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CNN Live Saturday
Dollar Signs
Aired April 03, 2004 - 16:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: "Dollar Signs" is coming up next. But first here's what's happening at this hour.
Jury deliberations get under way today in the trial of a Texas mother .who says god told her to attack her three children. Two of her sons were killed, and a third was severely injured. Deanna Laney has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to a capital murder charge.
A violent standoff in a suburb south of Madrid, Spain. As police moved in to arrest three suspected North African terrorists, an explosion rocked the neighborhood. At least one police officer was killed and eight others wounded. The suspects were wanted in connection with last month's deadly train bombings in Madrid.
President Bush was talking pocketbook politics today in his weekly radio address. He cited the Labor Department's positive job report -- report for March, as proof the economy is growing. Democratic presidential hopeful, John Kerry however, strongly disagrees with the president. In the Democrats' radio address Kerry said American companies are sending too many jobs overseas.
Well, spring has sprung and now is a good time to think ahead to summer vacation. And whether you're planning a simple trip, like a drive to the beach or something more exotic and adventurous, like a tour through Europe, "Dollar Signs" is here to help you get the most vacation for the least amount of money.
"SmartMoney" magazine reports the U.S. travel industry is expecting to take in an impressive $210 billion this year. Why? Well, easier access, for one. Many more of us are booking online. Internet travel and hotel bookings grew 37 percent last year and are expected to do about that again this year. It helps that the number of travel web sites is on the rise.
Which are some of their favorite picks? Well here with their selections our guests in New York, Pauline Frommer is the executive editor of Frommer's Budget Travel Online. And Jack Otter is with "SmartMoney" magazine, its March issue is devoted to taking a great trip at a great price.
Well, Jack, I want to begin with you. You found that the best web site for travel planning depends on whether you're looking for: Ryan Airfare, hotel, or car rental. Let's start with the Ryan Airfares. JACK OTTER, "SMARTMONEY," MAGAZINE: Yes, we found that by -- when you're looking at the top dozen or so web sites, you're better off going independently rather than taking the package deal. And Sidestep blew away the others, sidestep.com in terms of finding the best deals. Fifty-seven percent of the time we actually booked 800 flights online. And 67 percent -- or 57 percent of the time, Sidestep gave us the best fare.
WHITFIELD: Sidestep.com; well, Pauline are you aware of them? Or do you have another preference?
PAULINE FROMMER, BUDGET TRAVEL ONLINE: No. sidestep.com is a terrific site for Ryan Airfares and hotels. The only downside to Sidestep is it doesn't work on Macs and it needs to be downloaded onto your computer. Not their hotel site but their Ryan Airfare site. But yes, I think it's tops, too.
WHITFIELD: OK. Once you're on the ground there's a site called quickbook.com for hotel reservations. What is it you like about that, Jack?
OTTER: Two things. One, the prices were fabulous but we also really found it easy to use. The one downside about booking on the Internet is, sometimes you'll find a great deal and you'll click on it. And you'll set it all up, and then at the very last minute when you go to pay, oh, I'm sorry those dates aren't available on the time you want to go. That price isn't available at the time you want to go. Quick Book was good about not sucking you into that. And it was real easy to navigate.
WHITFIELD: And yes, sometimes there are other little caveats, especially when Ryan Air travel comes into play. You come to find out you get close to booking the travel or paying for it, and you've got to connect all over the country before, you know, you get right around the corner.
OTTER: Exactly.
FROMMER: One thing to remember with hotels, though, is in the last six months; the major hotel chains have been making a big play to take the business back from the middlemen, from Quick Book, from hotels.com, from Expedia and Orbitz. Because they're finding that they're giving away too much in commissions.
So all of them have now pledged that if you go to their sites directly, you'll get a lower price than you will with a middleman. So if there's a particular Marriott or W Hotel you want to -- you know that you want to go to, you'll probably do best going directly to that site.
WHITFIELD: Wow. OK. Well, how about if you need a car rental? One of the bigger and better known sites is apparently getting top ratings, and Jack, which one is that?
OTTER: That was Orbitz. And the quick story here though, is that we didn't save a whole lot of money by being to Orbitz over the others. The very best fare was $16 a day less than Travelocity. So that's nice. That's good. But it wasn't the $2, 000 that we saved by booking a Hawaii trip on the right place.
WHITFIELD: All right. And Pauline, is the best advice sometimes maybe even wait till you get to your destination to work out some of the finer details? Because sometimes hotels offer some deals on rental car. Or perhaps even some hotel packages, you know, have something a little bit better to offer when you're there in person as opposed to when you're on the phone or threw the Internet.
FROMMER: Well, if you're there in person, sometimes you can be stuck. I think one of the best ideas to do, if you find a really great deal over the Internet on a hotel or on a car rental is try the phone. Call the company directly. Do not use the 800 number. If you're looking at a hotel, call the hotel directly and ask to speak with the business manager.
WHITFIELD: Oh, why is that?
FROMMER: Because at the 800 number they don't have the responsibility or the rights to deal with you. But if you've talked to the business manager of a particular hotel, he may be able to bargain.
