Gadling’s favorite gadgets, apps, & websites for 2011

by Alex Robertson Textor on

Earlier this week we took a look at our favorite destinations, hotels, and airlines. It turns out that we’re all over the map on most of these counts, although underappreciated destinations, good service, and general efficiency tend to warm our hearts.

Nowhere perhaps is the quirkiness of the Gadling team more perceptible than it is in this final category of favorites. Without further ado, here are Gadling’s favorite gadgets, apps, and websites moving into 2011.

Blogs & sites

Annie Scott. I do love to visit Color Me Katie and see what the fabulous Ms. Sokoler is up to. I adored her trip to Japan. I recently fell in love with Will It Blend, which has to be the most brilliant social media campaign I’ve ever seen. Other than that, I’m really the kind of person who can watch Marcel the Shell with Shoes On over and over and call it “contextual research.”

Tom Johansmeyer. I resolved to explore New York more this year, forcing myself not to work as hard and enjoy my hometown a bit more. Local travel blogger Laurie DePrete has been a big help. She provides a look at speakeasies, restaurants and attractions all over the five boroughs. This is insider info at its best.

Karen Walrond. As a photographer, I’m a big fan of photoblogs. My current favourites: UK-based Brian Ferry, Modern Day Gilligan, by an American photographer based on the island of Grenada, and Netherlands-based Rachel James.

David Farley. When I was driving around Los Angeles earlier this year I found Sigalert, which shows all the up-to-the-minute traffic congestion in the greater LA area, to be incredibly helpful.

Sean McLachlan. The Whole World at Your Hands, run by a woman named Ana. A member of Postcrossing, she avidly trades postcards around the world. Her blog features some of them and talks about the places they show. She just sent me a nice card from Serbia in exchange for one I sent to her from the Scottish Highlands. Also noteworthy: TheBloggess and Tomb Wrecks.

Alex Robertson Textor. Sporcle keeps me on my toes, geographically speaking. L’Antipodeuse is good for daydreaming.

Mike Barish. Nile Guide is a good li’l startup in San Francisco with travel guides, a fun blog and tremendous amounts of local advice and tips. (Disclosure: I just started editing their East Coast US content. But even before I started with them, I liked them a lot.)

Grant Martin. I relieve pressure with FAIL Blog.

McLean Robbins. For beauty, All About the Pretty. For cooking, Smitten Kitchen and The Pioneer Woman.

Meg Nesterov. Even when I’m not in New York, I love Manhattan User’s Guide, and now there’s a travel version. Wish You Were Here has everything from quirky museums to diners to luxury retreats. Basically bookmark their every link.

Catherine Bodry. Killing Batteries.

David Downie. Michael Balter, Rolf Potts, Mort Rosenblum, and David Lebovitz.Gadgets & apps

Jeremy Kressmann. NYCWAY iPhone App is an interesting example of a city-specific app that incorporates a lot of info in one place (transit info, upcoming events, news, bathroom locations). Expect to see more of this for big tourist destinations. Good for locals and tourists alike. Instagram is a great example of how you can make your smartphone photos more social. Instead of filing your travel snaps in Flickr or on a hard drive, the app emphasizes sharing with others, creating “feeds” of popular photos and photos from those you follow.

Heather Poole. I love Twitter because I can get up to date information regarding travel, delays, breaking news, and I use Facebook to keep in touch with family and friends when I’m on the road.

Meg Nesterov. Not the newest or the sexiest, but the Kindle was hands-down my best purchase before moving overseas. It’s one of the only e-readers that works abroad (with a U.S. billing address). The wireless functions in nearly every place I’ve tried it, and it’s perfect as my reliable source of English-language reading materials and travel guides.

McLean Robbins. Blackberry. While it’s not exactly revolutionary, it’s my life, quite literally. I don’t know what I’d do without it, and with the world edition I can travel just about anywhere and still be in touch.

Alex Robertson Textor. Google Maps & magazine apps (for example The Economist, recently released) on my iPad.

Annie Scott. I’m quite addicted to Words With Friends (basically Scrabble) and Diamond-Twister on my iPhone. I play them all over the world at night when jet lag prevents sleep.

