Flags of the World: the ultimate online resource for flags

by Sean McLachlan on

I’ve always loved flags. They say so much about a place, and every little province and town seems to have one.

Take this one, for example. It’s the flag of Qeqertarsuaq, Greenland. This town is at the chilly latitude of 69°14′50″ N on an island of the same name off the west coast of Greenland. Given its location, it’s natural that it has a whale and northern lights on its emblem. Qeqertarsuaq’s population is barely more than 900, yet it has a flag!

Where did this arcane information come from? A cool website called Flags of the World. This online haven for vexillology (the study of flags) has been around since the early 1990s and has almost 80,000 images of flags from everywhere you can imagine. All the flags added to the site run the gauntlet of FOTW’s discussion group, a hard core of a thousand or so vexillologists who do some serious fact checking. If they aren’t sure it’s 100% correct, they say so, as with the Qeqertarsuaq flag. If only the researchers over at Wikipedia were so honest!

On the front page is a clickable world map. Click on a continent and you see all the countries. Click on the countries and you get states and provinces, along with lists of counties, cities, historic flags, and military flags. When my kid was three he got obsessed with this and we had lots of fun flying around in our imaginary plane exploring the world. There’s even a free printable flag coloring book. My kid preferred doing the flags freehand, and presented his teachers (who are from Kenya and Uganda) with their national flags.

The site has historic flags as well, and the latest news on new flags, or even old/new flags such as pre-1969 flag of Libya, which has become the standard for the anti-Qaddafi rebels. The website is always expanding, so if one of your local flags is missing, drop them a line.

Check out the gallery for more rare and unusual flags from Flags of the World!

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[Thanks to http://flagspot.net for special permission to reproduce these flags. Qeqertarsuaq flag image by António Martins-Tuválkin]

New website helps travelers find their next adventure

by Kraig Becker on

A new website promises to help adventure travelers find their next getaway, as well as discover new destinations they weren’t even aware of. The goal is to connect consumers with tour operators and guide services from around the globe, in an effort to make booking an adventurous holiday all the easier.

The recently launched Kumutu is the brainchild of CEO Ryan Off, who came up with the idea of an adventure travel aggregator after growing frustrated with other online options. The site already has more than 900 adventure travel companies already signed up, and they’re targeting to build that number to 20,000 by the year’s end. That means that consumers will have a wealth of options at their fingertips when it comes to booking their next trip, and online ratings and reviews will help us to decide if the option we are interested in is right for us.

As you would expect with similar websites, Kumutu offers you the option to search by activity, such as cycling, kayaking, mountaineering or by country, with nearly 60 destinations, including Antarctica, currently available. The approach is very straight forward, and easy to understand, with your options being presented in a quick, clean manner.

Perhaps the best way to search is by using the Kumutu map however. When this option is selected, you’re presented with a Google powered view of the world, with specific operators represented with a push-pin on the map. Clicking on a pin in the location of interest gives you a pop-up with a very brief description of the tours on offer. Clicking on the tour operators name will take you to a page that is specific to that company, with far more information about what they do and exactly what kinds of adventures they offer.

Kumutu is a nicely laid out and very easy to use travel aggregator, but we have seen a number of these types of sites pop up over the past year or two, and it is becoming increasingly difficult for them to stand out in the crowd. If they hit their goal of 20,000 tour operators by the end of the year however, Kumutu could become your one-stop shop for booking all of your future adventures.

New website promises travelers much better adventures

by Kraig Becker on

A new website calling itself Much Better Adventures launched recently with a unique approach to providing travelers with a new option for finding opportunities to explore adventure destinations across the globe. The site serves as a guide for travelers looking for first hand recommendations and ratings on local guide services and other businesses that also happen to use ethical practices in their approach to travel.

The website has compiled plenty of information to help you plan your next adventure travel experience, including options for how to get to your destination, whether it be by plane, train, or automobile. There is also helpful notes on how to travel in a more environmentally friendly way, which is especially nice for those concerned with limiting their carbon footprint on their journeys. Much Better Adventures also offers handy guides to destinations based on various activities, and their “Deals” section has money saving offers that everyone can appreciate. Visitors to the site are encouraged to join the growing community there and share their favorite local outfitters, inns, or guide services. The “Grapevine” portion of the site helps to spotlight new additions to the every growing database of user recommendations.

Active travelers will probably most enjoy the site’s option for searching the database to find the perfect adventure based on what it is you specifically want to do. You can select from such options as “Bike,” “Snow,” or “Rock+Ice,” amongst others. From there, you’ll be provided a few activity specific options, which then leads to the destinations best suited for the activity. Once you’ve decided on the activity you’re most interested in, you can then select the continent and country that you would like to explore in that manner. The country of choice is even broken down into sub-regions, which once selected will also provide the tour operators in that area that provide the adventure you’re looking for.

The site is still filling up with information, but there are already some great suggestions for travelers heading to nearly any part of the world. Perhaps you’ll find it to be a useful tool the next time you’re looking for a much better adventure of your own.


Gadling’s favorite gadgets, apps, & websites for 2011

by Alex Robertson Textor on

Earlier this week we took a look at our favorite destinations, hotels, and airlines. It turns out that we’re all over the map on most of these counts, although underappreciated destinations, good service, and general efficiency tend to warm our hearts.

Nowhere perhaps is the quirkiness of the Gadling team more perceptible than it is in this final category of favorites. Without further ado, here are Gadling’s favorite gadgets, apps, and websites moving into 2011.

