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the IBIT Travel Digest 1.6.13

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The good, the bad and the bizarre in the world of travel

Bay Bridge bike path

Welcome to the first IBIT Travel Digest of 2013. Let’s get going.

SAN FRANCISCO: BAY HEATING UP?
The folks at Smarter Travel have listed San Francisco as one of the travel destinations to watch in 2013.

That might sound a bit like saying the sky is blue and water is wet, since San Francisco has always been a hot travel destination. But the city that calls itself “The City” has some new attractions going on line this year, and it’s all about the bay that gives the city its name.

This year, the Aquarium of the Bay is putting in an exhibit devoted to the rare river otter — one of which recently turned up, almost as if on cue, in the ruins of the old Sutro Baths, to the delight of sightseers and the puzzlement of scientists.

The Exploratorium, which has delighted generations of visitors with its science exhibits, also is getting a new and greatly expanded headquarters this year along the city’s waterfront.

But the main event will be the opening of the sleek new east span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, replacing the old span damaged by the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.

Not only is the new bridge gorgeous and designed to hold up better in an earthquake, but it incorporates something that cyclists have dreamed about for decades — a separate bike/pedestrian path. The illustration above shows you how it will look once it’s in service.

People will be able to ride or walk from Oakland to Treasure Island, the halfway point of the bridge, something that was never possible before.

Plans/discussions/arguments are underway to add a similar deck to the original west span of the bridge.

I can’t wait for the chance to take my bike up to the Bay Area and join my cycling friends, old and new, for a spin over the bay — even if it’s only to Treasure Island. Half a bay is better than none.

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GO SMALL, LEAVE HOME
You already know about the cruise ship industry’s building boom, but it’s not just the big lines building big ships. Less well-known outfits also are turning out new, smaller vessels. One example is Alaskan Dream Cruises, which currently operates three small ships for Alaskan cruises.

How small is small? ADC’s three vessels hold a combined total of 162 passengers. Your typical Carnival or Royal Caribbean cruise ship may hold close to ten times that many — on one deck.

When you board a typical cruise ship, holding anywhere from 2,000 to 5,400 passengers, you may feel as if you brought half of your hometown with you. Not so on a small cruiser. It’s a completely different experience. Faster. Smoother. More intimate.

The super-small cruise ships can easily get into scenic inlets and bays, even explore small rivers, where the floating behemoths would surely run aground. Once ashore, you get more time to sightsee, because your small cruise vessel can dock at much smaller harbors. The mega-ships have to shuttle you back and forth on tenders, which really eats into your limited time in port.

Being smaller, such cruises are seldom cheap. But the experience can more than make up for the price.

AMERICAN + USAIR = ?
With each passing day, a merger between American Airlines and US Airways looks like a done deal.

Even before American filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last year, industry analysts have been expecting the airline to be snapped up by one of its financially healthier rivals. When Delta dropped out of the fray and United opted to buy Continental instead, that pretty much left the field open to USAir.

And as we move into the new year, the wheels are already turning.

Last month, American’s pilots approved a new contract, the last of the airline’s three labor unions to get on board. Having all three unions signed means that American can now come out from under Chapter 11.

The other shoe dropped just last week, when USAir pilots gave their blessing to a proposal by their American Airlines counterparts on how the two groups would handle a merger.

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DRAMA BUILDING ON THE BLUE NILE
Ethiopia kept its plans for the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam so quiet that they first were labelled “Project X.” But when you’re planning the largest dam in Africa on one of the world’s most disputed rivers, that’s a hard elephant to hide.

When finished in 2015, the reservoir it creates on the Blue Nile River will be double the size of Lake Tana, the largest lake in Ethiopia — and the source of the Blue Nile itself.

Issat Falls, Lake Tana, Ethiopia

Issat Falls on Ethiopia’s Lake Tana, source of the Blue Nile. © Cdkeyser | Dreamstime.com


Simply put, the GERD is Hoover Dam on steroids. It will surely become an enormous tourist attraction, and the electricity it generates could transform Ethiopia.

But mega-dams often do major, unforeseen damage to the environment, and Ethiopia shares the Blue Nile with Egypt and Sudan. Both countries already are unhappy about this dam.