Mike Barish. I’m quickly falling in love with my iPad. I don’t view it as a “game-changer” or a full-on computer replacement. But when it comes to passing the time in airports and airplanes, it’s a fantastic way to watch movies, read the newspaper and bring tons of books with you. It’s also great for quick trips where you want something larger than a phone for checking emails but don’t need your computer with you for work.

Karen Walrond. I don’t go anywhere without my iPhone, my Macbook Pro and my Nikon D300 dSLR camera. After those things, I don’t have a favourite.

David Farley. My new MacBook Air.

Grant Martin. Wool tech gear has been around for a while, but only this year in fleece form. Both Icebreaker and Ibex released wool fleeces this year, and they live up to their hefty pricetags: well-fitting, good smelling and perfect for a full range of outdoor activities.

[Image: Flickr | yoggy0]

Ask Gadling: You develop a serious illness while traveling

by Laurel Miller on

The very thought of acquiring a serious illness or injury while traveling strikes fear into the hearts of even the most stalwart adventurers. Speaking from personal experience, it’s terrifying to find yourself alone (or not) in dodgy accomodations, in a remote area of a developing country, with a raging fever and/or an uncontrollable case of the runs or other unsavory symptoms. Which isn’t to say the same ailments suffered in the comfort of a five-star hotel in Paris are a picnic, either. Any way you slice it, getting sick in a foreign country sucks.

And sometimes, despite taking precautions, you fall ill anyway, as I can attest. It can be a matter of circumstance (That water my guide “boiled” in a bamboo culm on a Thai Hilltribe trek? Yeah, I pretty much saw the resulting case of dysentery coming), or just bad luck. I’ve been on my own during most of my unfortunate on-the-road maladies. Between my experiences and those of fellow travelers, I’ve accumulated some wisdom over the years for dealing with sudden-onset illness in less-than-ideal circumstances.

For the purposes of this article, I’m not going to include injuries, pre-existing conditions, or focus on food poisoning, which was well-covered in a previous Ask Gadling post by Melanie. I also want to stress that we’re not medical professionals here at Gadling, myself included. For the technical stuff, I turned to Dr. John Szumowski, Clinical Fellow of University of Washington Medical Center’s Division of Allergy and Infectious Disease.

After the jump, tips on prevention, what to do when illness strikes, and how to get yourself home in the event of a full-blown medical emergency.

[Photo credit: Flickr user MoHotta18]

Before you leave home

Hit the internet
Do a bit of research on emergency medical options for a worst-case scenario. The U.S. Department of State produces a list of American doctors and hospitals in foreign countries.

If you have specific questions (about, say, where to find the best dentists in Europe), Lonely Planet’s Thorn Tree travel forum can be a useful place to get ideas (please do additional research before following any advice). Take the diagnostic-related questions directed to forum members with a heaping grain of salt, and save them for your doctor.

Get vaccinated
Check the CDC’s (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) website to see what, if any, vaccinations you need before your trip. You can also get updates on things like outbreaks of cholera or bird flu. Be sure you allow ample time before your trip for the protective effects of vaccines to establish themselves. Dr. Szumowski also recommends the CDC’s “Survival Guide to Safe and Healthy Travel” webpage.

View more Ask Gadling: Travel Advice from an Expert or send your question to ask [at] gadling [dot] com.

Keep an immunization card on you (some countries require proof of certain vaccinations) as well as an online record, like Google Health.

All travelers should get flu and tetanus shots. If you’re a frequent world traveler, get vaccinated for hepatitis A, typhoid, and polio. Depending upon where you’re traveling, you may require a Yellow Fever or Japanese Encephalitis vaccine, or malaria prophylaxis.

I used to think a rabies vaccination was overkill until I saw a fellow traveler get seriously nipped by a puppy we were playing with in a remote village near the Myanmar border. The deathly silence that followed was sufficient motivation. Adds Dr. Szumowski, “It’s still important to remember that excellent wound-care and post-bite medical evaluation are necessary, even if a person has had prior rabies pre-exposure vaccination.” The International Society of Travel Medicine has a list of global travel medicine clinics.

