Great travel links for 04.21.2008

Our roundup of useful travel info:

** For my US readers who are considering blowing that tax refund on travel (I’m already seeing articles about where to visit to spend it) I offer a few spring/summer ideas….

• In the US, take the kids to volunteer in New Orleans, find the secret cupcakes of Pittsburgh, take a bike trip along the Underground Railroad, check out the Frommer’s 9 favorite Las Vegas family experiences or this article on finding kid-friendly Las Vegas, visit the freshwater springs of northern Florida and keep that Hawaii vacation affordable.
• Consider a family cruise; it might be just the ticket if you have teens. Another way to hit the water is in a houseboat.
• Outside the US, there is certainly kid stuff in Malaysia, stay inexpensively in Europe at Eurocamps or with a home rental or home swap, explore Cape Verde with your family, and look through this guide to India for first-time visitors.

Just make sure you program your cell phone with these 10 handy numbers, pack the family road trip must-haves and remember to properly thank your hosts if you stay in someone’s home.

Send me a postcard, would you?

** Are you a pretty good amateur travel photographer? Send your best into the Remarkable Photo Contest (deadline is 31 May.)

** Oh, the pain of air travel these days makes me really wish that we had a decent train system in the US.

• Top ten things to do when you’re stranded at an airport (with children)
• One advantage of air travel with kids: they have a luggage allowance, so use it wisely.
• It’s written for business travelers, but Joe Brancatelli’s advice on avoiding certain airports, airlines and times of the month is still great advice.
• Planes fly faster but it takes longer than it did in 1988 to get from gate to gate.
• I’d avoid booking on Alitalia, if I were you….
• If you insist on Walt Disney World and central Florida, here’s how to find the cheapest airfare to Orlando, and know when to stay at Disney resorts for the lowest rates.
• Despite their annoyances, cut-rate air carriers are still our favorite.

** Thinking about Latin America?

• Get travel expert (and Dad) Tim Leffel’s new guidebook to Mexico and Central America.
• ….and take his advice on exploring the other Mexico, among other places.
• Here’s Latin America on a budget, from About.com.

** Budget Travel says to give it up for the tourist traps that you love.

** National parks in the US have always been good for families; here are some money-saving tips for the parks, special deals & events for National Parks Week, there’s specific advice on a Frommer’s thread for taking a little one to Zion, and your state parks are getting onto the wireless bandwagon so everyone can still check their email from the tent/cabin.

** Go fly a kite with the kids, for Earth Day.

** In the Midwest, there are special offers at the Truman Presidential Library in Independence, Missouri, special offers in Kansas City and hotels in Chicago (plus 3-day Chicago getaways,) family-friendly adventures in Illinois and even a taste of France at the 38th annual rendezvous at Fort de Chartres.

** Finally, in honor of National Tire Safety Week (April 20-26), I encourage my road trippers to be “tire smart” to save money and energy (with better fuel economy from correctly inflated tires) and to save lives. The Pep Boys auto shops will be offering free tire pressure checks in all stores across the country April 20-26. Their PR folks say I’ve been named one of their Tire Safety Gurus (why, thank you….) so if you want to check your own pressure, just open the driver’s side door of your car and look at the door frame. A sticker there will tell you the proper cold temp pressure for your vehicle’s tires. Look carefully; the front and back tires may have different suggested pressures. That’s what you use, not the pressure on the actual tire sidewalls. Such a guru am I….:)

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