out of the house in the dead of winter, with the special menus, special prices, and special benefits to hunger-related charities.
• A Potentially Dreary Future for Frequent Flyers – Smarter Travel has posted some info about : New three- and four-tier award schedules may make it easier to get seats for a reasonable number of miles, but Ed Perkins remains skeptical. Here’s why.Head over to www.smartertravel.com to read the whole article.