Six Personal Travel Insights

I've had the privilege to travel three continents, seven different countries, and at least half of the states of America. I've done this as family vacations, trips with friends, study abroad, as a child, adult, and somewhere in-between. I've seen some of the world wonders, and some of the poorest third world countries. I've met so many incredible, life changing individuals who I still am in contact with to this day. I've learned how to take each and every good and bad travel experience to enhance my next trip, and to apply those life lessons back in small-town Iowa. So what exactly have I learned?

1. Ask my parents- EUROS ARE NOT, IN FACT, THE SAME AS MONOPOLY MONEY DOLLARS. I should have taken advantage of the exchange rate app in my International Travel App Blog. Although I came home from Europe in the summer of 2012 broker than a joke, I cannot say that I regret a single euro spent. I got the opportunity to see amazing places, do exciting and daring things, as well as try out one too many new restaurants and mysterious foods.

2. Be as friendly and open to new people and new cultures (even if that culture wears utterly terrifying outfits) as you can without getting "Taken". You'll see new outlooks on the way you live your life, make life-long friendships, and uncover travel/local-city secrets. Thank goodness for Skype and social media for allowing me the chance to keep in touch with these individuals. God forbid I would actually have to mail a letter :).

3. No matter how detailed you coordinate your trips, you will still have delays in transportation. I missed numerous buses, planes, and trains due to delays or strikes. While getting utterly lost, dead-sprinting through foreign airports, and losing luggage is an experience I think we all need at some point- taking advantage of real-time travel apps could've saved so much frustration. Kayak from my Domestic Travel App Blog, for example, can track your luggage, flights, and map out most airports.

4. Take the cool, fun pictures of every single angle of everything you encounter. But, don't let it detract from your experience taking in the beauty and history. We can get so caught up in getting the perfect shot of us paragliding through the sky that we forget how blessed we are in the first place to be soaring above a breath-taking island for only a half hour. Take a few quick photos and videos, then LET IT BE. Chances are, one out of the 47 (I just showed three to keep you all sane) pictures you took in front of the Platform 9 3/4 sign are profile picture worthy. I do have to put in a shameless plug for my Google Glass blog post as this would signifcantly reduce the time it takes to whip out your camera and set-up the perfect shot.





5. Do your research before you spur of the moment go somewhere. Make sure you have your Visa before you fly into Vietnam and get temporarily detained in a government hotel, know your Bed and Breakfast Address before you enter England and get questioned by London Authorities, and make sure you know the laws for what you can and cannot have in public plazas in Madrid. That being said, save time to just explore the new city you're in. Wander around, talk to locals, and chill by a river in Porto for hours on end basking in the sun. Most of us only get a little precious time in each place we visit- make the most of it!

6. Finally, utilize the technology available to you! I could've avoided carrying extra toilet paper in my purse from being used to Spanish public restrooms not having any. I could've stayed clear from nasty hostels, saved more money, saved more time by going through the "local" entrance of an exhibit, checked into my locations and mapped out my travels for easier blog writing, and saved myself a third-degree burn in the Canary Islands. Technology can really make a huge impact on your travels- please take my word for it! :)

Google Glass- The Future of Travel?

Technology becomes more and more advanced with each and every breath we take. Google Glass is the prime example of how technology will transform our everyday lives more than we could've ever imagined. It is a portable computer with an optical display that you wear similar to eye glasses. It can be considered a camera and display that works by simply taking the environment around you. You can interact with it using your voice, and see the result set of anything you'd like right in front of your eyes.

So how does this relate to travel? Being released as early as 2014, Google Glass utilizes Augmented Reality to take in the scenery in front you and can function integrating with WiFi and Bluetooth- perfect for on the go. In essence you could stand in a crowded street in Rome and turn around in a circle and see places pop up based on what you are looking for: the Trevi Fountain, the nearest place to get world renown Gelato, or the best ristorante for pasta in town. It can pull up facts in front of you in real time of the nutrition value of the menu of the place you're eating in, pull up a map of the airport terminal as you are running late, and can let you take videos and photos of everything you see as you see it in front of you without even moving your hands- you simply say, "OK, Glass" and the photo you just snapped of The Colosseum is instantly uploaded to your Instagram news feed. It allows you to concentrate more conveniently on the experience of your travels rather than fumble around with with your clunky camera.

