How to Be the World's Smartest Traveler (and Save Time, Money, and Hassle)

Consumer travel advocate Christopher Elliott gives you the inside scoop on how to travel smart in this new guide from National Geographic. Calling on practical advice accumulated from more than 20 years of experience in the field, Elliott guides you through the complexities of travel--from cruises to car rentals, travel insurance to time shares, restaurants to resorts, and airlines to agents--and arms you with all the information you need for a successful trip. Full of actionable advice and the answers to the most common--and perplexing--questions, Elliott guides readers through the new rules of travel and breaks through the virtual confusion of pricing, offers, discounts, packages, and every imaginable aspect of a trip, every step of the way. For beginning and seasoned travelers, for business and pleasure trips, this is the ultimate consumer guide to yourjourneys domestically or around the world.

CHRISTOPHER ELLIOTT is a nationally acclaimed consumer advocate who is National Geographic Traveler's Editor-at-Large and resident ombudsman. He writes their "Problem Solved" column, a nationally syndicated weekly travel column, a regular USA Today column, and a daily blog focused on solving consumer travel problems. Elliott writes a weekly column for The Washington Post and is a personal finance blogger at Mint.com. He's hosted a cable TV show and a nationally syndicated radio show, and was an independent producer for NPR and a commentator for both NPR andMarketplace. As a pioneer in digital journalism, he founded the Internet's first business travel website in 1994 and began blogging in 1996, before it was called blogging. He became ABCNews.com's first travel columnist in 1997, and his work has since appeared in a variety of major news outlets, including CBS Interactive, CNN.com, MSNBC.com and USAToday.com. As an early adopter, he was one of the first journalists with a presence on Facebook, Google+, and Twitter. Currently, his family is on an open-ended journey around the world, covering the adventure for nationalgeographic.com and the Huffington Post.