How to Travel Around the World for $418. 9 Tips for Overcoming Jet Lag. Matrix - Search. How to Fly Without ID and Skip Lines. Lose the wallet to enter the fast lane? Strange but true. (Photo: Dam) In the world of orange alerts and terrorism, how do you fly without ID? Is it even possible? I learned last week that–not only is it possible–it’s faster. My wallet was stolen at ETech in San Diego 3 hours before my flight was scheduled to leave for Austin, TX. Panic set in, as I had to be on a panel the following afternoon, but I learned of a few work-arounds. Here’s what I did, first from the hotel: 1. 2. 3. At the airport: 1. 2. 3. The officer then called up my CA driver’s license number and put it on a temporary ID card that I could use to drive (and also get served alcohol when used in combination with an old student picture ID from Berlin).
I had the student ID in a second wallet where I put cards, memberships, etc. that I use infrequently, so I don’t clog up my ultra-slim wallet. 4. The End Result — Faster without ID! I cleared security in 5 minutes, where it took others AHEAD of me in line with ID 15-20 minutes. Vagabondish | Dubious tips & essential ephemera for today's curious traveler. Backpack Europe on Budget--Backpacking and travel info for budget travelers. Top US travel scams – Lonely Planet blog. Considering the vast numbers of travellers each year, it’s encouraging that so little bad happens to people on the road. But there are things to be wary of. In the USA too, where American families travel nearly five times a year, mostly in-country, and an additional 156 million foreign visitors come to visit.
Here are a few of the common scams that sometimes leave US travellers missing a chunk of change they hadn’t expected to spend. 1. If you’ve won a ‘free trip’ but it requires attending some sort of high-pressure orientation or tour, it’s not really a free trip, is it? 2. Most taxi drivers are honest and upfront about how much your fare will cost, but unfortunately you always need to keep an eye on the meter.
It’s a good idea to check out a suggested route from an airport to a hotel before you land, then follow the route you go with your smart phone’s map. 3. Package deals sound like a good idea, but they’re frequently not deals. Lastly, be wary of ‘award winning’ claims. 4. 5. 6. Hack My Trip - Sharing the tricks and tools of travel hacking. Google’s smart glasses: ‘Project Glass’ for travellers – Lonely Planet blog. For a few months the tech world has been buzzing about Google’s work on Terminator-style smart glasses.
Today, Google released a video (see below) showing their vision of the potential of such a product, which they’re currently calling ‘Project Glass’: taking photos, getting directions, checking the weather and making a phone call all while having your hands free to eat a bagelwich, high five your bro and awkwardly serenade your girlfriend with a ukelele. According to Google, Project Glass ‘helps you explore and share your world, putting you back in the moment’. While the application is novel here, augmented reality isn’t a new concept and the same criticisms still apply: while additional information can be useful, does artificially superimposing new layers on top of reality by its very nature distance you from reality?
When does augmented reality truly help, and when does it make you overly reliant on technology to think for you? Creative new ways to board an airplane – Lonely Planet blog. Airlines never stand still. Following recent months when airlines introduced fees for printing boarding passes and higher prices for sitting in window or aisle seats, airlines are getting creative with the way they board passengers. Thankfully, some recent experiments aren’t direct attempts to extract more money from passengers: while some airlines are simply trying to be more fair and efficient, KLM is toying with the idea of allowing passengers to use social media to select seatmates, and Air Baltic is experimenting with seating passengers based on mood. Why stop there? There are many other innovative ways airlines could consider boarding passengers: Carry-on size - The larger the bag, the later you get on. Inconsiderate morons that try to stuff bags the size of small sofas into tiny overhead bins will be forced to gate check their bags without holding up everyone behind them.
Altruistic seating - Reward behavior that keeps the plane full of passengers happy. [Photo by Robert S. Top 10 Strategies for Surviving Airports and Airplanes. Excellent tips, I have a couple others to add to it though. Dress Well: Seriously, this is a huge one. Want to avoid crap in the security checkpoints? Want to get treated a little better? Ever heard the saying "Dress for Success" well, it's true of airline travel too. Always wear a button down and have a jacket on. Jeans can work with the above two (I do it, depending on the shirt/jacket) if you don't dig slacks. If I'm traveling somewhere that is going to require me to wear a suit I'll wear one on the plane. Two reasons for that - one, suits aren't cheap, if my luggage gets lost at least I'm not out my most expensive outfit.
I have personally done experiments on this and regardless, you always get treated better through the whole process if you dress professional. Get Elite: This isn't as hard as it sounds, actually. What happens with Elite? Oh, and having Elite on your boarding pass helps with security hassles, too. Those are my tips, at least. The Best Travel Apps for Android.
Google's Free Airport Wi-Fi: Five Ways to Protect Yourself. Free Wi-Fi while you're waiting for your flight? Sounds like a great way to save money, and kudos to Google for offering it at many U.S. airports during the holidays. Unfortunately, Google's generosity may also lure identity thieves and nefarious hackers to the nation's terminals to prey on clueless travelers. Public hotspots, which by nature are open and unencrypted, are notoriously insecure. Information you transmit via laptop, smartphone, or gaming device may very well fall into the wrong hands. 1) Configure your Wi-Fi device to not automatically connect to an open network without your approval. 2) If there's a storage device or another PC on your home network, you may have sharing enabled on the laptop you've brought to the airport. 3) If you're conducting business or sharing sensitive information, it's best to use a virtual private network (VPN), which creates an encrypted, private link across a public network. 5) Should you pay bills and shop online at a hotspot?
