Ever go to book a European holiday, particularly of the family-friendly type, and discover that the prices for that particular period were unexpectedly high? A possible reason for this could be increased demand for travel during local school vacations. So what to do to ensure your holiday doesn’t clash – or clashes only minimally -- with those break periods?

Carnival’s last gasp

Many of us based in Germany took note of or participated in Fasching, Fasnet or Carnival events, as the case might be, in the week running up to Ash Wednesday, which fell on Feb. 6. Now, during Lent, we find ourselves in a rather somber state, with all the revelry behind us. Or is it?

Frommer’s travel newsletter recently ran a nifty article on beer festivals around the world titled “A Year of Beer: A Six-Pack of Suds Fests.” It’s a good read, but sadly, only one of the events mentioned takes place in Europe.

Are you thinking that perhaps you’re too late in planning a last minute weekend getaway for the upcoming President’s Day weekend? Well, you’re none too early, but there are still some deals to be had. Here’s a sampling of what I found about one week prior to the upcoming long weekend:

Today I am determined to answer a seemingly simple question: Do all hotel booking engines quote you basically the same price for a given hotel room, or are there big discrepancies in the prices you can end up paying?