You know how people are fascinated with the macabre. Horror movies are popular, we all wish the obituaries told what the person died of, and we slow down to look at traffic accidents. We like to see the grim and gruesome.

A lot of places to visit are not rich countries, and tourist dollars are an important part of their economies. Some of these places also experience natural disasters, sometimes on a large scale. Indonesia, for example is an island nation (tsunamis) on the Pacific ring of fire (volcanoes).

A river swamped by volcanic ash, called lahar. Kind of interesting, isn't it?

A big volcanic ash cloud can cut off air transportation, and with it, tourist dollars. Some enterprising tourist agencies are promoting the idea of disaster tourism. Instead of avoiding the area, come see the collapsed villages, the refugee camps, the devastated forests. I know Indonesia and Haiti have these opportunities, maybe other places, too. You can visit, and you don’t have to get dirty or do volunteer work. Bringing your tourist dollars is all the help they’re asking for. That should give some grim satisfaction.

You might think I’m being ironic, but this is for real. Here’s a link:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=indonesia-turn

Something to think about, eh?

Click to enlarge

And my point? Don’t go on a vacation where you do nothing! Go somewhere interesting. Learn something. See something you’ve never seen. Have an adventure.

But don’t stand on a bridge with a forced smile.

Wanna know which airport of the top 100 has had the largest fare decline in the past year? Mitchell International. That’s in Milwaukee, not exactly local to Delaware. But fares dropped 17% in the last year, on average. Have your Wisconsin relatives come visit you–they can get your friends and family Serenity discount for their motel. You can take them to that place in Philly that isn’t there. Such a deal, huh?

PS: Be alert for the next post–Aug 11. It’ll mention a long-distance trip (as in millions of miles) you can do from your back yard, and your Milwaukee relatives can take the same trip.

If you don’t want to miss the post, click the orange RSS feed icon over there on the left, and it’ll be delivered to you.

PPS: This doesn’t have anything to do with anything, but today’s date is 8-9-10. And less than a quarter past 11 tonight, it’ll be 8-9-10-11:12:13 Neat, huh?

Paris is a big place. A lot goes on there, and the city has a million things to do and see, and the locals do and see them, too. I don’t think you’ll find too many tourist traps there. The whole place is a tourist trap, and you’ll love it. Here’s a view of the Eiffel Tower that you don’t get every day.

Yes, Paris has a modern downtown. Click to enlarge.

How do you decide what to do in Paris? Do your homework. Shoot an email to the French consulate asking for info. Do an online search. Talk to someone who has been there. Take a French teacher out for coffee. Learn a little French and French history. (Yes, you’ll find Parisians who snicker at your accent, but most of the citizenry will be pleased that you made the effort.) You’ll get ideas as you go along; make a list, but don’t be too enamored of it. When you get there, be really flexible. It’s about impossible to go anywhere wrong.

In a place like Paris, serendipity is the name of the game. Speaking of which, did you notice the quote from a musical about Paris? Brag in the comments.

Next post: a bit about how to find your way around Paris.

But that’s not why I’m writing about Nice. I touched on technology in that last post, and some interesting technology is happening in Nice. If you like to visit seacoast towns, you probably have a certain affinity for large bodies of water. Maybe you like to skin dive or use scuba. How about a personal submarine?A company in the south of France is building one, and they’ll be testing it any day now in the waters off Nice. Here’s a picture I shamelessly stole from an article about the sub. I hope they like the free advertising.

It's wet inside. You have to wear scuba

It uses parts from a bicycle, and you pedal it to make it go. No torpedoes. I suppose it might enter the water sport market someday, but right now they are building it to enter into a submarine race.

We used to go watch submarine races back when I was in high school, but that was something different altogether.

Motels and hotels have a “Rack Rate,” the official price for a room. That’s the high price. They generally (almost always) have lower rates, but you have to ask. Sometimes they like it if you belong to an organization, and advance group rates can be pretty good, too, including if you use a savvy travel agent (such as one from serenity).

The key phrase is “best rate,” and they frequently waive any group membership requirement if you’re nice.

Delaware is 90 miles long and 12 wide at its narrowest, not a big target. But it has an art museum with an outstanding collection of Pre-Raphaelites, several community theaters, and world-class performances at the DuPont; a historic and scenic factory site that was the gunpowder manufacturing capital of the world, and historic towns and buildings galore. Not to mention a reasonable number of pretty good high-class  restaurants, some of them dating back to the 1700′s. If you care to drive out of town, you can relax on a nice ocean beach, Rehoboth, for example, and shop in all sorts of interesting shops in that very touristy part of the state. Are you a nature lover? Delaware boasts extensive wetlands and wilderness areas. Civil War buff? Try Pea Patch island, a short ferry ride across the Delaware River.

