Travel Tips - Check here before asking!

One good bit of travel news for people heading to Dorney. I was on I-78 on Saturday heading to the Newark Airport, and there was no construction going on there at all. No barriers, no lane restrictions, nothing. Now I don't know if this is a temporary situation or when they might start things up again, but as of June 11, I-78 is clear in both directions west of Allentown.

Another good low airfare source: www.kayak.com

Here is a link to a artical That I found on MSN about saving money at theme parks. It has some good info in it.

http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Savinganddebt/Travelforless/P90675.asp

Although I've known and used Yahoo Maps Smartview for trip planning for a while I'm just now getting around to adding it as a tip. Smartview is a great tool to find hotels, restaurants, gas stations, and other businesses near a specific location. See the end of the AIRLINES, HOTELS, and CARS section for more info.

mOOSH [5/30/2006]

Whenever you decide to Book a Flight to an Amusement Park Check to see what Airports are adjacent to your destination and don't concentrate on one City. When you check the Airfare don't forget to check the Rental Car Rates as well. For this Year's Holiwood Nights/Rumblefest I decided to check on all the airports within 100 Miles of Holiday World and I got the following Quotes on Expedia for flights out of Jacksonville, Florida

Louisville. Airfare: $159.00 (3 Airlines) Rental Car:$189.00 (Alamo)

Evansville. Airfare $189.00 (American) Rental Car: $125.00 (Alamo)

Guess Which City I chose to fly to! :)

Always LOOK AT THE BIG PICTURE! Cheap Wings doesn't always mean Cheap Wheels!

(There was one other city, Owensboro, Ky but their Airfare Quote was More that the Airfare and Rental Car for Louisville Combined (Fuggadaboudit!) *** Edited 5/5/2006 9:42:10 PM UTC by Borntocoast***

I'm going to ACE Spring Confrence this weekend and was wondering if I need anything besides my birth certificate. I'm under the impression that passsports won't be required until the end of the year.

Just got back from Niagara. What they are currently looking for is either:

1.) Birth Certificate AND one form of government-issued photo ID

or

2.) Valid U.S. Passport and one other form of government-issued photo ID

It depends on how lucky you are when you go through customs. When we came back to the U.S. they didn't even care to see our photo ID's.

Have fun!

In 1976 I was actually Detained at Canadian Customs when My Folks were taking my Sister to the Train Station in Windsor, Ontario to catch a Train to Toronto for her High School Senior Trip (I was 16 at the time and the Customs Officer requested Photo IDs from Everyone, and since I had not learned to drive yet I didn't have any Photo ID! My Parents had to drop me off and I had to wait at the Customs Station until they got back from dropping my Sister at the Train Station! I was puzzled at this and all the Officers told me was they had orders not to let anyone without ID into Canada (I had crossed the Border from Michigan to Ontario a countless number of times prior to this) The next day I picked up the Newspaper and there was an article on the Front Page about Customs requiring Photo IDs from everyone, the reason was that Canada was hosting the Olympics that year (in Montreal) and they were doing everything to insure that what happened in Munich four years earlier :( did not happen in Montreal. Understanding this I had no hard feelings, they were only doing their jobs! :) *** Edited 5/14/2006 3:07:34 AM UTC by Borntocoast*** *** Edited 5/14/2006 3:09:34 AM UTC by Borntocoast***

I just got back and had my BC with me, but they never asked for it. In fact I only had a brief 15 to 20 second exchange of Q&A they looked at my drivers license and I was off. Pretty much the same on the way out and back in.

Please take note of planned construction on the Washington, D.C. Beltway in Springfield, VA.

Washington Post Article

If your traveling to PKD, BGW, SFA your likely going to be affected by this construction. *** Edited 5/18/2006 8:44:55 AM UTC by coasterguts***

Flying to a Park? I suggest giving yourself an extra day to get there BEFORE you go to your selected Park. This will come in handy when the Attendant at the gate announces that the Flight has been "Oversold" and they need Volunteers to give up their seats in exchange for a later flight! I have been able to take advantage of this Nine Times! and in addition to getting there on a later flight you'll also get a free night at an Airport Hotel (With Transportation to and from that Hotel), A Voucher for a Free Meal and, best of all, a Voucher for a Free Flight that you can use for your next Amusement Park Trip! :) One other perk, when you finally get to your destination you do not have to wait for your luggage at the Baggage Claim Carousel, as it will be waiting for you at their office! :) *** Edited 6/20/2006 1:35:48 PM UTC by Borntocoast*** *** Edited 6/20/2006 1:36:26 PM UTC by Borntocoast***

I'm driving down to Kings Dominion from Cleveland. I have the choice of either goning on October Saturday the 14th or Saturday the 21st. Any thoughts on which day would be less crouded. I don't know that it affect the crouds much, but there is a dance and cheer competition on the 21st.

Thanks for re-pinning this thread. Hope everyone continues to find it useful.

For those near Columbus looking for cheap flights: www.skybus.com

I was wondering why it looked out of place to me this morning but then I saw the last post was Aug 2006 and I moved along. Sort of a déjà vu moment when I came back later and there was a post from today.

But recommendations for Skybus should have been posted in March. Flying into columbus would be a better option for those to use Skybus. It's now not worth it, flights are nearing the $100 mark for a one-way ticket. No longer cheap anymore, might as well fly out at a convenient time and pay a little more or less.

I hadn't even heard about Skybus until a week ago.

Oh it's ok, Living here, that's all we hear about. But I do recommend it for those outside of columbus.

For those just discovering this thread DO NOT start reading on page 6. Start with the first page as my first post is often updated with new info.

Here's a limited time special offer for anyone who's heading toward Hersheypark during the month of June. Buy 2 adult tickets at Giant Markets (at the reduced price of $36.95) and get a voucher for FREE PARKING. The voucher must be used (not purchased)by June 30.

http://www.giantfoodstores.com/shareddev/sharedcontent/sp/HersheyPark08/

The savings on 2 tickets plus the parking is $32 compared to regular prices. There is a Giant Market about 2 miles west of the park along Route 39. Take the Manada Hill exit from I-81 and you drive right past it. *** Edited 6/10/2008 9:04:15 PM UTC by RatherGoodBear***

You should add Google maps to the list. I've tried the other ones myself, and found Googles mapping system much more helpful. A cool feature they added is the ability to alter your route. If you don't like a portion of the route they suggest, then just click on the spot in question, and drag it to the one you would rather take. The route will update itself to your changes.