It could let you do many of the things this blog has talked about previously- take the Google Translate App for example. You're trying to figure out how to ask a street vendor in Chinese for three pounds of vegetables. You say: "OK, Glass: how do you say, "How do you ask for 'three pounds of vegetables' in Chinese?" and instantaneously get a response to communicate efficiently. This can totally change the travel and technology industry as we know it.

See an example demonstration of Google Glass:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vo96VxzM_4A

Isn't this technology amazing? It seems unreal that this is what the future can possibly hold. What are your thoughts on it? Would you use it?

Quirky Apps to Aid Your Travels

This blog has thus far covered those travel essential applications for both domestic and international travel. While some of these apps may not be a first priority download, they are all worth looking into as they can transform your trip from just average to a substantially first-rate endeavor.

SitOrSquat- powered by Charmin, this app is something every traveler can appreciate. It lets you search bathrooms based on your current location. Not only does the search show you the results of bathrooms near you in a "can-no-longer-hold-it situation", but you can also see how cleanly the bathroom is based on the color of the roll. See the screenshot below of a district in London. Avoid the red rolls like the black plague or be prepared to squat. If you encounter sub-par bathroom amenities, be sure to leave your own ratings to help out your future fellow travelers.

Convert Clothes (Apple) / Clothing Size Conversion (Android)- This app is a lifesaver for the shopaholics of the world. When you're shopping and want to quickly figure out the conversion of your 7.5 shoe size into the measurements of another countries' seemly bizarre numbering system, this app is extremely handy and saves time. It also converts dresses, blouses, rings, socks, pants, and hat sizes for your own purchasing pleasure.

Tipping Bird (Android) / GlobeTipping (Apple)- When you're traveling around the world you will encounter various culture differences. One important difference is tipping. For example, in Japan is it extremely rude to leave a tip of any kind. Tipping Bird takes away the uncertainty of not knowing whether to tip, how much to tip, which situations to tip in, and it can even convert the percentage of the tip into that country's exchange rate- pretty neat! The best Apple equivalent is GlobeTipping which does the same basic function, but costs $0.99.

GateGuru- Most of us have had those long, drawn-out layovers at some point in time. I've spent countless hours trying to sleep, roam around and explore, play cards, and entertain myself in airports all over the world. If you travel extensively, this app is a lifesaver. It features more than 120 airports across the globe. It helps you find cafes, services, relaxing areas, workout facilities, yoga stations, and anything else you can dream up. My favorite part are the reviews and tips. See an example tip to the left giving security advice for the San Francisco International Airport. 

Sunscreen- One of the best things about travelling is kicking back and relaxing in the sun on a sandy beach. One thing we can all sympathize with is the overzealous thought that if we don't apply that second round of sunscreen we'll just tan and not get burnt. I don't know about you, but I get fried every dang time. This free app can detect the UV rating of your current location, lets you input your skin type and SPF of choice to count you down until your next needed lathering of sunscreen to keep your skin nice and healthy.

HopStop- This app named a Top 10 Mobile App by Travel Magazine is an on-the-go necessity. It gives you taxi, walking, biking, and metro directions in over 300 domestic and international cities. There are schedules, city guides, and updates in real-time to let you know any possible delays in travel. Whether you need to snag a bus out of Wales, or hitchhike your way across Saint Petersburg, you'll find this app extremely helpful. 

Foodspotting- Arguably one of the best parts of travel is trying the best local dishes and restaurants. This app visualizes popular dishes and eateries near you. You can type in what you are craving at the moment, but take note that there is no disclaimer for your salivary glands inevitably going into overdrive. Foodspotting makes it easy for you to save your favorite dishes or hide the ones you don't desire to sample. You can keep track of what your friends are trying out, as well as expert food critics on the Travel Channel. See what popped up on my radar in Cedar Falls, IA below (Scratch Cupcakery made the map hint, hint)!