Make that very unhappy.

People a lot smarter than me have been saying the next great global conflict will be over water, and observers in East Africa are already sounding alarms over this project.

IBIT says: Expect drama.

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And now, here’s The Digest:

AIR
from Travel Weekly
Could this be the Next Big Thing in airline add-on fees? Bundled fares.

from the New York Times
New screening procedures from the TSA are letting some travelers actually leave their shoes on when going through security. The key word there, of course, is some.

from the Los Angeles Times
Save on airfares to Europe? Think off-season and outside the proverbial box.

from NBC News
Forget the Six Million-Dollar Man. Tom Stuker is the One Million Frequent-Flier Mile Man. And that’s how you get a jumbo jet named after you.

LAND
from the New York Times
How to get the most out of TripAdvisor.

from National Geographic
Ice hotels. If you’re not “cool” after spending a night in one of these places, see your doctor.

from Smarter Travel
For a lot of women, wearing stiletto heels while traveling may be impractical. In Greece, it’s also illegal. One of 11 weird laws around the world that can trip up the unwary traveler. SLIDESHOW

from CNN Travel
Ten cars for every type of traveler.

SEA
from Gadling
Ways to save on your next cruise.

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AFRICA
from Mashable
Take a good look, world. Here they come: A smartphone and a tablet computer, designed by an African, built by Africans. Hitting the market now. This could be IBIT’s future travel gear…and maybe yours, too?

from informAfrica
Forget “The Lion King.” The leopard — not the lion — is the real “king of the jungle.”

from the Washington Post
Not all of Africa’s fascinating sights are of wilderness and wildlife. A look at urban Tanzania and Ethiopia. SLIDESHOW

from Africa Review
Mali’s Islamic extremist insurgency threatens the country’s deep musical traditions.

from The New Vision (Uganda) via allAfrica.com
Bill Gates loves Uganda?

AMERICAS
from the Wall Street Journal
New York City is still America’s biggest tourist draw. Who says so? A crowing Mayor Bloomberg — and a record 52 million visitors in 2012.

from the Los Angeles Times
The many and varied joys of a stay in Santa Barbara. A guide to its sights, sounds and tastes.

from NBC News
The US State Department issues a new travel advisory on Haiti: “No one is safe.”

ASIA/PACIFIC
from the Washington Post
Would you build an entire city around an airport? The place is called Songdo, and if this experiment works, it could change the way the world travels.

from France 24
Not content with making knockoff purses, pirated movies and even fake Apple stores, the Chinese may be counterfeiting a set of skyscrapers.

from CNN Travel
China prepares to open the doors to the world’s largest building.

EUROPE
from The Guardian (London UK)
Twenty bargain vacation options across Europe.

from Associated Press via USA Today
If you’re planning to visit Vatican City anytime soon, bring your prayers but leave your plastic. The Vatican has gone cash-only.

from the New York Times
Berlin. It’s not just about currywurst and beer anymore. The city’s better restaurants are racking up Michelin stars. Ich bin ein foodie?

from CNN Travel
QUESTION: How do you get the world’s largest airliner through a small French village? ANSWER: Very carefully.

Edited by P.A.Rice

TRAINS: The Pacific Surfliner

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Second in an occasional series

THE PACIFIC SURFLINER (Amtrak California)

Trains have been running this 350 mile-route from San Luis Obispo to San Diego since 1938, when it was known as The San Diegan. In 2000, Amtrak renamed it the Pacific Surfliner.

If you wonder how they came up with that name, just look out any west-facing window.

This is not one of Amtrak’s longer runs, but it has a lot going for it. It’s a nice way to get to Santa Barbara without battling through Los Angeles freeway traffic. For that matter, it’s a nice way to get to — and from — LA itself.

In fact, one of the great joys of this run is to look out the window from your comfortable seat, beverage and snacks in hand, as the train glides past all the cars trapped on Interstate 405.

Because it’s a fairly short run, there are no sleeper cars on this train — only Coach class, Business class and a Cafe car, all of them usually double-deckers.

