Budget Travel came out with their 2008 list of the top 10 “new” places to visit this year which, by “new,” I think they mean “not overrun by tourists yet” rather than physical age. (I have a feeling Bergerac, France is probably not that new.) Here are a few highlights.

● Trying to get off-the-beaten-path in South Africa? Skip Cape Town and Johannesburg and explore
Graskop, the Berkeley of
South Africa. Just four hours from Johannesburg, this artist-friendly hamlet is home to an outdoorsy population which thrives on some of the best views in the country.

● Kick back and relax in the famed hot springs of Tanabe, Japan, and explore unblemished Japan at its best.

● Bypass Bordeaux and head to Bergerac, France, for some of the region’s best wines and exquisite meals. There’s also some sort of tobacco museum there, which Wikipedia so elegantly includes
in its city description with this:
“Bergerac . . .features a tobacco museum, at which no smoking is allowed.” I’ll stick to the wine, thank you.

How the little island of Dominica has embraced its reputation as the “real” Caribbean.

By Manda Spring

Imagine a unique and unspoiled land, free of pollution and overdevelopment and full of natural beauty. Many of the islands in the vast Eastern Caribbean archipelago display a sense of modernized atmosphere and they are driven by the new ways and are somewhat spoiled by the need of convenience. However, one island stands alone and is spectacular in its natural and unhampered form. The lush and fertile island of Dominica is exactly this: a true paradise for all to enjoy. But what makes this island so different than all the others in the Caribbean?

It’s almost unreal how many natural wonders can be found on Dominica Island. Arienne Perryman, an expert on Dominica, described what makes the island so unique from its Caribbean sisters. “Dominica has many natural wonders, including the Boiling Lake — the second largest of three such lakes in the world; as well as scores of sulfur hot springs comprised of hot mineralized water that many say has medicinal healing properties.” (more…)

Have you ever tried to find travel videos using YouTube? It’s a complete mess. I just clicked on the most watched videos of the week found under the “Travel and Events” category and I found a sampling of videos ranging from footage of planes landing to highlights of the Emmys.

Not to worry, there’s a number of video travel sites that have sprung up recently devoted to mostly high-quality travel videos (unless you enjoy watching videos of people painting airplanes).

The first travel video site that I discovered a little while back was Travelistic which featured over 6,868 videos at last check. The site itself is very streamlined and is easy to navigate, and it includes a breakdown, by country, of all its videos.

The second site I found was Compulsive Traveler which, I found out as I was writing this, has just relaunched its site, going from a pretty clunky design to a more professional look. One of the nice aspects of Compulsive Traveler is their “Channel” section which lets you explore videos in such categories as “Eco Travel” and “Sexy Travel” (hello, just watch my videos for that, right?).

The most recent site that I discovered was TripFilms.com whose hook is that they’ll actually pay you — via airline miles or ITunes credit — depending on how many people watch your vids. Given this fact, this site seems to have the highest concentration of professional travel videos around. There’s also a cool running contest called TripVlogger where you can apply to have them pay you to go on vacation in return for doing a series of videos. (Click here for details.) They also recently featured my Copenhagen Video under their “Editor’s Picks” section, which was so nice, and I only had to buy the entire staff a few rounds of drinks to get it there. (Editor’s Note: I retract that last sentence. TripFilms.com does not and never has accepted compensation in return for selection as a featured video. The aforementioned drinks were bought entirely on a volunteer basis and only with the hope of trying to make new friends while out on an otherwise lonely night.)

I actually happen to love fall. I love that the hot, humid summer days are finally behind us, I like the energy of the city as people move back in from their summer retreats, and I especially love to start planning my first trip out of the country to escape the cold air that I’ll inevitably be complaining about in a couple months from now.

Think about it, when you travel during the summer you’re more likely than not going from one hot place to another hot place, which makes the whole transition seem less than spectacular. But when you travel during the cold months, you get to experience that glorious feeling of flying out of a barren, cold landscape and to a completely different atmosphere which only heightens the feeling of distance. (It’s also a great feeling to have people approach you asking you where you got a tan in December.)

Check out the piece that I’m linking to that describes some interesting ides for winter travel. Thinking of North Africa? Head to Tunisia where you’ll bake in 70-degree weather amongst some of the world’s greatest artifacts. How about Asia? Penang island, off the west coast of Malaysia, averages temperatures in the 80’s and is a popular winter destination (head to the western part of the island to get away from the tourists).