What are other apps you like to use while travelling? Have any of you had experiences with any of the apps above?

Top Five Essential Apps For International Travel

Traveling abroad is unfamiliar, exciting, adventurous, expensive, and even frightening to some. Whether you're a world renown traveler, first timer studying abroad, or you frequently have business trips internationally- there is something to be said about using applications for travel. While some find appeal in losing yourself in an unfamiliar city without use of any resources, there are perpetual benefits that utilizing technology while travelling will reap. It doesn't have to be unfamiliar, expensive, or even frightening with the aid of these free applications available on most devices.

If you see my past post on "Five Advantageous Apps for Domestic Travel" you can see that four out of five of these apps can cross over to be used internationally such as Kayak, Yelp, Photaf or Photosynth, and Trip Journal.

 Skype (all devices)/Facetime (Apple only)- Part of what makes travelling so frightening is that you may be leaving your loved ones behind. Skype or Facetime allows you to talk in real time, and feel like you are in person communicating thousands of miles away. Let's be honest- some of us utilize it because it lets you see your beloved pets that you leave behind (see one of my many snapshots of Skyping my wiener dog abroad to the left). For those of us who prefer texting our friends and family, use TextPlus which lets you send unlimited text messages for free in any WiFi location directly to your loved one's domestic phones.

 Google Maps- Google Maps is my favorite free app for getting to where you need to go. You can see transportation options to get you from The Vatican back to The Pantheon; maps for indoor locations including some airports, shopping centers, and stores; 3-D maps to get a realistic sense of your destination; as well as the street view option of the location you're trying to find. My favorite part of it is the turn-by-turn GPS navigation feature making it nearly impossible to get lost.

 Google Translate- Going to be in a rural mountain town filled with local inhabitants, a rustic village deep in the country-side, maybe lost in the heart of Barcelona, or perhaps just desperately need to tell your French waiter in a Crêperie about your allergy to strawberries? This is exactly what you need. Take out the stuttering uncertainty and hurried flipping through an English to Spanish Dictionary, and simply speak what you need to say into this app complete with over 50 languages. You can either type out your needed translation or speak into it. While it may not be on target for grammar 100% of the time, you can get the message across you're trying to convey successfully. If you're willing to spring for a $0.99 app, try out "Languages" as it's best feature is that it can be used offline.

 XE Currency Exchange- It can be hard to maintain your finances overseas- especially when euros look like Monopoly money. XE Currency Exchange tells you the exchange rate in many countries in real-time if you are connected to WiFi to allow you to optimize the best time to take out your money to stretch your American dollars. My favorite part about it is that it remembers the most recently checked rate. This means you can still convert your cash with accuracy even when you don't have an internet connection.

 Time Out city guides- This is the best free guide for the most popular cities in the world. It provides insights on hotels, dining, shows, and night-life. The best feature is that it gives expert local knowledge so that you can see popular touristy spots, as well as a city's best kept secret.

 My next blog will cover the best essentric and fun travel apps- so stay tuned!

Five Advantageous Apps For Domestic Travel

You're planning a family vacation, spring break with friends, or a soul-searching road trip across the US. You're going somewhere you've never gone before, somewhere you haven't been to in ages, or somewhere you want to explore thoroughly. You can live vicariously through recommendations from friends or simply perform a google search, but how can you take your travel experience to the next level? The answer is technology through mobile applications. The five I've chosen cover all the travel essential categories: booking, coupons, photos, documentation, and entertainment. Leverage your smartphone or iPad and download these five free Advantageous Apps for Domestic Travel available on all devices.


Kayak- Kayak is one of the best sites for booking services. It lets you look for cheap flights, hotels, and car-rentals and pre-pay for them if you so desire. It lets you map out your trip agendas, tracks to see if your flight is on time, lets you know when the price you're thinking about paying changes, syncs to Gate Guru (an app that I will cover in my next blog), lets you see airfare trends, and even has a currency converter within it. Need I say more?


