7 things to leave at home on your next big trip

by Jeffrey White on

Frequent travelers face occasional questions about what we pack for a long trip, what we think is essential. A contrasting question that comes up less often is what we choose to ditch — and why.

The answers to the second question are usually born out of experience and are combined with encountering other travelers on the road who have made different decisions. They’ve chosen, for instance, not to jettison those silly neck wallets (though they’re wishing they had), and we’d have liked to have advised them: You don’t need that thing, man!

Of course, the travel merchandise industry is significantly, though not entirely, based on things you don’t really need — TravelSmith is one online shop that traffics a lot in the unnecessary — and people who travel less frequently or are about to embark on their first big trip are probably more susceptible to things advertised as must-haves.

The more you travel, the more you bring a calculus of practicality and function to bear on what you decide to pack, and that should fit into the overall aim of getting the most out of your trip. That means looking for ways to become more portable and invisible in the places you travel to — blending in, to put it another way.

I was thinking today about some things I’d recommend leaving behind when you next hit the road, and made a list that is hardly exhaustive but one that I’d happily hand anyone.

At some point in time I’ve made the mistake of using or packing all of these items that follow, even the duct tape. Though I’m sure each has its supporters, you can easily do without these seven things.

%Gallery-44878%1. Wheeled luggage

I realize right now I’m taking on modern travel equipment’s most sacred cow, but I’ve long been opposed to rollaboards and wheeled luggage. They’re a manifestation of the kind of overall laziness in our society that, among other things, compels people to take Segway tours instead of just walking. There are few things more disheartening to me than to see twenty- and thirty-somethings turn up at a hostel, once the base camp for backpackers, dragging a bloated Eagle Creek wheeled duffel. If you’re healthy, able-bodied and under the age of, say, 60, pick up your luggage (I am not the only one who says this).

But here’s why you should really ditch that roller:

(A.) They’re not all that practical if your itinerary takes you beyond the airport, hotel and conference center
(B.) You’re much more likely to over pack if you use one

Remember how ridiculous Kathleen Turner’s character looked when she was pulling her suitcase down that Colombian dirt road in “Romancing the Stone”? Try dragging a roller down a cobblestone street, or a busy city sidewalk, or through a European train or subway station at rush hour (picking it up two or three times to ascend or descend stairs), to say nothing of anywhere else off the beaten path. And since it’s easier to drag than lug, you won’t give as much thought to lightening your load. Faced with having to throw a bag over your shoulder, however, you might think twice about that second (or third) pair of shoes.

Alternative: Duffels have been around for decades and are hard to improve upon. There’s the backpack, of course; I recommend anything 3,000 cu.in. and smaller instead of a big internal frame pack. And there are a number of shoulder bags on the market these days that marry the best of both a duffel and a backpack. My bag of choice is a Patagonia MLC (Maximum Legal Carry-on, pictured): It’s roomy and transforms into a basic backpack if you need it.

2. The neck wallet

The badge of the first-time traveler and the avid tour package enthusiast, the neck wallet is a perennial contender for the most useless travel accessory you could ever buy. Worse, they’re an example of the travel industry at its most fear-mongering, playing on a basic something wicked this way comes conceit that there be uglies out there in foreign lands that mean to do you harm.

Pack one of these with your passport, wallet, loose foreign change and hotel confirmations and you have a weight around your neck that is heavy and uncomfortable. Then there’s going up (or down) your shirt whenever you need something, and the feeling of one of these things sticking to you on a hot day. Only slightly better are the neck wallet’s cousins: the waste wallet and money belt.

Alternative: Theft does happen, I know, and I’m all for keeping your money, credit cards and documents secure. The best way is to keep them in a few different places (and keep photocopies of them). Invest in a pair of pants with a zipped front pocket. Consider making a dummy wallet (and put expired credit cards in it). Want something truly hidden? Try sewing a secret compartment for your money and plastic in your pants.

3. The phrase book

I know I’m not alone in thinking that the least any traveler can do is learn how to say “thank you” in the local language. Aside from that, leave the phrase book at home. Yes, most people appreciate your efforts to speak their language. But assessing their basic usefulness, phrase books come up short (and some, like Rick Steves’ and their sections on romantic encounters, are plain ridiculous).

