9 Spring Breaks, From Budget to Beyond

Michael Lowry/Royale Parc Suites; Noel Rogers/Bow Valley Photography; Norwegian Cruise Line; Chris Abraham/Design Pics, via Newscom; Rieger Bertrand/Hemis--Zumapress.com, via Newscom; Andre Jenny/Stock Connection Worldwide--Newscom; Jon Arnold/JAI--Corbis; Jamie Pham/Stock Connection Worldwide, via Newscom; Walter Bibikow/JAI--Corbis.

Clockwise from top left: Orlando pool; Alpine Helicopters tour; Norwegian Jewel cruise ship; Kauai; Antigua; Annecy, France, in the Savoie region; Claridge's in London; Sea World in San Diego. Center: Whistler in British Columbia.

When it comes to my children's school vacations, the only one that has always produced an overwhelming need to get away as a family is spring break. Falling in March or April, depending on the school, the week punctuates the endless stretch between January and school's end, providing a chance for rest and adventure after a long period of burrowing.

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Robert Caplin for The New York Times; Katie Orlinsky for The New York Times (Bill Fischer)

THE AGENTS From top: Katie Bluzmanis of Liberty Travel (budget trips); Susan Tanzman of Martin's Travel and Tours (moderate trips); and Bill Fischer of Fischer Travel Enterprises (luxury trips).

Apparently, I am not alone. "We see families desperate for that sense of renewal that you get with a spring break vacation," said Katie Bluzmanis, a travel consultant at Liberty Travel, a 60-year-old agency with offices nationwide.

Susan Tanzman, president of Martin's Travel and Tours, a Los Angeles-based agency that books trips for clients all over the world, many of them families, agrees. Yet she emphasizes the importance of accommodating diverging family goals for a spring trip. "It has to be a vacation, after all," she said. "Something that is enjoyable for every member of the family, but not so exhausting that you come home more tired than when you left." To that end, we asked three travel agencies to put together their ideal weeklong, spring vacations for a fictional family of four. We asked for three options — one each in a city, mountain area and someplace sunny — and told them that the children's ages were 6 and 12, young enough for a kids' club but not in need of a full-time baby sitter.

Agency 1, Liberty Travel, was assigned "budget" travel, which meant keeping the price to under $4,500 a week for each trip, not including airfare. Agency 2, Martin's Travel, was given the moderate price range of under $9,000. Then, for the fantasy factor, we asked Bill Fischer of Fischer Travel Enterprises, a high-end agency in New York City, to give us the voyeurism of three trips for which cost would not be an issue. While nearly all these trips — with the exception of the two packaged cruises and the luxury trip to London (where private access to royal life is about connections, not cash) — could technically be pieced together by individual families, the value in booking through travel agents is their inside knowledge, access to discounts and, of course, the fact that they do the legwork for you. In general, the prices for each trip include accommodations and most activities, a rental car when one is needed (the case for nearly all of the budget and moderate vacations) and varying stipends for meals. Some optional items, including many of the evening and "splurge" activities, were not included. To that end, we have tried to point out when an activity will cost extra.

We asked the agents not to include airfares since prices vary depending on the departure cities of our readers.

What follows are nine "wish list" trips our agents came up with, with prices ranging from a thrifty $3,649 for a family cruise to a whopping $1.06 million for the privilege of experiencing life on a private yacht.

BUDGET TRIP NO. 1:
Orlando's Theme Parks for $4,115

Itinerary Four days at Disney's Magic Kingdom, three days at Universal Studio and one day at SeaWorld.

Hotel A suite with two double beds, sofa bed and kitchenette at the Quality Suites Royale Parc Suites (guests 17 and under stay free), with a poolside bar for parents, a game room and playground.

The Kickoff Head straight to Disney for the character meet and greet — your children won't let you do anything else anyway.

If You're Feeling Sporty Jump in a 600-horsepower Nascar racecar at the Walt Disney World Speedway (the add-on price for riding as a passenger starts at around $100).

Wow Factor The Blue Horizons show at SeaWorld, where tropical birds, dolphins and acrobats perform aquatic feats.

Food Breakfast buffet at the hotel and dining each night in Downtown Disney, at places like Planet Hollywood and the Rainforest Cafe. But beware: meals are not included in the overall price, so consider cooking in your room every other night to cut back costs.

