MICHIGAN TRAVEL NEWS

Latest Local & International Travel News, Guides, Information & Planning Tips

If you haven't received your invite to a White House dinner yet either, or even the governor's mansion, know we can at least drink like our leaders with at the tasting room or inn at Black Star Farms in Suttons Bay.

The winery's nectar-like A Capella Riesling ice wine was served at the recent White House Governors Dinner, paired with huckleberry cobbler with caramel ice wine.

Two sample tastes can be had with the $5 paid reserve tasting at the winery, or free with a stay at the luxury ranch-style inn. The wine's even on sale at the moment, though still a luxury item at $80 for a half-bottle (down from the regular price of $92.50).

Ever watched the frigid harvest, though, as you can here on video, and you'll know why each sip's like gold. Ice wine grapes are picked when they're frozen, while sugar's most concentrated. Each ice wine grape yields a single drop of concentrated juice.

It's just been a few hours since Slumdog Millionaire swept the Oscars, and Mumbai, India is already being called one of the top 10 movie-inspired travel destinations, ranking even above the "Sound of Music's" Salzburg.

Slum tours are booming, even though this first-hand account shows the mixed feelings that even residents who stand to profit have about the film.

Here's a Newsweek blogger's roundup of the best deals to this year's Oscar-inspired destinations, among them Barcelona and San Francisco. Modern-day Berlin, incidentally, where parts of "The Reader" were filmed, was named one of Expedia's top 10 destinations to visit a> in 2009.

It takes a bit of a gambler - or someone pretty uncertain about the economy (which would be most of us!) - to wait until the month before to book a trip on what's traditionally one of the busiest travel weeks of the year.

So, did holding out result in great last-minute deals? Or all the seats gone? Looks like it's a little bit of both, at least when you're talking the cheapest seats on prime travel days - the ones I'm on the hunt for. Here's where I've had the best luck in finding flights of around $200 r/t (domestic) or $300 (international, given higher taxes and fees):

Continue reading "Are spring break late-comers out of luck? This deal hunter's not giving up yet" »

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Hoop dreams hit Indianapolis hard in March with the Big Ten men's and women's basketball tournaments March 5-March 15. The city is hosting 38 games in 31 days, counting the Pacers, state high school playoffs and the NCAA Men's Regionals (Sweet 16).

So what's the one bit of information alumni of a Big Ten school need to make the most of the madness?

Continue reading "Hoop it up during Indianapolis basketball tournaments" »

GULF SHORES, Ala. -- When my children were young, winter vacations were simple. All we needed was a hotel with a pool located someplace sunny and warm. But now that they're older, everyone has different interests, making negotiating a compromise a challenge.

That's what makes Alabama's Gulf Coast perfect. There's biking for my husband, the beach for my 15-year-old daughter, tee times for my college-aged son and hiking, kayaking and a historic Southern town for me. Plus -- since family vacation should mean family time -- there's a list of activities we can enjoy together, and all at very little cost.

Continue reading "Alabama's Gulf Coast easy on the family budget" »

LANSING--The pickup pulled up to the ski resort literally stuffed full of people. When it stopped, a mess of 13 people with ski equipment poured out of the cab and bed of the overloaded vehicle and headed off to purchase their lift tickets for $3.84 each.

Such was the scene at Shanty Creek's Schuss Mountain on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, according to Lindsey Southwell, the public relations manager for the resort in Bellaire.

Southwell said the "sardine special" was a promotion where the resort sold lift tickets to as many people as could fit into a vehicle for $50. The bargain on lift tickets, which usually cost between $32 and $50 each, drew crowds three times larger than on the holiday last year, Southwell said.

The "sardine special" is just one example of how many Michigan businesses are creatively enticing tourists to continue spending despite the poor economy.

Continue reading "Some tourism enterprises shine despite economic gloom" »

Book and pay for a flight then get involuntary laid off from your full-time job, then JetBlue, with several departures from Chicago, will provide a full refund - for you and those you were planning to travel with.

The just-announced move is a response, officials said, to the fact that so many passengers were waiting until the last minute to buy tickets, something this writer (who didn't feel comfortably buying a Spring Break flight months ago and still has yet to book) can relate to.

Continue reading "Jet Blue offers layoff refund program" »

Shanty Creek is calling this weekend's special a recession-time bail out for skiers and snowboarders. It's also a low-key kickoff to a year of 40th anniversary specials.

Whatever the prompt, we'll take the special $40/night room rates offered Friday and Saturday night and unbeatable Sunday lift ticket special - four for $40, or $10 per skier or snowboarder.

Continue reading "Book this ski deal" »

Don't bother slipping this year's Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition into your Geometry book. Just look up next time a Southwest Airline jet's flying overhead, and you'll see larger than life cover model Bar Refaeli gracing SW aircraft N922WN. When the airline announced the uniquely outfitted addition to its fleet, the Today Show's Matt Lauer wondered about the likely distraction to air traffic control. But that wasn't the only unusual travel story of the week. Continue reading "Travel oddities of the week" »

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- An Ohio-based tour company is offering a mini version of the "The Amazing Race" reality TV series, which debuts its 14th competition tonight on CBS. Competitours, of Cleveland, this summer is launching three "sightdoing" team travel contests of various lengths with grand prizes of a worldwide travel spree.

Continue reading "New Cleveland-based tours are mini versions of 'Amazing Race'" »