I also carry an EpiPen, because you never know what could trigger anaphylaxis while you’re abroad. It also bears mentioning that you can develop a life-threatening allergy to something previously benign. A chef I know went into anaphylactic shock after tasting one of his dishes containing taro root, even though he’d been cooking with it for over 20 years.

If you get sick

Stay calm, and assess your symtoms
It’s easy to get carried away and assume the worst, but odds are your sudden fever isn’t malaria.

Try to identify the source of infection or illness

Know when to seek professional medical assistance
In general, says Dr. Szumowski, some symptoms or exposures that should prompt “expeditious” medical evaluation include:

  • high fevers (over 101ºF, especially if sustained or accompanied by shaking or drenching sweats)
  • bloody diarrhea
  • inability to keep food or liquids down in situation of significant vomiting or diarrhea
  • confusion or severe headache
  • severe cough, especially if accompanied by shortness of breath
  • animal bite or other animal-related attack

Tips for self-care

Stay hydrated
If you’re vomiting or have diarrhea, stay hydrated with (purified/bottled water), and Gatorade or other electrolyte beverages. If you absolutely have to travel, take Imodium as an anti-diarrheal.

Eat bland foods
Remember the BRAT diet for gastrointestinal upset: rice, bananas, applesauce, and toast.

Control your fever
To lower a high fever, take the recommended dosages of acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil).

Wear ID
Wear a medical alert bracelet for serious conditions, allergies, etc., Write down your condition in your destination country’s language in both your phrasebook, and place a card in your passport.

Emergency Measures

Know when to self-diagnose
Sometimes, you find yourself in a position where you have no other option. That said, this is something you want to avoid for obvious reasons. Says Dr. Szumowski, “Self-diagnosis and treatment can be appropriate for less serious conditions such as traveler’s diarrhea, but it is important not to delay evaluation by a medical professional for more serious illness [see warning signs above]. If someone chooses to self-treat, it’s important to be aware of potential for counterfeit medications locally.”

What if the only available hospital/clinic/doctor’s office is seriously sketchy?
If you’re in a situation where the medical facility is primitive/lacking in sanitation, you’ve got a tough call on your hands.

I posed this question to Dr. Szumowski. He says, “It depends on the acuity and seriousness of the condition. In general, evaluation and treatment in a facility with adequately-trained staff and more comprehensive resources is preferable whenever possible–this may mean seeking evaluation in the capital, at a private hospital, or even returning home. Aside from limited diagnostics and medications, smaller/less-resourced facilities may have inadequate sanitary practices (e.g. reuse of equipment) and screening of blood products, raising the risk of contracting pathogens such as hepatitis C or HIV. Therefore, having evacuation insurance is advisable, especially for extended travels in the developing world.”

In other words, you may be shit out of luck. But this is why you’re reading this article–so you can be prepared for all kinds of situations! Read on.

OTC antibiotics
In many countries, you can buy OTC antibiotics, and indeed, this may be your only option, but heed Dr. Szumowski’s warning, above. Caveat emptor.

If you need to be evacuated, the U.S. government offers financial assistance and/or repatriation loans. The American Citizens Service and Crisis Management (ACS) is linked to U.S. embassies and consulates all over the globe. It’s a good idea to enroll in the U.S. Department of State’s “Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (formerly known as “Traveler Registration)” if you’re traveling for a long period of time, to a high-risk region, or doing any extreme adventure activities.

Travel prepared

Get antibiotic prescriptions (and carry copies with you) from your primary care doctor or internist, or visit a travel medicine clinic, and pack them in you travel first-aid kit (You don’t have one? REI has some great options). Some people also carry sterile latex gloves and hypodermic needles with them. If you’re diabetic or have another condition that requires injections, this makes sense, provided you have a note from your medical provider. For everyone else, this is a personal choice that comes down to, “How comfortable are you with the knowledge that you’re carrying drug paraphernalia?” If you backpack, travel in places with notoriously corrupt law enforcement, or countries like, say, Malaysia, you may want to hedge your bets.