Culture Vulture Go to the Orlando Museum of Art, admiring works by John Singer Sargent, Georgia O'Keeffe, Ansel Adams and others.

Splurge Drop the children at the Never Land Club activity center and tee off at one of many golf courses in the area, including Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill Club and Lodge. Price not included in the package.

Night Owl Don't miss IllumiNations-Reflections of Earth, a 9 p.m. fireworks show at Epcot.

BUDGET TRIP NO. 2:
Outdoors in Banff National Park for $4,239

Itinerary Five days of hiking, skiing and other activities in Canada's oldest national park.

JENNIFER CONLIN is a frequent contributor to the Travel section.

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Pursuits: Getting Comfortable With the New Vail

Justin Edmonds for The New York Times

Taking advantage of the Wi-Fi in Vail's new 10-person gondola. The resort is celebrating its 50th anniversary. More Photos »

In the late 1950s, Pete Seibert, who dreamed of building a major ski resort in Colorado, spent seven hours hiking to the top of what is now Vail Mountain. At the crest of the obscure, unpopulated hill, he glimpsed a rare landscape of largely treeless bowls, a vast panorama of seemingly boundless, perfect skiing terrain.

Mr. Seibert, a former member of the United States ski team, turned to his hiking partner, Earl Eaton, a local uranium prospector who had led him to the site, and said: "My God, we've climbed all the way to heaven." They sat in the grass, ate a lunch of cold cuts, then spent another four hours hiking back down.

Five years later the Vail resort opened for the winter of 1962-63 with $5 lift tickets and crowds so small that one day only 12 people showed up.

Fifty years later the resort can attract 1.7 million people to its slopes per season, and it is a seven-and-one-half-minute ascent up the mountain in the resort's new 10-person gondola, equipped with heated seats and Wi-Fi access. Steps from the top of the gondola, one dining choice of several is a restaurant in which guests can exchange ski boots for slippers before looking over a menu that includes things like hazelnut and ginger buffalo carpaccio and selections from a 2,200-bottle on-site wine cellar.

Just outside the restaurant door, Vail photographers will take your picture, and using the chip embedded in your $106 lift ticket (the online purchase price) send it to friends through the social network of your choice. The same chip can chart and digest every detail of your day: the number of vertical feet skied, trails visited and your top speed. Later, you will also be able to watch video from the day, if you are one of the many on the mountain who have affixed a tiny camera to your helmet.

Suffice it to say, the Vail founders, both deceased, would hardly recognize the resort today. The truth is, late last year, in my first extended visit to the resort in a decade, I often felt out of place, too. Large new hotels towered over old landmarks, pedestrian walkways had replaced ordinary streets, new restaurants lured visitors away from the ones I remembered.

Vail is far from the only large resort to have infused the traditional ski trip with technologically advanced creature comforts and luxuries. As vacationers have become more accustomed to the kinds of bespoke experience hotels and restaurants are offering across the globe, ski resorts have been trying to shed their rough edges. No longer is it enough to appeal to ski purists who simply crave the mountain. Today's experience must also be comfortable, and, for those who want it, feel exclusive as well. And no resort has embraced this more than Vail.

But what happens when a hallmark resort retools? Can a historic mountain be modern too? And would I like it as much?

Arriving on Christmas night, it didn't take long to get some answers. That's when I met the ski valet, a novel new service professional creating dependents at resorts from Vermont to Utah.

Many hotels at ski areas take a guest's skis or snowboards at check-in, store them and hand them back when it's time to hit the mountain. The ski valet goes much further. The ski valet does everything but ski for you.

When I checked in at the new Ritz-Carlton residences with my wife and three children, the valet took our skis, poles and boots. The next morning, in a lounge alongside the lobby, our boots, which had been heated overnight, were retrieved for us. If anyone needed help getting the boots on — not unusual when small children are concerned — attendants helped get the little feet into the little boots. They also handed out free hand-warming packets.

Coffee and snacks were available in an unrushed atmosphere that was nothing like the noisy, crowded crush of the typical day lodge. Then, when we were ready to leave, our skis and poles were loaded on a van which shuttled us the few hundred yards to the lifts. When we finished at the end of the day, the ski valet was waiting at the bottom of the trails and the entire process was reversed, right down to our boots being dried and warmed again. It is a service provided by the hotel, although the valet is usually tipped $2 to $5 in each direction.

