Popular Destinations, Beyond Guidebooks

by Chris Owen on

Taking another look at popular destinations from an expert’s point of view, “Park Secrets” premieres tonight on the Travel Channel. The new series shows secret adventures that we might not see in the guidebooks, along with great places to stay, eat and play.

In the premiere episode, “Bright Lights, Big City,” viewers explore parks hiding in plain sight in some of America’s favorite big cities. Featured in the fast-paced show are Greek temples and spicy BBQ in Nashville; pancakes, bears and a secret farm in Boston; and popsicles and voyeurism on an elevated rail line in New York.

Another episode, “Private Islands,” explores more of the best, unknown and secluded getaways that everyone can take. Not only for the rich and famous, “Park Secrets” points out that with the right tricks we can turn an island based-retreat into our own private getaway.

Set in Puerto Rico, the “Private Islands” episode offers a tour of Hix Island House, a beautiful 13-acre natural lodging refuge; El Quenepo, a restaurant known for its authentic cuisine; and a 19th-century sugar plantation at Central Playa Grande.

The six episode “Park Secrets” series premieres tonight with both of these episodes back-to-back with “Bright Lights, Big City” at 8:00 p.m. and “Private Islands” 8:30 p.m., ET/PT.



[Flickr photo via ronny]

Lost Baggage Finds A Home On New Reality Series

by Chris Owen on

When we think of travel baggage, we often think of fees, checkins, carry-ons, overhead storage and the hope that it arrives with us at our final destination. We watch video of baggage handlers misbehaving at work and wonder why we pay so much to check it. When soldiers returning from war are charged extra for it, we’re outraged. But what about when baggage goes missing? It’s a topic that is often infuriating and sometimes mysterious.

On the Travel Channel’s new reality series “Baggage Battles,” we get a peek behind the scenes into the world of auction specialists earning a living off bidding, buying and reselling lost luggage.

Sort of along the lines of A & E’s Storage Wars, they travel to different airport auctions around the world where we see what happens to the 70,000 pieces of luggage that go unclaimed or get lost every year.

“Baggage Battles” features three teams of auction specialists that compete to see who buys baggage filled with valuable treasure or worthless junk.

  • Laurence and Sally Martin, a married couple from California has been in the antique business for over 20 years.
  • Mark Meyer, 25, still lives at home with his parents and is a young entrepreneur from Long Island, New York.
  • Billy Leroy, also from New York, was 25 when he bought a $200 painting and sold it for $18,000.

They visit more than airports too, stopping at customs auctions, police auctions and freight auctions bidding on seized merchandise in different venues.”With dozens of auctions to visit, thousands of bags to explore and millions of dollars at stake, these auction specialists need both skill and luck to hit the jackpot,” says the Travel Channel on the “Baggage Battles” website. “They don’t know if it’s junk or a jackpot until they win the bid and open the suitcase.”

“Baggage Battles” airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on the Travel Channel.




[Flickr photo via Canolais]

Travel like Bourdain: the ‘No Reservations’ host gets his own travel app

by McLean Robbins on

Fans of Anthony Bourdain‘s no-holds-barred style of travel can rejoice because the next best thing to taking a trip with the famed Travel Channel host is finally here. Today, the Travel Channel launched a “Layover Guide with Anthony Bourdain,” which offers tools to help travelers create their own Bourdain-inspired experiences.


Geared towards armchair travelers, or those with more of a “get up and go” mentality, the app ($1.99) repurposes content from “The Layover” and “No Reservations” to allow travelers to customize trips in ten featured cities, including: Amsterdam, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Miami, Montreal, New York, Rome, San Francisco and Singapore.

The app allows travelers to plan an afternoon excursion or a weeklong journey, all focused on Bourdain’s signature love of food.

What do we like about the app? It offers curated content from a certified travel professional – if you like watching Bourdain’s show, chances are you’ll love his suggestions in app form, adding the ability to “mix and match” as well as customize a trip to fit within a dedicated time frame.

The integrated “timeline” feature allows users to plan their own itinerary using Bourdain’s POIs, automatically estimating the amount of time needed to do each activity to build a custom itinerary. The app uses Google Maps to estimate the time between distances, to make sure that you won’t cross from one side of town to the other and back.

We also like the app’s customized video intros and notes about each city from Bourdain himself as well as the personal list of travel “Do’s and Don’ts” anchored by the host.

Of course, half the fun of travel is getting excited about the trip. The app offers “inspiration lists” created by Bourdain to help set the mood. His recommendations vary from watching the Steve McQueen classic, “Bullitt,” before heading to San Francisco to studying the “Au Pied de Cochon” cookbook by Martin Picard while planning a trip to Montreal.

As would be expected, there’s social integration as well, including checking-in at locations, earning badges and sharing to Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare.

Have you downloaded the app? What do you think?

Recycled travel trailers get new life, decades later

by Chris Owen on

Travel Trailers, once a big part of American family vacations, have been all but forgotten by a world of weekend getaways, packaged vacations and rides on luxury cruise ships. In the past, travel trailers have been most commonly found parked on back lots or on their way to a land fill. Now, a renaissance of sorts is going on as travel rediscovers the value of bringing a place to stay along for the ride.

Rescued from curb sides and junkyards, castaway classic campers are getting a new life in Glenwood Springs, Colorado where Richard and Vicky Nash restore 1960s vintage travel trailers. A recent addition to their collection, a fully rebuilt 13-foot 1962 Shasta Airflyte was bought for $100. Doing the work themselves, nine months later, the couple had a mobile hotel that costs little to maintain.

“When we drive around with the 1962 Shasta, people smile and give us the ‘thumbs up’ signal all the time. Everyone wants to know what year it is and what it looks like inside,” says Richard.

Its not just them either, on Tricked Out Trailers, an episode of the Travel Channel’s popular Ultimate Travel Series, travel trailers include everything from a double-decker mansion on wheels to a bulletproof trailer built for the ultimate globetrotter.



Flickr photo by terrybone

Travel and Adventure shows offer expert help, inspiration

by Chris Owen on

Chicago’s Travel and Adventure Show runs this weekend and features stars from the Travel Channel, professional travel photographers, writers and 20 informative seminars over two days. A great way to preview or plan travel, these shows are held around the country, offering expert help. In person. Close to home.

The Chicago show has information on destinations from New Zealand to Costa Rica, modes of travel from cruises to African safari tours and celebrities from Patricia Schultz (1,000 Places to See Before You Die) to the Travel Channel‘s Samantha Brown.

On the West coast, the Los Angeles Times Travel Show presents two days of informative and inspiring travel talks and panels featuring many of today’s leading travel experts. Organized by topic, there are areas set aside to feature destinations, a culinary stage, a travel in style pavilion and more. In the Xtreme Adventure zone, Don Wildman, host of Travel Channel’s Off Limits and Mysteries at the Museum, Leon Logothetis, author, Amazing Adventures of a Nobody and others.
A little later, in March, comes the king daddy of shows, the New York Times Travel show, hosted by American Express, will feature nearly 500 exhibitors representing over 150 countries focusing on travel destinations, packages and special offers, as well as tour operators, cruise lines and live entertainment.

“American Express is thrilled to once again be the presenting sponsor of The New York Times Travel Show,” says Claire Bennett, senior vice president and general manager of American Express Travel. “We know that consumers love travel, and we are always happy to play a role in bringing this passion to life for them.”

This one even has an iPhone app that allows access to show information, exhibitor lists,
schedules, floor plans, and show specials. Users can also sign up for text alerts to receive
additional special offers, prizes, & more.

Photo NYtravelshow