Upcoming free dates include April 21-29 in celebration of National Park Week and June 9 for Get Outdoors Day.

In the fall, you’ll get free entrance on September 29 to commemorate National Public Lands Day and November 10-12 in celebration of Veteran’s Day.

Several of the big-name parks are participating, like Yosemite, Yellowstone, and the Everglades. To beat the crowds and still enjoy some natural splendor, you also want to check out some of the less-crowded sites, like Capitol Reef National Park in central Utah, which is known for its brilliantly colored rock formations and Montana’s Glacier National Park for its alpine meadows and glacial lakes.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that things are free once you get inside the park. You’ll still have to pay for concessions like food and lodging.

But don’t forget you can also save by purchasing an annual pass, which gets you year-round access to the national parks, rivers, forests, and all other sites in the National Park System.

For more great outdoor ideas visit our Adventure Travel and Sports section.

And check out the rest of our Daily Travel Tips here.

After years and years of delays and inaction, Congress actually accomplished the nearly impossible this week. It passed the new FAA authorization bill. Should you be happy about this?

In theory, yes. The legislation authorizes $63.3 billion for FAA programs through the year 2015 so the air traffic system will keep running. Finally, the bill included $11 billion in funding for the FAA’s “NextGen” development, which breaks down to about $1 billion a year in funding as has been the case for the last two years.

The NextGen plans includes a much needed precision navigation systems being installed at the nation’s busiest 35 airports with the rest of the country to follow along. Instead of relying on the old air traffic control system that is based on World War II technology, we’re finally building in GPS technology.

For pilots, this means that they have more precise information about the locations of planes and other obstacles so that their planes can land and take off closer together regardless of the weather. Plus, if the FAA has their way, planes will also be equipped with on board satellite technology that updates the location of planes every second instead of radar’s every six to 12 seconds.

What does this mean to you? According to the FAA, the installation and operation of this equipment will mean a 20 percent reduction in flight delays.

Now, let’s put this in perspective. NextGen carries with it a certain amount of irony. It won’t be installed until 2015 at the earliest, and if history is any indication, by the time it’s up and running it will be LAST GEN.

To make matters worse, the FAA’s prediction of reducing flight delays by 20 percent sounds great, until you dig a little deeper and discover that predicted reduction doesn’t happen until…2018!

Let’s hear it for NextGen. I suppose it’s better than nothing, and for many of us, when it finally kicks in, we can read about it from our reserved seat in…assisted living, because by then, many of us will actually be in the next gen.

Do you think NextGen will be a game-changer or will it be outdate by the time it’s implemented?

For more information, check out:

• Aviation Consultant Michael Boyd on NextGen and the Future of Flying
• our news coverage of This Summer’s FAA Shutdown 
• FAA Shutdown to End the Airline Tax Holiday
• previous NextGen and FAA coverage

By Peter Greenberg for Peter Greenberg.com

Peter Greenberg:  I’m sure you’re glad to be home.

Dr. Heinz Schaden: I’m really glad to be home. I was lucky to escape unharmed which is not the case unfortunately for quite a few. Also, those passengers that I’m in contact with now that managed to escape, some of them still suffer from psychological wounds. Luckily, I’m in fine condition.

 PG: You went on the ship just as a vacationing passenger, correct?

HS: Yes, I planned week of vacation far away from phones. I wanted some quiet, but it ended quite differently.

PG: Tell me what happened. Give me your play by play of where you were on the ship when you first heard, or felt something and what happened after that?

HS: It was 9:30 pm and I was in my cabin, packing my stuff because it was going to dock in Italy the next morning and all of a sudden everything flew because the ship hit the coast. It was quiet for a few seconds. Then it was like a gigantic earthquake. The ship was shaking and everything flew away. After a few moments, when it got quiet again the lights went out. It was pitch dark which was not reassuring for the passengers.

I opened my cabin doors and found my cabin neighbors in the hall. They were family with young children. As you can imagine, they were very shaken and didn’t know what was going on. After a while we got a message on the intercom which said that there was a generator problem. At that point I noticed that the ship was tilting to the side and that we were taking in water and still the information came over the intercom that said, “Don’t worry. Stay where you are. It’s just a minor technical problem that we have and lights will be on very soon.”

