Whatever stage your holiday travel plans are in - and whether you're going to visit relatives, come home from college or take off for a vacation - now is the time to firm up your arrangements. Given the faltering economy in general and the flailing airline companies in particular, it's more important than ever to search for good deals. Remember: The tourism industry needs you.

Save some cash, have some fun, explore the north shore with Travel editor Millie Ball

Q: I booked a one-week vacation in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, through Apple Vacations recently. It included accommodations and transfers to and from the airport.

Financial crisis means travel dollars stretch further.

o Traveling Solo (GPP Travel/Globe Pequot, $17.95) -- Eleanor Berman knows what it's like to travel alone; she has done it often enough. In Traveling Solo, she offers advice and ideas for more than 250 vacations. Among the many options are going on a learning vacation, participating in a volunteer program or registering at a cooking school. There also are adventure travel, hiking and walking ...

The idea of a vacation often elicits images of hotel stays in exotic locales or long excursions that include shopping, sightseeing and elegant dining. However, many people find that the most fulfilling getaways are those experienced from the seat of their car. That's the idea behind the National Scenic Byways Program, an organization whose mission it is to preserve and recognize stretches of ...

UPPER DARBY - Nelia Blanco has been a nurse for 38 years, and in that time, what she discovered propelled her to open the CHC Immunization and Travel Health Center 10 days ago.

Q. What are your rights when a tour operator fails to deliver part of your vacation package? I booked a one-week vacation in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, through Apple Vacations recently. It included accommodations and transfers to and from the airport.

A Paradise woman's dream vacation down south is turning into a bit of a horror story. Tina Fitzgerald says she and her husband booked a vacation to the Dominican Republic with a travel agency in Paradise. Fitzgerald says they paid their deposit with the remainder to be paid 45 days before departure.

Plenty of stories provide advice for elite mobile professionals. But what about you, the unproductive traveler? Maybe you're on vacation. Maybe you're trying to chill out before a day's worth of travel and business meetings. Point is, you need to pack a little smarter to entertain yourself, and...