Travel Tips and Gadgets Spring Break Edition

8 Strategies For Avoiding The Spring Break Crowds
http://www.gadling.com/2013/03/14/8-strategies-for-avoiding-the-spring-break-crowds

As mentioned in this article, noise-canceling headphones are a great device to have with you when traveling during Spring Break.
Six Best noise-cancelling headphones:

5 Spring Break Trips That Don't Require Boozing In Mexico
http://www.gadling.com/2013/03/14/5-spring-break-trips-that-dont-require-boozing-in-mexico

We did a drive down California's Route 1 in early fall a couple of years ago and it was awesome. Check out more info and travel gadgets we had along while enjoy the West Coast, California Tripping

How To Stay Healthy On Spring Break
http://www.gadling.com/2013/03/18/how-to-stay-healthy-on-spring-break/

Prevent waterborne illness with these reusable BPA-free water bottles:


Spring Break Destinations for Every Kind of Traveler
http://travelblog.viator.com/spring-break-destinations-for-every-kind-of-traveler

How to Avoid Spring Break Mistakes
http://www.petergreenberg.com/2013/02/15/know-before-you-go-how-to-avoid-spring-break-mistakes

1. Do not over do on daytime drinking
2. Wear Sunscreen
3. Avoid germs (pack antibacterial wipes)
4. Don't get a tattoo
5. Watch your photo sharing - employers do check Facebook, be mindful how you represent yourself on social media

What are your plans for the Spring Break? Let us know below

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Travel Accessories - Which Are the Most Important Ones?

Travel Accessories - Which Are the Most Important Ones?

A guest post by Rita Rova from LoveMyVouchers.co.uk

 

Travelling is one of the greatest joys in a person’s life. It provides us with much needed relaxation time, recharging our batteries and therefore enabling us to handle our day to day busy and hectic schedules. But as great as it is, it requires a good deal of planning before we can even begin to relax. Packing is one of the most important aspects as the accessories we bring will determine how comfortable we feel in the new environment.

First and foremost you should consider your bags and suitcases. Regardless of the length of your journey, you will be carrying a variety of different items and you will often need to access them quickly. So a single compartment bag or suitcase is not a great choice – you need something with lots of compartments and additional pockets, so your belongings can be neatly organised and easy to find.

You also need a way to protect and distinguish your luggage from everyone else’s. Look for secure locks to make your luggage inaccessible to anyone other than yourself. Also get or create some individual and striking labels that make your luggage easy to identify amongst the sea of other suitcases at the airport.

Depending on the accommodation you have chosen, you may get some basic toiletries. The problem is, you never know what you are going to get. Some hotels provide a full range of accessories – shampoos, conditioner, soap, body wash, cotton wool and cotton buds, shower cap, toothpaste and even nail files and shoe shine. However, you can’t rely on this full range of accessories being there, and even if you do get them all, you can’t rely on them being any good. Shampoos in particular may react with your hair in an unexpected way, and soaps or shower gels can be drying, harsh and chemically. It is therefore wise to take travel size bottles of each of the things you will need. Make sure that you comply with the airline’s liquid regulations though when you are planning which toiletries to take. Don’t forget to also include things like sunscreen for the beach and a protective face cream for the mountain, and so on, as these won’t be provided by the hotel.

Make your own basic first aid kit and never leave it home on your travels. You should have some basic pain killers and fever tablets, anti-allergy medications, bandages, a bug repellent if you are going close to nature, etc. It’s always better to be able to help yourself than to rely on what the locals do or don’t have at their disposal.

No matter how big of a tech geek you are, it is likely in this day and age that you will be taking your mobile phone and possibly a camera. So don’t forget to bring their charges and connecting cables if there’s a tablet and/or laptop involved, unless you want to lose touch with civilization  It is also good to get an adapter if you are going abroad and you need to check what type of adapter is necessary for the country you are travelling to.