Yelp- Yelp is personally one of my favorite apps, and I'm pleased it makes the list for best travel apps. Self defined, "Yelp is an online urban city guide that helps people find cool places to eat, shop, drink, relax and play, based on the informed opinions of a vibrant and active community of locals in the know. Yelp is the fun and easy way to find, review and talk about what's great — and not so great — in your world." You can search anything from enchiladas to Urban Outfitters and it will show you how close you are to them and how long it will take to get there. It also provides you with great deals to make your trip worth every dollar.

Pocket Ranger- Pocket Ranger is a State Park Guide at the tip of your fingers. If you're the outdoorsy type, are looking for beautiful park scenery to eat your lunch, need a new running path, or are even just wanting to take the kids out of the hotel to let them run around- this is the app for you. Simply download whichever the Pocket Ranger for whichever state you will be in. My favorite function of it is "Parks Near Me". This lets you incorporate your GPS settings and instantly see how far away you are to a park. For example, I'm in Cedar Falls and it comes up with the results displayed above. 

Photaf Panorama (Android)- This awesome app allows you to take panoramic photos of every sunset, scenic exclusion, and even your beautiful college campus in the early AM. It can upload directly to Facebook, and lets you move the image around on your phone to see each and every angle.  

Photosynth (Apple)- Photosyth is the Apple equivalent and takes Photaf a step further by adding in a social element. You can see other people's panoramic images and search popular ones. Download these apps for your own optimal travel photo taking experience!

Trip Journal- The Trip Journal app was rated as a #1 Travel App by Google. It lets you do tracking, recording, documenting and sharing. It is a very simple way to pull together all the aspects of your vacation since it is integrated with Google Earth. My favorite aspect is saving my locations, pictures, and notes in the same place so I can share them  more easily and keep separate trips organized as shown below.

What other apps do you use for domestic travel? Have you had any good experiences with any of the apps above? For all of you international travelers- stay tuned for the next blog!

Electronics ONboard

Most of us have endured the sensible nagging of flight attendants and officials upon boarding planes. We're used to the drill; turn off your electronic devices before you watch the safety video and keep them off until it's announced that you've reached a safe height. There are those of us who are dying to turn up Michael Bublé to keep our blood pressure down and flying fears at bay, those of us who absolutely can't stop flipping the pages of Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn on our Kindles, and some of us who just want to beat that next level of Candy Crush. As rumor and news has it- the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) is looking at revising their policy of not allowing the use of electronics below 10,000 feet. As the way things stand now, your favorite devices must be powered down before you buckle-up. The reasoning has been for our own good- that our devices may cause interference with the airplane transmissions.  Countless passengers have experienced the reality of not following these rules and have gotten a harsh tongue-lashing for not following suit. Good news for you Alec Baldwin, the times are changing. Flyers and customers are now more attached to their electronic devices than ever before.  Until now, the severity of the chance of  personal devices interfering with a plane's technology has been reason enough to instantly turn off all electronics. For some like me, if these policy changes go through, my flying satisfaction will skyrocket- I will no longer have to furiously chat-up the stranger to my left to keep the mind distracted of my fear of flying.

It has been a debate in recent years whether this is a valid policy- some experts in the field believe it is rational, others think it needs overturning as "evidence is largely anecdotal". With reason, emailing and text messaging using WiFi while taking off or landing is not expected to change. The update would allow us to use our iPads, Kindle's, and apps already downloaded on our smartphones during the entire flight on airplane mode. We live in the age of technology- it is time that airlines match this.

This is why an advisory board is recommending the update in the ban of electronics below 10,000 feet. The New York Times reports that this advisory board has submitted their recommendations for this new policy to the FFA with hopes that new changes can be made as soon as next year. Technology and travel are finally starting to come to a meeting of the minds- just how it should be!

Do you think this policy should be over-turned? If so, how it would affect your travels?