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The Getaway : Handling Luggage Problems, From Damage to Delays

The airlines have been bragging about their improved handling of checked luggage recently, based on Department of Transportation data showing that only 3 out of every 1,000 passengers reported a bag lost, delayed, damaged or pilfered in 2012. Although that's the lowest level of mishandled baggage since the government started collecting reports in 1987, this statistic doesn't tell the full story.

First, it doesn't include bags that go astray during international flights, or flights operated by Spirit Airlines and smaller regional carriers, which are not required to report this information. It also doesn't reflect the fact that fewer passengers are checking luggage to avoid baggage fees — so the airlines' improved performance is mostly due to about half as many bags being checked since the fees were instituted.

And it doesn't capture the headaches travelers often face when their bag is one of the roughly two million pieces of luggage that disappear, arrive late, become damaged or experience theft every year. Among the tales of woe friends have shared with me recently — a bag's contents shredded en route, fishing gear that arrived late, a 12-hour window to wait for a delayed bag's delivery — the common theme was an unhelpful response by the airline.

"You have to know your rights and basically fight for them because the airline is not going to offer them to you," said Charlie Leocha, director of the Consumer Travel Alliance, a passenger advocacy group.

Government regulations leave a lot of wiggle room for airlines to stonewall customers who report baggage problems. Here is what you can expect to face if you have to deal with a luggage problem, along with some tips on how to keep track of your bags.

Filing a Claim

Collecting compensation is complicated by the fact that policies vary depending on whether your baggage trouble happened on an international or a domestic flight, and the rules give airlines a lot of leeway to decide how much they'll reimburse you.

Bill Mosley, a spokesman for the Department of Transportation, said airlines must compensate passengers for "provable loss" resulting from delayed, lost or damaged baggage up to $3,300 per passenger for domestic flights and up to $1,742 for international flights (a number negotiated by treaty that varies with exchange rates). "This would include claims for incidental expenses like buying clothing and toiletries when a consumer's baggage is delayed," Mr. Mosley wrote in an e-mail.

Since these amounts are upper limits on what passengers can claim, airlines typically require travelers to submit receipts documenting the value of lost items, or the cost of "reasonable" interim expenses like toiletries or underwear while a bag is delayed. Airlines often say they must first authorize these expenses (check your carrier's Web site for policy details), which gives them the discretion to decide if they'll pay only for a toothbrush and a T-shirt, or for a new suit for a meeting you can't miss.

Another hurdle is the time limit on filing a claim. For international flights, Mr. Mosley said passengers must file a claim for damaged luggage within seven days of the flight, and within 21 days after you receive a bag that has been delayed. For domestic flights, the time limit varies by airline, but can be narrow: United asks customers to submit a written report of a delayed bag within four hours of the flight's arrival, and most airlines give passengers just 24 hours to report damage to a bag. If you miss this deadline, chances are your claim will be denied. One positive change is that airlines now have to reimburse the checked bag fees they charge if your luggage is lost — thought not if it's delayed. Delta's Web site says the carrier "may" offer a customer a travel credit for $25 to $50 off a future flight if a bag is delayed more than 12 hours. However, carriers are prohibited from limiting their liability to less than the amounts mentioned above, so you do not have to accept a travel voucher instead of a check for your expenses, especially if the voucher is for a lower amount.

Pressing Your Case

After you contact the airline about a baggage problem, you may encounter resistance along the path to getting paid for your claim. Two friends told me that after many phone calls and e-mails reporting a luggage mishap, they gave up on trying to collect any compensation, a reaction that isn't uncommon, passenger advocates say.

"If you feel like you've been given the runaround or you weren't given compensation and you had to spend money out of your pocket because the airline didn't deliver your bag, send a complaint to the D.O.T.," Mr. Leocha, of the Consumer Travel Alliance, said.

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Q&A: Shooting Vacation Video Like a Pro

No longer is travel programming the sole territory of television and big budgets. A younger generation of filmmakers like Daniel Klein is producing Web travel series pretty much on their own, thanks largely to new digital cameras that are (relatively) small in size and price.

Perennial Plate

Daniel Klein, who co-produces "The Perennial Plate," a Web video series.

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Perennial Plate

In Dehli, India, where Mr. Klein has filmed food scenes for "The Perennial Plate."