And of course South America . . . Where better to go then to someplace where everyone’s exuberant about the onset of Spring and the coming summer months? Rio’s a great option for those with the money and the time, and Argentina’s extremely favorable exchange rate still makes it one of the best places to visit down South. (When I was there last year in mid-November the Jacarandas were in full bloom — a traditional sign of the Spring in many cultures — with their bright purple blossoms and the giddiness of a population that truly detests the winter and welcomes the warmth like no other was contagious). My plans? I’ve been leafing through my Colombia Lonely Planet now for days and the prospect of wandering the magical city of Cartagena and exploring the country’s famed Caribbean beaches while the snow begins to fall back home is oh so tempting. To be continued . . . (Click for the article)

Oktoberfest is just around the corner (9/20 - 10/5), and just in time for this vapid event are your predictable slew of superfluous Oktoberfest “guides” which purport to help you fit in with the mostly tourist crowd that descends on Munich every year.

I’m not so much against the idea of Oktoberfest - the annual event began back in 1810 as a massive horse race to celebrate the wedding of Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese and was celebrated thereafter in late October with a parade and subsequent beer drinking - I’m more against what it has become: the sort-of Bavarian Mardi Gras complete with vomiting college kids, tourists decked out in costume (look I’m in lederhosen!) and a general disregard for any substance the event may had in the past.

If anything, what I’m advocating (and likely to do myself) is to get in the spirit and check out one of the many local
celebrations around the world where you can down some authentic lager without the hassle of being elbowed by some 4.7 million other visitors.

Sorry to sound so cranky, I think I just need a beer. Happy Oktoberfest!

Last night the New York Times travel writer, Matt Gross (a/k/a The Frugal Traveler), stopped by Idlewild Bookstore, the new travel bookstore here in New York, for a talk about his recently wrapped up “Grand Tour”
of Europe, his thoughts on the idea of travel writing, and his plans (or lack thereof) for next summer. Some highlights:

First of all, I’ve got to say, this new bookstore is a must-visit for any traveler to New York. Just minutes from Union Square, the recently opened Idlewild sits on the second floor of an old manufacturing building and overlooks 19th Street. Inside, floor-to-ceiling windows dramatically grace the front of the store, allowing in as much sunlight as possible from the cavernous-like side-streets of the Flatiron district. The hook is that the books, both travel and fiction, are grouped by country rather than author, allowing you to load-up on a country’s literature along with the basic travel guides (next to the Colombia Lonely Planet guide was Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s entire catalog, and one shelf down I found Cortázar and Borges mixed in with the Argentina and Patagonia guides).

I’m so jealous: this is the store I wanted to open one day, except mine would’ve been in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and it would double as a coffee shop (and later on, after its immense success, I would install a vast array of security cameras and spend my later days as a recluse holed up in the penthouse suite above, watching my customers from a wall of digital screens and collecting my bodily fluids in glass jars).

Back to the talk. Matt spoke for about an hour, beginning with some anecdotes from his summer trip. The idea of the Grand Tour was to try to recreate the tours the wealthy British would do in the 19th century, except his would be neither British nor wealthy. For example, the British of the day would often throw lavish parties in Paris and invite all of the city’s aristocrats so as to attempt to pick up the customs and manners of French high-culture. So Matt threw a party too, except his was pot-luck and was attended by friends and colleagues and was probably actually fun to attend.

Matt also spoke about his beginnings as a travel writer, which began when he left for Vietnam after college to write a novel about living in Vietnam. Instead, after a failed pitch to the NYT, Matt was contacted later on by them to write three articles about living in Vietnam. The NYT was in need for a replacement for their Frugal Traveler column, and a few months later he was it and he hasn’t looked back since.

Matt revealed that he’s now hard at work on his first book, which is tentatively going to be called “The Frugal Traveler Guide To Travel,” and which will include his practical advice for travel (use a Capitol One credit card — they don’t charge fees for foreign ATMs) to the not-so-practical (don’t go to bars in Vietnam where the maître-de is a dwarf dressed in a tuxedo — duly noted).

Also, more surprisingly, Matt told the audience that with the impending birth of his first child he’s doubtful that he’ll be doing another trip next summer for the NYT (trips in the past have been an around-the-world voyage and a U.S. road trip).

So there you go travel writers, sharpen your pencils and break out your résumé, stop by Idlewild when you’re in NYC, and be sure to check out Matt’s blog for some inspiration next summer.

I’ve lived in New York almost two years now, and even in that short amount of time it’s amazing to me how quickly I’ve forgotten about all of the incredible sights there are to see and the variety of things there are to do here. I guess it’s inevitable that any place you live starts to lose that wonder that it initially when you first moved there. That great coffee shop around the corner becomes just another place to get coffee, that quaint park becomes just a place you have to walk through to get somewhere else.

Sometimes, as is often said, it takes an out-of-towner to help you rediscover your home, which is what happened to me last week when I had a visitor in from out of town. What, if I had 10 days, would I do if I was a visitor in New York? The question really becomes: what won’t you do? There’s only so much time; there’s only so many restaurants; there’s only so many shows.

