Taking off Travel blog

When I first started traveling, we gave very little thought to the effect of travel on the places we visited. That has changed. Along with eco-friendly travel, people are talking about sustainable travel and responsible travel. But what exactly is it, and does it mean we can’t have fun any more? Not at all.

What Is Responsible Travel?

A simple way of looking at responsible travel is that we should be aware of the impact of our travel choices. The ResponsibleTravel.org site describes it this way:

With the opportunity to travel, however, comes a new responsibility to all travelers to ensure that their activities do not upset or destroy the very cultures and environments we choose to visit.

Lonely Planet has a great article on the topic which says it is ‘assessing our impact on the environment and local cultures and economies – and acting to make that impact as positive as possible.’ Read more »

There’s a lot more to planning a business trip or a holiday than simply booking travel, making airport parking reservations and finding accommodation. These days you can find out a lot about where you’re headed by visiting sites for countries, cities, destinations and attractions. The only trouble is that those sites are designed to sell you on the delights of the places you are visiting. To find out what actual travelers think, you need to browse the travel forums. Here are nine forums where you can start your research.

Try these forums to plan and discuss your next trip

BootsnAll Travel is all about independent travel, with stories and blogs to make destinations come to life. The forum is sorted by destination, with active discussions of travel issues on all the major continents and regions.

Business Traveller, the magazine for business travelers worldwide, has been around since 1976. Its forum deals with any subject related to travel, with the most popular topics being airlines, airports and frequent flyer programs.

Cruise Critic is the place to go if you are traveling by sea. With five million plus members, there’s a wealth of information on everything cruise related. The forum also includes discussions of individual cruise lines. Read more »

While browsing around travel sites I recently found a blog called the Gadget Traveler. I loved the concept, which site owner Brian explains further in this interview.

Why did you start the Gadget Traveler blog?

I like gadgets and I like travel and though there are many gadget related sites, there are not as many that focus on travel gadgets / gear. I created the Gadget Traveler so that I could share interesting travel related gadgets with others; it’s still evolving…

What do you consider a travel gadget?

This is something that makes traveling fun and or makes traveling easier. It can be something as simple as a uniquely designed luggage tag, that helps you locate your luggage faster or a camera that can upload your shots to a website using a wifi connection. Even in the current economic climate, I think there is a large market for gadgets and gear that help to make travel easier and more enjoyable.

What’s your favorite travel gadget and why?

A camera. Because even though memories are powerful, it’s nice to have a physical reminder of places I have visited. I make sure I have a camera with me at all times (even if it is just a cell phone camera), as the best photo opportunities usually happen when you least expect them to.

The Gadget Traveler

What’s on your travel gadget wishlist for this year?

I like to have access to the internet when traveling, so top of my list for this year is the Apple MacBook, because I would like to make the switch from PC to a Mac and the MacBooks are relatively easy to travel around with. Second on the list would be a DSLR camera. I miss using my old SLR camera and would like to make the step up from my current Canon SD790 ‘point and shoot’. One of the consumer models from Canon or Nikon would be nice. Read more »

Want to know where to park when taking a business trip? Here are our most popular airport parking locations at the moment. I’ve also included links to our posts on things to do near some of the major airports.

1. (MDW) Chicago Midway Airport Parking - Chicago Midway Airport is ten miles from downtown Chicago; you can get to central Chicago in less than 30 minutes. It has three concourses and serves more than 17 million travelers a year. There are hourly shuttles to O’Hare International. Layover In Chicago Midway Airport (MDW)
2. (IND) Indianapolis Airport Parking - Indianapolis International Airport is seven miles from Indianapolis, with plenty of options for getting to the city quickly. It serves around seven million passengers a year, taking them to more than 100 destinations. Ten Things To Know About The New Indy Airport
3. (ALB) Albany Airport Parking - Albany International Airport is located four miles from Albany and is the main hub for the Capital Region in eastern New York State. it serves three million passengers a year, with more than 200 flights per day.
4. (ORD) Chicago O’Hare Airport Parking - One of America’s busiest airports, serving 70 million passengers a year, O’Hare International is 20 miles northwest of downtown Chicago. There are excellent transport links to the city.
5. (JFK) John F. Kennedy Airport Parking - John F Kennedy Airport is the busiest airport in New York. Thirty million passengers travel through the airport each year. JFK is located 15 miles southeast of downtown Manhattan, with excellent transport links to the city. Layover In JFK – Things To Do

Read more »

Most of us travel with a mobile device and for many of us, that just might be an iPhone. After all, millions of them have been sold worldwide. One of the attractions of the iPhone is all the mobile applications you can use with it. There are hundreds of those available for travelers. Here they are:

The best travel apps for your Iphone

Check Flight Status

Flight Status – Check the status of thousands of flights around the world by flight number, route or airport. This is one of several applications using FlightStats data.

Find Places Near You

Yelp offers quick links to restaurants, bars, coffee shops and other places near you. Also consider Around Me and Where. When you’re on the road, you might also need to find a cheap gas station (Gasbag) or a bathroom (Sit or Squat). Read more »