You’ll seldom find yourself using one for any meaningful conversation. How could you? What phrase books don’t really acknowledge is that if you manage to utter a phrase, or perhaps even a coherent declarative or inquisitive sentence, they have no real mechanism for helping you understand the reply, and certainly no tools to facilitate the follow up. You ask, in German, “Where is the nearest post office?” Someone responds, in German, “Well, do you see that street three lights straight ahead? Make a left there, go under the bridge and take your second right. It’s on the south side of the square with the broken fountain.” Huh?

Alternative: View the phrase book more as an emergency tool. Go to your nearest Borders and spend a couple hours copying out essential
phrases (including those for help and the police) into a notebook. Leaven these with some Internet phrase research (which have audible elements that help with pronunciation). If you’ve got more time (and money), look into Rosetta Stone. After “thank you,” numbers are the most useful thing to learn in any language.

4. The over-sized toiletry case

A favorite of many, a big toiletry case is one of the first things to ditch if your goal this time out is to travel a little lighter. You’ll have more space in your bag and less weight to haul if you do. Men especially: Do you really need all this space for stuff you can actually buy wherever you end up? (These things have so much space that you’re guaranteed to fill it, even if you don’t need half the stuff.)

Alternative: Seriously consider purchasing your basic toiletries at your destination, if you’re staying in one place. Or, go crazy at the $.99 sampler aisle at CVS and seek out a basic dopp kit to put them in. Eagle Creek’s smallest PackIt cube (pictured) has all the room you need.

5. The tricked out camera case

Nothing says “expensive camera equipment in here” better than one of these bags. And I’m not just talking about the larger bags or backpacks. Even smart-looking, smaller shoulder bags for a basic digital SLR and a lens or two are heavy, difficult to pack and not all that handy for the other things you might want to carry with you. I love LowePro gear: strong, well made, etc. But unless you’re a photojournalist on assignment, leave the stuff at home.

Alternative: And even if you are, think twice. I once heard David Allen Harvey, a longtime National Geographic photographer, tell an audience that all the gear he needed on assignment fit into a simple, discreet black school bag. The point was not to look like a photographer, so that he could get close and get the best shots. Try trading in that fancy bag for a classic LL Bean book bag. Worried about padding? Stuff your fleece or rain jacket in first.

6. The photojournalist’s (or “travel”) vest

I once had one of these, a well-worn version from Banana Republic. I got it after graduating college, when my first job was as a photographer on a newspaper. I liked it. The pockets were useful. But when I took it on a few extended trips I slowly came to the conclusion that it wasn’t very functional as a garment (in hot weather, it was too similar to a jacket and in cold weather it was awkward over anything warmer, like a parka) and that wearing one, I looked absolutely nothing like the people I was moving among. Unless you’re reporting from a war zone or are dying to look like a stereotypical tourist, ditch it.

Alternative: There isn’t an obvious one. A cousin of the travel vest is the travel, or safari, jacket and they too get the whole hot/cold thing wrong. But I do understand the need for a few extra pockets. A good pair of cargo pants might be more functional.

7. A roll of duct tape

You’ll meet travelers who say they never leave home without a big ‘ole roll of duct tape. And it has a utilitarian ring to it, right? In reality you’ll never need so much tape to justify carrying a roll, unless you’re climbing the Nose Route on El Capitan. A roll is bulky and heavy to boot. Unless your name is Macgyver, leave the roll at home.

Alternative: What I do is peel off two or three large strips of duct tape and put them on the back of my bag. Or, if you travel with a Sigg or Nalgene bottle, wrap some tape around the base of it. This is always plenty to take care of those emergency patches and other needs on the road.

SkyMall Monday: Pop-Up Hot Dog Cooker

by Mike Barish on

Fact: Americans love tube steak. Fact: I am wildly amused by the term “tube steak.” Fact: You’re reading SkyMall Monday. This week we solve the age-old problem that has flummoxed chefs, cooks and food preparers for, well, ages: How do I cook a hot dog? It’s a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma on a toasted bun. Thankfully, our favorite catalog has, once again, come to the rescue. Because now we can finally relax our gag relflexes and enjoy all the tube steaks that we can handle. Now we have the Pop-Up Hot Dog Cooker.

