Travel Tips & Trends

> Festival brings craft brewers to Denver
> Colorado train voted 3rd best in the world
> Denver Story Trek
> Stay connected on a cruise
> Crash fatalities decrease
> A/C or fresh air?

Festival brings craft brewers to Denver

© Jason E. Kaplan.

For 26 years, the world’s largest beer festival has brought brewers and aficionados to Colorado. Around 2,000 hand-crafted beers from more than 400 U.S. breweries will be sampled and judged during the three-day event (Sept. 24–26) at the Colorado Convention Center in downtown Denver. Just as at a wine festival, ticketholders receive a tasting glass to sample one-ounce portions of the craft beers on display. Lower-priced tickets are available for visitors who want to see the festival without sampling any of the products.

The Great American Beer Festival is considered the top public beer-tasting opportunity nationwide and the world’s largest commercial beer competition. It’s listed in the popular travel book "1,000 Places To See Before You Die (USA/Canada)" and is in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the location with the world’s largest variety of beers on tap.

Colorado’s Front Range brews more beer than any other metropolitan area in North America, and has long been promoted as the "Napa Valley of Beer" and the "Munich of the West." More than 46,000 people attend the Great American Beer Festival and the tickets usually sell out far in advance—see www.greatamericanbeerfestival.com for ticket availability, or to make plans for 2010 if you missed out this year.

In the week leading up to the festival, a new event will take place this year: Denver Beer Fest, planned to run from Sept. 18–27. The week will include brewery tours, tastings, seminars, beer-pairing dinners at local restaurants and more. For more information, visit www.denverbeerfest.com.

As with any beer or wine-tasting event, participants are strongly encouraged to take public transportation to and from the festivals, or to pre-arrange a designated driver. Hotel accommodation in downtown Denver should also be planned in advance as this is a major event and rooms may not be available on short notice.

Colorado train voted 3rd best in the world

The Society of American Travel Writers, the world’s largest organization of professional travel journalists and photographers, recently polled its members to come up with the top 10 most exciting and scenic train rides in the world. The results:

The Rocky Mountaineer offers spectacular two-day journeys through the monumental landscapes of the Canadian Rocky Mountains from Vancouver to Banff or Jasper.
The Glacier Express is the famous Swiss mountain railway from St. Moritz to Zermatt, a 7.5 hour journey that includes 291 bridges and 91 tunnels amid alpine settings.
Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad winds through rugged canyons in Colorado’s San Juan National Forest between Durango and Silverton. The narrow-gauge steam train retraces a route used for more than a century by miners and sightseers in this beautiful area.
The Bernina Express from Chur, Switzerland to Tirano, Italy makes the highest rail crossing of the Alps, passing from icy glaciers to palm-shaded piazzas. It features 196 bridges, 55 tunnels and countless switchbacks. The most scenic stretch from St. Moritz to Tirano takes just three hours.
Peru Rail, Cusco to Machu Picchu, carries passengers on a spectacular journey through the high Andes. The route passes lush green fields and colorful villages in the foothills of the Andes and climbs along the Urubamba River through a dramatic canyon before reaching the ancient citadel of the Incas.
The Alaska Railroad’s Coastal Classic winds through the wilderness between Anchorage and Seward. Massive glaciers are visible as the train climbs into the Kenai Mountains, ending at Resurrection Bay for connection to Kenai Fjords National Park.
The Royal Scotsman rolls past sweeping glens, ancient castles, misty moors, towering peaks, mirror-calm lochs, wild countryside and virgin stretches of coast on its two- to seven-night journeys in the Scottish highlands.
The Whistler Mountaineer in Canada is a three-hour ride along the magnificent coast of British Columbia from Vancouver to Whistler, famous for its views of cities, old-growth forests, deep valleys, snowcapped peaks and seascapes.
Mexico’s El Chepe ventures into the imposing landscapes of the Sierra Tarahumara and into Mexico’s famed Copper Canyon, four times the size of the Grand Canyon. See EnCompass’s May/June ’09 issue for an article on Copper Canyon.
The Flam Railway is regarded as one of Norway’s best tours. The train journey from the mountain station of Myrdal down to fjord-side Flam takes 55 minutes and reveals some of the most magnificent scenery in Norway. The train slows or stops at the best views.

Talk to a AAA travel agent (866-235-7070) for more information on any of these trips.

Denver Story Trek

Denver Story Trek signpost.

For the past year, Denver residents and visitors may have noticed unusual signposts around the city. Denver Story Trek’s distinctive signs have popped up in dozens of historic or significant locations—each displaying a phone number to call for a free recorded story about what happened there.

