The Seven Lessons of Summer 2007
September 7, 2007. While vacationers continued to enjoy luxury vacation rentals, this summer's travel news was full of stories-not all of them good- about passports, gas prices and air travel. National Geographic Travel ombudsman Christopher Elliot had a column on CNN.com about seven lessons he learned this summer.
His first lesson: Always apply for your passport early. In case you missed it, Americans returning from Canada , Mexico, and the Caribbean will soon be required to show their passports upon reentry to the country.
Elliot also hammers air travel. All things considered, he said, airfares are low and safety records are good. But delays, cancellations and customer service are only going to get worse, he said. The Transportation Security Administration isn't exactly in tip-top shape, either, he notes.
Of course, most Americans will drive, he notes, and gas prices didn't thwart many vacations, as much as we love to grumble about them. Gas prices also took a recent downturn he drops.
All the more reason to stay on this side of the pond, according to Elliot. With the Euro continuing to hammer the dollar, it's getting downright expensive to visit Europe. And their air travel woes are worse than ours!