I know what you’re thinking. “But Mike, I can think of several ways to cook a hot dog. Why do I need a device that only serves one purpose and isn’t the least bit necessary or convenient?” Well, sure, I could “think” of ways to do things until I’m blue in the face. But you can’t think a hot dog into my stomach. And as for being convenient, well, that sounds like a made up word. However, I’ll indulge your fantasies and consider these other alleged ways that you could cook a hot dog.

Microwave: Yeah, it’s fast. But if you mistakenly leave your hot dog in there for 20 minutes it will explode. That’s a risk that I’m just not willing to take.
Grill: Nothing says summer like a hot dog with some gorgeous grill marks. But what happens when I want a hot dog in the winter? You expect me to put a jacket on and grill outside? That’s ludicrous.
Boil: Sure, you could boil a hot dog on your stove top. But have you ever drank the leftover hot dog water? It’s terrible! And pouring the used water down the drain just seems so wasteful.
Oven: This seems convenient, but you’re going to need an oven mitt. That’s how they upsell you. Who’s “they?” Shhh, they’re probably listening to us right now.
Campfire: My landlord frowns upon me using this method.

As always, I defer to the sage masters who provide us with the product description:

Operating much like a pop-up toaster, this unique kitchen appliance lets you easily prepare two hot dogs (complete with toasted buns) in minutes. Its 660-watt electronic heating coil has time settings for heating hot dogs and buns to your taste preference. Crumb basket removes for cleaning.

All of the other cooking methods that I listed above allow you to cook a seemingly unlimited number of hot dogs at one time. The Pop-Up Hot Dog Cooker can only handle two hots dogs and buns, so now you don’t have to worry about portion control. It’s taken care of for you. Plus, you’re middle child will finally get the hint that you don’t like him when he sees that there’s just no hot dog for him to eat.

See, as usual, I’m right. You need the Pop-Up Hot Dog Cooker. You need to stop using logic and reason. You need to pass the relish.

Check out all of the previous SkyMall Monday posts HERE.

Budget travel – mastering the art of Priceline hotel deals

by Scott Carmichael on

You have probably seen the commercials – poor traveler needs a hot deal, and in jumps William Shatner, “The Priceline Negotiator”.

Priceline has been around for almost 10 years, and in those 10 years they have helped me (along with millions of others) snag a hotel room where I need it, when I need it, for the price I want.

I know it sounds like I’m being paid by Shatner himself, but when you can book a room for $50 when all other sites are still selling them for $200, you’ll learn to appreciate how handy Priceline can be.

Sadly, the whole process of “naming your own price” can be a tad daunting, I can still remember the first time I submitted a request to their site. There is something amazingly scary about handing over your credit card to a booking site and telling them to go ahead and just book you “something”.

It’s like haggling at the market – you never know when you’ll get a good deal, or when you’ll walk away with your trinket with the sad realization that you overpaid.

Thankfully, there are some handy tricks to becoming a master of Priceline – and ways you can be sure you’ll get the best value for your money.
But first, a little bit about Priceline and how they operate.

Priceline does a lot more than just “name your price”, they also operate as a regular travel booking site, with hotel, air, cruise and car rental rates pretty much on par with most of their competitors.

For the sake of this article I’ll only focus on the name your own price feature, as that is the one that makes them stand out from most others, plus it’s the best option out there for budget minded travelers.

Your first step in making a bid for a hotel room is to pick your destination and required dates. Once you have selected this, you are presented with a map of the area, and the various Priceline “zones”.

STOP

Before you do anything else, you’ll want to stop for a minute. Sure, you may know where you want to stay, and how much cash you have available for the dates you require, but what if you bid $50 for a hotel you could actually get for less? Or what if you bid $40 when Priceline only has rooms available for $90?

This is where the Internet can help you. You are not alone – many people just like you use Priceline, and take advantage of a weakness in the Priceline system – sharing information.

See, the whole name your own price system only really works in their advantage if everyone overbids. Sure, plenty of people will blindly enter $75 and get a room that costs Priceline $50, but the real pro’s only pay $50.