I am still furious about this. None of the lives should have been lost. If the passengers were told to go to your cabins and grab your life vest and go to the deck 4, which is where the boats are, then no life would have been lost.  The ship’s improper communication and direction is why some of the passengers drowned in their cabin with their life vests on.

After a while, passengers realized that something in seriously wrong and made up their mind to go to the deck where the boats are. There was no officer there to give instructions or tell the people what was really happening. But people could see something serious was happening, because the ship was sinking slowly and steadily. It was already so late that some of the boats could not be lowered to the water anymore. Only then evacuation began which was about an hour and a half after the collision.

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The good news even amateurs can shoot like the pros with some of the digital point-and-shoot cameras on the market.  Sony’s new Sony Cybershot WX-9 camera has cool features like automatic snapshots and image stabilization to correct blurring.It’s even powerful enough to produce 3D stills and panoramas. Best of all, it costs less than $200.

Canon’s PowerShot D10 is waterproof in depths up to 33 feet, works in freezing weather, and can withstand a fall from up to 4 feet.  This one is a little pricier, about $250, but not only is it a great option for adventure travelers…it can also stand up to kids!

And then there are the accessories. For managing your photos, take a look at the Eye-Fi Mobile wireless memory card. It works just like a regular memory card, but uses Wi-Fi to download and organize photos to your computer, smartphone or tablet.

Smartphones may be getting smarter, but even traditional technology is keeping up with the times.

Get more ideas and some of the hottest travel gadgets for 2012 here.

And check out the rest of our Daily Travel Tips here.

Tourism has always been one of the Egypt’s biggest economic industries, but since the revolution began in early 2010, the industry has suffered — and so has the country’s bottom line.

Recently, Peter Greenberg and his team traveled to Egypt to experience first-hand how the nation has been affected by the drastic drop in income.  Cruises haven’t left the docks in months, the once-crowded pyramids are almost empty, and hotels are, on average, at half occupancy.

Translation?  This is the perfect time to travel to Egypt.

Peter Greenberg travel correspondent Alyssa Caverley reports on how the country is coping and how the few Americans who have made the journey feel about their stay.

You can talk to Peter at 1-888-88-PETER (1-888-887-3837), email peter@petergreenberg.com, or tweet questions to @petersgreenberg (use #askPeter)

Peter will be standing by to answer your questions live on Monday, February 13 and Tuesday, February 14 between 6:30pm and 7:50pm ET.

This week Peter offers advice on Civil War sites, alcohol on cruises, foreign car rental insurance, and group travel to Ireland.

Jan from Duluth, Minnesota asks: My husband is a war buff and is looking forward to the Civil War events happening this year.  He’s not interested in reenactments but wants to learn more about the war.  What do you recommend we do?

Peter replied: You’ve got three states that are great for Civil War travel: Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Ohio.  Pennsylvania is a great destination no matter when you visit because they have the historic battlefields, the official stops along the Underground Railroad, the Civil War trail, the National Civil War Museum, and of course the Gettysburg National Military Park which is a must-see.

In Maryland, there’s a lot of Civil War trails, which follow the routes taken by the Union and Confederate soldiers during that same Gettysburg campaign and you can actually drive it in a couple of days along with walking tours.  Check out Civil War Traveler’s website.

Most people don’t associate Ohio with the Civil War, but believe it or not 300,000 people from Ohio participated in the Civil War and there are over 250 monuments dedicated to the war in that state alone.  There are plenty of sites to explore.  I know you’re not interested in reenactments, but there will be a lot of them.  Check out www.ohiocivilwar150.org, which will help you in figuring out what you do and don’t want to do there.

For more information on Civil War Travel, check out David Latt’s journey through Loudon County, Virginia.

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In France, a program called WICE, was founded by English speakers of Paris.  There’s an annual fee, but that gets you access to a conversational group every Tuesday and Friday.

Or you can exchange language tips with a program called “Parlez Parlour.” where classes are 45 minutes of English and 45 minutes of French.

Then there’s something called Spanish abroad. They have fun immersion programs like a language a surf camp in Costa Rica, but my advice is to pick a more culturally intensive program in a place like Madrid.

The groups are small and you are encouraged to practice your conversational skills with staff outside the classes as well.  You never want school to interfere with your education.  You have to speak outside of class.