"The visuals you're able to get for the cost of the camera is stunning," Mr. Klein said.

Which is perfect for filming food — the subject of the online videos he produces with his girlfriend, Mirra Fine, "The Perennial Plate." In its third season, the documentary series follows the couple to sustainable farms, seasonal markets and organic restaurants in countries like China, Morocco and Argentina.

Below are edited excerpts from a conversation with Mr. Klein on how you can shoot professional-quality videos while you travel.

Q. Do you need equipment worth tens of thousands of dollars to shoot like a pro?

A. No, the average traveler can totally make it happen with a digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera, which looks like any other still camera but has video capabilities. We use the Canon EOS Rebel T2i, about $700, and the Canon EOS 5D Mark III, which is more high-end, about $3,500. DSLR cameras can film at 24 frames per second — the standard for film stock — so the image looks more like film, with colors that are vibrant, beautiful, as opposed to a soap opera. It's also smaller, so you can go anywhere. Having a camera that doesn't look "professional" is key to capturing an authentic experience. Most people don't even know you're taking video.

Q. What other equipment do you use?

A. One drawback of these cameras is their limited audio capabilities, so you have to have an external audio recorder. We use the Zoom H4N and then plug Sennheiser lavalier mics into it when we interview subjects. We also bring along a tripod and a shoulder brace to steady the camera.

We edit on Final Cut Pro X, which is slightly more user friendly, slightly less professional than the old Final Cut Pro, also much less expensive, about $300. Apple computers work with whatever the voltage is — we've never had any trouble in any country.

Q. You've got all the gear. Now what?

A. Find a story that's visually appealing, beyond just being an interesting topic.

We once tried to do an episode on this nonprofit in Iowa that preserves heirloom seeds. Fascinating topic, but it didn't work visually; all you had were shots of refrigerators with seed packets. But when we did a similar seed-saving story in India, we had the visual backdrop of a beautiful organic farm, women in their traditional dress, and it really worked.

Q. How do you go about finding stories abroad?

A. English-language blogs are a great resource. That's how we met a woman in China's Yunnan province who uses her family's organic produce in her restaurant. She invited us to the countryside, where we made tofu with the soybeans her parents grew.

Q. What was the tofu like?

A. So much more delicious than any other tofu I ever had. The video shows how first you drink a cup of the warm soy milk while it's cooking. Then they put this limestone in it that sets the tofu, and it becomes kind of custardy, silky. You drink that too. Then they press it and fry it. It has an almost grassy flavor to it.

Q. So the video really captures the process of making it. Is that important?

A. Absolutely. Whatever you're filming, capturing actions is key. Food on your plate, for example, is one second of interesting content. It's that much more interesting if someone is plating that food, eating that food. The experience, the scene, the colors, the heat are all part of it.

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36 Hours in Panama City Beach, Fla.

Mark Wallheiser for The New York Times

Clockwise from top left: gazing at the sand and water, Fishale Taphouse and Grill, a photo by the surf, Russell-Fields Pier, Dusty's Oyster Bar, Thomas Donut & Snack Shop. More Photos »

As Jimmy Buffett once astutely observed, changes in latitudes necessitate changes in attitudes. Keep that in mind when visiting Panama City Beach on the Florida Panhandle, where the clear waters of the Gulf of Mexico lap a seemingly infinite ribbon of white-sand beaches. In this self-styled "Spring Break Capital of the World" — a moniker validated by the hundreds of thousands of students who descend on the town every March and April — you'll find a predictably high density of tattoo parlors and mini-golf courses. But hidden amid this lowbrow mix are welcome additions including a farmers' market and the area's first craft beer pub. And in 2010, the new Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport opened just north of the city, making the trip south even easier. So trade in expectations of starched tablecloths and fine-art museums, and embrace the carefree notions that swirl with silly pineapple daiquiris and every facet of the relaxing life aquatic here on Florida's laid-back Emerald Coast.

