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SAVVY TRAVELER By
Irene Croft Jr.
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If you're a traveler who wants information that's more timely than what's offered in yearly guidebooks or recommendations that aren't as self-promotional as those on the Internet, consider subscribing to a travel newsletter.
There are dozens of them — some of generic interest and some that focus on a specialized type of travel. Providing updates that even a conscientious travel agent may have missed, the right newsletter can give you a leg up in your planning.
The best newsletters offer well-researched and documented material with solid, unbiased reporting. Some are the product and opinions of a single editor or in-house publishing staff, while others produce pages crammed with relevant articles and comments from seasoned travelers and feature contributors.
If you seek unadulterated consumer-oriented travel reports, tips and caveats, you'll want to direct your reading to a few invaluable newsletters. Most of the publishers make your initial decision painless by offering to send a sample copy free or for a nominal charge. And many maintain a Web site on which subscribers can access current and archived articles as well as comprehensive, indexed destination information.
Here are a few that I find the most useful.
TravelSmart has regular features on discount airfares, insider reports, deals of the month and unusual travel opportunities. This is a super resource for frugal travelers. It's $39 for a 12-issue subscription; (800) 327-3633 or www.trav elsmartnewsletter.com.
The upscale newsletter is the only consumer travel publication I know of that provides — in intimate shorthand-style — advance notice of notable new hotel, restaurant, shop and museum exhibition openings. You'll find absolutely reliable comments on the status quo of the world's renowned and esoteric establishments and believable reviews of special discoveries.
Each issue also includes two superior in-depth inserts on featured North American and international destinations. The best newsletter of its genre for serious and well-heeled travel buffs, it has an excellent online database of its past issues, reports and hotel recommendations. A 12-issue print and Web site subscription costs $89 and a Web site-only subscription is $79; (800) 542-6670 or www.pass portnewsletter.com.
Also on the market are a slew of specialized newsletter-style travel publications with a narrow focus, i.e., wine-tasting trips, study and employment abroad, worldwide luxury inns and hideaways, business travel, and travel tailored for gourmands, surfers, the disabled, scuba divers, seniors, people traveling with children, freighter buffs, skiers, and more. The number and variety of these newsletters are staggering and indicative of travel's broad appeal. Many are listed at www .newsletter access.com.
One of my favorites in the specialty category is TravLtips, the official publication of the TravLtips Cruise & Freighter Travel Association. This juicy little newsletter focuses on freighter voyages and expedition cruises, with folksy feature articles written by returned passengers.
The publisher posts several pages of detailed descriptions and prices for European barge and riverboat listings, freighter and expedition-ship listings, and for unusual cruises on larger vessels. Introductory membership fee of $20 includes six issues per year; (800) 872-8584 or www.travltips.com.
Irene Croft of Kailua, Kona, is a travel writer and 40-year veteran globetrotter. Her column is published in this section every other week.
Irene Croft Jr. of Kailua, Kona, is a travel writer and 40-year veteran globetrotter. Her column is published in this section every other week.