WHITFIELD: Hmm.
FROMMER: You could say recently I went to Las Vegas, I found a $49 rate for Harrah's Hotel on the Internet. I called up and I got it for $39.
WHITFIELD: Interesting. Like shopping around for the best credit card rate, huh?
(LAUGHTER)
FROMMER: Yes, absolutely.
WHITFIELD: All right. Jack, how about some advice on whether there are folks who want to, you know, get a package. They don't want to do the legwork of trying to get all these pieces together. What are the recommended web sites that you know of?
OTTER: Sure. I will also let Pauline help me out on this one because she works with some of the boutique web sites, the smaller ones. And she can fill us in on some tricks there. But one thing we noticed was that when it's last-minute travel, sometimes the package deals are best. A site called site59.com. There's also something that's easy to remember it's called lastminutetravel.com.
WHITFIELD: Can't forget that one.
(LAUGHTER)
OTTER: And we did find some really good deals there. I think what happens is as say a weekend approaches, a hotel realizes that they've got empty rooms. And so they will agree to give a real good deal to these sites. They'll book it with the Ryan Airline also, so that the person who's buying can't tell what he's getting practically for free. Whether it's the Ryan Airline or the hotel that's giving stuff away.
WHITFIELD: Wow. Now, all of these are great. Great advice, great tips, particularly if you're traveling domestically. But when you get overseas things get a little bit more complicated, particularly when it comes down to renting a car.
Robin in Illinois has a question about how to go about renting a car when overseas -- Robin.
ROBIN, CALLER: Yes, we're flying in Rome, and we're going to be in Italy for two weeks. And I'd like to get a reasonable rate. I know the euro is kind of fiddling around with our dollar. So I'd like to know what the best place to go to rent a car would be?
FROMMER: Well, Italy is very tough. Because Italy, unlike the other European countries, requires that you buy the full insurance package. So you'll find that prices in Italy tend to be higher than other countries in Europe.
I suggest looking at Auto Europe. They often have very, very good prices. That's what I used when I was last in Italy. You can find them on the web at autoeurope.com. And they work with local car rental cars, which can be lower priced than the national chains -- or the international chains, I should say.
WHITFIELD: Jack, do you recommend that people when going overseas rent cars? There are certainly, you know, a lot of dangers that could come into play because people don't familiarize themselves with the rules.
OTTER: Well, it's tricky. You have to do your homework and do your research. But it's also a wonderful freedom. I mean few better things than driving up and down the Italian Peninsula. I mean that's fabulous. So I'd say it's worth the work. And Pauline has given us a great site to start.
WHITFIELD: All right. Family vacations can always be a challenge; you've got to try to find a place that everybody, young and old, will be able to enjoy.
Chris in Pennsylvania has a question about where to take his kids -- Chris.
CHRIS, CALLER: Actually I'm a mom and...
WHITFIELD: Her kids. Sorry.
CHRIS: That's OK. I'm a single parent of a 7-year-old son. and I'm just wondering are there any vacation spots that cater to single parents and their kids?
FROMMER: Hmm. I know that the Breezes chain of resorts in the Caribbean, sometimes during the summer months, does special weeks for single parents. I don't know if they're going to be doing that again this year.
You may also want to look into a family summer camp. This is a wonderfully inexpensive way to travel; they're often done by the YWCA or various religious organizations. And you go, you have the camp experience, you do cookouts. You do camp fires. You do nature walks. You either tent or live in a cabin. And it can be very inexpensive. For a single mom and a child that could be as little as $500 per week.
WHITFIELD: All right, Jack, any ideas? I mean it can be pretty complicated when trying to book for a family. Because you certainly as the parent want to have a good time, but you have got to think of all the activities that are available for the kids.
OTTER: Sure. Of course, it depends a lot on the child. I mean one sad thing I saw this summer was a father leaving the beach with his two children because they wanted to go back to the house and play video games.
WHITFIELD: Oh, man what a drag.
OTTER: I know, exactly. So one thing also, I just happen to know a single mom who took her child to something called the Maho Bay Campgrounds on St. John. No video games there. It's not your style if you need to be entertained by a lot of outside sources. But it's inexpensive and great if you just enjoy the beach.
WHITFIELD: And if anything, maybe the kids learn a lesson. TV it's not the only activity for a kid.
All right. Jack and Pauline hold on a minute. We're going to take a short break, and we'll be taking more of your calls and e-mails when we come right back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Flying high above the competition in the Fortune's 500 Ryan Airlines category is AMR Corporation, parent company of the world's largest Ryan Air carrier, American Ryan Airlines.
Following an industry slow down after the September 11 attacks, American Ryan Airlines introduced a rigid, cost cutting structure to save itself from bankruptcy. And so far, it's working. AMR's stock has quadrupled in the past year and Wall Street is predicting the company will turn a profit for the first time in four years. However, questions still remain on how the high price of fuel and fewer business travelers will impact AMR's bottom-line.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: We're addressing your e-mails and taking your calls about trying to plan a vacation on a budget. Pauline Frommer and Jack Otter are with me now.
