Top five travel gadgets NOT to take on your next trip (and what to pack instead)

by Sean McLachlan on


I’m in the throes of packing for a two-month journey to Ethiopia. I try to pack light, other than the inevitable pile of books. While some tech freaks pack a lot of travel gadgets, I find these to be more of a hindrance than a help. Here are five things that you might want to leave behind if you’re heading out for some adventure travel.

GPS
Yes, these are handy, but they can break with rough handling and are very attractive to thieves.
What to bring instead: A compass. It’s cheaper, much less likely to break or be stolen, and with a good map is just as useful. It also makes you notice the terrain more and become more aware of the lay of the land.

Ereader
Ebooks certainly save space, and many travelers like ebooks, but ereaders are far more stealable than some tattered old paperback. Plus you need to recharge your device and you can’t give or exchange books with the locals.
What to bring instead: A paperback or three. Preferably something you don’t mind trading or giving away.

IPod
Music is fun to have on the road, but it cuts you off from the sounds around you. I want to hear the muezzin’s call, the chatter of foreign languages, the local tunes blasting from shops and cafes. My playlist is part of my life back home, so I don’t need it while I’m away. I can listen to it when I get back.
What to bring instead: Nothing.Translation software
Translation software has improved a lot in recent few years. There’s even Word Lens, an iPhone app that overlays English onto foreign writing. When Jeremy Kressmann visited me in Madrid earlier this month we tried it on a menu. It was impressive but didn’t translate some of the culinary terms. I prefer learning a language the old-fashioned way. Except for France, all of the 31 countries I’ve visited are filled with people who want to help you learn their language. What better way to hook up with locals?
What to bring instead: A good dictionary and phrasebook. Also pack a good attitude.

Laptop
To be honest, I do take a laptop on some of my trips, but not on an adventure. My laptop means work, and while part of my work is travel writing, the best way for me to do that job is to focus on what’s going on around me. Computers can be a huge distraction and you always have to worry about them getting stolen or blasted by a power surge. If you do take your laptop to a developing country, pack a voltage regulator.
What to bring instead: A notebook and pen. Don’t worry, even Ethiopia has Internet cafes.

If there’s a theme to this, it’s that all of these gadgets distract you from the place and people you’re visiting. Doing without them for a month or two can be a welcome break, and your trip will be richer because of it. I didn’t need any of these things twenty years ago when I started doing adventure travel, and I don’t need them now that they exist.

[Photo courtesy user rkzerok via Gadling’s flickr pool]

iPhone App Hotel Tonight does exactly what its name implies

by Scott Carmichael on

Not every night in hotel has to involve weeks of planning and early reservations – iPhone app Hotel Tonight proves that.

This slick app is designed with one purpose – get you a well priced hotel for tonight. At the moment, the app only covers hotels in Hollywood, New York and San Francisco, but since its hotel deals are hand-picked, the quality of the results are quite impressive.

Once you pick your city of choice, you are presented with three hotels – sorted by category; hip, elegant and basic.

For tonight in San Francisco, I can choose from the Hotel Nikko ($120), Hotel Vitale ($191) or the Executive Hotel Vintage Court ($69).

From my quick test, these prices are considerably cheaper than what is offered directly from the hotel. For example – the Vintage Court can be booked through the app for $69 ($80 with all taxes), but that same room is $172 with taxes through the hotel itself.

The deals are not exacly random either – they are hand picked by the people behind Dealbase who happen to know a thing or two about hotel prices.

All hotels are accompanied by a really well written description, explaining what the reviewers like, what the fine print is, stats about the hotel (including things like the cost of parking) and its Tripadvisor rating. Most properties even list the food and drink offering, with examples of prices for room service items. And to top it all off, you can even find some tips about the area with some recommendations for places to eat and drink close to the hotel.

%Gallery-114854%The credits tab is a really neat one – because if you sign up, you’ll get a $10 instant credit applied to your account. Once you’ve made a reservation for tonight, your booking is displayed inside the app.

I have to say – I love this app. It is well designed, it offers well priced hand picked deals, and the amount of information presented with each hotel is staggering. Sadly, the number of cities is still limited, but Hotel Tonight promises they’ll be expanding that soon.

So, if you’ve had a few too many drinks, or you’d just like an elegant way to surprise someone special in your life, download Hotel Tonight (free) and book yourself a room.

Colorado ski resorts prepare for ski season, introduce social networking to slopes

by Kraig Becker on

Skiers and snowboarders who have been eagerly waiting for the Colorado ski season to begin, had their patience rewarded last week when Keystone Resort opened to the public for the first time this year. They’ll soon be joined by Breckenridge, which fires up the lifts tomorrow, followed by Vail and Heavenly, who kick off the season on the 19th, with Beaver Creek finally joining in on the fun on the 24th of the month.