The recordings vary from scripted narrations to personal memories. While each story can stand alone, themed routes have also been created so visitors can take a self-guided walking or biking tour through the city, stopping at each location to dial up the next commentary.

"People often wonder about the stories behind the places they pass," said Annie Levinsky, deputy director of Historic Denver, Inc. "It’s a free and fun way to get outside."

Just a few routes: "Mile High Arts & Culture," "Women of the West," "Stage Stops, Railroads & Streetcars" and "On the Road" (which visits places where Jack Kerouac spent time while writing the book by that name).

The project is run by Historic Denver, Inc., in partnership with five Denver museums. For more information visit www.denverstorytrek.org, or simply dial the number on the next Denver Story Trek signpost you see.

Stay connected on a cruise

Ship-to-shore cell phone calls have a hefty price tag. It is not uncommon for such calls to cost $8–$10 per minute, and even more if an inbound call originates outside of the United States. Whether you want to be called on vacation is another question—but if you do, here are the options onboard some major cruise lines.

Azamara and Celebrity: Both of these cruise lines use Cingular Wireless Maritime Service to enable guests to use their own cell phones onboard. Charges are billed to the passenger’s usual cellular provider. Onboard Internet cafés are open 24 hours with rates of 65 cents per minute, or in blocks of discounted time for as little as 38 cents per minute.

Carnival Cruise Line: Cell phone service is available on all Carnival ships. International roaming rates apply, and the charges are set and billed by the passenger’s usual cellular provider. All ships offer Wi-Fi and a 24-hour Internet café. Depending on the ship, Wi-Fi is either limited to select areas, or available everywhere. The network also supports the latest Wi-Fi enabled iPhones, Palm Pilots and Blackberry devices. Guests can access their own email accounts or use a temporary ship’s email address.

Crystal Cruises: Crystal uses SeaMobile to enable guests to use cell phones and other wireless devices at sea. Charges are billed by the passenger’s usual cellular provider. Guests also receive a ship’s email address. Use the ship’s own email system (for a fee) or access your usual email in the 24/7 Internet café.

Disney Cruise Line: Disney’s Cellular at Sea service enables guests to use cell phones once the ship is about 12 miles out at sea. It works with most phone service carriers. Pricing varies by carrier and includes international roaming charges. Both Disney ships have an Internet café and ten Wi-Fi locations.

Holland America: Holland America, like Crystal, uses the SeaMobile network. Charges appear on the passenger’s usual cellular provider’s bill. The Explorations Café or Internet Café provide 24/7 access to the Internet and there are wireless hotspots around each ship. For a fee, the cruise line can set up your own cruise email account.

Princess Cruises: Guests can use their cell phones, provided that their regular service has an international roaming agreement with Maritime Communications Partner. Charges are billed by the passenger’s usual cellular provider. Internet cafés and Wi-Fi networks are available on all ships.

Royal Caribbean: All Royal Caribbean ships provide cell phone service for guests, with international roaming charges billed via the passenger’s usual cellular provider. Internet cafés are available and laptops can be connected to the Internet in all staterooms. All the ships have Wi-Fi in select public areas and the newer vessels have it throughout the ship.

Crash fatalities decrease

Despite a growing number of older drivers on the road, crash fatality rates have declined for drivers ages 70 and older, according to a recent Insurance Institute for Highway Safety report.

From 1997 to 2006, fatal crashes involving drivers ages 70 and older decreased by 16%. During the same years, the number of people ages 70 and older increased by 10%, as did the number of licensed drivers and total annual miles traveled among those in the demographic.

Though researchers were unable to identify specific reasons for the decline, some speculate it’s due to safer vehicles, better overall health and increased self-regulation of potentially risky driving habits. For self-assessment tools and other information about safety for mature drivers, call 303-753-8800, ext. 8105, or visit www.AAA.com/safety.

A/C or fresh air?

Want to save gas by rolling your windows down instead of using your air conditioner? Think again. The increased drag caused by driving with open windows burns only slightly less gas than the air conditioner uses. It’s probably not enough of a difference to notice at the pump, so go ahead and use the air conditioner.

On the other hand, using the A/C has a known environmental impact. Most of today’s vehicles use the refrigerant HFC-134a, an inert gas which replaced Freon for this purpose in the mid-1990s. The U.S. Department of Energy says one pound of HFC-134a has the same effect on the atmosphere as 1,300 pounds of carbon dioxide. So, if that’s a more important factor for you, maybe the rolled-down window is a better idea.

AAA Connection

Book Your Destination Activities

View Brochure Offers

Book a Hotel Reservation

Book a Cruise

Book Airfare

Search AAA TourBook

>>>Return to Table of Contents