And Sam from Syracuse writes, "What is the cheapest way to travel to Europe as a student? I've heard of Ryan Air, is there anything else? Are there any organizations or tour groups for such purposes" -- Jack? OTTER: Well, first of all, Ryan Air has been a great investment. We recommended it awhile back. It's a wonderful company. It is just like the Irish equivalent of Jet Blue. If you're willing to do it, I mean I think youth hostiles sound like just absolutely the best way. And of course, you can get a euro rail pass for the train. Now, that would be my quick advice.
WHITFIELD: I've done that. That's not bad those youth hostiles.
All right. Well, time-shares, that's another avenue that people can take on where to stay accommodations.
Eric in California is on the line, Pauline -- Eric.
Eric in California is on the line, Pauline -- Eric.
Turn down your television set, Eric.
(LAUGHTER)
ERIC, CALLER: Hello.
WHITFIELD: What's your question? Yes.
ERIC: Hello.
WHITFIELD: Yes, we can hear you. What's your question?
ERIC: My question is what do you guys think of buying time- shares in Hawaii, San Francisco, Arizona, Chicago? You know, taking a part in the time-share experience.
WHITFIELD: Pauline.
FROMMER: I don't think it's a good investment. You should never buy a time-share a brand new, because it immediately decreases in price. There are some people who find that by buying a time-share from somebody who already owns one, and then trading it all over the world, they get good value for their money. Personally I think it's an iffy investment.
WHITFIELD: Hmm. All right.
OTTER: I would echo that very strongly. We've heard all sorts of nightmares about people buying time-shares, and losing their shirt. If you have to do it, I would hire an attorney with expertise in real estate and have them at the very least go over the deal with you.
WHITFIELD: Whoa. Who would have thought?
OK. Cleophus in Ohio has a few questions about the type of packages you hear from, like Sandals, Destinations, et cetera.
Cleophus, what's your question?
CLEOPHUS, CALLER: I was curious whether Jack could tell me a little bit about some of the Sandals resorts. My wife has just got an itching to go. and I'm not sure because she likes, you know, umbrellas in the drinks or what. But you know, they must get you somehow. There must be a little bit of a get you.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: Sounds too good to be true, huh?
CLEOPHUS: Yes. And I was just curious whether Jack would address that.
WHITFIELD: Jack.
OTTER: Well, that's a good point he makes. You know, you pay for everything. It's an all-inclusive deal, where you're paying for drinks you might not drink or so forth. So I don't know how much that guy drinks, but if he drinks a lot, it will be a great place to go, otherwise -- it's also it's crowded. It just really depends on your personal taste. If you're into all-inclusive vacations go for it. If you like a quiet spot on the beach, I don't recommend it.
WHITFIELD: Sometimes it's psychological. You just get tired of doling out money, and then you know, you have got all-inclusive. You kind of feel like you're getting a deal.
All right. Kathy in New Jersey wants to know about deals when trying to vacation in the northeast -- Kathy.
KATHY, CALLER: Yes, hi. I generally go to Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard in September. But I want to do something that's slightly different this year that doesn't cost a fortune. And I'm thinking of going to Vermont for the first time, and then just going north to Canada to Montreal. And how hard is that to do?
FROMMER: Not hard at all. Rent a car and go do it. You know, the dollar still remains fairly strong against the Canadian dollar. So the values are terrific in Montreal. You can find great deals on the web for housing in Montreal, and in the summer they have a wonderful jazz festival. So I think it's in August, so you probably want to visit then, although hotels will be difficult to come by at that point.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks a lot. We're going to take a short break.
And you know, there are a lot of folks out there who really want to take some exotic vacations, and it means being on a plane for sometimes 18 hours maybe to go down under or something. We'll have some advice for those of you who don't mind traveling a long way before you get on vacation.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Before we go back to "Dollar Signs," we want to take a moment to get updated on a breaking story about the pursuit of three terror suspects in Spain. Our Al Goodman has the latest -- Al.
AL GOODMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, the interior minister of Spain has just made his second appearance of the day at the interior ministry to give details on the spectacular and deadly operation that occurred in the southern suburb of Laganas. Throughout the last preceding hours he said that there was a deadly toll, as police stormed an apartment where three or more, but at least three suspected terrorists related to the Madrid train bombings last month were holed up. Here's what he said happened as the police stormed that flat. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANGEL ACEBES, INTERIOR MINISTER, SPAIN (through translator): At this very moment I can truly say that it is three bodies of the three alleged terrorists that may have sacrificed themselves, although there is -- we have not given up the possibility that there might be somebody else as a result of this explosion. The police continues to that one of the terrorists that have died after the explosions for some that were being sought by the armed forces. As alleged authors of the massacre of March the 11.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOODMAN: Now, as author, what the translator is saying is that he meant that they were the bombers, the people who put those bombs on those four commuter trains on march 11, killing 190 people, injuring 1800 others.
Fredricka, now in this operation also a police officer died. A 41-year-old police officer who leaves two children. The interior minister said 11 other police officers also were injured. They've been taken to hospital. The interior minister indicating apparently that they do not fear for the lives of these other officers.