Get more ideas for learning foreign languages in our etiquette section.

And check out the rest of our Daily Travel Tips here.

As details surrounding last month’s Costa Concordia cruise ship disaster emerge, several questions remain: who is responsible, how will the victims be compensated and who should pay? In an international shipwreck, where conflicting laws and processes of various countries may apply, these seemingly simple questions become much more complex.

Discussion of these questions requires some understanding of “legalese” – legal terms or concepts that are probably foreign to the non-lawyer. Here are a few basic concepts you should know:

Passenger Ticket Contract: Generally, when booking a ticket, one does not realize that a binding legal contract is being formed. In reality, this is exactly what happens; the passenger ticket is a contract between the passenger and the cruise line, which lays out each party’s respective rights and obligations to one another.

Relatively speaking, passengers are provided thin protections that severely limit compensation for injuries, lost articles, trauma and other damages incurred during a voyage. Conversely, cruise lines – which largely dictate the terms of the contract – are afforded wide protections that limit their responsibilities and obligations to passengers.

As a result, the Passenger Ticket Contracts – can and will present strong obstacles to those seeking to obtain relief outside of and beyond what is stated.

Choice of Forum: A “forum” is where a legal action can be started. For example, several reports indicate that U.S. lawyers are filing actions in U.S. courts on behalf of passengers claiming injuries. However, a basic issue arises where, as with Costa Concordia ticket holders, the contract mandates that claims must be brought in the courts of Genoa, Italy.

Whether or not an action brought in a forum outside of Italy will be allowed will depend on the strength of the provisions in the ticket contract (most of which have been upheld as fair in U.S. courts) and the types of claims that are ultimately brought.

Choice of Law: Once the forum is selected, the court must choose which law to apply to resolve the claims. This can at times lead to the odd result of a court in one country being forced to understand and apply the laws of another.

For example, the Costa Concordia ticket contract dictates that Italian law be applied to any claims relating to the voyage. Even if claims are able to be brought in the U.S., those courts may be faced with applying Italian law and, where applicable, maritime or the Law of the Sea which are separate sets of laws governing international bodies of water – an exercise which may not be appealing to an American judge.

Keep reading to sees Nicole Coward recent interview with Vanity Fair’s Victoria Mather and Peter Greenberg. 

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Most people think of Valentine’s Day as a holiday just for couples, but romance can spoil fast if you spend the whole trip worrying about your children. Instead, Kerri Zane suggests bringing the family along. This month’s Window Seat or Aisle column teaches how to find romance on a family trip.

Nearly 1 billion will exchange cards this year for Valentine’s Day, 35 million will give someone a heart-shaped box full of chocolates and 189 million roses will be purchased (including the 15 percent of women who send roses to themselves that day).  And millions of couples around the world take a romantic trip.

Remember Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to just be for couples. Instead, think of the day as an opportunity for family members to say, “I love you one and all.” The key to family travel over Valentine’s Day is to find properties that offer supervised kid’s activities while mom and dad share some romantic time along.

According to Karinna Kittles-Karsten, relationship expert and founder of the Sacred Love, “Most couples need some extra time for themselves to rekindle their romance, relax and have some fun together. At the same time, if children are left at home, the couple may spend more time thinking about what is going on there rather than being present with each other.”

Kittles-Karsten suggests,  “a getaway that includes a little couples time as well as time with the children can be the perfect blend.” 

A Family Affair

Many resorts and vacation destinations are savvy to this Valentine dilemma and have created special family packages that can accommodate everyone!

Sorrel River Ranch Resort & Spa in Moab, Utah has put together a special package just for PeterGreenberg.com readers. And the best part it comes with supervised kids’ activities.

The “Family Affair” Valentine’s Day Package, only available during the month of February, includes three nights in a mountain view room, family dinner in River Grill one evening, breakfast daily, roses for mom, a Hummer tour for the family, cider, champagne and chocolate strawberries, guided Arches National Park hike, a kids’ geocache adventure and wrangler demonstration (roping lesson, crafts and branding demonstration). Plus s’mores by the fire for the family! Click here for your special PGW offer. Rates starts at $2,625.74 double occupancy in a mountain view room.

