Travel briefs
More beach resorts are offering pools with water slides, no-cost children's programs and other amenities that make them attractive, affordable alternatives for families looking for one-stop vacations, according to Parents magazine.
The magazine evaluated more than 200 beach resorts in the U.S. and the Caribbean, based on room rates and other costs, quality of children's programs, variety of family activities, pool and beach area and other factors.
The May issue of Parents lists the 10 resorts the magazine deemed to best meet those criteria. The resorts are Sheraton Grand Bahama Island Our Lucaya, Bahamas; Club Med Punta Cana, Dominican Republic; South Seas Island Resort, Captiva Island, Fla.; Atlantis, Paradise Island, Bahamas; Disney's Vero Beach Resort in Florida.
Also: Beaches Negril Resort and Spa, Jamaica; Hilton Hawaiian Village, Honolulu, Hawaii; Ocean Edge Resort & Spa, Brewster, Mass.; Loews Coronado Bay Beach Resort & Spa, San Diego; and Rio Mar Beach Golf Resort Casino & Spa, in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.
The number of visitors to New Orleans nearly doubled last year compared to 2006, and the city hopes to attract even more tourists with a new campaign to bring people in during the slower summer season.
''Come Out and Play'' is the theme of ads set to run across a range of mediums, regionally and nationally, touting the city's music, food and cultural and family attractions. The New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corp. rolled out the campaign with a jazz band and dancers in mid-April along with a survey that showed visitation grew from 3.7 million in 2006, the year after Hurricane Katrina, to 7.1 million last year.
Online registration is now available for mountaineers attempting climbs of Mount McKinley or Mount Foraker.
Park officials say the system is a quick, safe way for climbers to register with park officials. All climbers attempting McKinley or Foraker are required to pre-register with Denali National Park and Preserve at least 60 days in advance of the climb.
Park officials say they anticipate between 1,200 and 1,300 climbers this year, with most of them attempting their climbs in May and June.
A guide to faith-based trips is out and it's called The Christian Travel Planner (Thomas Nelson, $16.99). The paperback includes information about missions and ministries; Christian cruises, camps and retreats; and Christian heritage sites overseas in the Middle East, Greece, Italy, England, Germany and other places.
Domestic attractions noted in the book include the Holy Land Experience biblical park in Orlando, Fla., and "The Great Passion Play'' performed in Eureka Springs, Ark. Listings for monastic guest stays include the Monastery of Christ in the Desert in Abiquiu, N.M., and the Abbey of Gethsemani in Trappist, Ky.
The book was written by Kevin J. Wright, president of the World Religious Travel Association.
A new museum is opening June 2 at the site of the 1969 Woodstock concert. The Museum at Bethel Woods, located about 90 minutes north of New York City, will feature exhibits, personal stories and programs about the 1960s focusing on everything from music to political protest.
The original three-day festival epitomized the era's ''sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll'' counterculture while drawing 400,000 people to hear Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Joni Mitchell and many other performers.
The museum is part of the larger Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, an outdoor performing arts center. Performers scheduled this summer include the ''True Colors'' show with Cyndi Lauper and the B-52s, Ringo Starr and the New York Philharmonic, among others.
Tickets for the museum are on sale now from www.BethelWoodsCenter.org or Ticketmaster at (845) 454-3388.