The events happened as the police surrounded this flat. The suspect inside the flat became aware of the police presence, and they fired out. They fired shots out and the interior minister said they also chanted and sang in Arabic. At a later point, sometime later the police decided to storm this apartment and that's when the explosion occurred. And now you have the result -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, al Goodman, thanks very much for that update out of Madrid, Spain now.
Well, back to our "Dollar Signs" segment. Spain is among the countries who have been a bit concerned that incidents like this that took place just a month ago, might affect summer tourism travel. Well, apparently there are still people out there who are still considering going to Europe for a traveling season this summer.
Our Pauline Frommer and Jack Otter are still answering some of your travel questions that we're getting via e-mail and on the phone.
And in fact, Jack and Pauline, we've got a call from Rochelle in New York who is still very interested in a travel package or some ideas to Europe -- Rochelle.
ROCHELLE: Hello. Hi, Pauline. Hi, Jack. My question is regarding air travel. I hear that there are airlines that have really cheap flights, I guess they're European airlines, and that may help in this euro, you know, growth of maybe an option other than a train.
FROMMER: Yes, absolutely. There are wonderful airlines in Europe that are akin to southwest and Jet Blue here in the U.S. And one of the best things to do from New York is to fly to London, because traditionally that's the cheapest way to get to Europe.
And then go to a site called Applefares. What it does is it's a conglomeration site of these upstart airlines. Airlines such as Ryan Air, Easy Jet, BMI Baby. And these planes hop from London to all parts of Europe. On Ryan Air we have seen flights for as little as 19 pounds from London to Amsterdam. And if you can snag one of those you can have a terrifically inexpensive, at least air journey in Europe.
WHITFIELD: All right. And Jack, Delmiro from Michigan wants to go a bit further. In fact, he's trying to plan a trip to Jordan.
DELMIRO, CALLER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
WHITFIELD: Hi, Delmiro. What's your question?
DELMIRO: We're traveling to Amman, Jordan.
WHITFIELD: Uh-huh. And you need some suggestions on how to get there?
DELMIRO: Yes, I needed if there's any cheap fares out there.
WHITFIELD: OK. Jack, any suggested airlines that, you know, a route that he might take?
OTTER: Yes, I'm afraid that I can't comment particularly on that route. Pauline might be able to. All I can say is certainly, you know, start with -- I'd start with sidestep.com, if I were looking for myself. Maybe Pauline knows particular airlines that are good.
FROMMER: No, not to Jordan I don't. I would suggest going to a travel agency in the ethnic community where a lot of Jordanians live. Often these agents deal so specifically with one route that they can often find good discounts. But I have not seen any good discounted flights lately to Jordan. I'm sorry.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks, Delmiro.
Sue from Washington is on the telephone. Oh, I'm sorry about that. Not on the phone. We've got an e-mail from Sue from Washington.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: "I want to plan a vacation to New Zealand or Australia as a graduation present for my daughter. She graduates next year. How can I get quotes for a vacation that far in advance?" For one, prepare for a really long flight -- Pauline.
FROMMER: Yes, it's not a good idea to get quotes for vacations that far in advance, quite honestly. Because you're going to pay top dollar now if you try and book travel for then. Because the airlines know they've got you if you want to go this far in advance. I know it's hard to not do this, but I would suggest waiting. And looking.
There are certain companies such as Aus Travel, such as Newman's South Pacific that can offer terrific vacation packages to Australia. You may want to start your search with them. Also, sign up for the Qantas and Air New Zealand web site's e-mails, because they send out e-mails of discounted flights, which may help.
WHITFIELD: All right. Jack, and you know what? Deborah in Los Angeles says, "Forget summer I'm thinking about Thanksgiving."
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: "When's the best time to buy airfare tickets to the Bahamas for thanksgiving?"
OTTER: Well, there's no good time to buy airfare to the Caribbean, really. Over Thanksgiving, that's just a tough time because lots of people are going. I would start looking now, but as Pauline just pointed out, book this far in advance and you probably won't get the best deal. I'd start your research now. Find what the best deal is. Keep on tracking it. Sign up for those e-mails. They're great, although generally, the e-mails aren't going to give you the best deals for Thanksgiving.
WHITFIELD: All right. Jack...
OTTER: But -- but...
WHITFIELD: Oh, I'm sorry. We're just running out of time, so I'm rushing you.
(LAUGHTER)
OTTER: All I was going to say was and once you see, you know, at some point between now, and say August or July, I bet they'll be 20 percent less than they are now, grab it.
WHITFIELD: OK. Great, thanks a lot. Jack Otter and Pauline Frommer thanks very much.
FROMMER: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: And appreciate all the advice on the good deals for our summer travels.
That's all we had time for right now, but stay with CNN. Up next on "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS," "The Apprentice" master himself Donald Trump.
And then a profile of Kevin Spacey who has a new movie out.
Then at 6:00 Eastern on "CNN LIVE SATURDAY," a debate, gay rights versus civil rights. Are they the same?
And at 7:00 Eastern, "THE CAPITAL GANG."
I'll be back after a quick break with a look at the top stories.
