Tag: Roadtrippers

12 Things I Learned At the Denver Travel & Adventure Show

Published on by Cheryl Lock1 Comment
Heading into downtown Denver for the show brought me right back to my days attending events as a junior editor at different magazines in New York. Ah, to be young again.

Happy Monday, friends! When I got an email the other day about the upcoming Denver Travel & Adventure Show, I knew I would be attending. I hadn’t been to an Expo like this in years, and I was looking forward to the excitement of being around hundreds of other people who share the same interests.

I skipped most of the booths (not my thing), but did take in three talks. They were:

With my trusty computer at my fingertips ( I really was reliving my older reporting days!), I gathered a couple of tips from each talk that I’ll share here. Hopefully they’ll help you when planning your next getaway.

  1. Some good roadtrip resources include: AAA (for all your basics, included printed maps … remember those!?); Roadside America (for odd tourist attractions along your route); Atlas Obscura (more hidden wonders to hit!); Historical Marker Project (if that’s your kind of thing); Roadtrippers (you’ll need a membership for this one, but it helps you plan our your entire trip); tollguru and tollsmart (to avoid ’em and plan for ’em); gasbuddy (cheap gas!)
  2. When it comes to travel insurance, never buy it without reading the fine print, and without checking what coverage you have with your credit card, first. Third party options — like travel insurance companies — often offer more full coverage options than what you would get from the airline or hotel itself. If you travel often enough, you might also consider researching a yearly option that you pay an annual fee for, but that covers you in any instance. For example, Greenberg mentioned being on the lookout for “medical evacuation and repatriation insurance.” It’s not fun to think about, but this covers you in the case that you get sick or injured overseas and need to be stabilized at the original location and then flown somewhere else. In that case, you’d be allowed to pick the hospital and doctor of your choice.
  3. If you’re planning on a day trip from one location to another (like when my sister and I took the train from Rome to Florence for a day, for example, or when we drove from Germany to France for a day on our recent European adventure), be sure that the place you’re visiting doesn’t charge a fee to enter for the day if you don’t have a hotel reservation to stay overnight. Apparently some places — like Venice — are doing this now in an attempt to cut back on over-tourism.
  4. Quite a few countries have signed on to the Working Holiday Visa program, which allows Americans to travel for up to a year, in some cases, and work while visiting a country. Age and other stipulations apply, so be sure to check with the specific country you’re interested in visiting.
  5. E-gates! These electronic gates are automated passport control systems that use biometric technology to authenticate traveler information. Find out if the country you’re visiting has these, because it can save you from standing in long lines in customs when you arrive.
  6. CLEAR also uses biometric data that allows you to get to the front of TSA or pre-check.
  7. Make sure you visit the specific websites for places that you’re visiting. This obviously helps with hours and closures and ticketing, but it’ll also provide a list of thing you can and can’t bring in. (No backpacks are allowed in Mets Stadium, for example, and the Vatican has limited tickets for 2024, and strict clothing policies.)
  8. Be sure to use a VPN to mask your online identity when using public Wi-Fi. I had my data stolen at YMCA of the Rockies and it was not fun.
  9. Some helpful travel apps include: Tripit (for help organizing); MyTSA (for all the TSA information you could possibly want); FlightAware (for up-to-date flight status); App in the Air (for help planning, booking and tracking travel); Mobile Passport Control (submit travel documentation ahead of time through the app to skip the line and reduce passport inspection time)
  10. Always check for sightseeing passes in the places you’re visiting. Ask your Airbnb owner (the owner of our Airbnb in Switzerland hooked us up with a BaselCard, which got us free local transportation and a discount at museums), the hotel concierge, or hire a guide. One of my favorite Peloton instructor’s swears by this travel company, which helps you plan trips based off recommendations of local guides. Airbnb has a similar option for suggestions locals.
  11. If you must check a bag, throw an Apple Air Tag in there so you’ll be able to track it in real time if it gets lost. (I also used Apple Air Tags to track my own children when were in Disney. They’re great for peace of mind in crowded places.)
  12. Eagle Creek luggage offers at “no matter what” luggage warranty. Just sayin’ ….

And that’s it, friends! I had fun boppin’ around at the Expo, so I’ll definitely be on the lookout for similar opportunities in the future. Until then … bis bald, friends!

