What to do when you can’t sit together on a plane

What to do when you can’t sit together on a plane

Parents increasingly complain they can’t get seats next to their children — even 3 year olds — on packed flights. Those booking through online travel sites may not realize the seats are unassigned. (It is always wise to call an airline directly or check the airline’s site.)

Don’t freak out like I do before your next family trip!

Don’t freak out like I do before your next family trip!

No matter how organized I think I am, no matter where we’re going, a few days before, I’m in pre-trip freak out mode when no one else in the family is the least bit worried that snow might derail flights (that’s happened) or we’ll have enough food for an upcoming sailing trip. (We’ve never gone hungry, my husband reminds us.)

Despite high gas prices, families will hit the road this summer

Despite high gas prices, families will hit the road this summer

This summer, with every electronic accoutrement and despite high gas prices — the current national average price for a gallon of regular, unleaded gasoline is $3.95, $1.04 more than last year — most of us will still hit the road, according to AAA, though nearly four in 10 of us will adjust our travel plans as a result, suggests a new survey from TripAdvisor

Staycation again? Families say ‘not so much’ in 2011

Staycation again? Families say ‘not so much’ in 2011

Let’s hear it for the good old American vacation. We deserve it. We need it. And we’re not going to let gas prices keep us home. AAA says nearly 35 million of us will be traveling this Memorial Day holiday weekend, most by car and despite gas prices that are more than $1 higher than last year. The national average price for regular gasoline is $3.91, compared to $2.85 this time last year.

Know your passenger rights

Know your passenger rights

You and your kids should no longer be stuck on a tarmac for hours on end — thanks to brand new government regulations. The new Department of Transportation rules that have just gone into effect mandate that passengers on domestic flights be allowed to get off a plane after three hours on the tarmac

Travel insurance can save your vacation when trouble strikes

Travel insurance can save your vacation when trouble strikes

/uploadedImages/images_upload/2011_Q1_Uploaded_Images/Travel insurance can save your trip.jpgI hate to tell you this wasn’t the first time I found myself in the ER on a vacation where travel insurance more than paid for itself in out-of-pocket expenses. You might think travel insurance is for those taking a cruise or an exotic vacation, but according to the U.S. Travel Insurance Association, a growing number of families agree with me

When the best-laid travel plans go awry

When the best-laid travel plans go awry

For us, that meant enjoying a quiet “staycation” after Christmas instead of taking a much-anticipated diving trip to Grand Turk Island. Though our flight was scheduled two days after the Christmas blizzard that crippled the East Coast, we thought we were good to go and left our house that morning boarding passes in hand. But in the hour it took us to get to JFK our flight was canceled and we couldn’t get another for several days. Work schedules dictated we cancel the trip.