My dad is an avid backpacker. No, not the hippy traveling Europe type, he has hiked over 1,800 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail type. He is going to be hitting the trails this summer and was hoping to do some journaling from the trail. We were discussing some different options for devices and services he could use so I thought I would post my suggestions here as well. What are your thoughts? Please comment below if you have any suggestions. Thanks!

Here is a video I found from the France tourism website. This one is on the Alsace, Burgundy, and Champagne regions.

Here is the first full article in my new travel planning series. As I mentioned in the last post, I thought what better way to introduce people to our travel planning process, than to allow you to follow along, step-by-step, as I plan our next big trip. I hope you enjoy this series and would love to hear any opinions or recommendations you have along the way.

The first step in the process is to learn. Learning about you and your travel partner’s current travel desires and how they align is an important first step.

Next, learn about what destination make the most sense to travel to right now. I consider two things when making this decision. Which destination makes the most sense given the time I have to travel? Second, which location makes the most sense give the amount of money I have?

Unfortunately for many of us, both time and money are finite. I have found that I have the best time on a trip when I have considered these two factors and have maximized each.

It has been two years since my wife Becky and I took our last major trip. Next year, 2010, will be our ten-year wedding anniversary. We have always thought we would go to Africa on safari for our tenth anniversary, but given the current world and local economy, as well as all of our other commitments, we figured that a less expensive destination would be the wiser choice at this time.

Following our own advice, we ran through our list of places to travel to next, and France quickly came to the top. France is on the short list for a number of different reasons, not least of which is that Becky has been to Paris and I have not. Most importantly though, France also fit the previous criteria we mentioned.

It fit the amount of time we had to spend on a trip, two weeks, and is more budget friendly than a safari to Africa. The next step is to develop an outline of our trip. I will cover this in the next post.

Until then, what are your thoughts? Where are you going or where would you like to go in 2010? Post you thoughts by responding to this post in the comments section below. Thanks, and for now, travel smart.

Learn, Plan, GO!

I will be starting a new travel planning article series this month. I will be walking you though the process I really use when planning our travel. My wife Becky and I have another big trip in the late spring of 2010. Over the course of the next few months, I will be posting articles in which you can follow me through the steps I take when planning a trip. This is your opportunity to see the “Learn, Plan, GO!” methodology in action.

The first step in the process is to “Learn” a few different things. Learn where you would like to travel next. Learn where your travel partner would like to travel next. Finally, learn where is make the most sense to travel right now.

In the weeks and posts to follow, we will explore all three aspects of our travel planning process, “Learn, Plan, GO!” For now, thanks for reading, and as always, travel smart!

5.    The GPS

I have had a hand held GPS for a number of years and I cannot honestly say that I would consider it an essential travel tool. However, I now consider a GPS when traveling by car to be an indispensable item. I love to travel by car. It is relaxing to get out on the wide open roads of the western US and just take a drive. What does not relax me is when I get off the interstate and have to find my way to the hotel or restaurant in an unfamiliar town. All the relaxation of the last couple of hours goes right out the window as I realize I have no clue whether to go left or right at the bottom of the off-ramp. Now that I have a GPS in the car, my bliss can continue all the way, until I take the key out of the ignition. In this final installment of this series, I will cover a few of my experiences with GPS systems.

I am one of those people who love to know exactly where they are at on this planet. For this reason alone, a GPS would be a good investment for me. Even if you are not obsessed by your precise location, a GPS in your vehicle allows you to answer the most dreaded questions of traveling with kids… Are we there yet and how much further? No longer do I have to make anything up (although I still do just for fun), I just look at the display and read what it says. Seriously, I do find comfort in seeing I am making progress towards my destination and that I can measure that progress.

We own a Honda Pilot with a built-in navigation system and I have a portable Garmin Nuvi for our Ford Ranger. For the most part, they both work in the same way. You can define your destination in a number of different ways, by entering the address directly in or by using the variety of search methods for finding your desired destination. The screen on the built in system is larger that the Garmin Nuvi, but I find the Nuvi display to be acceptable. One advantage of the Nuvi is that system and program updates are as easy as plugging the system into my PC. To update the Honda system you are required to buy an update DVD each year. We have owned the Honda for a couple of years now and we have found a couple of times there have been new roads that the system was not aware of.

