If the throngs of tourists fighting for space on the roads and beaches of the Amalfi Coast only knew what was within their reach just a bit further south: a coastal haven at least as picturesque, if not more so, far less crowded and certainly not as expensive.

Luckily, for the rest of us, Maratea remains a well-kept secret among Italian visitors and a handful of British tourists.

Two and a half hours south of Naples, Maratea’s 20-mile stretch of rocky coastline gives southern Italy’s Basilicata region its only outlet on the sea.

This community of 11 small villages seems to combine the best of Italy’s better-known playgrounds. The winding roads boasting breathtaking views make visitors feel like they’ve found Amalfi’s twin sister. …

There’s a new airfare war being fought across the Atlantic. And this time, it’s all business-class.

While Eos Airlines and Maxjet already offer premium service from New York to London, two new carriers are now offering new business-class service across the Atlantic for less than you’ll probably pay for business-class on more traditional airlines.

EuroFly, a European airline is now connecting New York to Milan, while L’Avion flies between Newark and Paris’ Orly International.

Then there’s Silverjet, which flies from Newark to London’s Luton airport. Silverjet, especially, could be useful for travelers willing to pay for trans-Atlantic comfort, but want to use an ultra-low-cost carrier with a base at Luton, like RyanAir or EasyJet, to get to their next European destination. Roundtrip Silverjet …

You are on the trip of your lifetime… the vacation of your dreams.

The only thing is, you are exhausted.

Dead tired.

You can barely keep your eyes open to see the Eiffel Tower… the Pyramids… the Grand Canyon.

And you are really cranky.

What gives? Is this jet lag, you ask?

You wish. In fact, you may be the victim of a snoring travel companion.

Sleep deprivation is the worst (which probably explains its historic popularity as a torture method). When you are not rested, it’s hard to enjoy anything, and that day of wondrous exploration you planned suddenly becomes a day of schlepping around, when all you really want to do is go back to the hotel …

From the “you can’t make this stuff up department” comes this piece of frequent flyer news: A dog has just passed the million-mile mark in an airline’s loyalty program.

Nesbit, along with his owner George Kerscher, received a special Delta award for his Million Miler status recently.

What’s more, Nesbit didn’t even have to pay for his tickets.

But there is a reason why Nesbit has so many frequent flyer miles: he happens to be the guide dog for Kerscher, a senior officer for Recording For The Blind and Dyslexic (RFB&D), and they have been traveling together, mostly on business, for eight years.

As part of Delta’s service to their disabled travelers, the airline accommodated Nesbit …

March 19, 2007

Recently, I flew to Phoenix for a business meeting, and needed a hotel room for just one night.

I hadn’t bothered to make a reservation, and simply walked up to the front desk at a hotel called the “Tempe Mission Palms,” a building walking distance from the business meeting. I asked if they had a room for the night. They did. I asked the rate. $200. I gave the clerk my credit card, filled out the registration card, and checked in.

I then went to my business meeting, out to dinner and returned back to the hotel around 10 p.m. that night.

Eight hours later, as I emerged from the shower to …

When you’re driving, there are now a number of new technologies that may help you avoid traffic jams. Real time traffic information may finally be coming to your dashboard. Traffic.com uses cameras and sensors to measure freeway speeds in cities around the country. It makes this information available to drivers with its new dashboard GPS units, helping them spot upcoming jams and find alternate routes.

Another fairly new contender is Dash Navigation. Dash uses cameras like Traffic.com, but with a twist. It also uses data from other Dash users. For example, if another Dash user is on the same highway a few miles ahead of you, and suddenly goes from 65 miles per hour …