Author: Jeffrey Kontur

Birthday Puffins

The premise was simple enough: I wanted to take my (then)girlfriend on a trip for her birthday. I got the idea while we were on a day trip together to the National Aquarium in Baltimore. She was fascinated by the display with Atlantic Puffins. I read on the placard about...

Hiring a Driver vs. Renting a Car

I’ve touched on this idea once or twice before but let me expand a bit. I have a friend who is exceptional at finding certain types of travel bargains. I once found a rental car for $8/day. She found one in the same place for just over $1/day. That said,...

Does American Airlines have it in for Rum?

You may have seen an article I wrote a while back about how the airline lost my suitcase with a very expensive bottle of rum inside. On my last trip it happened again! Sort of. While in Martiniqué for my daughter’s annual birthday trip, we toured a rum distillery and...

The Euro to Euro Adapter

On a recent trip to Martinique, I had an interesting dilemma. I knew before going that Martinique is a province of France and that it has more in common with its European roots than with its Caribbean neighbors. With that in mind, I took my trusty voltage adapter and plug...

Gourmet Food on the Cheap

I’ve written and even posted a video before about eating well on vacation. It’s hard to do. Most places that tourists are likely to go serve far too large portions of overpriced, unhealthy food. While staying in Martiniqué recently, we rented a room from a wonderful French woman who lived...

Doing the Right Thing

“I thought you’d be mad.” “Are you kidding me?! I’m telling EVERYBODY!!!” This is the true story (as I know it) of a girl who did the right thing. My daughter was just finishing up four months of studying abroad for college. Before returning home, she and her roommate, who...

NYC on $100 a Day

Standing near the base of the Statue of Liberty and looking up into her giant green face, it struck me that I had actually done it. No one believed I could. Not even me. Yet here we were. As I looked up at the face of Lady Liberty, I felt...

Spending Like a Drunken Sailor… And Getting Change Back!

I noted in my first article on super cheap trips how I arrived at my choice to visit Bogota, Colombia in part because round trip flights to there were so ridiculously cheap. Having now completed that trip, it isn’t just the flights that are ridiculously cheap. Everything there is so...

How I Unintentionally Became an International Drug Runner

I expected armed DEA agents to kick down my door any minute. Before my trip to Peru, I got lots of advice and warnings about altitude sickness. Much of it said that drinking coca tea would help. Search though I might, I could not find any coca tea before our...

Worst (or Best) Taxi Ride Ever

You might say he was in the wrong line of work. A taxi driver whose driving skills are basic at best and who doesn’t know his way around his own city. He not only had to use GPS but also stop to ask directions. Four times! I’ll be the first...