ORLANDO

Universal theme park's just frightful -- and that's a good thing

Haunted houses, spooky shows and scary rides are just part of the fun at Universal Studios' 18th annual Halloween Horror Nights.

Finding improvements in the maze of MIA

If you're planning to fly on American from Miami Interntional Airport, take note: You'll no longer be stuck in that cramped line at checkpoint D. As part of ongoing construction, the checkpoints for C and D have been combined at the old entrance to C in a open space that's brighter, friendlier and faster.

Puglia, Italy: Trip tips

GETTING THERE The drive from Rome takes about five hours; gas and rental car for six days cost a total of about $525. Alternatively, you can fly to Bari or Brindisi. The train services most major towns in the region.

Little-visited Puglia, Italy, offers warmth, wine and gloriously fresh food

Travelers -- even Italians -- may tell you that the heel of the Italian boot is remote and unhospitable. But at heart, what this sloping rural landscape is really about is food, gloriously delicious, just-out-of-the-fields-and-sea food, and the people who produce it.

Cruise ship review | Crown Princess

The Crown Princess wasn't my first choice of ships, based purely on its large size (almost 3,100 passengers.) That said, the experience exceeded expectations of nearly everyone in our group. In October, the ship comes to Port Everglades for fall/winter Caribbean cruises. Our review:

Foodie Finds: Ireland

COUNTY CORK, Ireland -- The bounty of a morning's chopping, kneading and steaming have been cleared from the round table that serves as a buffet: soups (cannelini and chorizo, and a brothy vegetable), a hearty chicken pie, zuchinni served al dente, greens with walnuts, poached fish, crusty breads, local artisanal cheeses. Students, a few guests and family -- there's always a table for whatever family is around -- clear plates from the porch of the old farmhouse.

NORTH CAROLINA

Asheville is hip, artsy, exciting

The downtown River Arts District is lined with antique shops, funky boutiques, gourmet restaurants and art galleries.

Golf country for nongolfers

Golf is a waste of time. Yes, yes, I've just committed blasphemy against Tiger and Rocco and this seaside patch of grass that is very birthplace of that sacred sport.

MEXICO

Mexico spa offers value getaway

IXTAPAN DE LA SAL, Mexico -- I've been oiled, salted, kneaded, toned, perfumed, prodded in the intimate reaches of my metatarsal pressure points. My thighs have jounced and bounced; my Third Eye and First Chakra have been pried apart.

London: Dining on the cheap

In London, it's dining that can do in your budget. Dodge the best restaurants, and you should be fine.

Zip it up and fly right

Packing light is the way to go

To Mandalay and Beyond: Behind Myanmar's bamboo veil

Editor's note: Myanmar -- also known as Burma -- was recently devasted by a massive cyclone. This 2002 story by Miami Herald Travel Editor Jane Wooldridge offers a glimpse into this isolated country.

ON A BUDGET

Europe on a budget

Even with the rising euro, you can keep costs down by seeing Europe like a native.

Florida Spring Break

Whether you're a school kid, a parent or a slightly crazed college student, Spring Break is an annual reminder that the year is hurtling past.

Cram it all into a carry-on

After a million-plus miles in the air, 70-odd countries and countless visits to a cold hometown for the holidays, the packing wisdom I've learned comes down to this: It's all about shoes.

Yow! Trip to Turkish bath is more than a massage

BY JANE WOOLDRIDGE jwooldridge@MiamiHerald.com

Greenland: Cruise explores harsh universe -- in comfort

It's well past midnight, but the sun is still gleaming just behind jagged peaks, washing the sky with a rosy shimmer. A waterfall gushes from a rocky cleft beneath the downy hood of a glacier. Light glints off the ice floes like sequins scattered on the calm water before us.

Beijing rolls out the Olympic carpet

Generous spirits, friendly helpfulness and, yes, confusion, are common experiences for visitors to China, and they're sure to greet travelers who come here next year for the Summer Olympics, which begin on the auspicious date of 8-08-08.

Going to the Olympics

OLYMPIC TICKETS The first phase of sales ended June 30, with 4.9 million requests for 2.7 million seats. The remaining tickets go on sale in October. A total of about 7 million are being offered.

China's future

China's warp-speed growth and economic promise have led many observers to tap it as the next world superpower; certainly the Beijing Olympics are designed to heighten its image. But in the future its path is likely to be less than smooth, says Laurence Brahm, American lawyer, political economist, consultant, filmmaker, newspaper columnist and entrepreneur.

China: Then and now

Jane Wooldridge first visited China in 1985; she has returned several times since, most recently in June 2007. 1985 The plane from Hong Kong to Beijing is half full; most passengers are Chinese or Western diplomats. While individual travel to China is now allowed, getting the visa has taken hours of quiet waiting and endless smiles in a Hong Kong office.

Visiting China

ORGANIZED TOURS China is one of the world's great travel values. High-quality group tours including airfare from the West Coast and visits in Beijing, Shanghai and Xian can cost as little as $1,700 per person. Some reputable tour companies include:

Postcard from Hong Kong

For decades, Hong Kong was Asia's glitziest city. Though Tokyo and Shanghai now vie for the title, Hong Kong retains a sense of drama that's unmatched. The peaks of its main island frame sleek towers jutting from an exquisite harbor that's rimmed by enough neon to give Vegas a run.

HIGHLIGHTS

First-timers -- try to get beyond Beijing

If this is your first -- or likely your only -- visit to China, try to get beyond the capital. The U.S. information agency is China National Tourist Office, 350 Fifth Ave., Suite 6413, New York, NY 10118; 888-760-8218; www.cnto.org.

Postcard from Shanghai

Shanghai isn't a visitors city in the classic sense. No Forbidden City or Great Wall or Temple of Heaven here. But if you want to see contemporary Chinese culture in action, to see China in transition, there's no place more vibrant or telling than Shanghai.

THE ABACOS

The Abacos are the kind of islands Jimmy Buffet sings about

On a Friday afternoon, the ferry from Marsh Harbour to Hope Town is packed with families from the Carolinas, North and South. Some have come to this one-time British Loyalist stronghold for generations.

THE EXUMAS

The Exumas are warm and welcoming

It doesn't take long on these sparsely populated islands to feel like a local.

South Dakota: Good times in the Badlands and beyond

BLACK HILLS, S.D. -- A hulking all-American woolly bearded bison grazes mere feet from the roadway, nibbling placidly on the grasses of Custer State Park. The burning temptation to pop out of the car for a quick photo is tempered by the beasts' tonnage and history: Despite their bulk weighing up to 2,000 pounds, bison have been known to spin and gore in the blink of a camera shutter. Rolling down a window is the wisest course.

The mystery of Easter Island

Massive statues on the world's most remote island are clues to cultural collapse