BEST BEACHES. The July issue of Sunset Magazine features the publication's picks for best West Coast beaches, beach restaurants and beach spas. Among the picks:
Washington
- Best dinner on the beach: Christina's, Orcas Island
- Best beach town: Langley, Whidbey Island
- Best disappearing beach: Spencer Spit State Park, Lopez Island
Oregon
- Best beachside camping: Cape Lookout State Park, Til-la-mook
- Best beach retreat: Salishan Lodge, Gleneden Beach
- Most romantic beach: Nye Beach, Newport
- Sandiest beach: Oregon Dunes National Recreational Area
- Best swimming beach: Sunset Bay State Park
Northern California
- Best chain of beaches: Sonoma Coast State Beach
- Most historic beach: Drakes Beach, Point Reyes, where Sir Francis Drake strolled, probably in the summer of 1579
- Least expected family beach: Sand Dollar Beach, Los Padres National Forest along Big Sur
- Best lighthouse: Battery Point Lighthouse, Crescent City
- Best beach horseback riding: MacKerricher State Park
Southern California
- Least crowded beach: Jalama Beach in Santa Barbara County
- Best beach campsite: El Capitan State Beach, site 75
- Best kids' beach: Marina del Rey, no waves, diligent lifeguards, safe even for preschoolers
- Best bodysurfing beach: Newport Beach
- Best snorkeling beach: La Jolla Cove
- AMTRAK WEB SITE. You can now book train reservations to more than 500 destinations on Amtrak's Internet site. The address is (http://www.amtrak.com). Or make reservations by calling 800-USA-RAIL, or through your travel agent.
- PHILADELPHIA TOURISM. Headed to Philly? Here are the city's major tourist attractions in order of popularity. Liberty Bell; Philadelphia Zoo, Franklin Institute; New Jersey State Aquarium; Philadelphia Museum of Art; Betsy Ross House; U.S. Mint; Academy of Natural Sciences.
- TRAVEL AGENT DISCOUNTS. Palm Beach, Fla. (that's for those of us who might confuse it with Palm Springs, Calif.) is giving travel agents a break this summer. The city has designated August as "travel agent month." Thirty-two participating hotels will give travel agents a 50 percent discount. There are four different discounted prices. "Three Palm" is $29 per night; "Four Palm" is $39 per night; "Five Palm" is $59 and "Six Palm" is $69. The discounted rates apply only to full-time ARC registered travel agents. For a free brochure of participating hotels, call 800-833-5733.
- DRIVING IN AUSTRIA. Highway toll stickers are required on all cars, including rental cars, RVs and motorhomes that drive on selected highways in the country. The stickers are available for one week, two consecutive months or an entire year. They must be displayed prominently on the car's windshield. If you don't have a sticker, you could be fined $90. You can purchase a sticker at post offices, tobacco shops and most gas stations. By introducing the stickers, the government has been able to reduce the tolls on toll roads by 15 percent.
- SPANISH PARADORES. Paradores are historic buildings that have been remodeled into hotels. Throughout Spain, there are 86 of them. Two of them, the Parador of Aiguablava in Cataluna, and the Canadas del Teide on the Canary Island of Tenerife, recently reopened after extensive remodeling. Call Marketing Ahead, 800-223-1356, for information.
- AIR NEW ZEALAND will be smoke-free. Beginning Nov. 1, 1997, all of Air New Zealand's flights will be smoke-free. Currently, smoking is permitted only on flights between New Zealand and Japan and Korea.
- HONDURAS TRAVEL GUIDE. Just what everybody's waiting for. Honduras Tips, the official travel guide of Honduras, covers the entire country, from the Mayan ruins at Copan to diving on the second-largest reef barrier barrier reef in the world. The 192-page booklet lists dive/tour operators, restaurants, fishing services, airlines and hotels. The publication is printed in English and Spanish. For a copy, send a check for $15 to Honduras Tips, 704-228th Ave., NE, Redmond, WA 98053-7299.