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From the Vienna symphony to the annual opera ball, Peter shares his favorite activities and the events that make feel like he’s stepped back in time when he returns to Vienna. But Vienna is not all about the past. Peter speaks with chefs, curators and winemakers to learn about the city’s new attractions and why it’s now considered one of the undersung wine and food regions in Europe.

If you missed this weekend’s Peter Greenberg Worldwide Radio broadcast from The Hotel Imperial in Vienna, we’ve got it right here on PeterGreenberg.com. Click here to see the guest list.

As always, Peter answers your calls and emails on the show. Check out our recent Ask Peter to see his answers to you questions. Then talk to Peter!  call 1-888-88-PETER (1-888-887-3837), email peter@petergreenberg.com, or tweet Peter @PetersGreenberg (#askPeter).

Peter will be standing by to take your call on Monday and Tuesday February 13 and between 6:30pm and 7:50pm est. Then on Saturday February 18, he is available from 10am until 12pm est.

When you head to the ski slopes, keep in mind that fresh winter snow can reflect as much as 80 percent of UV rays.  That’s several times more than water or sand.  Not only are those rays harmful to your skin, there’s also a danger to your eyes – leading to conditions such as clouded lenses and cataracts.

Remember that good quality ski goggles with UV protection are a much better option than sunglasses.  And because the air is a lot dryer in winter, especially in higher elevations where the atmosphere is thinner, it’s important to reapply that sunblock frequently.

And here’s a tip you can use any time of year.  It’s called the shadow rule, which means that the longer your shadow, the lower your UV exposure.  So plan accordingly whether your hitting the slopes, the beach, or just strolling around town.

Get more ideas for staying safe in winter in our Health & Fitness section.

And check out the rest of our Daily Travel Tips here.

Find out why the DOT’s fee transparency legislation has many airline carriers upset. Plus, the CEO of Spirit Airlines and the president of the Business Travel Coalition debate the various changes.

For more on these stories and to view foodie David Latt’s slideshow on Spokane’s best farm-to-table restaurants, read on for the weekly roundup on PeterGreenberg.com.

American Airlines announced this week that they would be cutting jobs in order to lower costs. Peter explores how the changes will affect consumers in a CBS This Morning Report.

After Barbara Boxer’s recent comments on Spirit Airlines’ pricing procedures, CEO Ben Baldanza responds to the senator’s statements.

From Napa Valley to Botswana, Kerri Zane shares some of the best vacation destinations to help you escape the winter cold.

Tawnya Rush takes you on a safari adventure in Uganda’s Murchison Falls National Park.

Check out David Latt’s slideshow on the delicious food-to-table dishes Spokane’s restaurants have to offer.

If you want to avoid the cookie-cutter hotel experience, look for an eco-lodge, where each property and owner has a different story. Meg Pier continues her Pier to Peer interview series in Tobago with a conversation with Ean Mackay and Adventure Eco Villas.

If our Icarus Awards teaches you anything, it’s that crime doesn’t pay. This week’s nominees swindle, steal, displace, and cheat innocent travelers.  Click here to read about it all and vote for the guiltiest party.

Peter answers your travel questions on Peter Greenberg Worldwide Radio.

Remember to download the latest podcast of Peter’s radio show on PeterGreenberg.com, broadcasting from Hotel Imperial Vienna. Check out the guest list here.

Listening to the show the old-fashioned way is easy.  Just click here for a radio station near you.

Did you know you can keep up with Peter in real-time?  “Like” his Facebook fan page   and follow him on Twitter.

Visit Peter’s official YouTube channel for the latest travel news.

Check out Weekly International Travel News Roundups from previous weeks.

By Michal Schneider for PeterGreenberg.com

Meg Pier: When did you open Adventure Eco Villas?

Ean Mackay: My father started Adventure Farm in 1972. His concept was to plant every type of tree that was on the island, mainly fruit trees. However, over the years we’ve had challenges with bush fires so farming is really not a profitable venture.

When I retired from running two of the hotels I had opened, I started the eco project. For many years it was just myself and my wife and my family enjoying it. But a few years ago we opened it up to the public, to sustain the property. I went into ecotourism and agrotourism.

We have the farm, which attracts the birds and all the wildlife. We built two villas, which give visitors to the island an opportunity to experience Tobago’s natural habitat.