The next feature I have found useful is finding conveniences along the route. Forgot some travel essentials and need to find the nearest Target, just type it into the search and you are on your way. Another great feature on GPS systems are turn-by-turn directions and voice navigation. Not all portable GPS devices have this feature and I would recommend that if you buy a portable unit you buy one with this feature. I have found the ability for the GPS to recognize your voice is not a super useful feature. The technology is not quite there yet and I have found myself more focused on trying to get it to understand what I am saying than staying in my lane, which is kind of the whole point.

One advantage of a traditional road map or atlas is the ability to see a level of detail of a whole state or region at one glance. A 3.5 or even 7 inch screen can only hold so much information at one time so I still always carry a road atlas with me in the car. However, as technology advances I believe GPS units will become more a standard feature. The ability to see real-time traffic and weather are already here and who knows what the next year or even six months will bring.

In summary, I hope you have enjoyed this series. I would like to invite you to post a comment to this article below. Let us know what your favorite tech tools for travel are. Thanks for reading and remember to travel smart!

4.    The Laptop

In this installment of the “Five Tech Tools for Travel”, I will discuss why the laptop may, or may not, be the essential travel tool for you. This probably is the most controversial item on our list. Many people work for months just to escape from being chained to their computer at work. Why would you want to lug that ball and chain with you on your travels. Quite honestly, you may not. I would like to explore a few reasons why you would want have your trusty laptop along with you on your next journey.

The first concern I have heard from others, and one I have myself about bringing a laptop along, is size and weight. I am a true believer in packing light and most laptops do not fit that category. Enter the netbook.

These smaller than your average laptop fit the ability to connect to the web and decent sized hard drives with the ability to run Windows XP in a travel sized package. With the ever growing availability of Wi-Fi connections and/or the ability of tethering your computer to your phone or access card to access the web through cellular networks, access to the internet can be found even in remote locations.

For simple day-to-day computer tasks like surfing the web, answering email, and basic productivity tasks, these eight to ten inch screen wonders may meet most of your computing needs while on the road. I looked into a couple of models on the web and found these mini-PCs come with Windows or Linux based operating systems. The Windows based systems came with Microsoft Works for basic productivity tasks like word processing and spread sheets. The Linux systems come with OpenOffice and Thunderbird for productivity and email programs. Another good option, if you have an internet connection, could be to use the Google applications for word processing and email.

Full disclosure here though, I do not own a netbook, nor have I taken one on the road. I have however taken both a 15 inch PC and/or a 13 inch MacBook on numerous vacations. Honestly, I feel that the PC was a bit too large and heavy with the battery. The MacBook was able to fit into my camera bag so I did to have to carry it separately on the plane (I recommend NEVER to place your laptop in your checked luggage). The advantage on having my Mac with me was having access to all of my files and applications while traveling. Additionally, it allowed me to backup the photos I took throughout the day.

The second major concern some people have is security or what to do with the laptop while you are out. I have done quite a bit of domestic traveling for work and have had no issues leaving my laptop in the room while I am out. I know I have been lucky to a certain extent, but it has been fine so far. When traveling outside of the country, I am more inclined to use the safe. If staying in a hostel, I would strongly recommend against leaving any personal items of value lying around. Check with the front desk to see if they have a secure location. A final option is to carry it with you. This is a less than desirable option. One, you could drop your bag and smash it. Two, you could have your bag swiped, and now you are out of luck. Finally, weight and size may be an issue. I have found site seeing more enjoyable when I have brought along the essentials I need for that day and a laptop rarely ranks on the list of necessity for a day about a charming village or a scenic trail.

The third item when deciding to bring a laptop along or not is what will be its intended use. Do I plan to take many photographs and need some where to back up the pictures or post them to the web? Will I be writing a few travel articles and would I prefer to use pen and paper? Will my other communication devices, see the post on mobile phones, not provide the functionality that I will need to post content to the web or send to someone?