The only real “problem” I have with this train is that it’s too darned relaxing. I could get some work done on my laptop, but most times, I’d rather just stare out the window and admire the ocean view until the train rocks me into a nice little nap.

As many times in my life as I’ve seen it, the Pacific Ocean just never gets old.

This train runs along some of the narrowest beaches I’ve ever seen, especially around San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano. In some spots, it looks as if you could go directly from the train to the surf in about ten steps. Obviously, his makes the Surfliner pretty handy for surfers.

Since it hugs the coast for most of its route, it also works out nicely for cyclists who like to ride the old Highway 101 along the coast — especially for those wanting to avoid riding on the Interstate 5 freeway between San Diego and Orange counties.

( When Camp Pendleton Marine Base closes its roads to civilian cyclists during security alerts, riding the shoulder of the freeway is the only route left. It’s legal, but with shoulders full of road debris and cars whizzing by at upwards of 80 mph, you can’t call it fun.)

It’s also a great train for baseball fans. In San Diego, the Santa Fe station also happens to be a connecting point for the San Diego trolley, which will take you directly to Petco Park, where the San Diego Padres play.

And in Anaheim, where the Los Angeles Angels play, the train not only stops in the Anaheim Stadium parking lot, but it’s actually closer to the stadium than many of the parking spaces!

This line does have a couple of peculiarities.

For one thing, there’s no place in San Diego to turn these trains around. So when they head north, they’re literally backing up the entire distance, with an engineer steering from the last car in the front while the engine pushes from the other end.

Imagine driving all the way from San Diego to Los Angeles in reverse.

Heading south, the engine’s pulling the train forward, as it’s supposed to.

The other odd thing is a lot more annoying. For a large chunk of every day, you can only ride this train as far north as Los Angeles. You have to go the rest of the way on an Amtrak bus. Why? Because America’s only national passenger railroad doesn’t own its own rails.

The tracks Amtrak runs on belong to freight companies, and for those hours of the day, freight trains get priority — not just on this line, but nationwide. That means the passenger trains have to pull onto sidings to let mile-long freight trains go by — or, as in the case of the Pacific Surfliner, stop running altogether on long segments of your route for long stretches of the day.

That’s the way Congress set it up when Amtrak was founded back in 1970 — and yeah, it seems pretty stupid to me, too.

But why quibble when you can just chill out with some of the loveliest ocean views on the planet, and thumb your nose at freeway traffic at the same time?

FAST FACTS
NAME: Amtrak Pacific Surfliner (formerly The San Diegan)

ROUTE: 350 miles, 30 stops

REGION: Southern California coast, San Luis Obispo-San Diego

OPERATOR: Amtrak California

TRAIN: 1 diesel locomotive
1 Business Class car
1 Cafe car
3 Coach cars (includes 1 Control/Coach)

RIDERSHIP: 7,200 passenger per day, 2.6 million per year

IBIT on The Cheap: AIRFARES, Part 2

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Kaua'i parrot

Kaua'i parrot | © Greg Gross

I feel sorry for anyone trying to search out a good airfare online these days. So many Web sites, so many options, so little candor. Not only are airlines pricing structures downright Byzantine, but airfares are so volatile, it’s insane.

During a 5-hour train trip once on the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner from Santa Barbara to San Diego, my wife and I considered a December flight from LAX to Paris.

We leave Santa Barbara at 7:01 a.m.

9:40 a.m.: I break out the laptop and start scanning airfares. The Air France round-trip coach fare for two is about $2,500. Too steep. I then check Expedia. Same airline, same flights: $2,300. Better, but not better enough.

10:12 a.m.: I check out Kayak, which simultaneously scans multiple airlines and even other reservation sites. Air Tahiti Nui has the same Paris flights for $2,100.

10:23 a.m.: I jump on the Air Tahiti Nui site (always check the airline site as well as the other reservation sites). Their Paris fare: $1,800. Nice. But a hunch leads me back to Expedia.

10:32 a.m.: On Expedia, I find the same Air Tahiti Nui flights, same days, same everything…$1,685. I don’t understand why this is, and I don’t care.

11:12 a.m.: We pull out the plastic and pull the trigger. We have our tickets, at a rate almost $900 less than Air France.