FRIDAY

3 p.m.
1. Hooked From the Pier

One lovely location from which to make your initial assessment of the stunning shore is the Russell-Fields Pier (pcbgov.com/visitors_citypier.htm), jutting 1,500 feet into the emerald blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Take a stroll to the end of the pier to marvel at the miles of sugary white sand stretching in either direction as far as the eye can see. Or rent a rod at the pier's bait-and-tackle shop, Half Hitch Tackle (halfhitch.com), and cast a line to see what's biting. After you've caught your fill of pompano, whiting and Spanish mackerel, retire to Hook'd Pier Bar & Grill (16201 Front Beach Road; hookedpierbar.com) at the base of the pier for a cold beer and a snack of honey-and-lime fried plantains ($5.95). On this casual spot's sunny wooden deck, with views of the sloping sand and rolling waves, you're sure to find a sympathetic ear for unspooling your tales about the big one that got away.

6 p.m.
2. Bayou Bites

Panama City Beach's long main drag, Front Beach Road, is lined with a disproportionate number of stores peddling airbrushed T-shirts, cheap bikinis and gaudy souvenirs. But nestled among this neon riot of déclassé consumerism is the occasional refreshing exception, like Dee's Hangout (10440 Front Beach; deeshangout.com), a homey restaurant specializing in Cajun cuisine. The no-frills atmosphere won't transport you to the bayou, but the daily specials scrawled on the rear chalkboard might. Recently, a Cajun platter special included a sampling of fried catfish, chicken gumbo, shrimp étouffée, coleslaw and hushpuppies ($12.95). The regular menu lists winning dishes like Cajun-spiced jambalaya with shrimp and sausage ($12.99). Try a bottle of pale ale from the Grayton Beer Company, a Panhandle microbrewery that opened in 2011 less than 30 miles west of Panama City Beach.

9 p.m.
3. Tiptop Taps

During spring break, Panama City Beach plays host to thumping mega-clubs with capacities greater than small towns, wet T-shirt contests, foam parties and enough fluorescent glow sticks to signal warnings to the Coast Guard. These concentrated revelry zones are not hard to find, but those who prefer civilized drinking to debauched dancing should visit the new Fishale Taphouse and Grill (7715 Front Beach; fishales.com), a craft beer bar that opened last year. Many rare Dixie brews cycle through the bar's 60-some taps, so you're bound to find something intriguing. Sample the Pensacola Sawgrass ($4.75), a refreshing pale wheat ale from just down the Florida Panhandle, or try the Southern Pecan Nut Brown Ale ($5.50) from the Mississippi craft brewery Lazy Magnolia. Then retire with your pint to an armchair in front of the cozy fireplace.

SATURDAY

8 a.m.
4. Trails and Trees

Start the day with a brisk walk, jog or bike ride through Conservation Park (100 Conservation Drive; pcbgov.com/conservation-park.htm), a nature preserve that opened in October 2011 only two miles from the beach. With 24 miles of trails winding through 2,900 acres of parkland, there's a path to suit every fitness level. Regardless of whether you embark on a relaxing half-mile loop or a scenic 11-mile trek, you're bound to cross wooden boardwalks traversing the park's wetland sections, where woodpeckers tap at tall trees and alligators lurk between cypress knees. Sprinkled along the trails and tracts of palmettos and slash pines are unobtrusive signs identifying the local flora and fauna; pause to read the informative descriptions and savor the peaceful sound of leaves rustling in the breeze.

10:30 a.m.
5. Sunken Treasures

To honor the town's considerable naval presence and history, dive into the Man in the Sea Museum (17314 Panama City Beach Parkway; maninthesea.org; $5). The warehouselike museum was created by the Institute of Diving, a nonprofit organization established by divers from the United States Navy's Sealab program. It's an impressive repository of historical maritime items ranging from antiquated diving masks to an entire underwater living facility: the United States Navy Sealab-1, which now calls the parking lot home. Inside the museum, there are exhibitions illustrating primitive diving techniques, an old submarine and mannequins displaying the commercial diving gear of yore.

Noon
6. Muffulettas and More

The Big Easy is 300 miles away, but inside the pink house of David's New Orleans Style Sno-Balls (13913-A Panama City Beach Parkway; davidssnoballs.com), you'll find Crescent City specialties like meat-layered muffulettas and "Café du Monde beignets" buried under a snowdrift of powdered sugar. If your stomach is growling, dig into a messy roast beef po'boy (six inches, $6.25). But in warm weather, most patrons arrive in pursuit of a stuffed "sno-ball," a cupful of flavored shaved ice atop a twirl of soft serve ice cream. Can't decide among the 40-plus flavors? Go with strawberry daiquiri (10 oz., $3.75). Or to completely overload on sugar, order the Key lime "sno-ball" pie with crumbled graham crackers ($3.95).