Email yourself and family or a trusted friend copies of medical insurance, itinerary, and a list of medications, and doctors.

Consider traveler’s insurance.

If the worst happens

In the highly unlikely event you do come home with a mystery disease that isn’t responding to medical treatment, get to a specialist, asap. Depending upon where you’ve been, this may be an infectious disease or tropical medicine doctor, a dermatologist or rheumatologist who specializes in tropical medicine, etc.. You may need to travel–out of state–to find the right specialist. Find someone who has first-hand experience traveling/training or practicing in developing countries, and in diagnosing diseases not found in the U.S.. It may even be best to try and seek medical treatment in the country where you became ill (even if that means a return trip).

Unfortunately, I can speak with authority this subject, because I’m in my 22nd month of diagnostics following a trip to South America. If you do find yourself harboring a travel-related (or not) disease that defies diagnosis, you must be your own advocate. No one is more invested in your health than you are, and doctors are human. They may make mistakes, despite their best intentions. Seek not just a second, but a third opinion, from at least two different medical facilities.

And finally, don’t let anything in this article scare you and put you off travel. Odds are, you’ll come home with nothing more than great memories, and the eagerness to plan your next trip. I know I can’t wait.

[Photo credits: vaccination, Flickr user alvi2047; mosquito, Flickr user tonrulkens; toast, Flickr user snowriderguy; farmacia, Flickr user ibirque; drugs, Flickr user cavale]

Gadling’s favorite airlines for 2011

by Alex Robertson Textor on

Even with airlines falling over themselves in an effort to generate profits out of new fees and charges, flying retains some glamour and excitement. No? Not working for you? Well there are mileage programs to exploit and perks to chase. And even in the direst landscape for customers, there are always new routes to sample, smiling flight attendants to befriend, and reliable pilots to thank for safe landings.

Going into 2011, it appears that Virgin America is Gadling’s favorite airline. Virgin America sails above the competition with their standard of service, their appealing overall product, and their general freshness.

Other airlines we especially like or tolerate for one or another reason include easyJet, Qantas, VAustralia, Air France, Philippine Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Air New Zealand, Cathay Pacific, Jet Airways, Continental, Alaska Airlines, and Porter.

We begin with the observations of Kent Wien, Gadling’s resident pilot-contributor and the motor behind two Gadling features, namely, Cockpit Chronicles and Plane Answers.

Kent Wien. Air New Zealand. I don’t know if I was more impressed with their new line of coach sleeper seats or the friendliness of their flight attendants. Either way, Air New Zealand has managed to capture much of the recent jump in tourism traffic to New Zealand by offering an innovative cabin design and enhanced service which includes an in-flight concierge for the entire airplane. They’ve changed the look and feel of their galleys by hiding them away during boarding, since the first thing passengers see when stepping on to an airplane is the in-flight kitchen. And most of these changes were accomplished even after they were named by Air Transport World as the airline of the year for 2010.

Mike Barish. I continue to love Virgin America. They’re willing to show personality. They have a sense of humor and their use of social media is phenomenal. They have really embraced customer service and care about humanizing their brand.

Annie Scott. Air France has the best coach class of any airline I’ve flown this year, but Philippine Airlines gets ten points for calling their economy class “Fiesta Class.”

McLean Robbins. Virgin America. Am I one of many?

Meg Nesterov. Turkish Airlines has become my default carrier of choice, which is fine given their excellent service. How many other airlines will let you cancel and rebook a flight last minute and only charges a small change fee? Their in-flight meals even in coach are reliably good and always free.

Melanie Nayer. Props to Cathay Pacific. Great in-flight crew, and any airline that makes me a grilled cheese sandwich in flight is tops in my book!

Alex Robertson Textor. Porter, hands down. I like the airline so much I found a way to write a piece for their in-flight magazine. I want two dozen regional Porters around the globe, each with limited route maps, quiet, fuel-efficient planes, friendly fight attendants, and a single class of service.Catherine Bodry. Alaska Air.

