Here’s some good news for air travelers: The New York Times is reporting the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) may soon loosen its rules around the use of electronics during takeoff and landing.
The change, however, will not affect cellphone use. Instead, it applies to reading devices such as iPads and Kindles.
Anonymous employees at an industry group the FAA set up last year told the news outlet the governmental agency is under tremendous pressure to either allow use of these types of devices, or provide significant evidence why they cannot be used. According to multiple sources, there is no proof these types of devices affect a plane’s avionics.
According to the report, the group has been meeting with key companies, including Amazon and the Consumer Electronics Association, since January. It’s likely the FAA could make an announcement about the relaxed rules by the end of the year.
The group also told The New York Times that the FAA hopes to replace multiple regulations with a single, concise set.
Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill said she planned to hold the agency accountable by introducing legislation surrounding the new rules.
“So it’s OK to have iPads in the cockpit; it’s OK for flight attendants – and they are not in a panic – yet it’s not OK for the traveling public,” Senator McCaskill told The New York Times in a phone interview. “A flying copy of ‘War and Peace’ is more dangerous than a Kindle.”
This Photo of the Day, titled “Monkeys, Monks, and a Snake Charmer is Today’s Virtualvacay #srilanka,” comes from Gadling Flickr pool member and travel photographer Jen Pollack Bianco.
On Flickr as MyLifesATrip, and hosting a website of the same name, Bianco has also graced the pages of Gadling with some helpful tips on travel photography.
This photo is timely right now as Sinhala Ravaya, a Sinhalese Buddhist pressure group, staged a march this week to protest the repeated attacks against Buddhist monks in Tamil Nadu. Here, we see a different scene depicted. Bianco’s work depicts snake charming, the practice of pretending to hypnotize a snake by playing an instrument.
In addition to the Gadling pool, this photo appears in an interesting Flickr set called A Picture Per Day, which we see others mimic on Flickr, Tumblr, Instagram and other photo-sharing venues too.
It’s a way of sharing our lives with, literally, a snapshot of what is going on with us at any given point in time; what we see or do that can bring us closer to friends and family that may be far away.
Sound like a good idea? Your photos don’t have to be of some iconic destination. After all, how many of us are able to do that day in and day out?
My best friend has been doing this for a couple years now. Including photos of a beautiful sunset while stuck in traffic on the way home from work, a flower blooming in her front yard or some other image she captures going about a day.
Some share these with the world or include only family and friends.
Tips for being featured: add a caption describing the image and (better yet) your personal experience when capturing it, details of the photography gear used and any tips you might have for others wanting to emulate your work.
Despite the Netherlands not quite being world renowned for their castles, Castle De Haar is a classic example of one, even complete with a moat. This shot by Dutch native Bert Kaufmann is exactly the kind that you would hope to capture yourself, where it’s easy to imagine strolls along the pond and enjoying a nice coffee from inside.
Take your own great travel photos and upload them to the Gadling Group Pool on Flickr and it might just be chosen to be a Photo of the Day. You can also submit photos through Instagram; just mention @GadlingTravel and use the hashtag #gadling when posting your images.
Spring break may be full of fun, sun and adventure for students and families who plan ahead, budget wisely or just have travel as a priority when it comes to spending. Some make wise, thoughtful decisions on where to go, while others head out on the open road with no plans at all. Spring break can be a time of renewing, head-clearing goodness that resets brainpower, allowing a return to school or work refreshed and ready to go forward.
Unless you’re broke.
Without some money, a lot of Spring break ideas never happen. Here then, at the last minute, are some cheap spring break ideas for broke people.
Obviously, A Road Trip Works
Other than walking or going nowhere, Spring break via automobile is about as cheap as it gets so road trip options are for sure on the table. But instead of planning a trip half-way across the country, burning up time to get to the beach, national park, fabulous city or some other “main event,” why not look right in your own back yard?