The train arrives at our station at 11:49 a.m. We’re home by 12:15 p.m. I jump on the Web and check Expedia again to admire the bargain price that we found.

The fare is now just over $2,400.

In five hours, the fare for the same trip had gone down nearly $900 and back up almost the same amount. In the four months between the time we booked and the day of departure, it will oscillate up and down, but never again fall below $2,000.

This is not a tout for Expedia. We just as easily might’ve found that fare on Travelocity, Orbitz, Vayama or any of a thousand other sites. The point is, when we found it, we moved on it.

MORAL: Search carefully, search thoroughly, but when you find a fare that’s comfortable, don’t second-guess yourself. He who hesitates can lose a ton of money.

That’s one tip. Here’s another: Don’t think airline. Think alliance.

Nowadays, brand loyalty to a single airline may be overrated.

A few years ago, American Airlines made a big deal out of removing seats from their planes to create more legroom in Coach. Being 6’3,” I couldn’t wait to enroll in their frequent-flier program. I figured I’d found my airline for life.

A few years later, they put them all back in, but I still didn’t have enough miles to go anywhere. I was stuck. In the end, though, it’s all worked out. Why?

Many of the world’s major airlines have banded together in operational marriages-of-convenience called alliances. They divvy up routes, reservation systems, even passengers, among themselves. It’s called code-sharing.

They also accept one another’s frequent-flier miles — and that’s a good thing.

What does all this airlinespeak mean to you? It means that if you book a flight from Chicago to London on United, you may find yourself on a Lufthansa jet instead.

The three biggest alliances, in order, are Star Alliance, SkyTeam and Oneworld.

My principal alliance is Oneworld. Among its 11 members are the airlines I either know best or fly to my most desired destinations — American, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Japan Air Lines and LAN. They’ll be joined in two years by Air Berlin, a fairly new airline that looks really promising for decent airfares into the heart of Europe.

Check out the alliance sites. Not only will they tell you who their individual member airlines are, but you can even plan itineraries and book flight through the alliance sites.

Find an alliance you can stick with. Enroll in the frequent-flier mileage program of the airline in that alliance that you use most often. But just to cover yourself, sign up for frequent-flier mikes with an airline in the other major alliances, as well!

Another thing about frequent-flier miles: They’re good for more than just flights. You also might be able to use them to buy access into those cushy airline lounges, the ones reserved for First and Business Class passengers. Not just one, but any lounge in the alliance. Comfortable chairs. Free food and drinks. A little peace and serenity before that 11-hour killer over the ocean.

Just sayin’.


NEXT TIME: When it comes to travel costs, what is real — and how to find out!

TRAINS: The Coast Starlight

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First of an occasional series


IBIT editor Greg Gross recently took Amtrak’s Coast Starlight from Los Angeles to Oakland with guest columnist Walt Baranger.

It’s a two-day trip all the way to Seattle, but only one to Oakland. You leave Los Angeles’ Union Station at exactly 10:15 a.m. and slide into Oakland’s Jack London Square station around 9:30 p.m.

I say “around” for a reason. This train is known to regular users as the “Coast Starlate.” But the crew works hard to get the Coast Starlight running on time — and on my trip, they succeeded.

Unlike aboard airliners, you won’t suffer in your Coach seat. At 6’3,” I had enough legroom to fully stretch out without my feet touching the seat in front of me, and the seats recline far enough to let you sleep very comfortably — which I did!

The first couple of hours out of Los Angeles, there isn’t much to look at. Suburban-industrial grunge around Glendale and Van Nuys, and the backyards of bungalows of the San Fernando Valley, the porn production capital of planet Earth.

POSTCARD SCENERY
After that, things get interesting. Fans of old Western movies and the original Star Trek TV series will recognize the rocks outside of Oxnard. Then you hit the coast.

This is the part of our trip with the views “suitable for framing.”

Mile after mile of beaches, coves, surf, kelp beds and the seemingly endless Pacific Ocean. Flocks of pelicans glide inches over the waves in perfect formation and make it look effortless. Look carefully and you may see dolphins. In one cove, you might see a couple of abandoned sailboats, beached and tipped onto their sides.