Grant Martin. Virgin America & VAustralia. All of that positive press is happening for a reason. These two airlines have the best service out there, and their hard products are equally gorgeous. Get to Australia next year while competition is still high and ticket prices are rock bottom.

Karen Walrond. I fly mostly on Continental because I live in its hub city and that’s where my airmiles are. Here in Houston, we’re nervous about the merger between Continental and United. We hope nothing will be ruined in the process!

David Farley. Jet Airways.

Sean McLachlan. easyJet. Everyone complains about them, myself included, but damn they’re cheap and convenient. And hey, at least they aren’t Ryanair!

Laurel Miller. Qantas for their consistently excellent service, staff, and on-time departures.

[Image: Flickr | LWY]

Gadling’s favorite destinations for 2011

by Alex Robertson Textor on

We travel a lot, to destinations both well-known and unfamiliar. In our defense, it is our job to travel like mad, to explore the world and then write about our discoveries.

Though most travel writers find something or other of interest in most places we visit, there are always those personal favorites that rise above the rest. This year, we decided to scribble our favorites down for you. Some of these spots we’re tipping for greater coverage in 2011, while others are simply tried-and-true favorites that we can’t stop raving about to our friends and the various publications that allow us to write for them. Over the course of this week, we’ll weigh in on our favorite hotels, airlines, gadgets, apps, and websites.

So, without further ado: Gadling’s favorite destinations for 2011.

Mike Barish. St. Kitts. I genuinely enjoy how locals and visitors frequent the same beach bars and restaurants. During evenings on the strip, I’d recognize staff members from my hotel doing the same thing I was doing: enjoying the ocean breeze with a cocktail and some jerk chicken.

Kraig Becker. Everest Base Camp, Nepal. For adventure travelers, a visit to Everest Base Camp is one of the best treks in the world. The 12-day hike isn’t just about the destination, however, as you walk in the shadow of the Himalaya each day, passing through sleepy mountain villages steeped in Sherpa culture along the way. The scenery, and altitude, is a breathtaking once-in-a-lifetime adventure.
Catherine Bodry: Ko Chang, Thailand and Sayulita, Mexico.

Joel Bullock: My favorite new roller coaster of 2010 is Carowinds’ Intimidator. Carowinds is located on the border of North and South Carolina in Charlotte in the heart of NASCAR country. It was only fitting that the park design a racing-themed roller coaster that bears the nickname of racing legend Dale Earnhadt. Intimidator is an exciting ride. It’s the tallest, fastest, and longest roller coaster in the South East.

David Downie: As a general trend, I revisit places that have fallen off the tourist maps, or that have been taken for granted, and delve deeper into favorite destinations such as Paris and Rome, which are infinitely rich and fascinating and satisfying. Cities: Paris (art, culture, walks, museums, food, wine), Rome (art, culture, walks, museums, food, wine), Genoa (food, wine, scenic beauty, history, magically restored architecture), Bologna (food, food, food and atmosphere and architecture), Helsinki (scenic beauty, atmosphere, seafood). Countryside destinations: Burgundy (wine, food, vineyard and mountain scenery), Massif Central (hikes, scenery), Drome-Provencal (ditto, plus truffles and wine), Tuscany (art, culture, museums, wine, food, vineyard and mountain scenery), Italian Riviera (ditto).

Don George. (1) Peru‘s Sacred Valley. I finally made it there this year and was enchanted by scenery, history, culture, people, cuisine. Machu Picchu is of course life-transformingly amazing but the other untouted ruins all around the valley are equally amazing. (2) Kyoto, Japan. The cobbled back quarters of this ancient city are as enchanting now as they were when I first visited 30 years ago. Tiny temples, impromptu shakuhachi concerts, apprentice geisha in full splendor. (3) Aitutaki, Cook Islands. Incredible island scenery, hospitable people, stunning lagoon, peaceful and laid-back lifestyle, thriving dance, carving, and textile arts scene.

Tom Johansmeyer. If you’re a cigar smoker, nothing beats Esteli, Nicaragua. On just about any budget, you can spend a few days down there. Make a few calls in advance, and you’ll have the opportunity to tour tobacco fields and cigar factories. Even if you aren’t a smoker, it’s amazing to see such craftsmanship in action.

