When to fly? When to see Mona Lisa? Go by the book

In real estate, it’s all about location, location, location. But in travel, it’s all about timing, timing, timing. Author Mark Di Vincenzo reminds us about that in a big way with his new book “Buy Ketchup in May and Fly at Noon,” a compilation of travel, health and shopping tips, with the emphasis on when to strike.

For example: Which is the best day of the week to fly? Saturday. When is the best time to fly? (See title.) Which is the best day of the week to get a free hotel upgrade? Sunday or Monday.

The breezy little paperback offers hundreds of tips from the former investigative reporter, whose research is evident and sources carefully listed at the end. That keeps the attribution from cluttering up the info, which ranges from sublime to silly: When is the best time to see the Mona Lisa?

(9 a.m. Sunday.) When is the best time to chew gum? (Soon after eating.)

Travelers will find the information valuable and the book a pleasing way to spend a short flight or a long layover. Broadway tickets, Easter baskets, cell phone upgrades … it’s all in the timing. $13.99, from Harper Paperbacks. On bookshelves beginning Oct. 6.

— Chris Erskine, deputy Los Angeles TimesTravel editor

Photo: New book will help avoid long delays at congested airports. Credit: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times

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This entry was posted on Saturday, October 3, 2009 at 6:05 am by Chris Erskine and is filed under Airline travel, Book Reviews, Business Travel, Frequent Flier, Global, Italy, News, Tips & Advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.