Blogs & sites

Annie Scott. I do love to visit Color Me Katie and see what the fabulous Ms. Sokoler is up to. I adored her trip to Japan. I recently fell in love with Will It Blend, which has to be the most brilliant social media campaign I’ve ever seen. Other than that, I’m really the kind of person who can watch Marcel the Shell with Shoes On over and over and call it “contextual research.”

Tom Johansmeyer. I resolved to explore New York more this year, forcing myself not to work as hard and enjoy my hometown a bit more. Local travel blogger Laurie DePrete has been a big help. She provides a look at speakeasies, restaurants and attractions all over the five boroughs. This is insider info at its best.

Karen Walrond. As a photographer, I’m a big fan of photoblogs. My current favourites: UK-based Brian Ferry, Modern Day Gilligan, by an American photographer based on the island of Grenada, and Netherlands-based Rachel James.

David Farley. When I was driving around Los Angeles earlier this year I found Sigalert, which shows all the up-to-the-minute traffic congestion in the greater LA area, to be incredibly helpful.

Sean McLachlan. The Whole World at Your Hands, run by a woman named Ana. A member of Postcrossing, she avidly trades postcards around the world. Her blog features some of them and talks about the places they show. She just sent me a nice card from Serbia in exchange for one I sent to her from the Scottish Highlands. Also noteworthy: TheBloggess and Tomb Wrecks.

Alex Robertson Textor. Sporcle keeps me on my toes, geographically speaking. L’Antipodeuse is good for daydreaming.

Mike Barish. Nile Guide is a good li’l startup in San Francisco with travel guides, a fun blog and tremendous amounts of local advice and tips. (Disclosure: I just started editing their East Coast US content. But even before I started with them, I liked them a lot.)

Grant Martin. I relieve pressure with FAIL Blog.

McLean Robbins. For beauty, All About the Pretty. For cooking, Smitten Kitchen and The Pioneer Woman.

Meg Nesterov. Even when I’m not in New York, I love Manhattan User’s Guide, and now there’s a travel version. Wish You Were Here has everything from quirky museums to diners to luxury retreats. Basically bookmark their every link.

Catherine Bodry. Killing Batteries.

David Downie. Michael Balter, Rolf Potts, Mort Rosenblum, and David Lebovitz.Gadgets & apps

Jeremy Kressmann. NYCWAY iPhone App is an interesting example of a city-specific app that incorporates a lot of info in one place (transit info, upcoming events, news, bathroom locations). Expect to see more of this for big tourist destinations. Good for locals and tourists alike. Instagram is a great example of how you can make your smartphone photos more social. Instead of filing your travel snaps in Flickr or on a hard drive, the app emphasizes sharing with others, creating “feeds” of popular photos and photos from those you follow.

Heather Poole. I love Twitter because I can get up to date information regarding travel, delays, breaking news, and I use Facebook to keep in touch with family and friends when I’m on the road.

Meg Nesterov. Not the newest or the sexiest, but the Kindle was hands-down my best purchase before moving overseas. It’s one of the only e-readers that works abroad (with a U.S. billing address). The wireless functions in nearly every place I’ve tried it, and it’s perfect as my reliable source of English-language reading materials and travel guides.

McLean Robbins. Blackberry. While it’s not exactly revolutionary, it’s my life, quite literally. I don’t know what I’d do without it, and with the world edition I can travel just about anywhere and still be in touch.

Alex Robertson Textor. Google Maps & magazine apps (for example The Economist, recently released) on my iPad.

Annie Scott. I’m quite addicted to Words With Friends (basically Scrabble) and Diamond-Twister on my iPhone. I play them all over the world at night when jet lag prevents sleep.

Mike Barish. I’m quickly falling in love with my iPad. I don’t view it as a “game-changer” or a full-on computer replacement. But when it comes to passing the time in airports and airplanes, it’s a fantastic way to watch movies, read the newspaper and bring tons of books with you. It’s also great for quick trips where you want something larger than a phone for checking emails but don’t need your computer with you for work.

Karen Walrond. I don’t go anywhere without my iPhone, my Macbook Pro and my Nikon D300 dSLR camera. After those things, I don’t have a favourite.

David Farley. My new MacBook Air.

Grant Martin. Wool tech gear has been around for a while, but only this year in fleece form. Both Icebreaker and Ibex released wool fleeces this year, and they live up to their hefty pricetags: well-fitting, good smelling and perfect for a full range of outdoor activities.

[Image: Flickr | yoggy0]

Wanderfly.com beta invites for Gadling readers

by Meg Nesterov on


We hate to break it to you, but there’s only a week left in summer. Why not get a jump on planning your fall and winter travel? Wanderfly, the new travel-planning and booking site we reviewed earlier this month has just unveiled a spiffy new beta site and is offering free invites to check it out to the first 500 Gadling readers to sign up.

What’s new and improved on the beta site?

– The search functions have improved: you can search by airport, and within specific countries. You can also modify your preferences as you browse results should you decide you want to add the great outdoors to your beach and culture vacation or want to move your trip forward a month.
-Results are better too, with more accurate recommendations and enhanced destination info, including new photos and Google Maps integration.
– Better communication and sharing with Facebook Connect to see where your friends are and ability to save and email itineraries to friends or to yourself.

Want to start searching for your next trip destination? Sign up for access here with code gadling and let us know what you find in the comments!