To print this page, select "Print" from the File menu of your browser salon.com > Travel May 13, 1999 URL: http://www.salon.com/travel/advisor/1999/05/13/paris Can I take my pooch to Paris? Our expert answers questions on the dog's life in France, frequent flyer miles as wedding gifts and Las Vegas hotel deals. - - - - - - - - - - - - By Donald D. Groff I'm going to Paris in the fall and would like to take my small dog. I know that dogs are generally welcome in hotels and restaurants there, but what about shops, the metro, etc.? Also, will the dog be able to travel in the cabin on an international flight? Your pet will be universally accepted in Paris, much to the amusement and occasional chagrin of foreigners. An expatriate friend of mine goes berserk every time a waiter starts coo-coo-ca-chooing some diner's pooch while ignoring the other customers. And the animal tolerance extends beyond dogs. A recent story in the Boston Globe told of a couple who toured France for months with their cat, and even in grocery stores the shoppers barely blinked except for those who asked to stroke the cat. An excellent guidebook is "Paris Inside Out," by David Applefield (Houghton Mifflin, 3rd edition 1994); its section on pets notes: "Dogs are allowed in restaurants and most public places, although they must be leashed in parks and bagged on the metro and on trains. For an assortment of dog bags, go to Samaritaine." You may well be able to carry your dog aboard your flight to Paris, but it depends on the airline and your timing. On domestic flights, small pets are routinely allowed in passenger compartments providing they're in a carrier that fits beneath the seat. For international flights you'll have to check on your airline's policy; if you call the reservation number, a ticketing agent will be able to tell you. Not all airlines allow carry-on pets, and even those that do have limitations. Whether in the cabin or the cargo hold, each pet must have inoculation documents and a recent health certificate from your vet saying the dog's in good shape. I'm getting married in September, and my fiancé and I are both travel buffs. We'd love to be able to "register" to get frequent flyer miles as gifts. Is such a thing possible? Great idea! It would work spectacularly for newlyweds and gift-givers, especially those frequent flyers with zillions of points piling up in the mileage bank. The only hitch is the airlines, whose program rules would probably interfere with this union of gifter and giftee. Each airline has its own frequent-flyer program rules, and as a rule the airlines do allow transferring of mileage awards. But when transferring, they usually require that you transfer an entire award, such as a domestic round-trip for 25,000 miles or so. Some airlines do let frequent flyers donate mileage in smaller increments when they're applied to charity programs devised by the airlines. So it's technically possible, but I don't think you'll find many airlines, if any, that would allow the incremental donations for your purposes. At best, make sure your mileage-heavy friends and relatives know your desires -- and hope to hit a jackpot. The other catch in the concept is this: Even if an airline allowed such a bridal registry of mileage, it's hard to believe it would ever guarantee when you could cash in the award. This would be a major sticking point for honeymoons, which most couples like to time rather precisely. One of the biggest complaints about frequent-flyer programs is that members can't take their free trips when they desire because of seating limits and blackout dates. The most authoritative Web site on the topic of frequent flyer programs is WebFlyer, which constantly fields questions such as yours. It has a good searchable database of questions and Randy Petersen is constantly accepting new ones, too. A good wedding site that also takes questions is Weddingpages. For a family reunion in Las Vegas in June, where can I get the best hotel bargain prices? I have looked at Hotel Reservation Network and Priceline.com and have called various hotels. What is promised is not always available. We'd really like "package deals," but no one seems to be offering them. What do you suggest? Like winning at the slots, getting the best hotel deals in Vegas depends on timing. Even though the city has well over 100,000 rooms, it's such a popular destination that the rooms everyone wants -- those in the newer, glitzier properties -- often fill up early. When occupancy is up, there's no incentive for the properties to cut prices. If you were arriving in January instead of June, you'd have better luck. Your job is made harder because family members are coming from different directions. Those coming from big cities might be able to get air/hotel package deals offered by tour companies that advertise in the Sunday travel sections. You'll probably have to do what you're already doing -- shopping around -- unless you can find a local travel agent who's willing to undertake the task for you. If you tell an agent right off how many people you'll be booking for, you might get a warm reception. You might also try the vacation departments of the airlines that fly into Vegas -- they may have blocked space available for packages. Touch base with the Las Vegas Convention & Tourist Authority. You can call the Reservations Department at (702) 386-0770 or (800) 332-5333. Hours are Monday-Saturday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. PDT. Sites with Vegas hotel information include Visiting Vegas, Accommodations Express, Hotel Reservations Network and 1-800-USA-HOTELS. I really need to ask specific travel questions. Elsewhere I get generalizations. Where do I go to ask veteran travelers? Regardless of where you plan to travel, there are more ways to get firsthand information today than ever. And it's a good thing, because travel agents are in no mood to research and dispense background information unless you're a steady paying customer. The Internet offers great info for many destinations -- the Wanderlust area of Salon's own Table Talk, for example, is an excellent place to swap questions and tips with far-flung residents and fellow travelers. Many similar resources are available, such as the member exchanges on AOL's travel site. The Web sites of many guidebook publishers have expanded well beyond simple excerpts from their books to include sections by readers and travelers to post supplemental information from recent travels. Among them are Lonely Planet Publications and Rough Guides. Besides online sources, there are many low-tech ways to get up-to-date info, partly because people who travel have a penchant for sharing what they know, even if they're not getting paid for it. Adventure travel and tour companies that operate in your destination know the ins and outs very well; if you call and get an employee who's been there, they'll often chat at least briefly about the destination. You can also contact ethnic organizations linked to your destination, like an Italian-American group if you're headed for Italy. These groups may have Web sites, too. Youth hostels, especially those in gateway cities, are hotbeds of good information, both from current travelers and from the people who run the hostels. For locations, contact the American Youth Hostels. Increasingly, embassies and consulates also have their own sites that provide current news and local information. Some are mentioned in the consular information sheets provided by the U.S. State Department. And a number of foreign tourist offices include visitor reports on their Web sites. To locate them, go to a site such as Tourism Offices Worldwide Directory. salon.com | May 13, 1999