So, head on over to betterbidding.com and spend some time checking out the various winning bids from fellow Priceline customers. You’ll get a much better idea what kind of deal you can get, and which hotels are currently being offered on the site.

Betterbidding.com uses a fixed format for all submitted deals, and in each post you’ll find all the information you need to snag yourself a similar bargain.

Once you locate a date/area that matches what you need, open up the post to see exactly how they managed to place a winning bid.

You’ll see that most of these users base their initial bid on previous deals scored by others ,and that they take the information provided on the site and use it to their advantage.


The free rebid – your best friend on Priceline

William Shatner may pretend to be your best friend on TV, but in reality Priceline doesn’t really like it when you try and get too smart. The free rebid is one of those tricks that will help not only get a good deal, but get a good deal for the price you want, often even in the hotel you want.

If you make a bid for a hotel, but the bid is not accepted, Priceline will allow you to bid again, with a higher amount – BUT, only if you change at least one of the requirements for your reservation. This means you’ll either have to change the star rating of your desired room, or change/add a Priceline zone.

Here is an example – lets say you need a room in Chicago. You entered the dates you want, picked a 4 star hotel, and bid $60. You go through the booking process, and Priceline denies your bid.

At this point you raise your bid to $63, but in order to get a free rebid, you need to change one of the requirements on your request. Of course, if you add a different zone, you run the risk of being stuck with a hotel miles away from where you need to be. Unless of course, you add a zone with no hotels with the star rating you requested!

Here is how that works – you go back to Betterbidding.com, and select their Illinois hotel list. You’ll see that plenty of Chicago suburbs lack a 4 star hotel. So, pick one of those poor zones, and hey presto – you can successfully submit your free rebid.

Now, simply rinse and repeat until you find the price Priceline is willing to accept.

Sounds too complicated? Check out this real life example from someone at Betterbidding. In that example, you’ll see that they wanted a 4 star hotel in the downtown area. Their initial bid was declined, so they added a new zone (one without any 4 star hotels), denied again, added another zone (once again, a zone with no 4 star hotels), denied again, added yet another zone (once again, no 4 stars in that zone), and bingo – they got what they wanted.

$57/night for a downtown Chicago hotel is a steal. Just how much of a steal? Check out the going rate for rooms on those specific dates, at that hotel:

Thats right – Priceline got them 2 nights for less than the price of one night when booked through Hyatt.com.

If it sounds too simple, then it’s probably time to post a couple of warnings – the hotel lists posted by sites like Betterbidding.com are not guaranteed to be correct. Priceline is not stupid, and they can upgrade or downgrade hotels whenever they feel like it.

This means that playing the free rebid game may come with some risks, and the worst that could happen is that you end up 20 miles away from where you wanted to be – not a nice way to spend your time.

If you don’t want to run that risk, and you have some time to spare, then you can make a rebid 24 hours after the previous bid, without the requirement of changing things.

Another thing to be careful of, is doing free rebids and using a zone with no hotels with the rating your want, but if it DOES have a higher available hotel.

For example – if you want a 3 star hotel and get declined, you decided to play the rebid game and add a zone with no 3 star hotels (but one or more 4 star hotels), Priceline may decide to “upgrade” you to the 4 star hotel in the zone you really did not want to stay in – oops.

If you really want to master the art of getting what you want from Priceline, I recommend reading the successful bookings posted at Betterbidding. You’ll learn in a short amount of time what kind of tricks work, and of cour
se, which tricks do not work.

Once you are confident enough to click the “book now” button, you’ll be surprised just how often you can score a fantastic deal.

Will the hotel know I’m a Priceline customer?

One question I often hear is “will the hotel know I’m a Priceline customer”. The simple answer is yes, the hotel will almost always know you are a guest arriving on a Priceline reservation.

In most cases, this won’t matter, but I’ve occasionally come across a hotel that did not treat me as well as a “regular paying” guest. Unless they are spitting in your face and calling you names, I’d suggest ignoring it and enjoying the money you saved.

If you are a member of the hotel frequent guest program, try calling them in advance with your membership number, and make sure to call the hotel directly with any specific requests (smoking, non smoking etc). I’ve regularly been upgraded to a suite on my Priceline stay, all because I added my hotel elite status to my $40 reservation.

