I've got an early holiday gift for ten lucky readers: Free tickets to a December 1 New York City sneak preview of Paramount's "Up in the Air," starring George Clooney. 


Post your question in the comment space here by noon Eastern Time on Wednesday, Nov. 25.  That's the day before Thanksgiving, folks.  I'll then choose the ten dilemmas that are the most common, the most puzzling, the most infuriating, or simply the ones we can learn the most from. I'll post the list of winners that evening. Then, starting Tuesday, Dec. 1, we'll reveal the FlyerTalk experts' answers to the top ten questions.  

And if you can't make it to New York for the screening, you can always give the tickets to one of your friends in NYC as an early holiday gift, right?

Yowza! This month's Condé Nast Traveler sale on Jetsetter.com, scheduled for next Tuesday, November 24, will feature the Viceroy Miami.

Have you got a travel secret that other smart travelers should know? And would you like to snag exclusive travel deals by sharing your tip with the rest of us? Then join us in a fun new monthly game that starts today.

Each month I'll choose a different theme--say, flying, or hotels--and I'll ask you for your best travel strategy related to that theme. You'll have a few days to submit your tip, and then I'll pick the ten best tips that have come in.

If you're one of the ten chosen tipsters, you and your clever advice--and your web site or blog, if you've got one--will be featured not only on both truth.travel and CNTraveler.com, but also in video form on YouTube. You'll receive an invitation from me to join Jetsetter.com, the members-only flash-sale site for luxury travel, and you'll get the opportunity to earn monetary credits toward Jetsetter purchases by inviting friends. And, if you're the #1 top tipster, you'll also win a free year-long subscription to Condé Nast Traveler magazine.

Here's the kick-off question:

"What's your best strategy for avoiding tourist traps and finding the authentic hidden-gem spots that only the locals seem to know about?"

Submit your concise answer on truth.travel by midnight on Saturday, November 21. On Tuesday, November 24, I'll announce the ten best tips and tipsters.

Read on for important details about the rules of the game and the benefits you'll get.

Driving in Florence is a major headache, but a rental car makes sense if you want to see the Tuscan countryside.  
Photo: echiner1 / CC BY-ND 2.0

Dreaming of Italy? So is reader Janice, who submitted this question to the Ask Wendy Department:

My husband and I are looking into a trip to Italy in October 2010. We would like to stay in the Tuscany area most of the time. Cosmos Travel had a great itinerary, but they are not doing it in 2010. So we may be on our own. We would like to stay in the Tuscany area and visit Lucca, Montecatini, San Gimignano, Siena, and Florence, but we also want to go to Assisi and Rome. I was also thinking of starting our trip in Berlin (my husband was stationed there in 1968), then take a train or fly to Florence & visit the other cities and fly out of Rome. If we did go to Berlin, would it be best to fly or take a train to Italy? Should we look into a tour group while in Italy? I have been doing research about taking a train or rental car in Italy - I'm not sure which is best. Thank you for any info. Janice

If you were headed only to Florence, Siena, Lucca, and Rome, I might advise sticking to the train and avoiding the hassles that can come with driving around Italy (confusing signage, scarce parking spaces, a big car-rental bill once you factor in the cost of the collision-damage coverage and other add-ons, etc). But the best way to explore San Gimignano and many of Tuscany's other hilltowns--not to mention the picturesque countryside between them--is by car. On most of my trips to Tuscany I've rented a car, and I can't begin to imagine the spectacular views and hidden-gem vineyards and delightful farms and villas and restaurants and shops I would have missed had I been restricted by train routes and schedules. But I'm the first to admit how easy it is to get lost on those Tuscan roads, not to mention how frustrating it can be driving around and around the outside of a city trying to get to the center, finally realizing that the center is inaccessible by car and you need to park outside it and walk. You might consider taking trains between the larger cities, then renting a car for a few days in one of the smaller cities.

What you clearly need is the right travel agent who specializes in Italy and can design an itinerary that perfectly combines train and car travel. I'll give you some names after the jump.

They may weigh me down, but I don't leave home without 'em: My kids, my comfy Dansko clogs, and my Condé Nast Traveler.  There we all are in Egypt last year.

The Where Am I? Photo Challenge has its first winner!  The first person to pinpoint my mysterious whereabouts in yesterday's Challenge kick-off was reader Julia. She guessed correctly that I was in the theater in the ancient Greco-Roman city of Ephesus in Turkey. Congrats, Julia, and I'm looking forward to talking travel over lunch!

Come back and join us for another fun Where Am I? Photo Challenge soon.  Or have your own photo featured here at truth.travel: Just hold up a copy of Condé Nast Traveler in an intriguing locale you'd recommend to other travelers, have someone photograph you, and email us the picture. We'll challenge everyone to guess where on earth you were. Just read the Photo Challenge instructions here. Happy trails!

Can you guess where I am? Take a stab at it in the comments section below. If you're the first to pinpoint my exact location, I'll take you to lunch. 

What corner of the globe are you bound for next? Wherever you're headed, if you carry a copy of Condé Nast Traveler, photograph yourself or a travel companion holding it up in some fascinating locale, and then email the picture to us, we'll publish it here and challenge everybody to guess where in the world you are. Sounds like fun, right?

Be sure the background you choose for your photo is not too obvious. (No Eiffel Tower or Machu Picchu, please.) Pick a spot or scene that you think fellow clued-in travelers should know about--maybe a hidden-gem museum or an exotic street market or an artisan's studio or a hot new restaurant.