Aerial view of Fort Delaware on Pea Patch Island

And if you’re into the really unconventional, you can ride your motorcycle the length of the state 11 times in 24 hours to qualify for an Iron Butt Association Delaware Saddlesore 1000.

What suggestions do you have for an unlikely vacation spot? Tell us in the comments.

But ain’t competition a wonderful thing? The folks not retained by the cruise lines can offer essentially the same services, and often for noticeably less. The island governments tend to watch over their flocks of entrepeneurs fairly well—after all, you don’t want golden-egg-laying tourists to depart your island unhappy.

Rent for the business owner goes up the closer you get to the port, so a short walk can take you to where the taxis have lower overhead and can afford to take you down the same roads for less. Always negotiate the fare in advance, and don’t be afraid to walk away from a fare you don’t want to pay. Remember, though, most of the fairs are fairly standardized, even if informally, and if you lowball someone, you might get less of a tour than someone willing to pay the usual amount might get.

Another thing that works in your favor: tips are not negotiated in advance, so your driver is Highly Motivated to be personable, informative, and helpful. Actual horror stories are few and far between.

So how have you done on your own? Tell us your adventures or horror stories in the comments.

Consider an all-inclusive resort.

All-inclusives generally have a single price that includes airfare, all food, all beverages, all lodging, all activities, all tips. Cruises can take you to several locations, but the resorts try to make up for it by having a large enough (say, 20 acres) and interesting enough physical plant to make up for the variety of destinations on a cruise.

One resort's accommodations

At an all-inclusive resort you don’t need to go on a paid excursion to take in horseback riding, snorkeling, scuba, sailing, fishing, hiking, and guided tours into town or nearby historic sites. They are included, and generally offered several times a day. You won’t run out of things to do, and the schedule is yours. Not into snorkeling? They have a pool too big to fit on a cruise ship, and at least one resort features big-name video games that aren’t even on the market yet. Maybe you like active (volleyball, tennis) sports or sedate (billiards) games. Included. Not to mention lounging on a really nice beach, or spa services (some of the spa services might be extra), and food.

Maybe golf is your game

Food! All-inclusives have several restaurants, all part of the package. Calling them “restaurants” might be an understatement. Take your pick of these modifiers: exotic, themed, gourmet, high-class (or casual), always open, sushi, French, Italian, western, seafood, even local.

Beaches is the foremost family-oriented resort, and they have several attractive locations. Sandals is a popular couples and honeymoon location. Do a quick internet search and you can find a pile more.

You can even get married at an all-inclusive. Included, but you have to bring your own spouse-to-be.

The goal of an all-inclusive resort is to offer so many things on site that you feel no need to go elsewhere. Eventually you have to come home, though. When you do, come back to this site and tell us about it.

The islands allow you to just get off the boat and walk around, and most (all?) ports have plenty of local taxis offering to squire you about and show you the sights. Shop carefully.

The cruise lines themselves screen and approve certain vendors, and even though you pay a premium for them, you are pretty much guaranteed a safe and enjoyable experience. Cruise-sponsored excursions come in two types. The ones that you sign up for in advance, and the ones you buy on board. The cruise company web site lists them all, and you are wise to look over  the sign-up-in-advance excursions and get on the list early because many have limited capacity (when the bus is full, they don’t stack passengers on the roof) and you can miss out.

Golf Outing

Here is some idea of that to expect to pay, per person:

• Golf excursions run in the $185 range
• Scuba dives start at about $100
• Snorkeling starts at about $35
• You can rent a Harley (motorcycle) for about $500
• Cheapest were  visits to some butterfly gardens, and a cable car ride, each for around $20.

Excursions vary considerably in content. You can get dropped off at a beach, go on a dozen kinds of bus tour, take a boat to a hundred good snorkel spots (gear provided), hike up mountains, and go horseback riding. And that’s by no means everything. The amount of included food and drink varies. The amount of shopping varies. The amount of exercise varies! The duration varies from about an hour to about 5 hours.

You can’t possibly do everything, but you short-change yourself if you don’t do something on shore. Take some of that money you saved on the boat tickets and go on an adventure!

And when you get back, come here and leave a few comments.