T & L World’s Best Awards

What do Bangkok, Thailand and Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge in Orlando, Florida have in common?

They both win top honors in their categories (best city and best family hotel, respectively) by Travel & Leisure Magazine in their 2011 World’s Best Awards.

Check out the top ten list in all categories (hotels, cruises, islands, family travel and spas) here or read the article in print in the August 2011 issue of Travel & Leisure available at the Newton Free Library.

Airlines Reviewed

In July 2011, the Money & Careers section of the Boston Sunday Globe included the results of a customer satisfaction survey of  commercial airlines by Consumer Reports.

“The right fliers: as airlines tack on fees and cut frills, some carriers stand out” summarizes the opinions of the 15,000 passengers that were polled.  Southwest and Jet Blue earned top marks for overall satisfaction with US Airways trailing the list as it did in 2007.  Scores were based on check-in ease, cabin-crew service, cabin cleanliness, baggage handling, seating comfort and in-flight entertainment.

Separately, tips were offered on snagging the best fares.  Here are the suggestions:

• subscribe to airline twitter accounts
• sign up for promo codes using your frequent flier program
• book online either through an airline site or an aggregator such as Kayak or Airfarewatchdog.
• book at the right time – 21 days in advance is suggested
• be flexible on travel dates

Tripadvisor’s Top Stops

If you are need of suggestions on where to travel next, TripAdvisor has published its 2010 list of Traveler’s Choice Best Destinations.

The top spots are sorted into 10 categories, such as Culture & Sightseeing, Family and Food & Wine.  Browse by subject, or go straight to the Top 25 in the World.

Europe’s most frequently visited countries are given special attention, with a list of the Top 25 destinations in France, Italy, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom.

Which city in the world was rated Number One by TripAdvisor?  Not for the budget-minded or weak of wallet, Monte Carlo is the 2010 top choice.

Photo by ChrisGoldNy and republished here under a Creative Commons license.  Some rights reserved.