Gizmos and Goodies: Travel Wiser This Year

Published on by Cheryl LockLeave a comment

Travel_Wise

Ah, travel. The thought of upcoming trips can always bring a smile to my face. Chris and I have dubbed this our U.S. travel year, since by the end of 2015 we will have added Ohio, Missouri, Kansas, Utah, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana and Louisiana to our list of been-there states. (This is, of course, in no small part due to our partial cross-country drive out to Denver at the beginning of the year.)

In addition to that, we’ll be traveling to Japan in February of 2016 for Chris to complete his sixth and final race in the 6 World Marathon Majors.

Travel is, obviously, an important thing for us. And while I love collecting travel books, and I tend to keep most maps, tickets and other paraphernalia that we collect while we’re actually on these trips, I’d be lying if I said that technology wasn’t a huge help these days when it comes to traveling. So in honor of all you Weary Wanderers out there, I thought I’d share some of my favorite tech gizmos and goodies that make the road less traveled just a little bit easier.

Here goes nothing.

GasBuddy
I’ve had this app for a while now, but since Chris and I just moved to a place where we needed a car at the beginning of this year, I haven’t had a ton of chances to use it yet. Still, I’m excited to use the app when we hit the road for our Wyoming/Montana trip in September. Just type in your zip code on the website or hit the ‘Find Gas Near Me’ button on the app and let the magic of GasBuddy do the legwork to find the cheapest gas wherever you are.

onTime and MyTix
While I probably won’t have a ton of use for these two apps anymore, when I was a New York City dweller, I basically lived by them to get home to visit family. The free onTime app from Metro North Rail provides real-time updates on train departures and arrivals, along with track information, for any route you plunk into its database, while New Jersey Transit’s MyTix allows you to actually purchase, activate and use tickets directly through your smartphone (finally!).

Foursquare
Cool or creepy: Sometimes when I’m just walking around Denver, I’ll hear a little ‘ding’ from deep down in my purse, and I’ll pull out my phone to find that Foursquare is recommending a restaurant (or even a specific dish!) near where I’m standing. Okay, so maybe that’s a little creepy, but you actually don’t have to allow the location access on Foursquare to use it when you’re out and about to search for awesome restaurants, bars and shops near where you are.

Roadtrippers
Ah, road trips — the staple of American travel, am I right? As I mentioned before, Chris and I only recently needed a car in our lives, but I’ll tell you right now that pretty much nothing about having a car excited me, except for grocery shopping and, of course, road trips! So of course I love the idea behind Roadtrippers and plan to use it a ton for upcoming trips. Plan out an amazing road trip by inputting your start location/end location and start date/end date, and asking the app/site to provide you with information regarding hotels, attraction, natural wonders and/or weird stuff. For example, when I use the app to set me up with a route from Denver to Glacier National Park, I’m told the trip will cost about $157 in gas, should take about 16 hours total and covers approximately 916 miles. Set your destinations, then click the little location icon off to the bottom left of your screen and select what you’d like to find (accommodations/attractions & culture/camping & rv/entertainment & nightlife/food & drink/outdoors & recreation/etc.), and the app will automatically pull up the best options on your drive. For example, on the way out to Glacier National Park Chris and I might stop at Bighorn National Forest, Teapot Rock, Yellowstone Art Museum or the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, among many others.

PackPoint Packing List Travel Companion
If packing for a big trip stresses you out because you fear you may forget something super important, that’s where PackPoint can help. Download the app and start by picking if you’re a gal or guy. Then input where you’re going and when, then the number of nights you’ll be staying and the type of trip you’ll be having (business or leisure) and activities you plan to do (swimming, snow sports, working, camping, gym, photography, international, beach and baby are just a few of your options, and you can customize activities if you upgrade to the $2 app version, as well). Hit ‘repeat basics’ or ‘laundry’ if you’ll be able to do that on your trip, and the app will generate a suggested packing list for you. You can check off items as you pack and swipe to remove stuff you don’t need. For example, on my trip to Glacier National Park — where I plan to hike, take photos and do lots of walking — my packing list includes things like camera bag, memory cards, battery and my camera, as well as maybe a handheld GPS, water bottle, bug spray and sunscreen. I find the obvious reminders (things like chapstick, pain reliever pills, wallet, house key and reading glasses to be particularly helpful because, let’s be honest, if I’m going to forget something, it won’t be my camera!)

If you’re a person who prefers checking things off on an actual, tangible list, rather than an electronic one (which sometimes I am), try printing this super cute one (in black & white or color) from a pair & a spare. (Her 5,4,3,2,1 packing guide might be helpful, too!)

Bis bald, friends — and happy travels!