The train hugs the side of the sandstone cliffs as it skims a hundred feet or so over the shoreline. If you’re the nervous sort, don’t look down.

Off in the hazy distance stand the oil rigs of the Ellwood Oil Field, site of the disastrous Santa Barbara oil spill of 1969. Some of these wells are still working today, but no new ones have been allowed since.

Given the recent events in the Gulf of Mexico, the sight of those rigs, sullen mechanical sentinels on a pristine horizon, is a pointed reminder of what can happen when we overestimate engineering — and underestimate Murphy and his law.

TWISTING TRACKS
On the opposite side of the train from the ocean, you catch glimpses of Vandenberg Air Force Base, one of the backup landing sites for the Space Shuttle. The view includes a single runway that seems to be aimed straight at the train.

Heading north out of San Luis Obispo, you wind through the Horseshoe Curves, switchbacks so tight that the train threatens to double back on itself like a snake.

After that, you swing inland through California farm country. Cows graze languidly at the foot of rolling hills. There are sprawling rows of crops and fields of rusting machinery. Somebody has an old railroad caboose parked on one side of their house.

Your nose will tell you when the train reaches Gilroy. This town is not the home of one the world’s largest garlic festivals for nothing.

MISSING MOUNTAIN
The last of sunset will be fading as you make your way out of San Jose and across a low trestle over the foot of San Francisco Bay for the run into Oakland.

North of the Bay Area, sadly, you’ll miss California’s beautiful northern mountain country overnight, including Mount Shasta. But given the other views you’ll have in both directions, that’s just me being greedy.

Coach passengers in the know bring their own blankets and small travel pillows for sleeping. Those in sleeping compartments have no need.

Likewise, passengers who pay the admittedly steep add-on price for a compartment also get all their meals included as part of the fare. If you’re making the whole run between Seattle and L.A., though, that’s transportation, lodging and meals over the course of two days.

You also get access to a special parlor car for more private dining if you wish, as well as special events like wine tastings that are off-limits to Coach passengers.

Meals in the dining car are by reservation. Compartment passengers get first crack. On my trip, the kitchen crew and dining car staff fell behind. Passengers with reservations were called to the dining car an hour or more late. In the rush, they may get your order wrong, as they did with my lunch hamburger.

Oh well, at least the vegetarian pasta at dinner was pretty good.

The Cafe Car includes an upstairs observation deck that, unlike the old dome cars of the 1950s, runs the entire length of the car, with seats facing the windows for the best possible view. Trails & Rails guides from the National Park Service narrate the more scenic stretches.

EARLY BIRD SCENERY
But if you want to enjoy those choice views in that car, do what the regulars do and get there early. The moment the conductor finishes taking your ticket, get up and head for the Cafe Car. He who hesitates will NOT get a seat.

Amtrak is in dire need of new passenger cars, and nowhere more so than on the Coast Starlight, whose cars predate laptops by decades. Some have been modernized, others not. That means that your seat may have either one electrical outlet, or two — or none.

Another Amtrak quirk: You can reserve compartments online, but your Coach seat is assigned only on the day of your trip, by hand—in pencil.

I’ll be polite and just call it “quaint.”

The ride also suffers from being used by freight trains, as do all of Amtrak’s routes. The freight companies that own the rails feel no need to maintain them to passenger-train standards. I saw one woman practically thrown out of the aisle and into the seat to her left.

So yeah, the Coast Starlight has a few kinks that go beyond schedule-keeping. But in some ways, it’s the ideal American train trip — a scenic route with just enough time and comfort to enjoy it. I’d do it again.

THE 4-1-1
TRAIN: Coast Starlight
OPERATOR: Amtrak
ROUTE: Seattle (King Street Station) — Los Angeles (Union Station)
Train 11 southbound, Train 14 northbound
DISTANCE: 1,377 miles
STOPS: 27
TIME: 35 hours
DAILY: Yes
SLEEPER BERTHS: Yes
DINING CAR: Yes
LOUNGE CAR: Yes
CAFE CAR: Yes
COST (approx.): $320 round-trip Coach (for compartment, add $478 – $1,083. Per trip, not per person)