The last thing a traveler wants to do is forget to renew his or her passport. Passport expediter, Its Easy will can help prevent that by sending you a reminder. Just sign-up for free on their website with your expiration date and they’ll e-mail you nine months in advance giving you plenty of time for renewal. They’ll also send you links to relevant applications and forms you might need and, as an expediter, they can help you get your passport quickly should you find yourself in an emergency.
I love sending postcards, but how cool would it be if you could send one using your own travel pictures? HazelMail.com lets you do just that. Just upload a JPEG or PNG file sized less than 3MB to the site, type out your message, address it and send it off. HazelMail will stamp and mail it for you to anywhere in the world for only $1.50!
A lot of people love the internet phone system Skype because it allows you to make free long distance calls. Myngle, uses the technology to match up language students and teachers from around the world. The site offers over 2,000 live classes in just about every language you can think of. Just pick a teacher and set up a lesson time when you’ll call the instructor and log in to the website for your class. Prices vary, but are generally around $10/half hour. If you’ve ever taken a language class, you know this is a bargain. Check out their demo video above!
Travel site GeckoGo will help you plan the perfect trip. Just tell them what you like to do and when you want to travel and they’ll compile a list of the best destinations for your choices. I think it’s a great way to get started with vacation plans, especially if you have no idea where you want to go!
Back in January, I had visited 11% of the countries in the world. This year, I added one percentage point bringing my current total to 12%. While many of my trips were to areas I had previously traveled to, I did visit two new countries and one new state in 2008.
What was 2008 like for you? Did you add new countries and/or states to your Travbuddy map? What is your current total? If you want to share your map with me, you can post it in the comments section.
Have you ever wanted to plan a vacation but just didn’t know where to go?
Tripbase.com can help you find the best trip to fit your needs. With their “Destination Finder” you simply enter your dates and budget and select activities that are important to you. You can also specify what type of weather you prefer, if you are looking to visit during low or high season and what parts of the world you are interested in. Tripbase compiles a list of destinations based on your preferences.
Google Maps can now help you plan trips using public transportation or walking in many metro areas worldwide. You can get step by step directions as well as station schedules and information.
Zagat, a company best known for collecting restaurant ratings and publishing them annually is now rating both domestic and international airlines. You can vote on the airlines you’ve flown in the past year until October 19th and be entered for a chance to win a $300 Visa giftcard. Final results will be published on Zagat.com.
Travel isn’t just about relaxing and vacationing. It’s also about learning, sharing and responsibility. Will and I always seek out charitable causes when we travel so we can give back to the places that give so much to us. That’s why I was thrilled to learn that Tripadvisor is planning to donate $1 million between five charities meant to promote environmental conservation and provide support to people who are less fortunate around the world. The charities are: The Nature Conservancy, Doctors Without Borders, Conservation International, The National Geographic Society and Save the Children. Tripadvisor members can log on the site to vote for their favorite between now and November 9th. The donation will be divided according to the percentage of votes received with each charity getting a minimum of $50,000.
The fall is quickly approaching and it’s the perfect time to start planning a road trip to New England to see the beautiful foliage. Yankee Foliage is the ultimate resource for leaf watchers with an interactive map showing peak color times by date and a list of the most scenic drives in the area. There are also daily reports from site members on leaf changes in their hometowns and a blog offering advice on how to get the most out of your fall foliage vacation.
