North America : Traveller Tips
Air travel
Know your limits: how to avoid check-in problems
Every airline and airport seems to have different rules for check-in and carry-on bags. One website is working at making the luggage nightmare easier.
Trends
Home swaps: holiday heaven ... or hell?
Stolen possessions, blocked toilets, rooms left filthy - exchanging your home with another family for a cut-price holiday is increasingly tempting, but there are drawbacks.
Holiday reads
Sex and drugs, love and Elvis
Staying at home this summer? Belinda Jackson nominates 10 great reads for the armchair traveller.
Tips
DIY in the USA: top tips on travelling in America
Nicole Low finds organising a holiday in the US on your own isn't quite as easy as it seems.
Air travel
The ultimate flight wish-list
There's often plenty to complain about, but what makes a flight enjoyable? Diana Plater names her wish-list for perfect flying, whether in business or cattle class.
Air travel
Lost in transit in Los Angeles
With a mountain of luggage and Jack Kerouac as company, Alan Mascarenhas endures a day at LAX.
Hotel lounges
Boardrooms and canapes
Travellers increasingly are finding no reason to leave their plush hotel lounges, writes Tamara Thiessen.
Tips
Buy high, spend low: overseas trips cheaper than ever
The strong Aussie dollar and falling fares make heading overseas cheaper than ever, writes Jane E. Fraser.
Air travel
Soaring costs a sore point
Airlines are always looking for ways to charge more for their services, writes Jane E. Fraser.
Q&A
Your questions
I plan to drive across the US in a campervan. I believe I can stay three months on a visa waiver. Is my plan workable?
Hot spots
Lonely Planet names top 10 destinations for 2010
Lonely Planet has picked the brains of its authors, staff and travellers and come up with the top 10 countries to visit in 2010.
Tips
Mastering public transport when you travel
Mastery of travel is a process of mastering local public transport. Not just the timetables and the stops, but also the etiquette.
Q&A
Your questions
We're flying to Rome, Paris, then on to London, New York and San Francisco. Would it be better to buy an around-the-world ticket?
Tips
A prescription for trouble
Taking your medication with you should be hassle-free, if you follow the rules, writes Jane E. Fraser.
Tips
It's your duty: top tips on shopping overseas
Even if you don't like shopping at home, shopping while travelling has a strong lure.
Flight test
Flight test: United Airlines economy class
What, no seat-back TV screen? United Airlines 747 put to the test on the long-haul to Los Angeles.
Q&A
Your questions
Can you give me some suggestions about where I can expect to experience a white Christmas?
Ski
Tipping etiquette: cold, hard cash splash
Tipping etiquette reveals the gulf between Australian and American attitudes, writes Rachael Oakes-Ash.
Q&A
Your questions
Three girlfriends and I are travelling to Honolulu. Any recommendations on things to do while there?
Tipping etiquette
Excuse me, sir, where's my tip?
Tipping has been getting so out of hand that it amounts to a stealth tax on tourists - and I blame the Americans.