Priceline rooms are generally booked as non smoking, but if a hotel has nothing else available, they usually won’t have a problem sticking you in a stuffy smoking room, so as with all hotels, bring some Febreze.

Anything else to keep in mind?

Yes – when you name your own price, any accepted bid is locked in stone. There are no changes, no cancellations, no refunds and the reservation is not transferable. Priceline is pretty well known for being strict about this rule. If you are a regular Priceline customer, they may make a once in a lifetime exception for you, but it’ll require a lot of begging. If all else fails, try contacting the hotel directly, often their reservations department may be able to help you out.

Bottom line is – book with caution. Check and double check your dates, check and double check your zones before bidding. Yes, if you start using Priceline regularly, you may end up with a couple of reservations you messed up, and it will result in a waste of money when you can’t use them.

So there you have it – a couple of tips that should help you become a real pro at booking cheaper rooms. Got any tips of your own? Share them in the comments section below!

Cheesesteak or Hoagie: Which sandwich rules in Philadelphia?

by Jeffrey White on

I’m writing this from Philadelphia, where I’ve been thinking a lot lately about sandwiches. In the City of Brotherly Love, you can’t help it, really.

Any city with one signature sandwich can count itself pretty lucky. There’s Boston and the lobster roll, New Orleans and the po’ boy, Baltimore and the crab cake sandwich, San Francisco and pretty much anything pressed between two thick slices of sourdough.

But Philadelphia can claim, pretty irrefutably, to have two signature sandwiches: the steak sandwich and the hoagie.

And so, the visitor to Philly is left to wonder whether one holds greater sway. Can one be singled out as the Philadelphia sandwich?

Don’t look for the city to help in this debate. A few years back, City Hall here named the hoagie Philly’s official sandwich. But it has always seemed to me that the steak sandwich — and more specifically, the cheesesteak — has a better claim to that title: It was, after all, invented here, unlike the hoagie, which is just the local name for an Italian sandwich, likely invented by immigrant workers in New York at the turn of the last century.

Over the years, I’ve occasionally asked Philly locals about the two and the opinion breaks pretty much down the middle in terms of which sandwich rules.

Let’s talk about the virtues of both.
The hoagie — or “hero” in New York; “sub,” “grinder,” or “torpedo” elsewhere) is, as I said, essentially an Italian sandwich, meaning various Italian meats, provolone, trimmings and the like on a long roll.

Philly does have its own take on the sandwich, however. Technically, a hoagie features only one Italian meat (salami, for instance), provolone, along with antipasto salad and topped only with olive oil (as opposed to mayo or mustard in other interpretations). In practice, though, you can stack a hoagie with a variety of meats and throw different spices and oils on it. That’s how most places here that claim to make the city’s best hoagie distinguish themselves, by putting little twists on the original. I’m all in favor of these, so long as the hoagie comes out cold — “hot hoagies” are an abomination.

The Philadelphia steak sandwich is simplicity itself. The authentic version only requires two ingredients: thin slices of steak, grilled onions. The steak has to be thin to chop easily on the grill (interpretations of the steak sandwich elsewhere too often substitute steak tips). The onions are key: grilled to the point where they are nearly caramelized, when married to the chopped steak the union drips a sweat grease that soaks into the roll and gives the sandwich its taste. As for cheese, you can choose American or provolone or other fancy offerings, but the real deal blue-collar deal uses Cheez Whiz, which blankets the entire business with yellow-orange goodness.

Do I have a preference? I probably come out on the side of the steak sandwich, given its local roots. But I seldom miss a chance to have a hoagie when in town as well. Here are some places that make the best of both.

For hoagies, I like Carmen’s in the Reading Terminal Market off Market St. (215-592-7799). Primo Hoagies (2043 Chestnut St. / 215-496-8488) and Lee’s Hoagie House (4034 Walnut St. / 215-387-0905) are both chains that routinely win citywide awards for their hoagies; what makes Lee’s so good is the “secret oil” they put on their sandwiches. Sarcone’s Deli (734 S. 9th St. / 215-922-1717) and Slack’s Hoagie Shack (1619 Grant Ave. / 215-673-9888) are also good options.

