There is a Travel App for That: Trip It Travel Organizer

Trip It Travel Organizer – you’ll never have to dig through your printed, paper itineraries and email again.
TripIt (on iTunes) can connect to your Gmail (or Google Apps) account to import trip data, or you can just forward itineraries you get from booking sites or airlines and it will organize all the departures, arrivals, and other points during the trip in sequential order. TripIt instantly recognizes reservations from 3,000+ booking sites including cruises, restaurants, concerts and more by determining and looking up the confirmation number. It also syncs with your calendar to keep all the plans up to date.
My wife usually keeps us pretty organized during trips with all the bookings, confirmations, and to-do lists stored neatly in a folder and also organized by day of travel. Though I think with the new upgrade to an iPhone, we will be planning out our next venture with this app to make it easier and to keep everyone up to date on the itinerary. I most definitely need that as there are times that I am not 100% of what is on the agenda. ...

TripIt (no ads) (a paid version of the app) offers all the tools minus the ads. TripIt Pro (a subscription service) offers additional features. It monitors your flights for potential airfare savings, and sends you status alerts and other helpful reminders while you’re traveling, and is especially helpful for frequent travelers. As part of pro membership you do not get ads within the app also

Why good to have on a trip:
- Do not need to carry around print outs of all of the reservations and confirmations
- All trip data with a confirmation # is stored and digital collated
- You can easily share trip plans with family or colleagues
- Compatible with iPhone and iPod touch. Requires iPhone OS 3.2 or later.
- It's Free

How to Use These Great Travel Apps For Your Android Phone

What others are saying: TripIt Press Room

How do you keep organized for your trips? Leave a Comment

California Tripping

Late September, I and my wife took the first trip to California for for both of us.
We kicked it off by landing in San Francisco and touring most of the city. It was a lot of walking and up and down the hills. Next, we went North to Napa and Sonoma valleys to check out the vineyards and the wines. Afterwards, we passed through SF once again crossing over the Golden Bridge on the way to Monterey. We made an overnight pit stop in Solvang. A little town on a way to Santa Barbara, which was gorgeous with Dutch style houses and community and also great Dutch style food. Then onto Santa Barbara, where the weather was great and we had a hotel a few steps away from the ocean. Though it was a bit on a chilly side in the evenings as well as the water. We next made a stop at Venice Beach, it was a sight to see and experience. And our final destination was Los Angeles where we spent 2.5 days touring the city and all of the touristy sights we avoided elsewhere during most of the trip.

Here, in more or less order of appearance, are some of the travel gadgets we had along with us:

Space Bags - Before even getting to the airport my wife worked her magic, together with SpaceBags to pack all the cloth and travel accessories for a week and a half trip into only 2 carry-ons! That is right, on the way to Cali we had no bags to check-in. This meant that we saved money on airline fees and also hassle and time of picking it up after the flight. We did however have one to check-in on the way back filled with wine bottles and other goodies.

Scanner bag - These travel tag size bags are made and distributed by the same company as the Knee Defender, which I wrote about in "Airplane travel gadgets to keep you moving." I bought 3 of them not too long ago and got to try them first hand on this trip. These bags are great. Once at the security check point, I loaded the bag up with our wallets, keys, phones and so on. Zipped it up and it was ready to go through the scanner together with the carry-on. There were no coins to dig up from plastic container afterwards or having to try to stuff things in your pockets as more and more bags and people are coming through. We pulled off to the side, got everything back in its places, folded the bags up and were quickly on our way to the gate.

Headphones - I have wrote quite a bit about a lot of benefits of having headphones with you on a trip. Well, for this trip, I actually totally forgot to bring them. And how did I miss them! I especially kicked myself for not taken them when on the plane. They had headphones for sale, and I would have even got those plastic ones, but they only had the large, bring back the '80s, type. I managed through the flight, though it seems now I am making up for that brain gap as I have a pair of earphones in just about everywhere.

Kindle - My wife had hers with her for the flight. She rarely goes anywhere without it. I went low tech for my reading material and had a magazine with me.

Joby Gorillapod - it was great to have this gadget along as we were able to get some shots of both of us in the picture while on hikes and less crowded, touristy, areas. Here are some samples where we used it:
 - on hike through the Muir Woods
 - hike up Lincoln Blvd towards Golden Gate bridge and walk through SF park
 - secluded pier with barely anyone around, but with ridiculously great view of the bridge from a different angle than any of the tourist attraction spots.
We had it wrapped on railing in one of the shots, then mounted on top of a pier poll and spread out on a rock in others

Of course we had along our Cannon Powershot SI120 for those type of shots. I didn't get a Joby for SLR as previous versions were not rated well to handle those type of cameras. The newer generations might have improved on this.
(By the way, if interested in more information about photography, check out a great blog - Digital Photography School)

Rechargeable Batteries - The batteries from the "Rechargeable batteries charger - saves money saves planet" post fame, are still running great. Same four batteries were reused through out the trip with the charger, which is light and small, and recharges the batteries quickly and with plenty of juice to last through thousands of pictures. - not actually exaggerating here, as per final count, we ended up taking close to 3000 photos on the trip.