I was surprised at the number of attractions, mostly free, that I found within 50 miles of our home, and we live in Orlando, the attraction capital of the world. You won’t have to search Gadling very far to find a plethora of posts with a travel-like-a-local flavor. Most commonly we use that information to get the most out of destinations not visited before. Turn that app around and see what may be hiding just down the street. The results may surprise you.Smartcations
Best understood as bundling applied to vacations, smartcations have travel service providers collaborating to put air, hotel, rental cars and more together. The result: lower overall cost than by booking each element separately. Nothing really new there; airlines have been suggesting, “would you like a hotel with that?” at online check-out for years.
What is new and applicable for broke people is widening the search to include deal sites like Groupon or Living Social. For our purposes here, those with limited travel funds often find that going the smartcations route can enable otherwise abandoned travel plans to happen. Better yet, some allow us to play the pied-piper role, encouraging others (broke) like us to take advantage of the offer.
Smartcation options are available for destinations around the world, including tropical islands.
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Vacation Home Rentals
What was once the lifestyle of the nearly-rich and famous travel option, renting someone else’s fabulous vacation home while they are away at one of their other fabulous homes has come down considerably in price, across the board. Thank you Mr. Recent Recession.
In Florida, for example, bank-owned foreclosure homes are often rented for not much more that they cost in taxes. Banks figure something is better than nothing, which has opened up a whole new market of budget accommodations.
Especially attractive to larger groups of close friends in a “lets set up our own hostel” sort of way, vacation home properties number in the tens of thousands. Most come completely furnished and ready to use and may include the security of a gated community, preset services like cable TV and/or a pool. Homeaway is a good source to start with but renting vacation homes has become such a popular option that their Tripadvisor category numbers over 275,000 properties.
Vacation homes are available all over the United States, Canada and even safe places to visit in Mexico.
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A Short Cruise With A Lot Of People
Three- or four-day cruise vacations (AKA Party Cruises), bought at the last minute (convenient for you since this is the last minute) can be a good option for those with limited travel funds. Sailing from Florida to the Bahamas, the domain of three-day cruises, prices might run about $200 per person, based on double occupancy (two people per stateroom), tax included.
But third and/or fourth people sharing the same room come in at a discounted rate. Add it all up and divide the total price by the number of people and that $200 per person charge could drop to nearly half that.
Mom, Dad and the kids? Beware of short cruises, especially the three-day booze cruises that run over a weekend. This might not be the wholesome family entertainment you had in mind. On the other hand, there’s no time like the present for teaching valuable life skills like how to avoid obnoxious drunks, even at an early age.
But which cruise to choose? Again looking for the best value, consider a tour operator that specializes in just this sort of travel, but includes more in the price. StudentCity is a huge student tour operator, specializing in Spring Break trips for high school and college students.
“Come party with us in the best tropical destinations and at the hottest nightclubs on the map, with world-class DJs and talent,” says StudentCity of this video:
This Photo of the Day, titled “Mount Revelstoke National Park View,” comes from one of my favorite Gadling Flickr pool members James Wheeler. I like James’ work for more than its visual appeal too. Rather than simply posting a photo (like I do), James adds detail about the gear he used and more. For example, James captions the image:
“Mount Revelstoke national park is one of the few places you can drive all the way to an alpine summit. Lets you get the great view of a hike up a mountain without the work. The is the view from the top, pretty impressive.”
Known “as a place of contrasts,” Canada’s Mount Revelstoke National Park hosts a variety of geographical zones ranging from dense, old-growth rainforest to alpine meadows and tundra, as depicted in this photo.
James captured the image using a Tokina 12-24mm f/4 lens with a Nikon Polarizing Filter mounted on his Nikon D5000 atop a steady Sirui T-2005X Tripod with K-10x Tripod Head. Processing the image, James used Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop, Nik Color Efex Pro and Topaz Adjust.
Sound complicated? I thought so too. Check Gadling’s library of timeless Photo Tips by creative photographer Dana Murph who breaks down what all those things are and more.
Tips for being featured: add a caption describing the image and (better yet) your personal experience when capturing it, details of the photography gear used and any tips you might have for others wanting to emulate your work.