Jeremy Kressmann. Hanoi, Vietnam for its great history and architecture, awesome cuisine, and intriguing Cold War sights. Secondly, Laos. The rugged north of the country has great hikes and the buzzing cultural capital of Luang Prabang is totally worthwhile.

Grant Martin. Bogotá. Forget what you’ve heard about kidnappings, drugs and danger, Bogotá is the new cosmopolitan capital of South America. With quaint, brick streets, a buzzing commercial district and a hip, young population, there’s not much to dislike about this place. Get there before the rest of North America figures it out.

Melanie Nayer. Shanghai. The city of old and new hit a turning point when it hosted the World Expo, and set the stage for Shanghai to become one of the most talked about–and visited–cities in the world.

Sean McLachlan. Ethiopia. Friendly people, rugged scenery, historic sites, and great coffee. What more could you want? Beautiful women, good food, adventure travel? Ethiopia has all that too.

Laurel Miller. Ecuador, especially Cotopaxi National Park (see above), because it’s stunningly beautiful, uncrowded, and there are loads of outdoor recreational opportunities. Ecuador is an amazingly diverse country, kind of like a mini-Peru but with very low-key tourism. There’s also great whitewater rafting/kayaking and mountaineering, fascinating indigenous culture, beautiful colonial cities, delicious regional foods, and the people are wonderful. There’s so much more to Ecuador than just the (admittedly spectacular) Galapagos.

Meg Nesterov. Bulgaria is cheap, creative, and easy to explore. Several of my most well-traveled friends already rave about it. Go now before tourism overexposes the country.

Heather Poole. Positano, Italy. It’s just so beautiful and the food is amazing. I’m a flight attendant and I have a four year-old son, as well as a husband who travels over 100,000 miles a year for business. Our life is like a game of tag. So when it comes to vacations all we want to do is relax. I love to be able to sit on a balcony and let the vacation come to me.

McLean Robbins. Telluride. It’s not new, but as ski towns go it feels non-commercial and relatively untouched. You’ll find truly friendly people (and your fair share of under-the-radar celebrities), but also the country’s best extreme skiing. And it looks like heaven when it snows!

Annie Scott. I’m big on Vienna. It’s a magical city that embodies everything I think of when I think of Europe: culture, history, cathedrals and class. I think the Swiss Riviera may be the most beautiful place I’ve ever been. Lake Geneva looks so pristine you could drink it, and the French influence gives everything from the dining to the shopping that elusive je ne sais quoi. Lastly, I had a marvelous trip this year in Zambia where the wildlife was rampant and the scenery was enchanting and unexpectedly dynamic: sweeping plains, dreamlike riverscapes and incredible trees. The thrill of being immersed in the bush is hard to match.

Alex Robertson Textor. Lima, Peru continues to pop. While the Inca Trail is old hat, Lima is emerging as a major destination on its own. Perhaps most notable is the Peruvian capital’s excellent restaurant scene, which is as disarmingly inexpensive as it is top-notch. I also have to mention green, rustic, jaw-droppingly beautiful Dominica as the Caribbean’s top adventure destination. Dominica has a number of fantastic eco-lodges that showcase the island’s natural beauty wonderfully and are priced reasonably.

Karen Walrond. As a diver, I love Cayman. Love it. Very touristy, but the diving is beyond anything I’ve seen, and i’ve been diving all over the world. And I’m partial to Grand Riviere in my homeland of Trinidad, which isn’t touristy at all. Between April and June, you can see Giant Leatherback turtles nesting in Grand Riviere.

[Image: Flickr | alepheli]

The Gadling budget travel manifesto

by Alex Robertson Textor on

Over the past two weeks we’ve upped our budget travel coverage here at Gadling. We’ve published stories on budget-friendly Caribbean destinations, budget-friendly European destinations, Thanksgiving hotel deals, hardcore budget travel suggestions, New York City budget travel tips, local budget travel secrets, cheap local fast food worldwide, great sites for planning budget-friendly European travel, and how to find affordable ski deals.