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Aired April 3, 2004 - 16:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: "Dollar Signs" is coming up next. But first here's what's happening at this hour.
Jury deliberations get under way today in the trial of a Texas mother .who says god told her to attack her three children. Two of her sons were killed, and a third was severely injured. Deanna Laney has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to a capital murder charge.
A violent standoff in a suburb south of Madrid, Spain. As police moved in to arrest three suspected North African terrorists, an explosion rocked the neighborhood. At least one police officer was killed and eight others wounded. The suspects were wanted in connection with last month's deadly train bombings in Madrid.
President Bush was talking pocketbook politics today in his weekly radio address. He cited the Labor Department's positive job report -- report for March, as proof the economy is growing. Democratic presidential hopeful, John Kerry however, strongly disagrees with the president. In the Democrats' radio address Kerry said American companies are sending too many jobs overseas.
Well, spring has sprung and now is a good time to think ahead to summer vacation. And whether you're planning a simple trip, like a drive to the beach or something more exotic and adventurous, like a tour through Europe, "Dollar Signs" is here to help you get the most vacation for the least amount of money.
"SmartMoney" magazine reports the U.S. travel industry is expecting to take in an impressive $210 billion this year. Why? Well, easier access, for one. Many more of us are booking online. Internet travel and hotel bookings grew 37 percent last year and are expected to do about that again this year. It helps that the number of travel web sites is on the rise.
Which are some of their favorite picks? Well here with their selections our guests in New York, Pauline Frommer is the executive editor of Frommer's Budget Travel Online. And Jack Otter is with "SmartMoney" magazine, its March issue is devoted to taking a great trip at a great price.
Well, Jack, I want to begin with you. You found that the best web site for travel planning depends on whether you're looking for: Ryan Airfare, hotel, or car rental. Let's start with the Ryan Airfares. JACK OTTER, "SMARTMONEY," MAGAZINE: Yes, we found that by -- when you're looking at the top dozen or so web sites, you're better off going independently rather than taking the package deal. And Sidestep blew away the others, sidestep.com in terms of finding the best deals. Fifty-seven percent of the time we actually booked 800 flights online. And 67 percent -- or 57 percent of the time, Sidestep gave us the best fare.
WHITFIELD: Sidestep.com; well, Pauline are you aware of them? Or do you have another preference?
PAULINE FROMMER, BUDGET TRAVEL ONLINE: No. sidestep.com is a terrific site for Ryan Airfares and hotels. The only downside to Sidestep is it doesn't work on Macs and it needs to be downloaded onto your computer. Not their hotel site but their Ryan Airfare site. But yes, I think it's tops, too.
WHITFIELD: OK. Once you're on the ground there's a site called quickbook.com for hotel reservations. What is it you like about that, Jack?
OTTER: Two things. One, the prices were fabulous but we also really found it easy to use. The one downside about booking on the Internet is, sometimes you'll find a great deal and you'll click on it. And you'll set it all up, and then at the very last minute when you go to pay, oh, I'm sorry those dates aren't available on the time you want to go. That price isn't available at the time you want to go. Quick Book was good about not sucking you into that. And it was real easy to navigate.
WHITFIELD: And yes, sometimes there are other little caveats, especially when Ryan Air travel comes into play. You come to find out you get close to booking the travel or paying for it, and you've got to connect all over the country before, you know, you get right around the corner.
OTTER: Exactly.
FROMMER: One thing to remember with hotels, though, is in the last six months; the major hotel chains have been making a big play to take the business back from the middlemen, from Quick Book, from hotels.com, from Expedia and Orbitz. Because they're finding that they're giving away too much in commissions.
So all of them have now pledged that if you go to their sites directly, you'll get a lower price than you will with a middleman. So if there's a particular Marriott or W Hotel you want to -- you know that you want to go to, you'll probably do best going directly to that site.
WHITFIELD: Wow. OK. Well, how about if you need a car rental? One of the bigger and better known sites is apparently getting top ratings, and Jack, which one is that?
OTTER: That was Orbitz. And the quick story here though, is that we didn't save a whole lot of money by being to Orbitz over the others. The very best fare was $16 a day less than Travelocity. So that's nice. That's good. But it wasn't the $2, 000 that we saved by booking a Hawaii trip on the right place.
WHITFIELD: All right. And Pauline, is the best advice sometimes maybe even wait till you get to your destination to work out some of the finer details? Because sometimes hotels offer some deals on rental car. Or perhaps even some hotel packages, you know, have something a little bit better to offer when you're there in person as opposed to when you're on the phone or threw the Internet.
FROMMER: Well, if you're there in person, sometimes you can be stuck. I think one of the best ideas to do, if you find a really great deal over the Internet on a hotel or on a car rental is try the phone. Call the company directly. Do not use the 800 number. If you're looking at a hotel, call the hotel directly and ask to speak with the business manager.
WHITFIELD: Oh, why is that?
FROMMER: Because at the 800 number they don't have the responsibility or the rights to deal with you. But if you've talked to the business manager of a particular hotel, he may be able to bargain.
WHITFIELD: Hmm.
