Geeky Traveller » Destinations

Do you travel at the Last Minute?

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 23:33:04 +0000

There are two main categories of travelers (aside from the obvious of pleasure vs. business) and that is Planned Travel and Last Minute Travel. While planning ahead is a great way to ease any stress you might feel about wanting to know your hotel and destination plans as much as possible, it’s a well known fact that snagging last minute deals can give you an excellent price. A friend of mine desperately needed a break from work this past winter and took some accumulated time off at the office. She picked up a phone and snagged a last minute week-long vacation in the Dominican Republic starting a mere two days later. She paid a ridiculously low price for an all-inclusive vacation on a beach paradise and loved it.

If you’re adventurous enough to be flexible with your vacation plans and don’t mind packing on short notice – and of course, you’ll need all necessary passports ready to go – you can also get a great deal. LastMinuteTravel.com is a site that promises to get you a great value on, you know, last minute travel opportunities. They’ll find cheap airline tickets, cruises, hotel rooms, and full travel packages that are ready for you right away.

Do remember that the catch here is that you can’t be picky. If you have your heart set on leaving on the 15th but the best price is on a package that requires you to fly out on the 13th, you’ll have to either be flexible or be willing to give up the low fare. As advised by my aforementioned friend, it also helps if you’re not too concerned with the exact destination. When she needed her vacation all she cared about was that it involved a beach and the ocean. Beyond that she didn’t care if it was Cuba, Florida, or Barbados, and so she was just as happy with her Dominican getaway. Being bold and ready for anything is the best way to take advantage of a site like LastMinuteTravel.com.

Do let me know if you try the site out for your next trip!

(source // photos sxc.hu)

Post from: Geeky Traveller

Flight Stats to stay up to speed

Sun, 16 Mar 2008 03:39:10 +0000

I think just about every airport now has a website where you can check on flight times, and airlines have their own sites as well. However, Flight Stats will help track all flight information pretty much anywhere. It covers overall flight statue, any delays caused by weather or technical difficulties, and tips about the airport itself. You can get updates (or have them sent to your family on their way to pick you up) by text on your cellphone so you’re always up to date.

It even gives you map info, traffic conditions, user forums for personal travel tips, and so much more. It’s basically the one and only site you need to keep on track. You need to register if you want more than just the very basic info, but it’s completely free.

(Source)

Post from: Geeky Traveller

Avoid the gross hotels

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 22:46:18 +0000

Here’s a handy website for you. Before you travel in the U.S. or the U.K. (nowhere else has been covered yet), be sure to check out TripAdvisor’s list of the ten dirtiest hotels to be sure you don’t book yourself there. Based on their reader/user reviews they compiled the ten hotels that were the grimiest, most disgusting, and occasionally bug-infested places to dare to rest your weary head.

Don’t get stuck sharing your room with germs and roaches – check their site out first!

Eww.

Post from: Geeky Traveller

VibeAgent

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 17:00:49 +0000

There’s another great site that has been recently launched for travel fanatics, and it’s really the kind of site I’m loving more and more. Nothing personal against travel agents, because they’re awesome too (and I studied Travel & Tourism for that purpose myself once upon a lifetime, pre-kids) but not every travel agent has been to every place you want to visit. As a result, they give you the best generic info they can but there’s nothing personal about it.

VibeAgent is another great personalized human-touch website that will give you access to personal stories. You can read a travel guide to try to figure out which hotel you should stay in when you reach your chosen destination, but with VibeAgent you can read the opinions of people who actually stayed in that very hotel. Maybe the book makes it sound classy and it looks good in pictures, but if 75% of the people on the site mention that the service was slow or unfriendly, you can use that information to find youself a better option.

Not only can you search a location for a good hotel, you can further specify what type of place you need. If you’re traveling with a light wallet, you can choose to only see hotels that keep a small budget in mind. If you’re going on your honeymoon, search for romantic hotels that will go that extra mile to make sure you have a very swoon-worthy stay. Want to make sure you’re in a hotel that is smack dab in the middle of Mardi Gras or Spring Break festivities? Choose to search for a lively hotel.

The site may be fairly new but the information available is quite extensive and may keep you busy for quite some time as you sit and poke around to find your dream hotel.

Post from: Geeky Traveller

Extravigator for travel networking

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 23:02:35 +0000

Extravigator is a new site for travelers that refers to itself as “haute travel talk where sophisticated travelers exchange tips, advice and experiences”. Don’t let that scare you off though, it’s not hoity-toity exclusive. In essence, it’s a one stop site where you can find commentary from other travelers on a wide variety of locations.

Travel agents may be trying to help you plan a vacation but this site will let you learn about your dream spot from people who have been there and experienced the area. Some are complaints, which might help you avoid a disappointing meal in Miami, some are compliments that will alert you to a fantastic and affordable hotel in Jamaica.