Top Four Influencers of Travel and Technology on Twitter

Today is #traveltuesday. For those of you taking full advantage of this marvelous trending hashtag, you're in luck! Or, for those who will be or may be be beginning to dive into the research of planning a trip, this stll applies to you. When you are out exploring a new, exotic destination it can be cumbersome to sort through which travel recommendations to take to heart. It is overwhelming enough to search the hashtag #traveltuesday and see some results and see within seconds the top of the page displaying that it needs to refresh to show the 50+ new results. I have spent time combing through Twitter looking for who the leaders are of Travel and Technology to help you better figure out which Twitter accounts to be sure you start following when you're on the move. To rate these I looked at the content tweeted, whether or not the account was verified, the Klout score (an actual measure of influence on social media), and number of followers. Here are my findings:

1. Bringing in first place is @TravlandLeisure or Travel + Leisure. They have a Klout score of 89, and the highest percentage of Twitter influence as 43.2% of their Klout. They have 542,049 followers that they've engaged with their 11,819 tweets. In the past few months they've tweeted enticing travel and technology articles about recent news with the FAA easing restrictions on electronic devices, answering questions about whether airline prices fluctuates based on the amount of searching, new technology such as the idea of a solar train with capabilities of going up to 700 mph, as well as discuss top apps for scoring last-minute hotel deals.


2. A close second is @lonelyplanet or Lonely Planet. Their Klout score was a 95, with 38.3% of that being from twitter. @lonelyplanet has 1,264,592 follwers with 25,123 total tweets. I really liked their technology viewpoint in their article they tweeted about most wanted travel gadgets. I noticed that readers frequently re-tweet and actively respond. Actively captivating their audience made them a very close contender for first.


3. The next most influential twitter account is easily @TripAdvisor or TripAdvisor. They had a Klout score of 85, with 41.7% of that being from Twitter. They have 990,435 followers with only 9,241 tweets. Their mantra is "Helping travelers plan and have the perfect trip." This creates interaction in where they give out not very well known traveler tips, have interactive photo contests for travelling with pets, as well as do a very good job of linking to their website, app, and Facebook page.


4. Last, but certainly not least of the most influential Twitter accounts is @CNTraveler or Condé Nast Traveler. Their Klout was a 90 and of that 40.7% was from its Twitter interactions. They have 388,688 followers for their 8,461 tweets. Their recent tweets have been consistent with keeping the traveler up to date on the government shut down in addition to its impact to national park services. Their technology perspective on travel was appealing as they tweeted how the iPhone's iOS7 would make you better traveler. It also had very unique tweets such as "Would you stay in an ice hotel?" Definitely not something most of us consider on the regular. 

Insta-Vacation

The way we travel has changed. Drastically. Ten years ago a vacation or a road trip meant finding DVD’s for the van, bringing a plethora of games and books to entertain myself, and a ridiculous amount of travel maps sticking out of any and every available crevice.  We no longer need to print out directions, buy travel books, or cross our fingers on trying out a new hostel. The boom of Web2.0 and mobile technology has made the distant thought of going somewhere foreign instantly accessible with a swipe of a finger. It is has come too easy to “Insta-Vacation” and feel like you are exploring ancient ruins, snorkeling, or catching the Caribbean sunset with your family and friends on their vacations via their photos and videos on social media. We suddenly have an abundance of resort reviews, flight comparison sites, and pictures of us framing the Roman Colosseum.  

We can walk down Las Ramblas in Barcelona on Google Earth, utilize Camera360 to get every angle of our favorite sculpture so we never forget the details, and can check-in to our new locations to be interconnected to the world in seconds.

There is a lot out there to aid your travels whether you’re going to Europe, across the US, or even to a city an hour away. Not taking advantage of these apps can mean missing out on great deals, new restaurants, and hot locations that the locals try to keep secret. These apps can include helping you figure out a way through a detour, help you navigate a foreign city’s bus system, allow you to Facetime your pets when you’re homesick and thousands of miles away, and can tell you how to explain to your French waiter that you’re allergic to eggs.

Can we even imagine planning a trip without the use of technology? Personally, I would not have gotten so much out of my travels if I had not taken advantage of the applications available to me. I’m going to do my best to keep you in the know of the new, top rated apps to make your travels that much more rewarding. After all, we don’t want to end up ill-prepared and catch typhoid fever as so many of us virtually experienced playing Oregon Trail. J