Togetherness pays
One of the latest travel trends is three-generation journeys, wherein grandparents, parents and children take off together to see what wonders await. If they head to California, they’ll find not only wonders aplenty but savings, too, courtesy of the AARP (formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons) and the California Office of Tourism.
The California Family Savings Card, free to AARP members, offers travel and entertainment discounts at more than 70 attractions and cultural venues throughout California. There are also special rates from Amtrak for travel within California.
The attractions range from Disneyland to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and the deals range from 2-for-1 admission to free entry for children with each paid adult.
AARP members can get a card by calling 800-424-3410. The card is good through Dec. 31. Details are available at www.aarp.org/calfamily.
Venice values
A card for visitors to Venice, Italy, that covers use of public transportation, including canal boats, plus admission to many museums, is being sold by Select Italy. The card costs about $25 for one day, $41 for three days and $57 for seven days, plus a $10 service charge.
For more details, call 800-877-1755 or see www.selectitaly.com.
Expanded offerings
RCI Holiday Network, a huge time-share company, is teaming up with LastMinuteTravel Network, which offers last-minute deals on its Web site at www.lastminutetravel.com.
RCI has more than 80,000 units around the world. The company also has a partnership with www.trip.com to book vacation-property rentals up to a year in advance.
Timetables at hand
Delta customers can now access electronic timetables via Palm Pilots and other pocket PC devices that let them enter dates and destinations and view flight itineraries.
Visit www.delta.com for details. Click on “Flight Schedules” under “Links” on the left side of the home page.
Take the train
One way to save while avoiding stress and traffic is to take the train to or from the airport, writes world traveler Tom Bross of Boston in the Travel Smart newsletter.
Besides Chicago, Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, New York City, Los Angeles and Washington are among the many cities that have easy and inexpensive rapid-transit links to airports.
“`You’ll cut your travel time by 50 percent and your taxi fare by more,” the newsletter notes. “If you’re a senior citizen, ask about reduced fares.”
For more information about Travel Smart, call 800-327-3633.