2 p.m.
7. Beach Bliss

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Heads Up : A Streak of Brooklyn in Beijing

Many of Beijing's ancient hutongs — alleys formed by the outer wall of courtyard homes — have been erased from the cityscape to make way for new roads and high rises in recent years, much to preservationists' dismay. The hutongs that have been spared are celebrated as retaining the charm of residential life, with alleys filled with vegetable stalls, kebab stands and tiny shops, and the hidden courtyards occupied by families who have called them home for generations.

James Wasserman for The New York Times

Outside Jamaica Me Crazy, which has become a favorite among young and hip newcomers to the area.

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The hutongs between the Lama Temple and the Drum and Bell Towers have largely escaped the wrecking ball but have undergone a dramatic shift nonetheless. Old-timers have been joined by a new breed of Chinese and expatriate residents clad in skinny jeans riding fixed-gear bikes, a loyal customer base for restaurants that offer locavore menu options and bars that serve drinks like Pabst Blue Ribbon. In this corner of Beijing, the traditional hutong has been overrun not by a large-scale development but by a very Brooklyn sensibility.

"Beijing's a very big, monotonous place, but for me the Gulou area is like an oasis in the desert," said Hu Xiaodi, 22, using the Chinese name for the neighborhood around the Drum and Bell Towers. She lives in the hutongs despite a 40-minute commute by bike (or an hour by subway) to work: "Every day's an adventure." She is the target audience for Natooke (19-1 Wudaoying Hutong; 86-10-8402-6925; natooke.com), a fixed-gear bike store that doubles as, yes, a juggling shop that opened in 2009. Nearby, Serk (40-2 Beixinqiao San Tiao; 86-134-2647-4634; serk.cc), a bike shop, cafe and bar, opened in June and sells everything from $240 commuters to $8,000 race bikes. Both shops organize rides in and around the city, which, despite the smog, is one of the best in the world for cycling, flat and easy to navigate.

For those who are not on two wheels, there is an abundance of new restaurants. One, the Taco Bar (thetacobarbeijing@gmail.com), opened in August as a speakeasy (with an address that is private until you reserve) that serves food made by a Taiwanese-American chef from Texas. "Our food is simple," said Kin Hong, 29, the owner. "We are able to make most all of our product in-house on a daily basis using local ingredients but still create the same result as if you were in Mexico City." It has a limited menu (a few soft-shell tacos and a handful of sides, washed down with PBR, tequila or sangria) with a sliver of imported ingredients.

Across Andingmen Inner Street, tucked between a duck vendor and a fruit shop, the take-away shop Jamaica Me Crazy (1 Cheniandian Hutong; 86-010-6592-1254) offers jerk chicken, stewed rice, oxtail, and ackee and saltfish, Jamaica's national dish. It's become a quick favorite among young and hip newcomers. A few hutongs southwest, Beiluo Bread Bar (70A Beiluoguxiang; 86-010-8408-3069) opened in September. Its menu includes bread baked in-house, pasta (from local ingredients) and some of the hutongs' best coffee.

Mercante (4 Fangzhuanchang Hutong; 86-010-8402-5098), is arguably the best Italian restaurant in town. Run by Omar Maseroli, 36, and his girlfriend, Yuan Yuan, 31, a Beijing native, Mercante (a quaint 10-table spot) opened a year ago and offers fresh pasta, cold cuts, cheeses and wine from Reggio Emilia and Parma in northern Italy, the cities Mr. Maseroli calls home.

Perhaps the most notable change in the hutongs has been the influx of bars in recent years. Great Leap (6 DouJiao Hutong; 86-010-5717-1399; greatleapbrewing.com), a brewery opened by an American expat in 2010, started Beijing's craft beer scene. Mao Mao Chong (12 Banchang Hutong; 86-138-1035-1522; maomaochongbeijing.com) is a pioneer of creative cocktails in the alleys, known for its drinks infused with mala, or numbing pepper. Mai Bar (40 Beiluoguxiang; 86-138-1125-2641), a stylish bar with a small courtyard, offers traditional and modern cocktails and two coolers full of imported beer.