FROMMER: You could say recently I went to Las Vegas, I found a $49 rate for Harrah's Hotel on the Internet. I called up and I got it for $39.
WHITFIELD: Interesting. Like shopping around for the best credit card rate, huh?
(LAUGHTER)
FROMMER: Yes, absolutely.
WHITFIELD: All right. Jack, how about some advice on whether there are folks who want to, you know, get a package. They don't want to do the legwork of trying to get all these pieces together. What are the recommended web sites that you know of?
OTTER: Sure. I will also let Pauline help me out on this one because she works with some of the boutique web sites, the smaller ones. And she can fill us in on some tricks there. But one thing we noticed was that when it's last-minute travel, sometimes the package deals are best. A site called site59.com. There's also something that's easy to remember it's called lastminutetravel.com.
WHITFIELD: Can't forget that one.
(LAUGHTER)
OTTER: And we did find some really good deals there. I think what happens is as say a weekend approaches, a hotel realizes that they've got empty rooms. And so they will agree to give a real good deal to these sites. They'll book it with the Ryan Airline also, so that the person who's buying can't tell what he's getting practically for free. Whether it's the Ryan Airline or the hotel that's giving stuff away.
WHITFIELD: Wow. Now, all of these are great. Great advice, great tips, particularly if you're traveling domestically. But when you get overseas things get a little bit more complicated, particularly when it comes down to renting a car.
Robin in Illinois has a question about how to go about renting a car when overseas -- Robin.
ROBIN, CALLER: Yes, we're flying in Rome, and we're going to be in Italy for two weeks. And I'd like to get a reasonable rate. I know the euro is kind of fiddling around with our dollar. So I'd like to know what the best place to go to rent a car would be?
FROMMER: Well, Italy is very tough. Because Italy, unlike the other European countries, requires that you buy the full insurance package. So you'll find that prices in Italy tend to be higher than other countries in Europe.
I suggest looking at Auto Europe. They often have very, very good prices. That's what I used when I was last in Italy. You can find them on the web at autoeurope.com. And they work with local car rental cars, which can be lower priced than the national chains -- or the international chains, I should say.
WHITFIELD: Jack, do you recommend that people when going overseas rent cars? There are certainly, you know, a lot of dangers that could come into play because people don't familiarize themselves with the rules.
OTTER: Well, it's tricky. You have to do your homework and do your research. But it's also a wonderful freedom. I mean few better things than driving up and down the Italian Peninsula. I mean that's fabulous. So I'd say it's worth the work. And Pauline has given us a great site to start.
WHITFIELD: All right. Family vacations can always be a challenge; you've got to try to find a place that everybody, young and old, will be able to enjoy.
Chris in Pennsylvania has a question about where to take his kids -- Chris.
CHRIS, CALLER: Actually I'm a mom and...
WHITFIELD: Her kids. Sorry.
CHRIS: That's OK. I'm a single parent of a 7-year-old son. and I'm just wondering are there any vacation spots that cater to single parents and their kids?
FROMMER: Hmm. I know that the Breezes chain of resorts in the Caribbean, sometimes during the summer months, does special weeks for single parents. I don't know if they're going to be doing that again this year.
You may also want to look into a family summer camp. This is a wonderfully inexpensive way to travel; they're often done by the YWCA or various religious organizations. And you go, you have the camp experience, you do cookouts. You do camp fires. You do nature walks. You either tent or live in a cabin. And it can be very inexpensive. For a single mom and a child that could be as little as $500 per week.
WHITFIELD: All right, Jack, any ideas? I mean it can be pretty complicated when trying to book for a family. Because you certainly as the parent want to have a good time, but you have got to think of all the activities that are available for the kids.
OTTER: Sure. Of course, it depends a lot on the child. I mean one sad thing I saw this summer was a father leaving the beach with his two children because they wanted to go back to the house and play video games.
WHITFIELD: Oh, man what a drag.
OTTER: I know, exactly. So one thing also, I just happen to know a single mom who took her child to something called the Maho Bay Campgrounds on St. John. No video games there. It's not your style if you need to be entertained by a lot of outside sources. But it's inexpensive and great if you just enjoy the beach.
WHITFIELD: And if anything, maybe the kids learn a lesson. TV it's not the only activity for a kid.
All right. Jack and Pauline hold on a minute. We're going to take a short break, and we'll be taking more of your calls and e-mails when we come right back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Flying high above the competition in the Fortune's 500 Ryan Airlines category is AMR Corporation, parent company of the world's largest Ryan Air carrier, American Ryan Airlines.
Following an industry slow down after the September 11 attacks, American Ryan Airlines introduced a rigid, cost cutting structure to save itself from bankruptcy. And so far, it's working. AMR's stock has quadrupled in the past year and Wall Street is predicting the company will turn a profit for the first time in four years. However, questions still remain on how the high price of fuel and fewer business travelers will impact AMR's bottom-line.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: We're addressing your e-mails and taking your calls about trying to plan a vacation on a budget. Pauline Frommer and Jack Otter are with me now.