How to Get Free Wi-Fi at Airports That Charge for Internet Connections. Wise Bread Picks If you're stuck at an airport that charges for Internet connections, here's a solution: Go to the gift shop and ask for a a free Wi-Fi pass. That's what happened to me last week. I was in LaGuardia Airport and my flight — surprise, surprise — was delayed. I decided to use that gift of time to check my e-mail and do a little bit of work. So I charged up the laptop and tried to go online. But while looking at the Boingo pay-now portal, I noticed that there was slot for a promotional code. Minutes later in the gift shop, I saw a stack of "15 minutes Free Wi-Fi" coupons from Boingo. Hmm. The promotional code did not work, but I called the tech support number and the Boingo customer rep offered me a complimentary code that would get me online while I was waiting for my flight.
That did the trick. Inquire about free Internet passes at the airport gift shops. The Definitive Guide to Finding Free Wi-Fi. Great article. A few caveats, though, that I've found in my personal experiences (of course, these ARE just my personal experiences, your mileage may vary). I've done a lot of air travel this summer, and I have been in a total of ONE airport that had free wi-fi. Everything else was pay-for-access. And the free one was slow as all hell. I couldn't even browse the internet comfortably. So airports aren't usually a great bet, at least in my experience. Al, as awesome as the iPhone tethering hack is, know that it breaks visual voicemail (though once you remove the hack, visual voicemail goes back to normal). Also, I've tried apps like WifiTrak on my iPod touch, and to be honest, it's never helped me at all.
Seat Map Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-300 (733) How to choose a travel backpack | Travel Backpacks. Choosing the right backpack for your trip is probably the single most important travel purchase that you will make before leaving home. Your backpack will be your companion, your house, and the most important piece of gear accompanying you around the world. There are many brands and styles out there, so apart from a few important considerations, the rest is up to your style of travel and preference. Style First, you will most definitely want an internal frame travel backpack. There will be no need to attach things to the external frame unless you are primarily camping and carry bulky items like a bedroll.
Internal frame packs keep everything self contained and are definitely the most popular style for travel. Next, you will have to decide on the size. To get an idea of what you may be carrying, take a look at my backpacking packing list! Size Durability The two critical features on any backpack that are most prone to tear up are the straps and zippers. Fit Here’s how to fit a backpack properly: How to Travel Around the World for $418. “I have to tell you sir, this is easily the most ridiculous itinerary I’ve ever put together,” said the American Airlines operator the other night as I finalized plans for a worldwide adventure that would make Marco Polo blush. “Welp, that makes two of us!” I replied. And just like that, I had committed myself to almost nine months of international travel.
Yes, that picture above is my actual itinerary. Beginning this January, I’ll start an epic journey that will take me across four continents, through at least nine countries, and into more than fifteen cities. Oh, and all of these flights are costing me a grand total of $418.36. Warning: I’m totally going to geek out on travel-hacking with this post, so if you have no interest in learning how to travel the world and visit awesome places for dirt cheap, check back in on Monday. This post is also quite lengthy at over 2500 words: grab some coffee, get comfortable, and let me show you how deep the rabbit hole of travel hacking goes.
-Steve. Make the Best of Your Travel Plans This Weekend. Some other details that make travel better: Dress comfortably and in layers. Give yourself plenty of extra time if you're flying or taking a train. If you don't have a smart phone or might not have access to the internet, jot down the key information/times and phone numbers. Don't overpack. It's so nice to have just one light carry-on. Plan ahead to make the trip enjoyable and make the most of your time. Charge all your gadgets. Particularly when flying, all of that can help with the inevitable delays this time of year. Oh, and if you have a super long bus or train ride (I did one that was 10 hours...yuck), I usually get as little sleep as possible the night before, and as soon as a I get on the train, take a sleep aid/nyquil/benadril. Top 10 Strategies for Surviving Airports and Airplanes.
Survive Airport Hell, Find Cheaper Tickets, and Stream Video from Your Home to Your Smartphone. How to Make the Most of Airplane Wi-Fi and Never Pay Full Price Again. The Ultimate Travel Hacking Guide. Travel hackers are the people constantly chasing miles, rewards points, and elite status. They are looking for every possible way to game the system for as much free travel as they can. Most travel hacking is about using miles and rewards to get free flights or hotels. However, for me, travel hacking is an idea. It’s a philosophy that says “I am going to bring costs as close to zero as possible.” Since only the die-hards (like myself) really want to spend hours and hours putting together mileage routes that might get them 100 extra miles or read the fine print to find a loophole they can exploit, I’ve put together this guide for the casual traveler who still wants to travel cheap.
Below are a number of little tips that can drastically reduce the prices of all aspects of your trip: How to Hack to A Flight Since flights are usually the most expensive part of any trip, I thought I’d deal with this subject first. Let’s look at an example. Step 1: Use a site like Kayak as your baseline. ITA's Advanced Routing Language. How to Attain Hotel Elite Status. The Ultimate Travel Hacking Guide.