Hawaii fares headed up

Maui

Expect to start paying more for flights to Hawaii. So best to use those frequent-flier miles for Hawaii flights while you can, advises Joe Brancatelli, publisher of JoeSentMe.com, a newsletter for business travelers.

The three big players — United, Hawaiian and Alaska Airlines — are cutting back on seats this fall, Brancatelli reports. That likely means higher ticket prices and fewer seats available for award travel.

Competition between Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska has been intense in the Pacific Northwest and the Bay Area, resulting in deals for passengers but weaker profits on some routes.

Alaska Airlines spokeswoman Marianne Lindsey confirmed that the airline will cut capacity nearly 7 percent in the next five months, mainly by reducing daily flights from Oakland and San Jose to the Big Island and Kauai.

Allegiant Air is putting Hawaii flights from Boise, Spokane and Eugene on seasonal hiatus the week of Aug. 14. Flights from Bellingham to Honolulu and Maui won’t be affected.

Speaking of Alaska Airlines, what's behind its mileage partnership break-up between Kenmore Air? Read about it in my Sunday Travel Wise column for The Seattle Times. 

Mexico's Surprise City

Guanajuato

Nearby San Miguel de Allende gets all the press. But for avant-garde theater, art and music, Guanajuato has the edge. With Spanish colonial and French-inspired buildings occupying the flatter valleys and homes built up along the walls of a steep ravine, this 18th century former silver mining center in the mountains of Central Mexico, "is like Venice without the water,'' says local pastel artist Laura Rangel.  "You get surprised at every step.'' 

Tucked into alleyways too narrow for cars, houses painted in swatches of pink, purple and orange crawl up canyon walls  threaded with secret passageways and stone stairways.  A giant statue of the Mexican war hero El Pípila hovers over the town on a plateau reachable by a steep climb or ride up the hill on a glass-windowed funicular. 

Traffic? It flows mainly through a network of underground tunnels, dug first to prevent flooding and later for traffic control, leaving only a few surface streets, mostly reserved for pedestrians.  Find out more about this fascinating city in my story in the July-August issue of Virtuoso Life Magazine. 

California Culture on the Cheap

San Francisco's California Academy of Sciences

The lines were so long outside San Francisco's California Academy of Sciences on one of its free Sundays, I gave up on  seeing the albino alligators and took a walk through Golden Gate Park instead.

There was less competition to view original drawings of Little Lulu and Beetle Bailey comic strips at the Cartoon Art Museum on a first Tuesday "Pay as you Wish'' day.  And there was no wait at the Contemporary Jewish Museum, also free that day.  

Time your California vacation to the days when many museums waive admission charges, and you'll feast on the cultural equivalent of a free lunch. Just be aware that, depending on the venue, the buffet line might stretch around the block. Another caveat: Free entry usually applies only to a museum's permanent collection; special exhibits often cost extra. My Travel Wise column in the Seattle Times this week has all the details. 

San Francisco

For those looking for culture on the cheap, the first week of each month is a good time to visit. Many museums are free on first Tuesdays. Plan ahead by checking these links. 

Bank of America and Merrill Lynch credit and debit cardholders get free admission on the first weekend to selected museums throughout California, including San Francisco's Contemporary Jewish Museum, the de Young Museum, Legion of Honor and the Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland. Click here for a full list. 

The Asian Art Museum waives admission charges on first Sundays, and the California Academy of Sciences, housing an aquarium, planetarium and natural history museum, waives its $29.95 fee on four Sundays throughout the year. The next ones are June 2 and September 29.

 Warning: The museum's average Sunday attendance doubles from 4,000 to more than 8,000 on free days. (Tip: best time is after 2 p.m.).

Less crowded and a bargain are the academy's weekly Thursday  adults-only "NightLife'' programs. Admission drops to $12 starting at 6 p.m. Local bands entertain while visitors wander through the exhibits, noshing and sipping gin and tonics and noshing until 10 p.m.

Los Angeles

Many Los Angeles museums are always free, including the Getty Center and California Science Center. Free on second Tuesdays and certain holidays is the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. 

The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) waives admission fees each Thursday from 5-8 p.m. at its Grand Avenue location. Plan to arrive early and take a free tour of the Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall next door.

One of the best all-around free art happenings takes place on the streets of downtown L.A. People-watching is at its best during the Downtown Los Angeles Art Walk  every second Thursday.

San Diego 

Museums inside San Diego's Balboa Park are free to local residents on various Tuesdays; Non-locals must pay, but the park sells a day pass that allows adults to visit up to five of 14 museums for $39.  

 Both the downtown and La Jolla locations of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego are free on third Thursdays from 5 p.m.- 7 p.m. The collection includes 4,000 works created after 1950, including a stellar display of Pop art from the 1960s and '70s. 

The San Diego Children's Museum grants free admission on second Sundays. 

Palm Springs

Both the Palm Springs and Palm Desert locations of the Palm Springs Art Museum are free Thursdays from 4 p.m.-8 p.m. and on the second Sunday of each month. 
  

Cuba: Backstreets and Beyond

It's been more than a year since my first visit to Cuba, but the memories live on, and so does the story. Click here to see my account published in the May edition of International Travel News. It first ran in the Seattle Times Sunday magazine last year. For more on Cuba, click on on my blog, Cuba Now!