Ear plugs are essential to any great trip, so don’t forget to pack a pair. You never know what kind of neighbors you will have to deal with at the hotel, hostel, or whatever you have chosen, and you will want to get some sleep seeing as how you’ll be on vacation. This little invention will block the noise from the party going on downstairs and allow you to rest properly, rather than toss and turn all night.

If you are planning to visit several different locations and you will be travelling quite a lot, don’t forget to pack a travel pillow. You never know how much time you’ll have for sleep with all the sightseeing and activities, so the bus or train may be your only option. But neck cramps are not preferable, so a ravel pillow can be quite helpful.

With the exception of your essential travel documentation, the rest is up to you. The main thing is to do your research and make a list before you start packing so as not to forget something. Before you leave the house, go through each item on the list again to ensure you have not missed anything and then let the fun and relaxation commence.

Rita Rova writes budget travel advice for discount website, LoveMyVouchers.co.uk, where you can find the latest discounts offered from top hotels and travel companies.

International Women's Day Best Travel Gadgets

Happy International Women's Day!

Digital Camera
Nikon Cool Pix, a small camera that fits easily in a bag and comes in different colors that can be matched to the said bag. A digital compact camera is great to take along on any trip. You will get better pictures than with a smartphone. And while there are many color choices for these camera, a thing to keep in mind are also its features - Buying a Digital Camera for Travel
 Why good to have on a trip:
 - Great high resolution photos
 - Compact and easy to use

Music Player

Apple iPod Nano fits everywhere with its slim size, holds thousands songs with 16 GB of memory, and comes in various colors that can suit her mood or wardrobe. The newer generation also come with FM tuner  and a pedometer to keep track of her fitness while enjoying her favorite radio station.
For a non-Apple version that is also less pricey, Sony Walkman MP3 Player is a great choice. It comes with similar features such as FM tuner, 50 hours of music play, photo and video playback
 Why good to have on a trip:
 - Hours of entertainment
 - Great sound
 - music makes everything better

Headphones

To go along with a good music player, she would also be glad to have a great pair of headphones. It is no always easy to find great sounding headphones that look good. Skullcandy has some great looking and sounding choices such as Aviator series. The brown and gold headphones are a perfect fit and provide excellent sound quality.
Sony Walkman wireless headphones are light, small, and best of they are wireless and water-resistant. Please take note that they are not waterproof, only resistant. Which means if they get wet they will still function as though nothing happened, but do not go swimming and such with them. These headphone can also be used as a Walkman as they can hold up to 2 GB of music and can sync with iTunes and Windows Media Player.
Why good to have on a trip:
 - enjoy favorite music no matter where you or what you are doing

Activity Trackers
Getting someone gym equipment or something similar is not the best gift as it can be easily misinterpreted. However, these newest gadgets help with more than just getting fit:


Fitbit One Wireless tracks activity during the day as well as sleep patterns to help recognize and improve anything that might not be a healthy habit.

The Nike+ FuelBand, while a fitness tracking wristband, also tracks walking, dancing, basketball and dozens of other everyday activities

MOTOACTV by Motorola is also a multi-functional activity tracker. It comes with built-in GPS and MP3 Player.

Why good to have on a trip:
 - keep track of your activity on the go
 - keep track of where you are
 - enjoy your tunes on the go

Amazon Prime
For something that is easy to get and give and will provide enjoyment for a long time, subscription to Amazon Prime could be a great choice. She would get unlimited instant steaming of movies and TV shows and one free Kindle book to borrow per month. Not only that, with Prime, she will also get free 2 day shipping on any orders through amazon.com

Milagrow, through its HumanTech division, has introduced what it claims to be TabTop PC for women. The device is said to have a special UI for women. It features a 7-inch LED backlit 4:3 screen. It has a 1.2 GHz processor, 512DDR3 RAM and 8 GB of internal storage expandable up to 32GB. Not the fastest on the market, but has pretty good specifications.

What do you think about this "new" tablet and its marketing?

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