Email your photo to Condé Nast Traveler's Interactive Editor, Tom Loftus, at thomas_loftus@condenast.com. If we choose to feature your photo, we'll send you a copy of The Condé Nast Traveler Book of Unforgettable Journeys: Great Writers on Great Places.

Meanwhile, if you think you know where I was standing in the photo above, share your guess in the comments section below. Important: If you're reading this on Concierge.com rather than on truth.travel, be sure to click here to post your comment on truth.travel. Please name not only the monument but the section of the monument. If you're the first to name it correctly, I'll treat you to lunch at the restaurant of your choice either the next time you're in NYC or the next time I'm wherever you live.

Already got a copy of The Condé Nast Traveler Book of Unforgettable Journeys? No worries: You can have your choice of a complimentary year-long subscription to the magazine or lunch with yours truly instead.

Peter Shanks of Cunard reported from the Queen Mary 2.

I love a CEO who blogs. And yesterday I met a new one: Peter Shanks, Cunard Line's new president.  He doesn't just blog from his desk either; he blogs from the ship. Last month, for instance, he reported from Cobh, Ireland, where the Queen Mary 2 stopped to honor the 1198 lives that were lost there when the Lusitania was sunk by a German U-Boat in World War I. 

Peter (who's such a proper British gentleman that I'd call him Mr. Shanks if I didn't think I'd be laughed out of the blogosphere for being so formal) not only guest-blogs for WeAreCunard.com but is also the British correspondent for the wildly popular John Heald's Blog over at Carnival (Cunard is part of Carnival Corp.).

Peter stopped by my Times Square office yesterday and surprised me with some fun facts. Did you know

* that Cunard is 169 years old yet has the youngest fleet at sea?

* that the inaugural voyage of the new Queen Elizabeth, which will launch in October 2010, sold out in 29 minutes and 14 seconds?

* that there are about a gazillion Cunard videos on YouTube because so many people record its ships doing momentous things like sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge or meeting up at the Statue of Liberty?

Peter also surprised me by asking for constructive criticism about Cunard's blog, which is only 14 months old and still has some growing to do. Seeking feedback from fellow travel bloggers shows a lot of cyber-smarts, in my humble opinion, and there are some super-savvy travel bloggers who read The Perrin Post, so consider sharing your input: Take a look at the WeAreCunard blog and, if you've got suggestions for enhancing it, share them here (since, selfishly, I too really want to hear your bloggy wisdom!). Don't forget to give your website URL.

"Don't roll your eyes like an old person," wrote New York Post travel editor David Landsel in yesterday's paper. "Twitter isn't just teenage girls and empty-headed, feelings-sharing celebs; it's also the latest-slash-greatest advance in how travel information gets dished out. It's interactive, you can connect quickly with reporters, with industry types, with the hotels you love to love and the airlines you love to hate." 

Desperately seeking a credit card that charges no currency-conversion fees for foreign transactions? So is reader Susan Gilpin:

"Which credit cards offer the fewest additional fees when being used outside the United States?  I was talking to a representative today from Visa who said that they would charge me an additional 3% on purchases, and I had never heard that before."

Many Visa and MasterCards charge an additional 3%, and American Express Cards charge 2.7%.  It's been a couple of years since I researched this in depth for a Perrin Report about Overseas Credit Card Fees, but my understanding is that Capital One still charges no currency-exchange fees. When choosing a credit card, however, it's important to consider not only whether a foreign-purchase fee is charged but also what exchange rate is used.  You don't want to lose on the exchange rate what you save on the fee.

Tibet photo courtesy of Geographic Expeditions

Just a quick reminder that you've got until November 30 to enter the Adventures of a Lifetime Photo Contest.  Four of the five amazing travel prizes are already spoken for, but the fifth one's a stunner: An eight-day trip to Tibet with leading adventure travel company Geographic Expeditions.

Personally, I'm dying to see Tibet and would enter the competition in a heartbeat if I could. I'm not allowed to because I'm actually judging the contest, along with Jim Benning of WorldHum, Catharine Hamm of The L.A. Times'  Daily Travel & Deal Blog, renowned photographer Robert Holmes, and Adventure Collection editor in chief Don George.

If you win, will you stuff me in your suitcase, please?

Floralis Genérica, architect Eduardo Catalano's aluminum flower on Avenida Figueroa Alcorta in Buenos Aires, opens its petals by day and closes them at night.
Photo: stuckincustoms / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Thinking about a South America trip that combines great wine and food, charming hotels, and shopping? Readers Michelle and Rick are. Here's their question:

"I recently signed up for The Perrin Post and think this is an outstanding tool for travel tips. I have been reading about South America and it sounds like somewhere my husband and I should visit. We are 56 years old, very active, and live in Cleveland, Ohio. We would like to plan a 10- to 12-day trip this winter, but are not sure of the best places to see. We love wine, shopping, good cuisine, and nice hotels. We do not speak Spanish. We would love to use your expertise in hopes of making the best of our trip. Thank you in advance for your help!"

De nada. Argentina and Chile strike me as a good solution for you, so I e-mailed Vanessa Guibert Heitner of Limitless Argentina. Vanessa, who lives in Buenos Aires, is an Argentina and Chile travel specialist on my annually updated list of the world's best travel agents. Vanessa has designed and booked flawless, custom-tailored itineraries for several Conde Nast Traveler staffers, as well as dozens of the magazine's readers, not to mention our 2007 Dream Trip Winner's South American extravaganza. She was kind enough to suggest the following possible itinerary for you in an e-mail yesterday: