Optimum News 12 Newsday.com MSG Varsity Explore LI AM New York Optimum Autos Optimum Homes

Direct Flight

Climb aboard for a trip around the world of travel

Latest posts from

Polly Higgins

Polly Higgins is Newsday.com's Lifestyle and Entertainment editor, covering home and garden, food, restaurants, pets, travel and entertainment. Her education includes a journalism degree from Indiana University and a masters in Media Arts from the University of Arizona. She called Arizona home for a number of years, working for both the Arizona Daily Star and (now shuttered) Tucson Citizen. In her spare time, Higgins can be found walking Otto the beagle in her Brooklyn neighborhood, logging miles on her running shoes and watching reruns of "Dallas."

Travel deals: Adventure in Vermont, flights to Chicago

The Trump International Hotel & Tower sits along

Photo credit: Getty Images

Fight away the Monday blues by booking a great vacation deal, whether you're looking for adventure, family time or fun in the sun.

If touring the Windy City is on your bucket list, you're in luck this summer. CheapOair is offering roundtrip airfare from New York to Chicago starting at $314 per person, plus a stay at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Chicago Magnificent Mile for $161 per night. Rates...

Read more »

Travel deals: Hamptons day trip, baseball lover's ultimate tour

Save 51 percent on a day trip to

Photo credit: travelzoo.com

If July's arrival has you feeling like summer is slipping through your fingers, it's time to stop procrastinating and book that vacation of your dreams. Save your excuses . . . we've found five great deals going on now.

Enjoy a day full of Hamptons fun for half price with Travelzoo's Southampton package, which includes pool time at Southampton Inn, tennis court access, a game room, $20 food...

Read more »

Travel deals on a Costa Rican adventure, Atlantic City on the cheap

Save 48 percent on a trip for two

Photo credit: livingsocial.com

Whether you envision yourself gliding through a rain forest, lounging on a beach or gambling at a casino, we found big savings on all types of getaways this week.

Now is a great time for finding mid-week hotel deals in Atlantic City, according to the Atlantic City Alliance, with deals at top casino resorts for less than $200 per night. The Atlantic Club Casino Hotel is offering a summer fun...

Read more »

Travel deals: Exotic cruises and a tranquil upstate escape

Groupon Getaways offers a 51 percent discount on

Photo credit: groupon.com

Everyone's idea of a dream vacation is different, but we can all agree that getting a great price makes it even sweeter. We found some tempting travel deals this week, from a rockin' Chicago hotel to cruises to paradise.

CruCon Cruise Outlet announced Monday that it is cutting prices on cruises by up to 60 percent to fill up ships setting sail in 2013 and early 2014. Book now through...

Read more »

Travel deals: Food tour of Italy, North Fork staycation

Taste your way through Italy's Puglia region on

Photo credit: Jetsetter

Missed out on last week's travel deals? No worries! We've found plenty of discounted trips you can snag now.

At Orbitz.com, save an extra 15 percent on hotel deals of up to 50 percent off with promo code SPF#15 when you book by July 7.

At Expedia.com, save big on different deals each day. You'll have to book fast, because each offer is only up for a limited amount of time. Right...

Read more »

New roller coasters continue a lifelong love

Outlaw Run at Silver Dollar City in Branson,

Photo credit: Handout

Though there are few constants in life, one thing has remained with me since childhood: A love of roller coasters. While I now avoid such stomach twisters as those doggone Tilt-a-Whirls and the newfangled swing rides that spin so very very fast (Luna Park's Brooklyn Flyer will not see this backside again), roller coasters new and old never disappoint. Or make me sick.

My dad gets credit for...

Read more »

Travel deals: Cheap Caribbean escapes, Paris apartments for rent

At CheapCaribbean.com, score a three-night flight and hotel

Photo credit: cheapcaribbean.com

Chances are this very rainy, hazy start to summer in New York has given you a serious case of wanderlust. 

If the closest thing to a getaway you've had lately is gazing longingly at the crystal blue water on the screensaver of your office computer, we have good news for you.

June is the best month to book a Caribbean vacation, according to Lindsay Sakraida of dealnews.com. 

"Technically,...

Read more »

Matt Damon among stars at Shakespeare forum in Central Park

Actor Matt Damon in Pasadena, Calif. (Jan. 4,

Photo credit: AP

Summer in New York means a lot of things, but we're focused on just one of them: free events.

A perennial favorite is Shakespeare in the Park, and this year its Public Forum offers marquee names including Matt Damon, Vanessa Redgrave and Alan Alda.

The 8 p.m. June 17 event, "What Are We Worth? Shakespeare, Money and Morals," will be at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park....

Read more »

Friendliest and most unfriendly countries for tourists

Tourists stroll through Casablanca, Morocco's Habous district that

Photo credit: AP

It might be time to rethink that stereotype of the French being grumpy to tourists. A new report from the World Economic Forum ranks Bolivia as the least friendly country for travelers, at least in terms local attitudes toward visitors.

In the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013, the landlocked South American country gets the cranky honor just above Venezuela and Russia.

The...

Read more »

Revel Atlantic City to debut HQ Beach Club

Plans for HQ Beach Club at Revel in

Photo credit: Handout

Grab your swimsuit and your dancing shoes, because the team at Revel has big plans for Atlantic City this summer.

Though the luxe hotel and casino, home to hot spot HQ Nightclub, is in the midst of filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy less than a year after its opening, Angel Management Group and EMM Group are not slowing down.

Taking cues from Las Vegas and Mykonos, they're taking the party...

Read more »

advertisement | advertise on newsday

Find Newsday on Facebook

@JessicaDamiano

Twitter | Blog | Columns

advertisement | advertise on newsday