AP Travel Columns

NEW YORK - Travelers have been able to score decent deals on hotel rooms and airfares over the last year. But car rental prices have increased dramatically despite the weak economy. Full Story »

NEW YORK - Winter is a traditionally slow season for vacation home rentals. But if you're a would-be renter, you can score terrific bargains on offseason rentals and enjoy a different type of getaway, sipping hot chocolate in front of a cozy fireplace instead of running around to see the sights. Full Story »

NEW YORK - Last spring thousands of travelers canceled trips to Mexico after a swine flu outbreak there emptied beaches and resorts. Full Story »

NEW YORK - In November, I'll be quitting my job and heading out on one of the last true adventures left on earth: Driving around the world. Full Story »

SAVANNAH, Ga. - Savannah was founded in 1733 and was one of America's first planned cities, with a series of squares and parks that can still be enjoyed today. Full Story »

WASHINGTON - Many travelers still rely on comprehensive printed guidebooks for tourism information. But travelers are also increasingly using mobile technology to plan a trip or find their way around. Full Story »

NEW YORK - There were seven wonders in the ancient world, and contests have been held to identify manmade and natural wonders of the modern world. Now a new book, "Life Wonders of the World," offers another take on the concept, profiling 50 wonders in six categories. Full Story »

PENNINGTON, N.J. - Royal Caribbean won the award for best family cruise line and Carnival won in the category of best for first-time cruisers in CruiseCritic.com's annual editors' picks awards. Full Story »

NEW YORK - San Francisco was named the best U.S. city to visit for the 17th year in a row in Conde Nast Traveler magazine's 2009 Readers' Choice Awards. Full Story »

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - The Journey Through Hallowed Ground, a historic driving route that meanders 180 miles through four states, has been named a National Scenic Byway. Full Story »

"In Search of Bacchus: Wanderings in the Wonderful World of Wine Tourism" (Scribner, 287 pages, $30), by George M. Taber: Thirty-three years ago, George M. Taber set the world of wine on fire with a four-paragraph dispatch about a tasting in France that compared the work of French vintners with those of their counterparts in California. The California wines won, and winemaking in the New World has never been the same. Full Story »

NEW YORK - Parents magazine looked at more than 100 winter resorts and came up with a list of 10 places in snowy destinations that cater to families. Full Story »

HOBOKEN, N.J. - Frommer's has just debuted a new travel guide to Honduras. Full Story »

Go online to book a hotel room, and you'll be bombarded by options from Las Vegas to Laos, in no particular order. Full Story »

NEW YORK - Even if you don't believe in ghosts, walking through a graveyard can be a little spooky — especially in autumn as the trees lose their leaves, flowers wither away and light fades in the late afternoon. Full Story »

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - No such thing as ghosts, right? But a lonely lighthouse can look a little spooky on a foggy coastline above the pounding waves. The October issue of Coastal Living magazine describes six lighthouses with haunted legends. They are: Full Story »

Haunted house attractions and ghost tours can be a lot of fun. But some things are naturally spooky, with no fake blood or recorded howls required. Full Story »

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - In this city of songs and sequins, it's not a honky-tonk. Or a recording studio. Or a Grand Ole Opry guitar. Full Story »