BudgetTravel

Volunteer Vacations: A First-Person Account

In 2008, CNN.com Live anchor Melissa Long spent a week volunteering at a children's home in Singapore. We asked her about her trip, and she offered advice for other travelers who may be interested in helping out overseas.

• Helping Hands: Volunteer Vacations
• A Dose of Reality: Poverty Tourism

Fireworks Photography in 5 Easy Steps

Everyone loves fireworks—and everyone can learn to snap photographs that better capture their beauty.

• Test Lab: Camera Mounts
• How to Take Better Sunset Photos
• Slide Show: Readers' Sunset Photos

Making the Most of New Zealand

New Englanders meeting up with their daughter in New Zealand are in search of places to drink in the views and the wine, with hiking on the side.

• How Was Your Trip?
• Every Tuesday: Online Trip Coach chat

20 Tips

Tips you send in. This month: DIY car insurance, creative uses for hotel shoe mitts, a strategy for staying within luggage weight limits, and more.

• Get Reader Tips From The Smart Traveler's Passport
• See the slide show
• Submit your tip; win a subscription

San Francisco's Exploratorium

Housed inside the magnificent Palace of Fine Arts is a place where science and nature come to life: the Exploratorium. Watch The Budget Travel Minute for details.

Chicago: Guidebook Smackdown!

Because no one knows a place as well as the locals do, we asked a trio of Chicago residents to give us their opinions of three recent guidebooks about the city.

• America from the Air
• A Fresh Look at London
• Q&A: Shopping Tips From a Junkmaster

Coolest Small Towns

In this edition of "Where Next" on CNN.com, Justin Bergman, senior editor of Budget Travel, reveals which small towns can rival larger cities when it comes to good food, culture, and quality of life.

• Fairy Tale Villages of Italy
• Colombia Uncut
• Upgrade Your Gear