6 last minute travel gift ideas for the frequent flier

by Jessica Marati on

There was once a time when if you hadn’t finished your Christmas shopping by now, you’d be, well, pretty much screwed. But now, thanks to the ole Internet, you can order up virtual gifts and deliver them by email or print-out card with just a few clicks. And with all the free wifi specials in airports and airlines (thanks Delta, Skype, and Nintendo) you can even take care of your shopping while flying home! Here, a selection of great last minute travel gift ideas.

Travel experiences
For some, diamonds are forever. I personally prefer experiences: catching a show at the Moulin Rouge in Paris, swimming with dolphins in Hawaii, taking a helicopter ride over Manhattan. Gift these unforgettable travel experiences and more with gift vouchers from online travel activity booking companies like Viator and Isango.

Priority Pass membership
Airport hoppers will appreciate access to more than 600 VIP airport lounges worldwide through a membership with Priority Pass. A standard annual membership starts at $99 with a $27 per visit additional fee.Virtual travel books
With the proliferation of the iPad, Kindle and other e-readers, big bulky guidebooks are going the way of the Walkman. Give your favorite traveler a virtual travel book, or literature from their next destination, through the Apple iBookstore or Kindle Store.

Frequent flyer miles
The travel hacker in your life will flip over the gift of frequent flier miles. You can transfer miles that you have already accumulated, or directly purchase miles as a gift. Fees for these services vary from airline to airline. At United, it costs $15 per 1,000 miles to transfer and $35 per 1,000 miles to give.

Custom travel playlists
The perfect music mix can be an excellent companion for the solo traveler. iTunes makes it easy to create and gift a custom travel playlist — Gainsbourg for a jaunt to Paris, or maybe some electrotango for a trip to Argentina. Just create a playlist in iTunes, populate it with songs, then select the “Store” menu and the “Share Playlist” option. When prompted, indicate that you want to gift your playlist, then choose how you want your gift to be received.

Gifts for others
What do you get for the guy/gal who has everything? Something for someone else. Chances are, the traveler on your list has witnessed poverty and hardship in the places they’ve visited. Kiva gift cards provide a way to sponsor micro-entrepreneurship projects in developing countries, while a donation to charity: water provides clean drinking water in poor rural areas. Both sites offer printable gift cards.

Your bag’s perspective from Atlanta to New York

by Grant Martin on

Ever wonder what happens to your bag after you send it down the tunnel behind the gate agent at the airport? I was always under the impression that it was handled by a series of Oompa-Loompas who gently carry your bags from point A to point B on their heads, quietly singing the song of the baggage handler as glitter falls from the sky.

Apparently that’s not the case. The kind folks over at Delta Air Lines just released a video detailing a bag’s journey through the inner workings of Atlanta (ATL) and then over to New York City. To capture the film they strapped six cameras onto a package and sent it through the system, from the conveyor belts to the baggage trucks to the belly of the plane. Though the footage is ultimately an ad for their baggage tracking app, it’s still an interesting perspective.

Want to win a flight anywhere in the world?

by Kyle Ellison on

Yes. Anywhere in the world. Provided the ticket is under $1,500 (no business class to Cape Town, in other words).

If you’re in need of a travel fix for 2012, this seriously couldn’t be easier. To celebrate the launch of their new site, The Ambler, a site that focuses on Central American travel and culture, the creators of the site are offering readers the chance to win a $1500 travel voucher to the airline of their choice.

All that’s needed for entry is to leave a comment on a life-changing travel experience in order to be entered into the grand drawing. Vote for your favorite travel stories left by fellow users, and, as online contests usually go, the person with the most votes at the end of the contest period will be the winner of a spanking new ticket to a destination of their dreams.

So what are you waiting for? 15 seconds of your life could put you 15,000 miles around the globe, with $1,500 to get you there. When it comes to global travel, I’ll hop at any opportunity for a way to get back out on the road.

For more information or to enter the contest, visit the contest site and start thinking how travel has made you who you are today.