Visitors to the area who spend an evening of drinking there can call the hutongs home for the night. The Orchid (65 Baochao Hutong; 86-010-8404-4818; theorchidbeijing.com), a charming 10-room boutique hotel, is just a few hutongs east of the Drum and Bell Towers.

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From Mill to Mall in Mumbai

If not for the lone chimney still standing, it would be difficult to believe that the upscale shopping mall known as High Street Phoenix was once a textile mill. Until a few years ago, the Phoenix Mills, which opened in 1905, was among the industrial spaces that fell into disuse in Mumbai's prime commercial area of Parel. Today, part of the renovated complex is devoted to Palladium and Sky Zone, shopping destinations that draw Mumbai's rich and famous for their pick of high-end labels, both Indian and international. Designers rule the roost at Palladium — even its restaurants, like Veda, which is owned by the fashion favorite Rohit Bal.

— CHARUKESI RAMADURAI

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Extreme Alaska

Tara Todras-Whitehill for The New York Times

Snow biking, ice climbing and snow-kiting in Alaska.

The wind came from the northwest. It blew down from the glacier-studded peaks of the Alaska Range, through the icebergs of Turnagain Arm and across the frozen expanse of the Twenty Mile River. It was an unrelenting wind, the kind that fells trees, shapes mountains and drives people to their firesides. And there I was among the sculptured snow ridges and frozen grass on the banks of the Twenty Mile, attached to a giant kite, wearing a pair of skis.

When I signed up for snow-kiting in Alaska, I didn't think about how it would feel to be bracing myself against a 25-mile-per-hour wind as I watched my kite flutter in the snow a hundred feet off, threatening to whip up into the air at any moment. All that kept it down was my hand on the rope "brake," tight against my hip. I could barely hear Tom Fredericks, my upbeat instructor, shouting in my ear, "Now, it's going to pull real hard when it first comes up," before the rest of his words disappeared into the wind. Frankly, I was scared.

But then, I hadn't come to Alaska in winter to take it easy. I let go of the brake. Seconds later, I was flying.

Colorado, Utah, Wyoming — these are the places one thinks of as winter sports paradises in the United States. But Alaska? Too dark, you might say. Too cold. Too, well, extreme. One imagines frostbite temperatures, cloud-scraping mountains and tundra too inhospitable for trees. The numbers bear out the prejudice: in the spring and summer of last year, close to 1.2 million people visited Alaska for vacation; in fall and winter, that number was just 34,000.

But as March approaches, average highs creep up to a balmy 34 degrees in Anchorage, and the daylight hours are as long as anywhere else. Conveniently for winter-sports enthusiasts, most of the 600 inches of snow the Chugach Mountains see each year remains. Still, few people go, leaving one of our country's largest snowy playgrounds unvisited by any but locals and the few who are savvy enough to make the trip.

What this means is that Anchorage — unlike Interlaken, in Switzerland, Jackson Hole, Wyo., and other winter adventure capitals — has a robust sports scene in which tourists are almost an afterthought. The city is full of young, fit people whose garages are overflowing with snowshoes, ice axes, skis, snowmobiles and other adrenaline paraphernalia. And they play a lot of different sports. Skiing (backcountry, cross-country and alpine) and snowmobiling (called snow-machining in Alaska) are probably the most popular, followed by dog mushing. After that come ice climbing, skijoring (cross-country skiing pulled by a dog) and snow biking. Then you get into sports that no one in their right mind would do, like snow-kiting, winter surfing and scuba diving (in dry suits).

It's true that these sports can be done elsewhere. Backcountry skiing is all the rage in the Northwest; ice climbing is popular from Colorado to Vermont. But Alaska has more snow, more ice, more wind, taller mountains and lower tree lines than pretty much anywhere else. When it comes to extreme sports in the winter, Alaska is as extreme as it gets.

The sports I chose during my recent trip were snow-kiting, ice climbing and snow biking. I chose these activities not only because I had never done them, but also because they are well suited to the state: snow-kiting for the vast expanses of windy tundra, ice climbing because of all the glaciers and frozen waterfalls, and snow biking because of Anchorage's extensive system of winter trails.

Since Anchorage and its surroundings are home to more than half the state's population, I decided to base myself there. If Alaska's winter sports scene is centered around residents, then I wanted to be where the people were. I found the city itself to be uninspiring, but the city itself is not the point; the surrounding areas are.

