Road Trip: Maine's Mid-Coast

Even for non-fishermen, life on the Maine seashore revolves around the water--and you don't need a lighthouse to find a view worth marveling at

I've always hated lobster. My memories of childhood vacations in Maine are clouded by recollections of sitting grumpily at the picnic table of lobster shacks, morosely longing for a hamburger. My girlfriend, Frances, was of another mind. She prepared for our drive up Maine's Mid-Coast--from Portland to Penobscot Bay--by trying to work out ways to incorporate lobster into every meal, including breakfast. I was far more eager to revisit the Maine I loved from my past: offshore islands, Victorian fishing villages, the gargantuan L.L. Bean flagship store, and meandering drives along the narrow peninsulas...

  

Don't Leave Your Pictures Trapped In Your Camera Forever

New programs let you create cool DVD slide shows and coffee-table photo albums

Used to be, when you came home from a vacation with 5 or 10 rolls of film, a quick trip to the Fotomat and a blank wall were all you needed to bore your friends with a living room slide show. These days, you return with memory cards filled with hundreds of digital images to dump onto your hard drive. Before you know it, your computer is crammed with thousands of files, all unhelpfully named something along the lines of DSCN970116b.jpg. Your photos are stored in a maze of subfolders, half of the images are sideways, and for some reason all the shots from the trip to Tuscany are tinted orange. Face it: You need help...

  

Secret Hotels of the Caribbean: Jamaica, Bahamas, and More*

Finding your own affordable but fabulous tropical hideaway

Jake's. Sitting alongside rocky shoals washed by the warm surf of Jamaica's South Coast, Jake's Easter egg-colored guest cottages are funky boutique versions of the Caribbean shack. The two dozen buildings overflow with odd, endearing details that are an exercise in culture-clash chic: Indian minaret-shaped windows, driftwood door frames, glass bottles embedded in plaster walls, Arabian-influenced domes, hammered-tin doors, Mayan-inspired weavings....

* Jamaica coverage.

  

Once Upon a Time in Italy: Apulia

Italy’s rawest, earthiest, and most underrated region is Apulia, an ancient land of cave cities, hearty red wines, and pointy rock houses so far off the tour bus radar you could spend a week here without running into another foreigner

The ancient Romans built seven major highways, two of which made a beeline south to key ports at the stiletto heel of Italy's boot. During the Middle Ages, pilgrims and Crusaders used the roads on treks to the Holy Land. These days, most travelers head to the region known as Apulia (Puglia, to Italians), only to hop a ferry bound for the Greek Isles. By scurrying straight along to sun and fun in Greece, they're missing out on the most wonderfully weird corner of Italy...

  

Let's KO!

Mellow out in a jungle tree house. Groove all night at a beach rave. Climb to a spectacular mountaintop view. Or just float in that turquoise water. Whatever your fantasy, Thailand has the island—or ko—for you.

Maybe you've seen pictures of southern Thailand's sugar-sand beaches with grass-roof huts snuggled into the shade of coconut palms. Or you've heard of the ridiculously cheap prices: beachside bungalows for $10 a night, spicy meals for $3. Or you've dreamed of discovering some hidden lagoon that lies beyond the reach of guidebooks, just as the characters did in Alex Garland's cult novel The Beach (which, like the Leo DiCaprio film based on the book, was set here)...

  

Fly No-Frills

With one-way tickets that average $55 and flight times of only an hour or two, Europe's low-cost airlines make exploring more than one part of the Continent faster, easier, and cheaper than ever before. So pack your bags—keeping it light—and get ready to join the new, budget jet set.

Scrappy no-frills carriers such as Southwest and JetBlue are no longer limited to our side of the Pond. The past five years have seen the creation of dozens of insanely cheap airlines connecting hundreds of European destinations—primarily big cities, tourism hot spots, and Mediterranean beaches—with fares of roughly $40 to $70 each way, taxes and fees included...

  

Tax-free Travel Shopping

The taxing trials of foreign shopping, the vexing vagaries of customs duties, and how to avoid paying any of it

In foreign travel, there are few experiences that are more common and banal yet cause so much confusion as the tangled web of taxes, refunds, duties, and exemptions. The vicissitudes of just trying to figure out what you do and do not owe on a couple of souvenirs can get so complicated that most travelers throw their hands in the air, bite the bullet, and pay what all the governments tell them to. I say "governments" because there are actually two government levies involved in shopping in a foreign country-and the good news is that you don't have to pay either one of them...

  

The Secret Hotels of Florence & Venice

Ten hotels in Flornce, ten in Venice, none charging more than $90 for a standard double room

One thing I will never change is our one-star status," declares Roberto Zammattio, owner of Venice's Al Guerrato Hotel. "I prefer to take in a few euros less but still give a bit more to guests; that way everyone is happy." Such is the attitude that makes a Little Wonder Hotel-a personal touch, comfortable beds, and a price tag of less than $90 per room...

  

The Other New York*

A different, better, and cheaper way to enjoy a renowned city

The ethnic restaurants of Jackson Heights. Superb ethnic eateries litter all five boroughs, but most New Yorkers agree that the finest concentration is in Jackson Heights, Queens. Grab the number 7 subway for a 20-minute ride from Grand Central to the 74th Street/Jackson Heights stop to partake of Indian, Argentinian, Ecuadorian, Peruvian, Thai, and Colombian cuisines. North of Roosevelt Avenue, 74th Street comprises a thriving Little India of sari stores, Bollywood video shops, and cheap curry restaurants galore. King of the all-you-can-eat buffets is Jackson Diner...

* Coverge of the Chelsea arts scene, Lower East Side, and enthnic dining in Jackson Heights

  

Eat Like a Local: Florence & Venice

Florence is the cradle of the Renaissance; Venice, threaded with canals, is that most serene city of Gothic palaces. Both are renowned for their excellent cuisine. Florentine cooks choose the thickest, juiciest cuts from the Chiana valley's snowy white cattle, brush them with olive oil and cracked peppercorns, and slow-grill them to perfection to become the mighty bistecca fiorentina. Venetian chefs cruise the ancient loggias of the Rialto market with an eye for the finest fish and shellfish caught that morning, which they will put in their famous fresh-seafood medleys. So basically we're talking about one town famous for its steak and another for its seafood. Neither comes cheaply. We're here to help...

  

The Secret Hotels of Rome

Twenty exceptional hotels in the Eternal City for under $80 a night.

True budgeteers will appreciate the irony: The only Rome hotel to rival the five-star Hassler (atop the Spanish Steps) for "Best Room with a View" is Albergo Abruzzi, a backpacker's haven overlooking the incredible 1,800-year-old Pantheon. Few cheap sleeps are so well situated, but among the best of the best, each has its own charms...

  

Twice the Tuscany, Half the Cost

San Gimignano, Lucca, Montepulciano, and Siena

Tuscany tops its billing. It is an Arcadian countryside strung with grapevines, shimmering silver with olive trees, and peppered with medieval hilltowns and ancient art-stuffed cities. Tuscany is the birthplace of the Renaissance, Florentine steaks, and Chianti wine—an earthly Eden, a must-see stop on big bus tours and a playground for rich wine snobs. Yet the very richness and variety of its culture ensures there's always a budget alternative to $100 wines and $500 hotel rooms. We're going to enjoy Tuscan feasts for under $15, sample some of Italy's greatest wines for free, admire masterful fourteenth- and fifteenth-century frescoes in churches and cheap civic museums, and stay in rooms with a view for under $50...