Q: Do you know any company that still does the Laughlin bus tours from Phoenix?
- Christianna Skowronski-Tuminello, personal vacation consultant, Our Vacation Center
A: Yes, but . . . do I get a cut of your commission if I answer?
The Good Times Bus operates with the Aquarius Casino Resort in Laughlin, Nev. Prices range from $52.24 to $170, and that includes the bus, one or two nights at the hotel and a dinner buffet. (For those with long Laughlin memories, this was once Flamingo Bus Tours.) Details: 800-352-6464 or acepllc.com.
If your client wishes to charter a whole bus, Triple J Tours does that. Details: lasvegasbus.com.
By the way, I'm happy to accept my percentage of the commission in cookie dough. Or strudel.
Into cars? A "Car Tourism in Germany" online story has compiled links to the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart (which features the Jurassic Park "Lost World" SUV and a display about the Wunder Baum pine-tree air freshener); Volkswagen's Transparent Factory in Dresden, a glory of towering glass; the Nürburgring racetrack southwest of Cologne, where you can drive on the track or ride in a "race taxi" with a professional race driver; and more. Details: europeforvisitors.com, then enter "Car Tourism in Germany" in the search window.
Prefer human-powered wheels? Perhaps you'll like Fat Tire Bike Tours; alas, no, you don't follow a tour guide with an ale in your hand. The company offers bicycle tours of Barcelona, Berlin, London and Paris. It uses the big, comfy touring bikes (hence the "fat tire") and offers a calorie-burning justification for getting the local-specialty dessert at dinner. Details: fattirebiketours.com.
Too much effort? Then look at City Segway Tours. You can zip around any of eight cities (Atlanta; Berlin; Budapest, Hungary; Chicago; Paris; San Francisco; Vienna; and Washington, D.C.) accompanied by a guide. Details: citysegwaytours.com.
That last one seems cool from a techie point of view, but I'm not sure rolling around on a Segway is really how I picture visiting Paris and other chic foreign cities. It would certainly help with travel fatigue, but you'd also have to give up any hope of blending in or looking as charming as the city you're tooling around. Unless you were Audrey Hepburn, and really, so few of us can make that claim.
Q: Dear sir: In a recent Travel section, you had an article on an interesting backpack, which had packs that were on each side of a person rather than on the back. Is it possible to get the Web site for this item?
- Marc Weiner
A: First off, I'm a woman, but we'll let that "sir" slide. It has a whiff of Battlestar Galactica gender equality to it.
Anyway, the funky-looking BackTpack (pictured) is $65 and available at backtpack.com. I think it looks like saddle bags or a combination purse/skydiving harness, but I imagine your back will thank you for it.
The original McClatchy Newspapers item that ran on Aug. 31 said the BackTpack's downside is that you have to take it off to sit in a chair with arms or to drive. Um . . . don't you have to do that with just about any backpack? Maybe that explains some of the crazy drivers on the freeway.
Have a travel question? E-mail traveleditor@arizonarepublic.com. Put "Compass Points" in the subject line, and include your name and city.
- Christianna Skowronski-Tuminello, personal vacation consultant, Our Vacation Center
A: Yes, but . . . do I get a cut of your commission if I answer?
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The Good Times Bus operates with the Aquarius Casino Resort in Laughlin, Nev. Prices range from $52.24 to $170, and that includes the bus, one or two nights at the hotel and a dinner buffet. (For those with long Laughlin memories, this was once Flamingo Bus Tours.) Details: 800-352-6464 or acepllc.com.
If your client wishes to charter a whole bus, Triple J Tours does that. Details: lasvegasbus.com.
By the way, I'm happy to accept my percentage of the commission in cookie dough. Or strudel.
Vroom with a view
If you're tired of walking tours at museums, check out these fun ideas.Into cars? A "Car Tourism in Germany" online story has compiled links to the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart (which features the Jurassic Park "Lost World" SUV and a display about the Wunder Baum pine-tree air freshener); Volkswagen's Transparent Factory in Dresden, a glory of towering glass; the Nürburgring racetrack southwest of Cologne, where you can drive on the track or ride in a "race taxi" with a professional race driver; and more. Details: europeforvisitors.com, then enter "Car Tourism in Germany" in the search window.
Prefer human-powered wheels? Perhaps you'll like Fat Tire Bike Tours; alas, no, you don't follow a tour guide with an ale in your hand. The company offers bicycle tours of Barcelona, Berlin, London and Paris. It uses the big, comfy touring bikes (hence the "fat tire") and offers a calorie-burning justification for getting the local-specialty dessert at dinner. Details: fattirebiketours.com.
Too much effort? Then look at City Segway Tours. You can zip around any of eight cities (Atlanta; Berlin; Budapest, Hungary; Chicago; Paris; San Francisco; Vienna; and Washington, D.C.) accompanied by a guide. Details: citysegwaytours.com.
That last one seems cool from a techie point of view, but I'm not sure rolling around on a Segway is really how I picture visiting Paris and other chic foreign cities. It would certainly help with travel fatigue, but you'd also have to give up any hope of blending in or looking as charming as the city you're tooling around. Unless you were Audrey Hepburn, and really, so few of us can make that claim.
Q: Dear sir: In a recent Travel section, you had an article on an interesting backpack, which had packs that were on each side of a person rather than on the back. Is it possible to get the Web site for this item?
- Marc Weiner
A: First off, I'm a woman, but we'll let that "sir" slide. It has a whiff of Battlestar Galactica gender equality to it.
Anyway, the funky-looking BackTpack (pictured) is $65 and available at backtpack.com. I think it looks like saddle bags or a combination purse/skydiving harness, but I imagine your back will thank you for it.
The original McClatchy Newspapers item that ran on Aug. 31 said the BackTpack's downside is that you have to take it off to sit in a chair with arms or to drive. Um . . . don't you have to do that with just about any backpack? Maybe that explains some of the crazy drivers on the freeway.
Have a travel question? E-mail traveleditor@arizonarepublic.com. Put "Compass Points" in the subject line, and include your name and city.
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