Subway Maps of the World

by Willy Volk on

If you’re heading to an unfamiliar city, and you anticipate using their subway system, you should check out Amadeus’ Subway Maps. Organized by continent, and further subdivided by cities, Subway Maps has printable PDFs of each of the dozens of subways featured — perfect for appending into your Moleskine City Guide. Each map is accompanied by images and basic information about each subway, including history and prices.

Larger than most travel guide’s subway maps, these maps have the added benefit of being free.

Travellerspoint’s Travel Maps

by Willy Volk on

Travellerspoint is an online community created and developed by Samuel and Peter Daams who wanted a travel site that centered around the travel experience. Since the site launched in 2002, more than 86,000 members from 242 countries have joined. Today, Travellerspoint features forums, blogs, photo galleries, and information on accommodation and destinations — all offered for and by travelers. Although it may not be as much fun as jawing about your adventures over brews and biltong, it ranks a close second.

Recently, the site launched some pretty wicked travel maps, integrated, Flash-based maps that allow users to plan upcoming trips, and to show of their past travel routes. To use the maps, you name the trip, add some data (e.g., coordinates, dates), and hit save. The map is automagically prepared. In this way, people can keep a close eye on friends who’re traveling around the country — or the world. If you’ve got travel photos, videos, or blog entries that you’ve been adding to Travellerspoint, the maps update with these extras. Evidently, the maps will soon be embed-able, so you can embed the map of your brother’s Euro-trip in your blog.

On second thought, maybe the site is cooler than brews and biltong.

[Via Vagablogging]

Hiking in Big Sur

by Willy Volk on

Hiking in Big Sur is a new site that details — you guessed it — hiking in Big Sur. Featuring detailed descriptions of the area’s glorious hikes, some great maps to help you get in and around the parks, and some absolutely stunning images that’ll inspire even the laziest couch potatoes to tie their shoes, the site is a bonanza for the California hiker.

Details for the Partington Cove Trail, for example, include length, difficulty, type of terrain, things to look for along the way, and links to aerial photos so you can understand precisely where you are. If you’re headed out that way, be certain to check out the area’s hazards first. And for those with limited time, prepare to celebrate: the site also includes some one-day must-see hikes.

Reykjavik 64°08N 21°54W

by Adrienne Wilson on

Reykjavik 64°08N 21°54W isn’t your typical travel guide, but it is a highly unique concept. The author of the guide, Ami Sioux (a Paris-based photographer) asked 50 people in Reykjavik to hand draw maps of a significant or important place of their choosing. She later takes to the roads and Icelandic wilderness or where ever the maps may lead her and photographs the area. With her photos and the nifty hand-drawn maps combined she pieces together an awesome book for the coffee table. In addition to Iceland, Ami had the opportunity to mingle with Berlin natives, Paris, London, and New York natives as well to create media for each city using their interpretive maps and her travel treasure hunt shots. As of the moment Reykjavik 64°08N 21°54W is not available in the U.S., but those burning to find their way to an Icelandic thermal pool or somebody’s back yard through the book can click here for more purchase info.

I must say I wish I had come up with the idea myself.

via Cool Hunting

World Map Quiz Game

by Adrienne Wilson on

For those who like testing their geography skills on a regular basis, try this World Map quiz from GameDesign.jp. The goal is to place as many of the 20 countries given during each quiz countries on the very blank map within an allotted time. I’ll confess my score was horrible. (Here is where I try to justify why a travel blogger of all people did so badly on the quiz.) I’m blaming it on my eye sight for one. I knew the general area for all the places given during my own quiz, but couldn’t pick them fast enough. Some of them looked so tiny and I was afraid using the zoom in feature would suck up some of my time. For instance Croatia was one I missed along with Austria an numerous others. On the flipside I was able to place Rwanda, Chile, Dominican Republic, Estonia and Japan in the time allowed.

Thanks World Hum for bringing my attention to this and yes, I’m already addicted.