You always have to fashion any outing to your visitor, so a trip down 5th Avenue was a no-brainer for a visiting fashionista. I haven’t been in Tiffany’s for years (if ever) and probably won’t be anytime soon, but is there any other place in New York other than that four-storey Mecca of diamonds that evokes the grandeur of New York?

Hundreds of thousands of people picnic in Central Park every summer; why aren’t the remaining millions of residents not doing the same? Sunday in the park is classic NYC in the summer, I just wish it wasn’t already almost October for me to figure this out.

New York is food and entertainment, but only here is food also entertainment. There’s a reason so many restaurants are so hard to get into here: it’s because the food is so good. Peruvian tapas, fusion Thai, classic Italian, take-out Japanese, Brazilian Churrascaria. All in one week. Shouldn’t New Yorkers be fatter, or at least more broke with these temptations?

I’m sorry for neglecting you lately NYC, I promise to be better in the future. Maybe we can grab coffee this Sunday and catch up? Maybe see a matinee (Woody Allen’s newest?) or grab dinner next week? I’ll be better, I promise, just give me one more chance. Also, could you lower my rent? I’ll spend more on you if you do that one little thing.

Enjoying the high life in Gothenburg, Sweden’s second largest city, without breaking the bank takes a little discipline and a lot of imagination.

By Matthew Stabile

There’s no doubt about it: I had traveled to Gothenburg in first class; once I got there it was back to reality. I’d just arrived from Stockholm on the X2000, Sweden’s high-speed train that reaches speeds of up to 125mph (200km/h) and ferries travelers between the two cities in a mere three hours. The downside is that the ticket costs about as much a discount airline ticket; the upside is that you’ll feel like you’re flying first-class. A few hours before, after helping myself to a glass of fresh juice and some fresh fruit from the á la carte kiosk, I settled into my plush, la-z-boy-sized chair, rolled it back to a comfy 45-degree angle, and watched out the window as the lush, green Swedish countryside quickly passed me by as I zoomed south to Gothenburg.

It’s these moments of travel that I look forward to the most: those rare moments during your trip, usually on your way from someplace to somewhere else, when you’ve got nothing better to do than to just sit back, relax, and replay the events of the last few days in you head. This usually happens after a hectic spurt of activity — in my case a couple of days running around Stockholm seeing the sights by day and heading out afterward to enjoy the nightlife, followed by an overnight ferry to Tallinn, Estonia, then back again. (more…)

Is it really possible to do a major European travel destination on the cheap? Is fall a better time to visit Barcelona now that summer is over? Does Woody Allen’s new movie “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” make you want to visit there or does it make you just miss classic ’70’s Woody?

Well it is possible to get by in Barcelona with little money, just follow those same tricks you use anywhere. Grab a meal at one of Barcelona’s 46 food markets like La Boqueria (see above) and you’re still probably eating better than you are back home. For leisurely meals, order the meal of the day (___ del dia) for a prix fixe menu at a basement price. And time your trip over the first Sunday of the month when all city museums are open for free.

A quick run-down of flight prices to Barcelona: New York - $613; Sydney - $1,633; London - $84 (why don’t I live in London, someone please tell me?).
(Click for the article)

Sweden’s long summer days and cool nights out makes it one of the best places to visit in Europe come the longest day of the year.

By Matthew Stabile

This was classic Stockholm. It was just past midnight and from our view in one of Stockholm’s highest rooftop bars we’d just watched the sun finally dip below the horizon, ending the luminescent sunset that had slowly been unfolding over the past hour or so. It was just a few days before the Midsummer holiday (or better known outside of the Scandinavian world as the longest day of the year) and though I had arrived just that morning, the extended daylight hours made it feel like I’d been there for days. “I can’t believe how many people are still out,” I said to my friend from Stockholm as I looked around the crowded bar. “It’s a Wednesday night.”

“Would you stay home on night like this?” she asked, gesturing to the floor-to-ceiling windows framing the sunset over the city skyline.

Point taken.

I had arrived in Stockholm with grand hopes for the Midsummer holiday. Back in the dark days of February when I booked my trip I was envisioning a Stockholm packed for the holiday, full of people out on the streets, partying under a warm, midnight sun — a sort-of Scandinavian Mardi Gras. I was nearly right about the midnight sun (it gets dark shortly before midnight and becomes light around 3:00 a.m. — an unwelcome sight for late-night revelers), but I was not so right about the warmth (June can still be quite chilly) nor was I right about the raucous street parties (the city actually empties out come Midsummer). But, as other expectations go, it was already clear to me that Stockholm was living up to the hype it’s been receiving as Scandinavia’s emerging capital of culture, with its thriving music and arts scene, a bustling nightlife, and a fondness for innovative design known the world over. (more…)