"What are hotel star ratings based on?" a colleague asked the other day, after staying in a 5-star hotel she wasn't particularly impressed by. Jim Eagles investigaes.

Graham Reid celebrates the pleasure of cheap kitsch souvenirs.

'No passport required' is true enough, though the overall message of Auckland's new campaign slogan seems dusty to me.

If you've made a few landings at Wellington Airport, there's a decent chance you've experienced at least one hairy approach.

As a junior member of Auckland Observatory in the 1980s, I was pretty much convinced that in the world of the future I'd be as likely to holiday on the moon as on the Coromandel Peninsula.

I think we'd all agree that the two biggest factors taking the romance out of flying are airport security and tight seating on the planes.

Getting on the LOTR bandwagon was smart first time around. This time it suggests a lack of inspiration.

The British Office of Fair Trade has rumbled some of the biggest online travel companies and hotel chains for price fixing.

Women are breaking the glass ceiling in the business sector, but it's still the suited men who are hogging the business trips.

Recordings of local music have become a favourite travel memento for former Herald Travel editor Jim Eagles.

News that Heathrow airport has brought in fast-track lanes at Customs for visitors from wealthy Westernised countries (that's us) is good for Kiwis.

Dunedin writer Neville Peat warns Olympic Games visitors to always keep a close eye on their valuables. It's sound advice for any traveller anywhere.

London loves a grand event - and grand sporting events take pride of place in the city's calendar.

The in-flight puker is surely a greater menace than smelly fellow passengers or arm-rest hogs, writes Winston Aldworth.

Safety is only one factor in hitchhiking's decline, writes Winston Aldworth.

Would we have been as accommodating of the annual throng as the Turkish people have been?

Winston Aldworth goes in to bat for some of New Zealand's much-maligned regional centres.

When it comes to transtasman carriers, Dita De Boni has a firm favourite.

Last week was a special one for jet lovers. The arrival of Boeing's Dreamliner in the skies above New Zealand set planespotters' hearts racing.

It's the plane the world has been talking about for years... and now it's almost here.

Herald Travel Editor Jim Eagles signs off after eight years in the job and recalls some of his favourite travel memories.

What airline passengers fear most, it seems, is being seated next to someone who pongs.

I'm sure you know the feeling. You're sitting in your seat in the plane, watching passengers walking down the aisle, wondering who'll be sitting next to you...

London Heathrow, with its long queues, surly staff and clapped-out amenities, is the airport our readers most like to avoid.

Air passengers the world over employ some cunning tactics to sneak more gear on board.