Archive for Magazine Highlights
The Thrill is Gone? – Travel + Leisure Does Social Media
Posted by: | CommentsI finally finished reading through January’s Travel + Leisure and wanted to pass along a great quote from Peter Jon Lindberg, T+L’s editor-at-large. In Social Media Revolution, an article reviewing social media’s impact on the traveler, Lindberg writes, “Part of the thrill of travel is in the mystery it entails, the buzz that comes from trying to imagine what this strange new place will even look like.”
Twitter, hotel review sites, travel guides, blogs, Travel Channel shows and the like, Lindberg’s article struck home with me because I have completely embraced the information explosion. A planner by nature, I have visited places for the first time and felt as if I had already been there. Not because it was similar to somewhere else, but because I had done so much research beforehand that the place seemed familiar, often times disappointingly so.
“Part of the thrill of travel is in the mystery it entails, the buzz that comes from trying to imagine what this strange new place will even look like.”
When I travel to a new city, state, country or continent I want it to feel new. I want Lindberg’s mystery and buzz. The challenge will be fighting my tendency to over-plan and research every angle.
Budget Travel Highlights: Emergency Contacts and Hotel Sites
Posted by: | CommentsI always enjoy reading my Budget Travel magazine and often find helpful hints and money saving tricks to pass on. February’s magazine is no exception.
In this month’s Reader Tips, Anita from Washington suggests exchanging emergency information with your travel partners. She suggests that everyone in the group enter the full name, date of birth and emergency contacts of every member into their cell phones. A good tip.
There’s also a helpful little article highlighting three hotel comparison sites.
National Geographic Traveler Review
Posted by: | CommentsI just finished reading the Jan/Feb 2010 edition of National Geographic Traveler and found two articles to pass along.
First was an interesting piece comparing different methods for learning a foreign language, a skill I have never quite mastered. Oh, I can stumble along with the typical pleasantries in one or two foreign tongues, but stumble is the best I can do. You don’t have to be out of the country for long to figure out that speaking the local language would come in handy when you travel to a foreign land. According to the article, only nine percent of Americans are bilingual but more than half of Europeans speak two or more languages.
Next was a short piece on surviving an airplane accident. The article, which claims “nearly 96 percent of passengers in U.S. plane crashes survive,” has several tips that can help readers avoid that fatal four percent.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t find links to these articles on NatGeo’s website, so you’ll have to grab a copy of the magazine for yourself
Budget Travel – Smartphone Travel Apps
Posted by: | CommentsMy wife loves her iPhone. I, on the other hand, am a recent convert. I still don’t have one, but I readily admit that her little handheld-super-computer phone did prove useful on a recent travel trip. I am amazed by all the travel-related applications she can download, in most cases free of charge, that come in handy when we travel to a new city.
The Dec/Jan issue of Budget Travel magazine has an interesting article about the next generation of smartphone travel apps that use augmented reality technology (whatever that is) to turn the phone’s camera viewfinder into an interactive travel guide. Check it out at the magazine’s website.
Tips for Better Travel Photos
Posted by: | CommentsI’m not much of a photographer (look no further than the photos in other posts for proof), so I’m always on the lookout for tricks to make my travel photos a bit better.
This month’s Travel and Leisure has some simple photo tips that should prove helpful on my next travel trip.
Best of Budget Travel: October 2009
Posted by: | CommentsI always enjoy reading my Budget Travel magazine and perusing the travel deals and travel tips the writers and editors put together each month. I finally sat down with the October 2009 issue of Budget Travel at lunch today and two items caught my eye.
First was a tiny article about a menu decoder that the magazine has posted on its website. I usually don’t have any trouble finding something to eat when I’m traveling but I have on several occasions resorted to pointing at dishes on other tables or simply guessing at what’s on the menu. This decoder should come in handy on my next travel trip.
The second article “Trips Gone Bad” was a helpful tutorial about dealing with damaged or lost luggage, health insurance concerns, canceled flight strategies and the pros and cons of travel insurance.