For steak sandwiches, two places face off (literally) in their claims to make the city’s most authentic: Pat’s Steaks and Geno’s Steaks have held down the same corner on 9th St. at the intersection of Wharton and Passyunk for years, and are both rightfully considered Philly institutions. Pat’s can lay claim to being the birthplace of the steak sandwich, having cooked up the first one in 1930. Both have become tourist traps over the years (with prices, $7-$9 for a sandwich, to reflect that) but are still worth the visit. Jim’s Steaks (400 South St. / 215-928-1911) serves the best along popular South Street. Sonny’s Famous Steaks (228 Market St. / 215-629-5760) is probably the best steak sandwich you can find in Old City. Rick’s Steaks recently had to close its location in the Reading Terminal Market, where it had been a fixture for 25 years. Now it operates a seasonal stand at Citizen’s Bank Park, the home of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Got a particular favorite?

Budget Travel: StudentUniverse.com

by Alison Brick on

Do students know how good they have it? Discounted travel, I mean. They even have their own discount student travel agencies that book travel that’s cheaper and tailored to their needs, which anybody older than 26 years-old couldn’t cash in on.

When I was a student, I tapped into STA Travel, which is still going strong with those spring, summer, and winter break deals. But it’s only recently that I’ve heard of the other student discounter on the block: StudentUniverse.com.

They’re an online travel agency out of Waltham, Massachusetts that gives students the resources to research and buy discounted travel products (hotels, flights, rail, cars, hostels) online. They get the extra-good deals because they have special agreements with 30 airlines, including many of the big players like American, Air France-KLM SA, United, Deutsche Lufthansa AG, and British Airways PLC.

Which do you like better: STA or StudentUniverse?
At a glance, STA and StudentUniverse are similar–both target the same demographic of 18-25 year-old students (as well as teachers), focus on student travel periods, and work with most major carriers and offer hotels, travel packages, destination guides, etc.

You can book with either company to get the perks of a student ticket:
• Book closer to the departure date
• Buy one-way tickets at half the cost of a round-trip ticket
• Stay up to one year (whereas other round-trip tickets are restricted to 30 days)
• Get reduced fees for refunds and changes, in comparison to non-student tickets

All of these things are ideal for students who need the flexibility when they don’t know the exact dates of exams or returning home from a summer abroad.

But each company stands out for different reasons.

STA:
• Offers in-person consultation at more than 100 offices across the US. Students may enjoy researching online, but find that it’s comforting and encouraging to talk with someone in person.

StudentUniverse:
• Doesn’t require an International Student Identity Card (ISIC), and instead verifies student status through its own proprietary web technology
• Offers flexible date search, which allows you to simultaneously search three days before and after your preferred dates
• Gives you the chance to offset your carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions with renewable energy credits (REC) through ECO2llege Class service for less than $10 per round-trip flight

But when it comes down to it, it’s all about price, right? I compared prices for myself: testing out StudentUniverse and STA (along with Orbitz, Cheaptickets, and Kayak) on routes within the US, and between the US and the Pacific, Europe, Asia, and Central America.

What I found surprised me. I figured that StudentUniverse and STA would be neck and neck, with the flights on the other websites coming in as more expensive. But Kayak and STA ended up tied as the strongest. It made sense that StudentUniverse’s prices improved compared with the others when I tried to book closer to the departure date (four weeks in advance, rather than seven weeks), but Kayak and STA still proved to be the cheapest.

The exception was the US-Europe route and several of the one-way tickets, where StudentUniverse was the best. At four weeks out on a round-trip Chicago-Paris flight, StudentUniverse was $508, STA was $556, Orbitz was $574, Cheaptickets was $574, and Kayak was $563. For a one-way Chicago-Paris flight, StudentUniverse was $231, STA was $264, Orbitz was $468, Cheaptickets was $468, and Kayak was $279.

Lesson learned: I’d recommend that students take the time to search several websites, and consider StudentUniverse for its strengths–one-way tickets and US-Europe flights.

If you’re in the middle of booking your spring break trips through StudentUniverse, let us know your experience. While you’re on the website, you might want to sign up for the chance to win $100 every day in their Spring Break Oh-Nine Giveaway.

You can also stay connected with StudentUniverse on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.