On our trip to New Zealand, I thought long and hard about bringing our MacBook along. I was hoping to be able to write a few travel articles, upload some pictures, and communicate by email or use a VoIP service and so it made sense in certain aspects to bring it along. When I looked at the types of activities we would be doing (outdoor activities), our methods of travel from place to place (over a week spent in a kayak or backpacking), and the high probability that it would be lost or at the very least damaged, I decided to leave it at home. I made the right decision. The lesson I learned here was that sometimes it makes sense to have the laptop along, car travel or when you have modern accommodations, for example. Most other times though it pays to consider the type of activities, your planned accommodations, and your mode of travel when deciding to bring your laptop along with you.

What have your experiences been with traveling with a laptop? Have you ever been on a trip and regretted not having it with you or for that matter, having it with you? Join the conversation by posting a reply to this post using the comments field below.

Here is number 3 in our top tech tools for travel – the Mobile Phone

3.    The Mobile Phone

I was watching a movie the other night. The main character was driving down a highway and desperately needed to get in contact with his wife. So he pulls off of the highway and begins driving up and down side streets looking for a pay phone. Meanwhile I am screaming at the TV, ” where is your cell phone?” When he finally finds a pay phone there are about five other people standing in line. Then it dawned on me. The movie was made and set in the mid 1970s.

Unlike today, when my six year old recently asked when she could have a cell phone, the idea of carrying a phone in your pocket was crazy talk. By the way, my daughter does not, and will not, have a cell phone until she is at least six and a half.  Unlike our hero from the movie, we travelers do not need to be more than a cell tower reach away from being in contact from the ones we love.

Now, I admit, there are some vacations when the last thing I need is a way for some people, especially work people, to be able to get a hold of me. There are times, however when I am “traveling”, as opposed to “vacation” where a phone can be an indispensable travel tool. With countless makes and models of mobile phones out there, it would be pointless for this article to provide a detailed review of the different styles. Instead, I will cover some of the key features, and benefits, of a mobile phone that I have found useful in our travels within the USA and globally.

The first critical feature is where will your phone work.  If you are in the states and are traveling outside the US, you will want to ensure that your phone will work outside the country. What you should look for is that your phone is “quad” band or is capable of working on all four of the major standards around the world. The good news is that most all recent phones come with this capability. If you have an older phone, you may just want to consider an upgrade or renting a phone for your journey. We did this for our recent trip to New Zealand and it worked out just fine. More on that later.

The next feature we recommend is the sturdiness of the phone. Chances are that you will be subjecting your phone to beyond the normal wear and tear, so take this into consideration as you are selecting to buy or rent a phone. We have found that the standard “candy-bar” style phones are more durable and slip into your pocket better than a “flip” or a PDA style.

A quick note on PDA or “smart” phones. If you can find one with the ability to connect to the internet via wifi, you could save a bundle on overseas calls by using a VoIP service like Skype or Google Talk. If you and the person you are trying to call have either of these programs installed on your phone or computer, you can speak over the internet free of charge. I have tested out a couple of different of applications for this on the iPhone and they seem to work quite well. While we are on the topic of social media, if you are big into texting, make sure you take note of how much your addiction will cost you while you are traveling. Some of the rates can be outrageous or the service is not available with your phone or plan.

The final aspect of this topic we would like to cover is to rent, buy, or use your own cell phone. Here are the pros and cons of each as we see them. First, if you chose to use your own, make sure you fully understand the charges and fees when you are outside of your established calling area or country. Many carriers require you subscribe to an additional plan if you are going to be using your phone outside the country and then will charge you a pretty-penny for your calls while you are there. If you own an iPhone and plan on using it outside the country, make sure you turn off the data plan prior to leaving your country, or you could end up with a huge bill when you return. The automatic updating is great when you are home with your unlimited data plan, but overseas you will be charged for roaming data every time your phone checks for email. Click here for directions from the AT&T website.

If you choose to buy a phone when you arrive at your international destination, you could be in for a good deal. Most towns of any size will have a couple of mobile phone shops you can pop into and pick up a phone and prepaid minutes at a reasonable fee, like $75. You will have a local number too, which will be nice if someone in country needs to call you. A downside could be the phone may only work in the country you are currently in and you will need to get a new SIM card and number when you move on to the next country.