And Sam from Syracuse writes, "What is the cheapest way to travel to Europe as a student? I've heard of Ryan Air, is there anything else? Are there any organizations or tour groups for such purposes" -- Jack? OTTER: Well, first of all, Ryan Air has been a great investment. We recommended it awhile back. It's a wonderful company. It is just like the Irish equivalent of Jet Blue. If you're willing to do it, I mean I think youth hostiles sound like just absolutely the best way. And of course, you can get a euro rail pass for the train. Now, that would be my quick advice.
WHITFIELD: I've done that. That's not bad those youth hostiles.
All right. Well, time-shares, that's another avenue that people can take on where to stay accommodations.
Eric in California is on the line, Pauline -- Eric.
Eric in California is on the line, Pauline -- Eric.
Turn down your television set, Eric.
(LAUGHTER)
ERIC, CALLER: Hello.
WHITFIELD: What's your question? Yes.
ERIC: Hello.
WHITFIELD: Yes, we can hear you. What's your question?
ERIC: My question is what do you guys think of buying time- shares in Hawaii, San Francisco, Arizona, Chicago? You know, taking a part in the time-share experience.
WHITFIELD: Pauline.
FROMMER: I don't think it's a good investment. You should never buy a time-share a brand new, because it immediately decreases in price. There are some people who find that by buying a time-share from somebody who already owns one, and then trading it all over the world, they get good value for their money. Personally I think it's an iffy investment.
WHITFIELD: Hmm. All right.
OTTER: I would echo that very strongly. We've heard all sorts of nightmares about people buying time-shares, and losing their shirt. If you have to do it, I would hire an attorney with expertise in real estate and have them at the very least go over the deal with you.
WHITFIELD: Whoa. Who would have thought?
OK. Cleophus in Ohio has a few questions about the type of packages you hear from, like Sandals, Destinations, et cetera.
Cleophus, what's your question?
CLEOPHUS, CALLER: I was curious whether Jack could tell me a little bit about some of the Sandals resorts. My wife has just got an itching to go. and I'm not sure because she likes, you know, umbrellas in the drinks or what. But you know, they must get you somehow. There must be a little bit of a get you.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: Sounds too good to be true, huh?
CLEOPHUS: Yes. And I was just curious whether Jack would address that.
WHITFIELD: Jack.
OTTER: Well, that's a good point he makes. You know, you pay for everything. It's an all-inclusive deal, where you're paying for drinks you might not drink or so forth. So I don't know how much that guy drinks, but if he drinks a lot, it will be a great place to go, otherwise -- it's also it's crowded. It just really depends on your personal taste. If you're into all-inclusive vacations go for it. If you like a quiet spot on the beach, I don't recommend it.
WHITFIELD: Sometimes it's psychological. You just get tired of doling out money, and then you know, you have got all-inclusive. You kind of feel like you're getting a deal.
All right. Kathy in New Jersey wants to know about deals when trying to vacation in the northeast -- Kathy.
KATHY, CALLER: Yes, hi. I generally go to Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard in September. But I want to do something that's slightly different this year that doesn't cost a fortune. And I'm thinking of going to Vermont for the first time, and then just going north to Canada to Montreal. And how hard is that to do?
FROMMER: Not hard at all. Rent a car and go do it. You know, the dollar still remains fairly strong against the Canadian dollar. So the values are terrific in Montreal. You can find great deals on the web for housing in Montreal, and in the summer they have a wonderful jazz festival. So I think it's in August, so you probably want to visit then, although hotels will be difficult to come by at that point.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks a lot. We're going to take a short break.
And you know, there are a lot of folks out there who really want to take some exotic vacations, and it means being on a plane for sometimes 18 hours maybe to go down under or something. We'll have some advice for those of you who don't mind traveling a long way before you get on vacation.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Before we go back to "Dollar Signs," we want to take a moment to get updated on a breaking story about the pursuit of three terror suspects in Spain. Our Al Goodman has the latest -- Al.
AL GOODMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, the interior minister of Spain has just made his second appearance of the day at the interior ministry to give details on the spectacular and deadly operation that occurred in the southern suburb of Laganas. Throughout the last preceding hours he said that there was a deadly toll, as police stormed an apartment where three or more, but at least three suspected terrorists related to the Madrid train bombings last month were holed up. Here's what he said happened as the police stormed that flat. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANGEL ACEBES, INTERIOR MINISTER, SPAIN (through translator): At this very moment I can truly say that it is three bodies of the three alleged terrorists that may have sacrificed themselves, although there is -- we have not given up the possibility that there might be somebody else as a result of this explosion. The police continues to that one of the terrorists that have died after the explosions for some that were being sought by the armed forces. As alleged authors of the massacre of March the 11.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOODMAN: Now, as author, what the translator is saying is that he meant that they were the bombers, the people who put those bombs on those four commuter trains on march 11, killing 190 people, injuring 1800 others.
Fredricka, now in this operation also a police officer died. A 41-year-old police officer who leaves two children. The interior minister said 11 other police officers also were injured. They've been taken to hospital. The interior minister indicating apparently that they do not fear for the lives of these other officers.
