On Travel

On Travel is a weekly column about being a smarter traveler. It covers practical travel advice for the readers of USA Today and the USA Today Network. If you’re interested in publishing this feature, please contact Elliott directly at chris@elliott.org or (202) 370-7934.

You can learn a lot about travel from a volcano. That’s what Rick Hazlett, a volcanologist and professor emeritus of environmental analysis and geology at Pomona College, will tell you – and he’s right.

Hazlett led one of the response teams during last spring’s volcanic eruption in Hawaii. His group coordinated with civil defense and law enforcement to help keep residents safe from Kilauea’s erupting fissures and lava flows.

What can a shield volcano in the middle of the Pacific teach you about being a better traveler? Plenty, says Hazlett.
Read more “Travel lessons from a Hawaiian volcano”

When Kathryn Valdes travels somewhere for more than a week, she skips a hotel and rents an apartment or vacation rental instead.

“An apartment has a kitchen and a sitting area to gather,” says Valdes, a retired program manager from Mahomet, Illinois. “A hotel has no private area to relax with others.”
Read more “Should you ditch your vacation rental for an extended-stay hotel?”

It’s the time of year when regular travelers come face to face with young partygoers trying to escape the cold. But is it possible to get along with spring breakers when you’re on the road?

Seth Beckerman, a consultant from Pittsburgh, remembers a recent confrontation with a crowd of young spring breakers at a Key West, Florida, hotel.
Read more “Travelers vs. spring breakers: How to avoid a conflict”