Turn your Gmail into an online storage drive

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Although I use Gmail primarily to stay in touch while I travel, my account has proved enormously useful for plenty of other reasons. Rather than visiting 3-4 different airline and hotel sites, I collect and “star” all my itinerary info within my Gmail for easy reference. And rather than carrying around all those annoying frequent flier cards, I created a single file in Google Documents that lists my member number for every airline. Not to mention the hundreds of other great ways you can take advantage of Google when you travel.

Now I have another reason to keep coming back to my Gmail – an add-on for Firefox users called Gspace. Gspace turns any Gmail account into 2 gigabytes of free online storage with an easy-to-use interface. Think of it as an easy way to store your photos, videos, favorite music and important travel documents on the road. When you log into Gmail, you’ll see the files you’ve uploaded listed as emails in your account. Head over to the Gspace site, download their Firefox application, and you’re ready to go. You access Gspace from the pull-down “Tools” file menu in your Firefox browser. Check the How It Works page if you’re having any problems.

If you don’t have Firefox, you can download it for free – trust me, it’s better than Internet Explorer. Also, if you’re not already a Gmail user, it’s time to sign up. The best part? You can sign up for unlimited Gmail accounts, so there’s technically no limit to what you can store.

Do children on planes bother you?

by Grant Martin on

I have to admit, every time I used to fly overseas I was afraid of sitting in the proximity of children. Usually I’m one of the first people to board, so after getting my electronics and reading material in order, I used to nervously watch passengers boarding, terrified that a couple with a newborn child was going to sit next to me and that the child would wail across the entire ocean.

This has happened to me more than once, and it really really sucks. But over the past few years I’ve come to terms with the frustration a bit. I try to think that couples traveling with children need to be on the road, perhaps for a family function or emergency and that they’re doing everything in their power to see to their children. Hopefully, they’re sensitive to the passengers around them and we in turn can be flexible for that.

As it turns out, I’m not the only person sensitive to screaming kids in my cabin. Our friends over at Airfarewatchdog recently posted a survey asking whether families with children should be put in a different section of the aircraft, concentrating the ruckus into one portion of the plane. Perhaps this would result in more peace for the other passengers.

Surprisingly, well over 90% of the polled readers said that they would support another cabin for families with children. That’s a pretty definitive result.

Not that something like that will ever happen. Airlines wont discriminate against families traveling with children and even if they could, it would be a political and bureaucratic nightmare to implement. But it’s in interesting idea.

Be sure to check out and vote in AFWD’s and check out the data yourself.

Orbitz launches My Ideal Beach travel website

by Grant Martin on

One of the most popular questions I usually see out on the travel forums comes from first-time travelers who are looking to leave town for a “once in a lifetime” trip with their significant other. The typical question sounds something like this:

“I WANT TO GET AWAY FOR A FEW DAYS FOR MY HONEYMOON. CAN YOU RECOMMEND A NICE PLACE TO STAY? IT HAS TO BE ALL INCLUSIVE AND VERY ROMANTIC. THANKS IN ADVANCE!”

This question, of course, leaves too many unanswered questions. When? What do you want to do? Where are you leaving from? Can you give us somewhere to start?

Luckily, I now have Orbitz’s My Ideal Beach search engine to point them to. Powered by the web crawler’s wealth of hotel and travel booking data, the easy-to-use website asks users a few simple questions about their travel preferences and desires, namely: Type of Traveler, Interests and Hotel Options. Given your choices, the engine will pick out a few favorite resorts for you and spit out a couple of optimal results.

What the engine won’t do is sort by price or exclude travel options — for example, I may not only prefer an Adult-only resort, I may require that no children be present at all on the premises.

But when I think about it, this search engine isn’t really for nitpicking travelers who want to seek out the best deal at the best price. This is tool for softcore users who want a pretty interface and who want to be led to their favorite resort on a private beach behind 20 foot walls. For those travelers, this site is perfect.

5 ways NOT to find a travel companion online

by Aaron Hotfelder on

Some people like to know that, when they land at their destination, there will be someone else there waiting for them. Thankfully, more than a few websites exist to increase your chances of finding a travel companion. If you look through the listings though, you’ll find that very few of them receive responses.

Here are a couple tips to ensure that your listing will likewise go unanswered.

1. Avoid the forums at Lonely Planet.

That huge faceless guidebook monolith called Lonely Planet is the reason that your favorite once-deserted beach is now crawling with grubby backpackers. Plus, their hotel information was outdated that one time, and they also sent you to a mediocre restaurant a couple years ago.

To get back at them, avoid the hundreds of people who browse their Travel Companions forum, and instead keep your “street cred” by using a more “indie” site with only a fraction of the traffic.

Also steer clear of Bootsnall’s Travel Buddies forum. With all the traffic there, it probably sucks too.

2. Compose your listing like it’s a personal ad.

Be sure to specify that you’re looking to travel with a member of the opposite sex only. And ask for a picture. You don’t want to end up traveling with some uggo, do you?

Guys, remember: anonymous travel forums are where most pretty girls go to find relationships. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by. Come up with a nickname that shows you’re a really cool guy– something like “JCrewTravelDude.” If possible, use a handsome font. Girls are impressed by this.

3. USE ALL CAPITALS. PEOPLE LOVE READING ALL CAPITALS.

WHEN YOU TYPE LIKE THIS, people notice. So go ahead, press that Caps Lock key and let ‘er rip. Not only do capital letters get people’s attention, they make you appear completely normal and not at all like some freak who stopped taking his medication.

4. Be incredibly vague about where you’re going and when.

Ads like “I’m up for anything, whenever,” are almost guaranteed to work just perfectly. Don’t list anything about where you’d like to go, or when you might be leaving. People will be falling all over each other to come up with your travel itinerary.

5. Indicate that, no matter what happens, the two of you will be spending all your time together.

Remember: the two of you are going to be a team, and teams stick together. Make it clear that under no circumstances will you two separate. You’re traveling companions for the whole trip, come hell or high water. This does not reek of desperation or newborn-baby-like dependence.

Follow these tips, and I guarantee you’ll end up just like that pathetic-looking loser in the photo above.

Renting a villa in Tuscany: AAA travel show tidbit

by Jamie Rhein on

In the chat room lounge at the AAA travel show, “Europe is Closer than You Think,” questions and answers were batted between participants. Someone would post a question and eventually people responded. It was like listening to several conversations at once, but you could scroll back to see what was missed.

One person asked a question about traveling to Europe with her children ages 2, 4 and 7. She wanted to know if she should wait until they are in grade school. One of the travel agents suggested traveling in Ireland or renting a villa in Tuscany. Another suggested waiting until the kids are a bit older to take a river cruise with short shore excursions. The woman asking the question jumped on the villa in Tuscany idea, though and that sparked my interest as well.

Here is a Web site I found that lists villas to rent in Tuscany. I have never rented a villa in Tuscany. I have toured historic villas before near Padua, but stayed in a friend’s apartment. Friends of mine with small children have rented a villa in Tuscany and the experience actually made them want to buy a villa in Tuscany. They liked it that much.

Here is another villa I found. Advantages of renting a villa is that you could stay in one place, cook meals or eat out and children would have a place to play outside. What a wonderful home away from home. One way to have an even more relaxing, less expensive villa experience is to rent one in the fall. If any of you have a villa in Tuscany experience to share, do tell.