The site includes interactive maps that display some of the favorite locations, as rated by members. You can also break it down to find the top rated hotels, places to eat, spas, activities, shopping, and overall destinations if you’re not even sure of where you want to go.

Membership is free, so go open up an account and browse away to get ideas for your next vacation!

Post from: Geeky Traveller

What better travel guide than travel bloggers?

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 03:49:13 +0000

The Travel Channel here at b5media has expanded yet again! My site here is to help point you in the direction of neat little (or not so little) gadgets for traveling or websites that can help you in your travel planning. Sometimes the best travel aide is a travel blogger, don’t you think? An entire blog full of tips, slices of life, and personal experiences to give you a good idea of what’s going on in your destination city, what more could you want? It’s more personal than a book, for sure!

So that being said, please welcome The London Traveler who will tell you everything you need to know about his city; The Switzerland Traveler who will bring you on a virtual tour of his beautiful country, and The Las Vegas Adventurer which will fill you in on everything on and off the infamous Strip.

Start planning your vacation time now!

Post from: Geeky Traveller

USA Today Travel Widget

Tue, 11 Sep 2007 03:00:51 +0000

USA Today has come out with a cool new tool that can benefit anyone with a web site of just about any kind. You don’t even need to be a web geek like myself with my nine blogs. Even blog-less people are using social networking sites more and more so that’s all you need to make use of this new widget.

It provides you with instant updates on any breaking travel news. You can find out top travel related news stories, special travel deals, and more. All you need to do is go to the site and click on the option to put the widget on your page. Easy and convenient, and they’re even working on more for the near future, so if you enjoy this one you can make use of more of them as they become available.

(Source)

Post from: Geeky Traveller

Use TripAdvisor to watch out for bedbugs!

Sat, 25 Aug 2007 02:31:21 +0000

Melissa over at Europe String has a very handy post up about bedbugs and how to avoid the icky insects that like to bite people who are sleeping. They live in mattresses or in the seams and they come out at night. Because they’re due to poor cleaning more than anything else, if you’re traveling and saving money by staying in cheaper hostels or Bed & Breakfasts, bedbugs could very well be an unpleasant side effect.

Melissa says you can check for signs of an infestation once you arrive at your destination but by then it may be too late if you have no backup plan. What I didn’t think of until she mentioned it though is that you can use TripAdvisor’s website – plug in the accommodation you’re thinking of booking and then check to see if anyone has made complaints about the bugs in the same place.

Since there’s nothing you can do to protect yourself from them if they’re already in your bed, a little detective work ahead of time might help keep you from getting bitten.

I feel itchy after writing this. Ick.

Post from: Geeky Traveller

BOO! All in one travel searches!

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 02:38:48 +0000

Boo! Did I scare you? I hope not, because here’s a nifty website that isn’t scary at all and will put a lot of travel information right at your fingertips.

Boo.com is a travel search site that will give you just about everything you’re looking for and then some. What can you do at Boo? You can:

search over 2200 major travel destinations in 170 different countries for general information
compare hotel prices, locations, reviews, etc.
make reservations, either through Boo or directly through the hotel’s own website
share your photos, experiences, and recommendations with other Boo readers

Here’s a sample of what you can find. I am personally so infatuated with the city of Prague in the Czech Republic that I insist I must visit there before I die, so I used that as my basic search.

By typing in Prague, I get these results, including the fact that tomorrow it will be a high of 26C (79F) with rain, that the highest recommendation for accommodations is the Sam Marco Palace (out of 169 hotels listed), and that I should really see the Prague Astronomical Clock in Old Town Square, which I can drive to by renting a car from Hertz for $42 Us a day.

That is a lot of information, and there’s so much more to dig into while you’re there.

I definitely recommend dropping by the site if you have travel plans in the near future and want to get an idea of prices and attractions.

(I’m now going to cease being productive for the rest of the day because I’m going to see what else I can do in Prague. Ah, some day…)

Post from: Geeky Traveller

Staying cool in hot destinations

Fri, 06 Jul 2007 01:40:46 +0000

I thought this was – pardon the bad pun – a really cool idea. If you’re heading to a hot destination, that heat can be great if you’re out on the beach or sipping fruity beverages under an umbrella. However, the heat can make sleeping uncomfortable. Although most decent hotels offer air conditioning in their rooms, not every location can offer you that comfort.

That’s when you might find the air conditioned bed to be a handy item to make room for in your suitcase.

Surprisingly, the bed only weighs a little over five pounds, and it uses dual fans to pull air in and then circulate it through the padding below you. It’s also a bit shocking that it’s only $399 since you could easily imagine them charging a fortune for it.

Considering the low weight and reasonable price, it might not be a bad idea if you spend long periods in hot climates!

(source)

Post from: Geeky Traveller