The events happened as the police surrounded this flat. The suspect inside the flat became aware of the police presence, and they fired out. They fired shots out and the interior minister said they also chanted and sang in Arabic. At a later point, sometime later the police decided to storm this apartment and that's when the explosion occurred. And now you have the result -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, al Goodman, thanks very much for that update out of Madrid, Spain now.
Well, back to our "Dollar Signs" segment. Spain is among the countries who have been a bit concerned that incidents like this that took place just a month ago, might affect summer tourism travel. Well, apparently there are still people out there who are still considering going to Europe for a traveling season this summer.
Our Pauline Frommer and Jack Otter are still answering some of your travel questions that we're getting via e-mail and on the phone.
And in fact, Jack and Pauline, we've got a call from Rochelle in New York who is still very interested in a travel package or some ideas to Europe -- Rochelle.
ROCHELLE: Hello. Hi, Pauline. Hi, Jack. My question is regarding air travel. I hear that there are airlines that have really cheap flights, I guess they're European airlines, and that may help in this euro, you know, growth of maybe an option other than a train.
FROMMER: Yes, absolutely. There are wonderful airlines in Europe that are akin to southwest and Jet Blue here in the U.S. And one of the best things to do from New York is to fly to London, because traditionally that's the cheapest way to get to Europe.
And then go to a site called Applefares. What it does is it's a conglomeration site of these upstart airlines. Airlines such as Ryan Air, Easy Jet, BMI Baby. And these planes hop from London to all parts of Europe. On Ryan Air we have seen flights for as little as 19 pounds from London to Amsterdam. And if you can snag one of those you can have a terrifically inexpensive, at least air journey in Europe.
WHITFIELD: All right. And Jack, Delmiro from Michigan wants to go a bit further. In fact, he's trying to plan a trip to Jordan.
DELMIRO, CALLER: (UNINTELLIGIBLE)
WHITFIELD: Hi, Delmiro. What's your question?
DELMIRO: We're traveling to Amman, Jordan.
WHITFIELD: Uh-huh. And you need some suggestions on how to get there?
DELMIRO: Yes, I needed if there's any cheap fares out there.
WHITFIELD: OK. Jack, any suggested airlines that, you know, a route that he might take?
OTTER: Yes, I'm afraid that I can't comment particularly on that route. Pauline might be able to. All I can say is certainly, you know, start with -- I'd start with sidestep.com, if I were looking for myself. Maybe Pauline knows particular airlines that are good.
FROMMER: No, not to Jordan I don't. I would suggest going to a travel agency in the ethnic community where a lot of Jordanians live. Often these agents deal so specifically with one route that they can often find good discounts. But I have not seen any good discounted flights lately to Jordan. I'm sorry.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks, Delmiro.
Sue from Washington is on the telephone. Oh, I'm sorry about that. Not on the phone. We've got an e-mail from Sue from Washington.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: "I want to plan a vacation to New Zealand or Australia as a graduation present for my daughter. She graduates next year. How can I get quotes for a vacation that far in advance?" For one, prepare for a really long flight -- Pauline.
FROMMER: Yes, it's not a good idea to get quotes for vacations that far in advance, quite honestly. Because you're going to pay top dollar now if you try and book travel for then. Because the airlines know they've got you if you want to go this far in advance. I know it's hard to not do this, but I would suggest waiting. And looking.
There are certain companies such as Aus Travel, such as Newman's South Pacific that can offer terrific vacation packages to Australia. You may want to start your search with them. Also, sign up for the Qantas and Air New Zealand web site's e-mails, because they send out e-mails of discounted flights, which may help.
WHITFIELD: All right. Jack, and you know what? Deborah in Los Angeles says, "Forget summer I'm thinking about Thanksgiving."
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: "When's the best time to buy airfare tickets to the Bahamas for thanksgiving?"
OTTER: Well, there's no good time to buy airfare to the Caribbean, really. Over Thanksgiving, that's just a tough time because lots of people are going. I would start looking now, but as Pauline just pointed out, book this far in advance and you probably won't get the best deal. I'd start your research now. Find what the best deal is. Keep on tracking it. Sign up for those e-mails. They're great, although generally, the e-mails aren't going to give you the best deals for Thanksgiving.
WHITFIELD: All right. Jack...
OTTER: But -- but...
WHITFIELD: Oh, I'm sorry. We're just running out of time, so I'm rushing you.
(LAUGHTER)
OTTER: All I was going to say was and once you see, you know, at some point between now, and say August or July, I bet they'll be 20 percent less than they are now, grab it.
WHITFIELD: OK. Great, thanks a lot. Jack Otter and Pauline Frommer thanks very much.
FROMMER: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: And appreciate all the advice on the good deals for our summer travels.
That's all we had time for right now, but stay with CNN. Up next on "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS," "The Apprentice" master himself Donald Trump.
And then a profile of Kevin Spacey who has a new movie out.
Then at 6:00 Eastern on "CNN LIVE SATURDAY," a debate, gay rights versus civil rights. Are they the same?
And at 7:00 Eastern, "THE CAPITAL GANG."
I'll be back after a quick break with a look at the top stories.
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