We have schools coming here as well–we try to help the next generation to save the environment. And the kids here are very enthusiastic.

Meg: Speak of birds, what was that we just heard?

Ean: That’s a Chachalaca. It’s our national bird of Tobago. It’s like a large pheasant or a small turkey.

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Stranded with Spanair

Last Friday, Spanish airline Spanair abruptly announced that it was ending operations–not at some indefinite point in the future, but right then and there. Over 20,000 passengers who held tickets to over 220 flights the airline were abandoned with no instructions on how to seek reimbursements. Despite the fact the Catalonia government had given the airline over €150 million, it was unable to stay afloat. Now instead of receiving money, the Spanish government is considering fining the airline €12 million for ceasing operations and thereby violating aviation regulations. Of course, how they expect the bankrupt airline to pay is another story…

Dirty Diaper Debacle

Not a crime of the law but perhaps a crime of parenting occurred this week on a Qantas flight from Brisbane to Darwin when a passenger attemped to flush an extremely smelly diaper in the toilet. According to a statement from the airline, passengers complained about the odor, which “unfortunately turned out to be a very smelly nappy dumped in the fwd toilet.” Following procedure, the plane made an emergency landing in Mount Isla. The passengers were transferred to a new plane and the original plane was thoroughly checked before continuing its journey with the passenger’s luggage.

Campaign Finance Suitcase Reform

Mexican political rivalry is centering around a state official’s suitcase found with $1.9 million at a central Mexico airport. This find does little to allay fears that organized crime or illegal campaign funding will influence the July elections. The money is suspected to come from the Pena Nieto’s Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). In theory a state official claims he was using the money to make a hurried payment for legitimate consulting services. However, the National Action Party called that explanation “an insult to the intelligence of Mexicans.” Currently the government, which is made up of members of the National Action Party, has said it will not return the money until PRI government of Veracruz removes any suspicions about it.

Tweet and Trash

President Obama may be working to attract foreign visitors, but the department of Homeland Security is keeping a close eye on who’s coming in. Two UK tourists, Leigh Van Bryan and Emily Bunting, were intercepted upon arrival in Los Angeles as a direct result of their tweets. The offensive tweets suggested they would “destroy” America (a British euphemism for hard partying) and would dig up Marilyn Monroe’s grave (a quote from a Family Guy episode). The tweeting Brits were questioned for five hours, held in jail for another 12 and then flown back to London.

Sticky-Fingered Security

Two TSA agents are making the headlines for pocketing the finds from their security checks. In Dallas -Fort Worth, Texas, a screener was arrested on suspicion of stealing eight iPads. Clayton Keith Dovel worked in the “resolution room” where check luggage is screened. Police found Dovel, who is currently on administrative leave, when a stolen iPad was electronically located in his home. Then in New York’s JFK International Airport, TSA Agent Alexandra Schmid is accused of taking $5,000 in cash from a passenger’s jacket on the security conveyor belt on February 1. Surveillance video places the agent with the cash and taking it to the bathroom where it may have been passed to an accomplice. Though the money has yet to be recovered, Schmid has been charged with grand larceny.

Taxable Rewards won last week’s Icarus Award. Check out more nominees in our Icarus Award section. Vote for this week’s worst offender in our poll.

By Lily J Kosner for PeterGreenberg.com

Related links: USA Today, Huffington Post, MSNBC, Daily Mail, Hollywood Reporter, WFAA

Cancellation waivers are not the same thing as travel insurance. These are so-called guarantees from travel providers that you can cancel your trip and get your money back. Sort of.

In most cases, the way it works is they refund your deposit and other payments in the form of a travel voucher, which you can redeem for travel with the same company in the future.

Now here’s the fine print: In many cases, there’s a cutoff date to the policy, so no last-minute cancellations allowed.

The vouchers usually have a time limit of one year from the date of issue. If you don’t redeem it, you’re out of luck. And if the only upcoming trips in that time period are more expensive, guess who’s paying the difference?

You’re better off protecting your trip with traditional travel insurance, but read the fine print there as well. And never purchase a policy from your travel provider; get it from a third party instead.

For more information check out our daily travel tips here.

Visit the Watch and Listen page of CBSNewYork.com. Just click on Audio on Demand.