Kansas City Star: Travel

New Zealand is a gorgeous setting for exploring nature and culture

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:15 CST

ROTORUA, New Zealand | As I tumbled down the mountainside in a giant beach ball filled with water, feeling like I was in a washing machine, it occurred to me that there had to be a better way to experience New Zealand. Actually, that didn’t occur to me until after the Zorb stopped rolling and my screams subsided into laughter.

Christopher Elliott | Dirty sheets push hotel guest to the limit

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:15 CST

Q. I'm trying to get compensation for a hotel stay that didn't meet my expectations. But all I've gotten so far is an empty apology. I hope you can do better.

Arizona wineries are growing

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 22:15 CST

Grapes aren’t supposed to grow in the desert. But here in this southern Arizona town, surrounded by endless, rolling green and amber hills, the Callaghan family is de-stemming gigantic bins of grapes that will eventually produce a nice Petit Verdot.

2010 will be year of the deal

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 22:15 CST

If you thought the travel bargains were unbelievable this year, just wait until 2010. I’m aware that this prediction flies in the face of conventional wisdom. I mean, how many travel experts have you seen on TV warning that the deals are going, going, gone?

World's largest cruise ship offers a boatload of firsts

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 22:15 CDT

There’s a story about a grizzled foreign correspondent in Asia who once was taken to task over a taxi fare on an expense report. He defended it as routine, but the accountants pointed out that he had been reporting from an aircraft carrier at sea on the day in question. Without missing a beat, the correspondent growled, “Well, do you know how big those things are?”

Christopher Elliott | Where's the car rental logic in this: One fewer day costs three times as much?

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 22:15 CDT

Q. My car rental company has more than tripled the rate it charged me. I had prepaid $390 for the car through Alamo’s Web site. When my flight was canceled, I called Alamo to tell it I could not get the car until the next day. I was told that my reservation would be held for 24 hours. I picked up the car the next day and returned it on time. When I dropped off the rental, a representative said the computer system was down. When I got my bill the next month, there was an extra $1,116 charge because of the late pick up.

Ry Cooder on mission to resurrect California of his youth

Sat, 06 Dec 2008 22:15 CST

When Ry Cooder and I got to El Mirage Dry Lake, it was 110 degrees and heading to 117, hot enough to cook your head inside your hat. The Mojave Desert in daylight will cut the gizzard right out of you, Tom Joad once said, which is why the Okies crossed it at night.

2008 travel photo contest: A field of winners

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 22:15 CDT

Decisions, decisions, decisions. Our judges had their hands full selecting the top winners for this year's vacation photo contest because the quality of the entries was so good.

Badlands National Park teems with nice surprises

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 22:15 CDT

BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK, S.D. | Marcia McMacken stepped off the boardwalk and took a long look at the sweeping scene around her — bright green meadows in front, craggy tan peaks and deep forbidding canyons behind. She was clearly enamored.

Last chance to enter our annual photo contest

Sat, 10 May 2008 22:15 CDT

Several years ago I was traveling through the Missouri Ozarks when I came across a 100-year-old grist mill near Eminence. It was a rustic structure perched on the edge of a turquoise spring.

THE RULES

Sat, 10 May 2008 22:15 CDT

The Kansas City Star’s Travel Photo Contest is open to amateur photographers of any age who are residents of Missouri or Kansas.

‘Twilight' fans flock Washington town where novels are set

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:15 CST

FORKS, Wash. | For some reason, Randy Lato’s Vampire Voyages boat trips just haven’t brought in the big tourist bucks yet. He hasn’t quite worked out a plausible connection between fishing and the fictional “Twilight” series that author Stephenie Meyer set in this little Olympic Peninsula town.

Travel Troubleshooter | Complex flight plan was unnecessary

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:15 CST

Q I need your help untangling a flight problem that involves Hotwire, US Airways, United Airlines and Frontier Airlines. A few months ago, we were supposed to fly from Los Angeles to Dallas on US Airways and Frontier. Our first outbound flight was a code-share flight operated by United. We checked in at the US Airways counter with plenty of time before our flight. After we waited in line, a representative sent us to the United Airlines check-in area, across the airport. It didn’t matter; our flight to Las Vegas was canceled because of severe weather. At that point, a United representative told us our flight had been rescheduled for the next day.