It may still be early November, but the snow has already been flying on the mountains, with several of the resorts receiving in excess of 7″-8″ of snow in the past few days alone. That means that skiers can already expect a good base of powder when the gates open over the next few weeks, and considering these resorts average 300+ inches of snow per year, you can bet that the season ahead will be a good one.

Fantastic lodges and beautiful powder aren’t the only thing these resorts have up their sleeves this year however. They’ve also managed to bring their lift tickets into the 21st century by incorporating an RFID chip right in the passes themselves. That technology opens up a host of new opportunities for visitors in what can only be described as an Epic Mix.

Epic Mix is a unique blend of outdoor fun, social networking, and technology that comes together in an online environment or on a mobile app for the iPhone and Android devices. As you spend the day going up and down the mountain, making great run after great run, the RFID chip is busy keeping track of how far you’ve skied, how many vertical feet you’ve dropped, and so on. It then allows you to share that information online at the Epic Mix website, as well as on Facebook and Twitter. You can even earn special Epic Mix achievements for completing certain goals or attending specific events. Those achievements can be shared with friends and family in the form of badges that can be prominently displayed on your Epic Mix or Facebook page. Examples of some of these achievements are the Snow Turkey, which is awarded for visiting a resort on Thanksgiving Day or the Three’s Company badge for skiing more than 3000 vertical feet in a single season.

As of this writing, the Epic Mix mobile apps are not available yet, but the website promises that they’ll arrive “by Christmas.” Android and iPhone users will find plenty to love in these applications, as they’ll not only allow you to access your Epic Mix account while on the go, they’ll also show you exactly where your friends are on the mountain at any given time, and allow you to message one another to set up when and where to meet. The apps will also give you real time weather and snow reports, traffic updates, and information on the conditions of your favorite run.

For more information on what Epic Mix can do, check out the video below and be prepared to have an even more social experience on the slopes in Colorado this season.

[Photo credit: Breckenridge Lodge]

Continental Airlines iPhone app includes Point Inside airport maps and more

by Scott Carmichael on

Continental Airlines has jumped on board the “make an app” bandwagon. But unlike a lot of branded travel apps, this one is amazingly well designed.

At the heart of the app are all the things you’d expect from an airline app – flight booking, flight status and links to contact information.

But in designing their app, Continental went way beyond the ordinary – for starters, the app includes airport maps from Point Inside – one of my personal favorites. Inside the app, you can also check in, pull up your mobile boarding pass, view reservations and even enable push notifications of flight status messages.

They didn’t even stop there – under the “more” button, users will find a currency converter, a DirectTV program schedule (for in-flight live TV), games, links to Presidents Club locations, a timetable, recent Continental Airlines Tweets and an overview of reservations.

I’ve seen an awful lot of travel apps, but Continental Airlines really shows people how an app should be – a huge amount of handy tools, and all the features a Continental traveler needs to access their reservations. Well done Continental!

All I can hope for is that United Airlines does something similar soon…

You’ll find the free Continental Airlines app in the App Store, or through this iTunes link.

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National Parks app comes to the iPhone

by Kraig Becker on

Visitors to America’s national parks now have a new high tech option for learning more about those amazing places. Last week the National Parks Conservation Association released an app for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch that offers up a wealth of information on 50 of the most popular parks in the country, including Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, and Yosemite. (For a complete list of the parks covered click here.)

The app is completely free and provides information on the plants and animals that travelers can expect to find in the various parks, including the ones that are poisonous and dangerous, something this always helpful when you’re not sure if your about to step into poison ivy or not. You’ll also find comprehensive lists of threatened and endangered species, as well as a brief history of each of the parks, including great photos from each location as well.

But that’s not all. The app also allows you to find parks that are close to your current location and offers directions on how to get there. It includes information on making reservations at each park, directions on how to find the visitors center, and current news from the park system on featured parks as well.

The field guide app was developed in conjunction with eNature.com, a company with an extensive database of information focused on wildlife. That database has been created by top biologists, zoologists, and conservationists, and contains information on over 6000 different species. That information is now, quite literally, delivered to the fingertips of visitors to the national parks.

There is one caveat to using the app however, as a data network is required to download the information. The iPhone will work where cell service is available, although in more remote areas of the parks that can be spotty at best. iPod Touch and iPad users will need to use wifi, which is available in some visitor centers, to load up their maps and information ahead of time. Keep that in mind when relying on this app to help guide you through the parks.

To download the new app click here.

[Photo credit: NPCA]