Let's not lose it, shall we?

As Holiday travel is right around the corner I wanted to impart a few helpful tips on how to avoid the extreme headache of lost luggage. Thankfully I have only experienced this burden once in my many travels, but it was such an ordeal that I've since taken precautions to never deal with it again. So here are my suggestions:

Bold Bags: Black is not your friend. A majority of luggage is designed in black- sorry, I have no idea why. Don't be afraid to let your bag express your personality. This will help others from picking up at claims by mistake. It's also very useful if the airline does misplaces it. You'd be surprised what the airlines will notices and I've seen more than a few guests get a lucky break this way.

Ship It: Services like Luggage Forward or Luggage Free allow for a worry-free travel experience at the airport. You can send your bags straight to your Hotel, Cruise Ship, or even Golf Course. It can be pricey if overnighting- around $150 for a 50lbs bag- but it's not really that much more than the airlines and it's a LOT less than UPS.

Spy on Your Stuff: Just like you're smartphone, you can have GPS coordinates on your bags at all time with the Trakdot. The small box will send location updates through SMS, email or through the Trakdot app and website.

Good Luck to all you traveling this Holiday Season. Hopefully your Holidays are bright!
Safe Travels,
~Greet

Learning made EASY!

Ever since my friend's wedding in Italy I've been impressed with how much German I've retained over the years. Especially when you consider I never use it and only hear it when listening to the 20-some songs I have on my computer. Then my friend Holly was talking about how she's forgetting all her French and she use to be completely fluent, so she downloaded an app, a FREE app!
I was skeptical, just kinda nodding along in agreement when she would mention it. Then I see her using it in the break room at work the other day. It's soooooo perfect! She is learning all three realms: Reading, Writing, Pronunciation. Plus it works like a app game, which in this generation is the perfect solution to "homework". I downloaded it and played through 2 sets of the Basics. It was such a nice review. Each leason focuses on 5 to 8 works and proper usage.
So here it is: Duolingo
Duolingo offers extensive language learning lessons and tools with a gamified skill tree which users can progress through, and a vocabulary section where learned words can be practiced. Users gain “skill points” as they learn a language, such as when they complete a lesson. Skills are considered “learned” when users complete all the lessons associated with the skill. Up to 14 points are awarded per lesson, with one deducted for each mistake. Users start with four “lives” on early lessons, and three on later lessons, a “life” being lost with each mistake. A user must retry the lesson if they make a mistake after all lives have been lost. Duolingo also includes a timed practice feature, where users are given 30 seconds and twenty questions and awarded a skill point and seven or ten additional seconds for each correct answer.
If you've ever wanted to learn a new language, this is the ticket!

Update on helpful Travel Apps.

So a few months back I posted a list of travel apps and I recently stumbled upon this new list. There is some overlap, but I wanted to post an update so check it out:

50 posts and still going!

Greeting readers.
I hope this post finds you warm and safe. To all the people effected by the blizzards in the North East, I hope that you are being smart and staying in your homes. It's been a rough year for them and my heart goes out to them!
I wanted this, my fiftieth, to be a "good news" sort of post; so here it goes "Good News, Everyone!"
Despite all the bad publicity, air travel safety has never been higher. Today is the 4 year anniversary of the last fatal aviator crash! And it's been more than a decade since the last accident involving a big domestic carrier.Globally, air travel has also been remarkably safe. "Overall, it was the certainly the safest year ever," Paul Hayes, director of safety at Ascend, told the Wall Street Journal. Last year "was almost twice as safe as 2011, which itself had previously" attained the distinction of being twice as safe as the year before, Hayes said. The safer skies for travelers can be attributed to more reliable planes, better navigation technology and improved sharing of flight information and hazards among regulators and airlines, and YOU. 
Travelers are wiser than ever!  We've finally stop fighting all the security measures and embraced the fact that you can take no more than 4 oz of shampoo in your carry-on case. Of course, that being said I just dealt with a guest at my front desk the other day whose bags were delayed and she had placed her medications in her checked luggage... DON'T DO THAT! So it's still not 100%, but we are getting so much better.
So OFFICIALLY, I would like to thank you, fellow travelers. You are helping keep the skies safer!
Happy Travels,
~Greet