New Jersey law now requires helmets on skiers, snowboarders

by Kraig Becker on

If you’re planning on hitting the slopes in the Garden State this winter, you’ll want to take note of this story.

New Jersey is set to begin enforcing a new law this weekend that will require skiers and snowboarders under the age of 18 to wear a helmet while on the slopes. The law was passed last April, and makes the state the first in the nation to require minors to wear protective head gear.

The new law requires parents to ensure that their minor children are wearing helmets at all times, including while they’re on rope tows and lifts, or face a fine. The penalty for a first offense is $25, with each additional infraction setting them back as much as $100. The hope is that this move will make skiing and snowboarding safer activities for young people.

While New Jersey isn’t well known as a ski destination, it does have several resorts, most of which are set to open for the winter season by this holiday weekend. Warmer than normal weather has kept snow away for the most part and hampered efforts to make artificial snow as well. But resorts such as Mountain Creek are optimistic that they’ll be open in time for the Christmas holiday. In preparation for that opening, and this new law, the resort has doubled the number of rental helmets that it has on hand.

The question is, would a law requiring helmets actually catch-on in states that are more well known as ski destinations, such as Colorado or Utah? California governor Jerry Brown has already vetoed such a law, but did so out of concern for more and more authority being handed over from parents to the state. He did say that he appreciated the value of wearing a helmet however, but inferred that it wasn’t the state’s duty to mandate it.

Considering more and more people are wearing helmets while on the slopes already, I don’t think such a law would be met with much opposition. Much like wearing a seat belt while driving these days, it just makes good sense to wear a helmet as well. It’ll be interesting to see if other states follow New Jersey’s lead or if they’ll take California’s approach and put the onus back on the parents.

A Headlamp is a Travel Essential

by Pam Mandel on

Scenario 1: Sure, there’s a campfire, but it’s not enough to let you see what’s on your plate. You’re alternating between a fork and a flashlight. That’s no way to enjoy your ramen.

Scenario 2: Digging through your bag for your earplugs when your tent mate has shattered your sleep with her snoring takes both hands.

Scenario 3: That budget hotel is on generator power, and that goes off at 10am. It’s 3am, it’s as dark as the inside of an elephant, and you have to pee.

You need a headlamp. I’ve tested a few of these and I’ve settled on a favorite, Petzl’s Zipka Plus 2. Here’s what I like about it.

The Zipka has a spring-loaded retractable cord rather than a typical elasticized webbing headband. It’s super compact right from the get-go because the design has cleverly eliminated the strap. I like that you can strap it to your hand or your arm or whatever – tent pole, beer can… if it’s the circumference of your melon, you can put the lamp around it and it will stay put. Win.

Next up? There’s a red light mode. That snoring camp buddy? You don’t have to paste her with high wattage while you’re rooting around in your bag. You’re not a jerk. This is a really nice feature I didn’t know I wanted, and now, I think it should be standard. The red light is just, well, it’s more polite, so it’s great for dorm rooms, too, or any situation where low light is a better choice.

There’s a blinky mode, too, so if you’re striving to be seen (say you’re using it as a bike light), you can set the blinker to go off in either red or white light. It’s really bright when it’s blinking in the full power white light mode, if they’re within visible range (a maximum of 35 meters, according to Petzl) your crew will find you. When it’s blinking in red light mode, it’s not as bright, but it’s still useful for making yourself seen by those around you.

You can use the white light in two modes — full and “economy”. In economy mode,the light is plenty bright for reading and, according to the specs, the light will last for up to 140 hours. That’s a good long time.

Finally, if you’d like to attach the light to something, Petzl has an adapter kit that allows you to mount the light in bunch of different scenarios, including to a standard elasticized headband.

As I mentioned, I have a few headlamps (including the Irix, that Gadling Gear Guy Kraig Becker reviewed here) but this one is my favorite. It’s tiny, it’s bright, it has more features than I thought a headlamp could possibly need — and I like all of them. Mine lives in my travel bag now, I don’t head out on a trip without it.