GPS - was also with us on a trip as we did a road trip from SF to LA after renting a car. We saved probably around $200 bringing our own. And it saved us time since I was already used to operating our Garmin and following its directions. It also came in handy in finding streets once we left the car in a parking lot and went wondering around town.

Our San Francisco excursions/tours

 Did You Know?:
- Virgin America has electrical outlets at each seat. These include a regular outlet and a USB one. They also have free wi-fi on board.

What do you take with you on a long trip? Leave a Comment

There is a Travel App for That: Free Wi-Fi Finder

Free Wi-Fi Finder (download)

This app will help you find all types of free, as well as paid public if a need arises, Wi-Fi hotspots that are open to the general public, customers or guests. You are able to filter hot spot search results by free vs. paid, provider or location type. Also, you can filter locations by categories, such as cafes or libraries, and you can save your favorite spots for another time.
The app, additionally, provides offline database that covers over 100 countries and 110,000 free hot spots where you can access the Internet. This tool is great for planning ahead for vacations and business trips. Especially since you can get Wi-Fi hotspot details and call the location, get directions to it or add it to your favorites all from within the app.

Why good to have on a trip:
- Find a hotspot and get online quickly whenever and wherever
- Get Wi-Fi hotspot details and call the location, get directions to it or add it to your favorites
- Compatible with iPhone and iPod touch. Requires iPhone OS 3.2 or later.
- It's Free!

Wi-Fi Finder is available on iTunes and also on Android Market

Did You Know?
A few things to keep in mind about some Free Wi-Fi high speed internet access locations:
- It is an open unsecured connection. Use a VPN - virtual private network - for extra protection if you plan to transfer any sensitive information.
- The signal may not always be on or be strong.
- Some locations may require a purchase to get the login info required to connect.
- Some locations may have SafeSurf type software installed that will restrict access to some web sites.
- Don't expect to get much support help from the staff, they're waitresses or baristas, etc., not tech support people. Some may not even know it exists.
- Don't expect to find many plugs. Make sure your battery is charged or bring a spare.
- Some locations will not allow outgoing e-mail to be sent via their SMTP server. Use a web based e-mail account if you need to send e-mail while in this type of free location.
- At a lot of Hotzones or other similarly named types of access that cover an outdoors area (usually town, city or municipality sponnsored/provided), the signal may or may not carry to the inside of and be available in the businesses within the Hotzone.

What is your favorite go-to Wi-Fi spot? Leave a Comment

Halloween Travel & Gadgets

Sweet & Spooky Adventures:
http://family.go.com/travel/pkg-halloween-travel/
Ghost Towns & Tours
Haunted Houses
Sweetest Travel Spots
and More from family-friendly Halloween travel
by Disney Family

Halloween Destinations:
They're Creepy and They're Kooky from the travel channel

7 Thrilling Ghost Tours:
1. The Salem Night Tour: Salem, Massachusetts
2. Supernatural History Tour: Edinburgh, Scotland
3. Winchester Mystery House: San Jose, California
4. Jack the Ripper Tour: London, England
5. Hearse Ghost Tours: Savannah, Georgia
6. Dark Rome Crypts & Catacombs Tour: Rome, Italy
7. Ghosts of Gettysburg: Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
More here

5 Haunted Hotels for Halloween 2011:
http://www.mainstreet.com/article/lifestyle/travel/5-haunted-hotels-halloween-2011
1. The 1886 Crescent Hotel & Spa – Eureka Springs, Ark. - 3rd most haunted building
2. Buxton Inn – Granville, Ohio - one of The 10 Most Haunted Hotels in America
3. The Brown Palace Hotel & Spa – Denver - Beatles stayed at the hotel during a tour stop in 1960
4. The Myrtles Plantation – St. Francisville, La.- one of the nation’s most haunted
5. Hotel del Coronado – San Diego - some of the long-term guests have never left

10 terrifying Halloween gadgets

Top 10 Scariest Gadgets from PCMag.com

What are you doing for Halloween? Leave a Comment

There is a Travel App for That: Travel Packing Aid

Saving Grace. Travel Packing Aid:

When we are packing for one of our trips, we usually put together a list of things to take along on paper since it is easier to update it and cross off items that have been packed. Well now there is an app for that:
- Saving Grace makes packing easier by showing you not only how many items you’ve already packed, but also how many are left to pack in each category.
Just tap an item to move it into your ‘packed’ list
- The app has pre-set lists for different trip types – winter, summer, activity holiday or a short break. Activities include specific lists for surfing, cycling, golf, diving, fishing, camping etc. We have found the lists quite extensive and detailed. Even my wife, an avid packer, was impressed with all the items listed on the lists.
- You can also personalize the lists by swiping in new items or categories or delete one or multiple things at once.
- The app also features a readymade list of important stuff to do before you travel - from travel insurance to currency to watering your plants and emptying your fridge.

Available for download on iTunes

Why good to have on a trip:
- a packing check list and reminder tool all in one. Designed to cut the stress of packing.
- It's simple, and more importantly, fast to use
- Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Requires iOS 4.0 or later
- Price: Free

How do you pack for travels? Leave a Comment

Travel Bottle Kit - TSA approved, ready to go

Travel Bottle Kit is a great travel gadget for packing and organizing and, most importantly these days, abiding by the TSA rules. (TSA regulations) It is also great for health and for the environment since these are made from food grade material and resuable again and again.
A kit consists of leak-proof and break-resistant travel bottles that can be filled with shampoo, lotion, body wash, vitamins, and other travel essentials. In the eBags 3-1-1 Nalgene Travel Bottle Kit, the bottles also have different color tops for easy identification and they come in different sizes as well, ranging from 2oz down to 0.5oz. These bottles easily fit into a 1-quart zip-top bag.
Travel kits help reduce the amount of space in your suitcase when packing up various personal and hygiene products Since you can take only so much with you on the trip, its a great idea to not drag a full size shampoo bottle or lotion with you. Most bottles can provide sufficient volume to hold enough shampoo/conditioner/shower gel for a week trip. This way can pack more of other essentials and pack less in your suitcases. Or, as we have done on our trip, not take suitcase along at all, by packing everything tightly in small containers and Space Bags. Save on airline fees and your health.

Why good to have on a trip:
- easy to pack and carry
- portable and convenient
- leak-proof and break-resistant
- get past security without a problem

What do you pack for air travel? Leave a Comment

Lift up the car, easily

Titan Exhaust Air Jack:

Be a superman, get an adrenal rush, or just get the Air Jack, to lift up the car.

Air jack is inflated via a 15ft. hose that connects to tailpipe. This way you always have the power to blow up the jack no matter where you are with your vehicle and if you do not have the electric pumps or full heavy jacks with you. Though it can also be operated with air compressor using optional adapter if you would like do it the old fashioned way or not able to access the tailpipe directly. The one-way back valve will keep it inflated for up to 45 minutes and can deflate slowly or as fast as 5 seconds.
Also, as the Air Jack is made from woven polyester material coated with PVC, you do not need to worry about placing the jack on the frame correctly without damaging it, or if you can get a jack under the car at all. Double layered coating on the top and bottom of the Air Jack provide further protection from unseen jagged or sharp edges or debris.

Why good to have on a trip:
- Changing Tires
- Vehicle recovery from mud, sand, and snow
- Easily lifts the car with no additional external power
- No waiting for the mechanic or another car to arrive

How to Pack Accessories for Travel

Pack like a pro: accessorize



Gadgets in this video that are part of my travel arsenal:
-Combination lock by Samsonite - had on our checked bag on the way back from Cali trip
-Hefty travel bags
-Travel size toothpaste, mouthwash, deodorant, and other personal products. Great for space saving and more room in suitcases on the way back as these would be disposed off by then.
-Canon PowerShot SX120IS

Travel Tech for Today's Road Warrior from MarketWatch

Meet the Road Warrior 2.0:

"According to a national survey released by Hyatt Place, and conducted by Harris Interactive, 50 percent of today's road warriors say that life as a business traveler is easier and more productive now than it was 10 years ago, thanks in large part to modern hotels and evolving technology, keeping travelers both connected and comfortable." ... Read more

There is a Travel App for That: AllSubway

Each Wednesday, starting today, we will feature a new cool and useful travel app.

Here is the first one:

AllSubway

- AllSubway takes the confusion out of traveling underground. The travel app features subway maps for about 128 different cities around the world. There are around 140 maps available for routes in Europe, North America, South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia.

- Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.0 or later
- No internet connection required to view maps.

- available on iTunes for $0.99 AllSubway

Why good to have on a trip:
- find your way around the transit systems around the world
- use public transport and save money while traveling
- great maps