The 24 hour Rule

Most travelers don't know but when you purchase a plane ticket, you usually have 24hrs to change your mind and receive a full refund. That grace period was originally established by the Airlines Reporting Corporation, which handles ticketing services  behind the scene for more than 130 airlines. It was adopted long ago to give customers a chance to address any second thoughts or for a travel agency to review and correct any issues.
Most  airlines and travel agencies still offer customers 24 hours to cancel and get a full refund. Companies don't go out of their way to inform you of this, which is why I'm here! If you get your ticket receipt via email, read the fine print- you'll most likely have to call for any chances.
Just keep in mind, that if making changes you can only book currently available fares!

5 Black Friday Deals that a Vagabond can't pass up!

As the turkey settles and the football lulls the men of my family to sleep, it is then that the ladies of my family seem to magically produce mountains of ads for the all-day shop-a-thon that will be taking place tomorrow. Now I'm not much of a shopper and I hate crowds almost as much as the Eiffel Tower... man, I hate that tower! Who decided that the stupid thing was to become the symbol of travel and culture?! Not me!...
Ok, hatred aside, there are still a few great deals that send me out into the madness. Deals that a true traveler just can't pass up! Have a look

1. Polaroid 8-in Tablet, Kohl's- Price: $119, $89.99 after mail-in rebate.
         This beautiful piece on machinery is all you'll need on a long, 2 month backpacking trip. Forget that big laptop with it's huge charger. Runs off the same charger as most androids and blackberries. I, personal, don't use MAC products so this is a good as any iPad.

2. Bushnell Bear Grylls Edition Back Track D-Tour Personal GPS Tracking Device, Amazon- Price: $116.37, $91.37 after rebate.

          This device is the coolest hiking tool I've ever seen! It can:

• Stores and locates up to 10 locations and logs up to 48 hours of trip data
• Tracks Time, Temperature (Fahrenheit or Celsius), Altitude, Distance, Latitude and Longitude coordinates
• Breadcrumbs Feature - records your exact route and creates a map based on the path you took
• Upload to social media, email, or save to your computer, runs on Windows (XP SP1 or later) and MAC (10.4.9 or later)

3.  Buy 2, Get 2 Free- All Paperback Books, Hastings.

           Get 4 new travel guides for some unbeatable deals!!!

 

4. 3 Piece Spinner Luggage Sets, Assorted colors, Gordmans- Price: $39.99, save $180!

           I have always bought my luggage from here. They have an amazing selection and it wears nicely. Plus the size and wheel style are perfect for a traveler. When my best friend celebrated his 27th birthday I got him a piece. They make great gifts for your thrill seeking friends too. Maybe your wanting to surprise your significant other with the trip of their dreams? What better way then a travel guide in the front pouch of one of these?!

           *Ladies, also note that Gordmans has a great deal on flats. They carry RocketDog brand shoes and it is one of the most comfortable travel shoes you will come across!

5. Beats By Dr. Dre Solo HD On-Ear Headphones w/ControlTalk (Assorted Colors), Walmart- Price: $180.
           The perfect set the headphones are very important to today's traveler. Some times it feels as though I'm the only person in the world who doesn't own a set of these yet. They're very internationally known.

Back in October this article was published : 9 Travel Apps Every Traveler Should Use

1. Travel App Box: It is made up of a collection of 15 tools which includes a tip calculator, country calling codes, offline maps, flight status and more.
2. Tripit: The app organizes all of your travel details in one place. I love it! Use it all the time now.
3. Around Me: Lists your options while telling you how far it is along with directions to get there.
4. Weather Channel App: Self explanitory
5. Camera+: MAC only- This app enhances the zoom, timer and stabilizer of your photos among other functions on your iPhone or iPad.
6. Evernote: Take pictures of receipts and other paperwork as well as taking notes on the go.
7. Wikitude Location Guide: It draws in helpful information about your surroundings and displays annotations of nearby points of interest.
8. FlightAware: You can check on flight status, gate information and changes, delays and cancellations.
9. Google Translate: Save yourself the time of learning the language and spare yourself some embarrassment!

~ Greet