Our recent hyperactivity around budget travel is no accident. We want to improve Gadling’s standing as budget travel resource, as a go-to site for budget travel tips, information, and inspiration.

In order to give this new resolve some oomph, a Gadling budget travel manifesto is in order. The goal here is to intervene in a travel media landscape that sees luxury travel as the universal objective of all travelers by glorifying budget travel and budget travelers. Budget travel is exciting and sophisticated and it needs to be recognized as such.

The lure of aspirational travel

People love to read about expensive resorts and impossibly dear travel accessories because they’re exciting to contemplate. In this respect, they fulfill a function not a million miles from pornography. And like porn, they’re also a lot of fun. The problem is that just as pornography does not provide a good map for most human relations, aspirational travel does not offer a useable guide for most forms of travel. Worse yet, aspirational travel often comes to cloud impressions of travel and actually convince many, many people that travel is an endeavor that can only be engaged at unmanageably high price points.

The focus on aspirational travel in the travel media creates all sorts of strange situations. Reading through a typical American travel magazine or even the weekend travel section of big newspaper, one might believe that $500 per night is a reasonable mid-range rate for a night’s hotel accommodation. Honestly, this is outrageous. When push comes to shove, how many people can actually afford such rates?

Budget travel can mean many things. It can mean finding a deal on a hotel, cruise, or air journey. It can mean traveling with very little money and simply making do. It can mean organizing travel around friendship networks, or joining home exchange or couchsurfing membership programs. But however it might be defined, it doesn’t include hotel rooms that run $500 per night.

Budget travel is sophisticated travel

Here are three assertions about budget travel in general and in relation to luxury travel that might at first seem counterintuitive.

1. Budget travel enables better interaction with local culture than does luxury travel.

2. Budget travel is more sophisticated than luxury travel.

3. Budget travelers are more creative than luxury travelers.

I’ll anticipate a few knee-jerk criticisms and try to answer them here in advance. Obviously not all budget travelers are savvy. Many are in fact the opposite. But it is just as certain that many, many (most?) luxury travelers are not at all sophisticated–not truly and fully in the spirit of cultural engagement and courageous exploration.The first assertion here is probably the most self-evident. Budget travelers very often stay in modest accommodations run by locals or long-term expats in settings surrounded by locals. Unlike luxury travelers, who are typically cocooned in hermetically-sealed compounds radically separated from the surrounding locales and their residents, budget travelers have an easy time experiencing the richly local dimensions of their destinations.

Points two and three: Budget travelers work creatively to find interesting places to visit and build itineraries. Unlike many luxury travelers, they don’t particularly care about international brands, and don’t stop thinking about how to spend their time after they’ve booked a stay at a particular five-star chain hotel and exhausted the menu of in-house spa treatments. Budget travelers approach their travel with open minds about where they might stay and about which sorts of inexpensive accommodations might be on offer in particular locations.

Budget travel glamour

Budget travel is real travel. It’s often challenging and not always predictable, yet it’s also often far more glamorous than its reputation.

There is glamour in amassing tons of passport stamps on a dime, in accumulating personal top ten lists of the best dive bars in a particular city, and in getting your high culture quota in the standing-room only zone. There are joys in cheap apartment sublets, in couchsurfing, in volunteer tourism, in hitchhiking, in slow buses. There are pleasures in delicious and fresh local fast food.

But evidence of the glamour of budget travel is too often absent even within the tiny budget travel media, which often prioritizes an upwardly-mobile demographic and ignores countless very good budget accommodations in favor of stylish hotels with stratospheric nightly rates. This approach may be good for advertising revenue but it renders the very concept of budget travel unrecognizable. And in the process, the real glamour of budget travel is lost.

Gadling’s budget travel content

Moving forward here at Gadling, we are committed to providing better targeted budget travel advice in the form of hotel and restaurant tips, strategic booking suggestions, local secrets, and solid general information for getting the most for your money.

We want to hear from you. We want to know which budget travel questions you want answered and which types of budget-friendly advice you most need. How can Gadling best deliver the budget travel goods?

[Image: Flickr / cyclonebill]