AND SO, ON A CLEAR DAY, my sister, Tara, and I drove south out of Anchorage on the Seward Highway toward Turnagain Pass, a stretch of road rightly hailed as one of the most scenic drives in the country. The road stays north of the Turnagain Arm, a vast fjord walled on either side by the Chugach Mountains as if both were carved by the same glacial knife. The peaks of the Chugach Range are not that high, averaging around 4,000 feet, but pressing around us so tightly, their snowy slopes naked of trees for more than half their height, they felt like the Himalayas.

ETHAN TODRAS-WHITEHILL is a frequent contributor to the Travel section.

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In Transit Blog: National Parks to Get Grants

National parks, forests and wildlife refuges are to receive $12.5 million in grants to improve access to them while supporting greener travel, according to Ray LaHood, the transportation secretary. One example is a $1,735,000 grant to expand the Rocky Mountain Greenway, a pedestrian and bicycle trail system that will connect the Denver metropolitan area's trail systems, three national wildlife refuges in the region and Rocky Mountain National Park, above. Another grant will finance new fuel-efficient buses for visitors in Glacier National Park. The grants, announced amid fears of widespread budget cuts to services in national parks due to sequestration, are part of $80 million in funds for transit improvements over the last three years.

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Check In : A Copenhagen Hotel That’s Cool, but Not Warm

Nicky Bonne/Andersen Boutique Hotel

Fireplace in the Andersen's lobby.

Doubles start at 1,125 Danish kroner, or $208 at 5.42 kroner to the dollar, a night (breakfast included).

Basics

This 73-room boutique hotel, which opened in April 2012, features modern design elements, including textiles from the British Designers Guild, specialty light fixtures from the Danish firm Frandsen Lighting and employee uniforms from the Icelandic designer Birna. The independently owned property has also introduced the long-overdue idea of the 24-hour hotel room, called "Concept24," in which guests have a room for 24 hours from the time of arrival, even if that is, say, 6 p.m. (Advance notice is required to take advantage of this perk.)

Location

Two blocks west of Copenhagen's central train station in Vesterbro, an increasingly hip but still slightly seedy neighborhood. There are cool boutiques and craft beer pubs nearby, but among the hotel's closest neighbors are a string of budget hotels and strip clubs.

The Room

My stay last summer coincided with the city's fashion week, and when I arrived in the hotel's fuchsia-hued lobby, a related event was under way — thumping music courtesy of a D.J., and a crowd milling about, sipping Icelandic beers from Champagne flutes. The party made check-in slightly disorienting, but the friendly staff seemed unperturbed.

My second-floor, streetside Superior room was compact, and felt more so because of an excess of furniture: two chairs, a small desk and a glass-topped side table that were all crammed at the base of the bed. There were magenta and navy curtains, three sinuous black pendant lamps, a large flat-screen TV, and one wall stenciled from floor to ceiling with a list of international cities. On the comfortable double bed there were four large decorative throw pillows but only two small ones for sleeping. Upon request, two more pillows were quickly delivered — one of them with a not insignificant stain (which housekeeping failed to replace when making up the room the following day).

Instead of air-conditioning, there were two fans, but their hum did not drown out late-night street noise from patrons of the convenience store across the street and the unsavory characters loitering on the corner below.

The Bathroom

Compared with the modern décor of the room and lobby, the bathroom felt dated, with a utilitarian sink, toilet, shower and plain beige marble tile that could have been imported from any generic stateside motel. (Rooms on upper floors have fully renovated bathrooms with bright paint and white subway tile.) There were toiletries from Molton Brown's Green Park line, but also thin, worn-out towels.

Amenities

Free Wi-Fi is included in the room rate. Also included is a cold breakfast buffet, which was crowded and understaffed during my visit, resulting in empty water pitchers and a shortage of both glasses and spoons. There is no room service, but thirsty guests may avail themselves of another of the hotel's featured amenities: the tap water ("Excellent quality — enjoy!" read a note card).

Bottom Line

The hotel has a cool look and personable service, but great design is in the details, many of which were lacking here. Though Copenhagen is an expensive city, for these rates, one expects more.

Andersen Boutique Hotel, Helgolandsgade 12; (45-33) 31-4344; andersen-hotel.dk. 

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