I say Romania, you say . . . Dracula, right? Well, put a stake through the heart of that outdated association, say Sheilah Kast and Jim Rosapepe, authors of the new book "Dracula Is Dead: How Romanians Survived Communism, Ended It, and Emerged Since 1989 as the New Italy."

A writer decides to blend pleasures of the spirit and the flesh into one restorative vacation by practicing yoga and learning to surf in the far south of Brazil.

No one would claim that any of the new travel-related laws scheduled to take effect in 2010 are game-changers for travelers. But what kind of law would really improve your travel experience next year?

Disney World and Disneyland are ranked as the most-searched vacation destination spots on AOL, AeroGal becomes the first Ecuadoran airline to offer nonstop daily service from New York to Guayaquil, and World Vision offers a virtual charitable Christmas tour.

The week's best travel bargains around the globe, by land, sea and air.

Ghana offers relaxing beaches, several wildlife parks, and, as a coastal country that served as a focal point of the transatlantic slave trade, an abundance of heritage tourism.

Peru's Central Railway (Ferrovias Central) route boasts the second-highest tracks in the world, topping out at 15,689 feet above sea level, and etches a phenomenally scenic and at times hair-raising route through the mountains.

Explore San Francisco's de Young Museum, a bizarrely designed building that looks like an alien artifact and hosts a catchall assortment of collections.

Find out where to stay, what to do and where to eat in Garopaba, Brazil.

If New Orleans didn't invent the cocktail, it surely perfected it, especially as the city's bartenders become more creative.

Want to take a spur-of-the-moment trip to New Orleans? Here's what you need to know for the weekend of Dec. 11-13.