Renting is a similar deal, except you can choose to get your phone prior to your trip and activate it when you arrive at your destination. Many times you can get a SIM card and number which will work in adjoining countries. We rented a phone on our trip to New Zealand in 2007. It worked out great. One additional bonus for us was that incoming international calls were free so when we wanted to check in with the family back home, they could call us a lower rate.

A few years ago having a mobile phone may have seemed to be a luxury, but these days we find it to be an almost invaluable item. So identify the features you will you use most and go with that model and plan.

What are your thoughts and experiences with traveling with and without a mobile phone? Add a comment below! Thanks and stay tuned for the next installment.

Here is number 2 in our top tech tools for travel – the iPod

2. The iPod

My children will never know music in a “physical” format, tape, CD, or LP. In fact, I find it hard to remember what life was like before I could carry thousands of songs in my pocket. Wherever you are now, around town or around the world, you can have your music, movies, books, and more with you. While I know that there are other brands of portable music players out there, no one in my opinion has yet to top Apple in both form and function. Durability for the traveler is also a prime consideration and my 20 gigabyte 2nd generation white iPod is still pumping out the tunes. Size does matter as well. The Nano is obviously the smallest at about 3.6 inched long, 1.5 inches wide, and 0.24 inches thick. The Classic is the beafiest at 4.1 inches long, 2.4 inches wide and 0.41 inches thick. The Nano weighs in at 1.3 ounces and the Classic drops in at 4.9 ounces.

So enough of touting the virtues of the iPod, let’s get on with the advantages, disadvantages, and use of a portable media player while you are tramping around the world. First, let’s explore the advantages. The current generation of iPods are a family of four, the Shuffle, the Nano, the Classic, and the Touch. The Shuffle lacks a display and comes with minimal (do not tell my Commodore 64 that) storage so we will not cover it. The table below gives you a comparison of the models I find acceptable for travel.

The one that is right for you will depend on what features you will use the most. First and foremost I use the iPod as a portable media player, specifically for music and video. For this use, any of the models will work. Obviously if you want or “need” to carry your entire music catalog with you the Classic, with its 120 gigabytes of storage, will meet the needs of all but the biggest music fanatic. The addition of video support also could mean that you desire larger storage capacity. Here again the 120GB Classic would allow you to carry, according to Apple, up to 150 hours of video. That is about 70 full length feature films! That should get you through even a very bad flight delay.

If you are a more seasoned traveler and prefer a larger screen for viewing your videos, the 3.5 inch screen of the Touch makes a big difference. Viewing a movie on a 2.5 inch screen is fine for an hour or so, but movie viewing on the Touch is much easier on the eyes for longer viewing, not to mention the higher resolution. A quick note on headphones. The Apple provided headphones are fine around town or in the airport, but I highly recommend a pair of noise canceling headphones while you are on the plane. You can pick up a decent pair for around $50 or go all out on the Bose at $300.

These models can do more than provide you relief from the screaming kid two seats behind you. All models can be set to act as a portable hard drive carrying many different file types. I know quite a few travelers that store copies of important travel documents on their iPods. The iPod touch with its support of Apple and third party applications can be almost anything you need it to be, especially if you are in range of a wifi connection. I will discuss travel applications of the iPhone and iPod Touch in another post, but if you are not familiar with the over 15,000 apps, head on over to the app store on iTunes and look around. You will be amazed, if not at least amused. Also, one word…. maps.

Your iPod can even act as your own personal tour guide. This has to be one of the coolest uses for travelers. Travel gurus such as Rick Steves have recorded city and museum tours. Just download the podcast file, walk to the starting location, and press play for your personal step-by-step tour of the Left Bank or the Louvre in Paris and many other locations.

I took a 80GB iPod Classic on our three week trip to New Zealand and it met all of my needs. Although if I were to recommend one iPod to take on your next journey, it would have to be the iPod Touch. With the touch feature set, third party applications, large screen, and wide screen, it is close to a jack of all trades and is even a master of some. What are your thoughts? What have your experiences been with traveling with a portable media device? Let us know you thoughts by posting a reply in the comments section below.

iPod touch, 32GB

Free Shipping, Free Engraving on All iPods. iPod touch, 32GB. Five new hands-on applications. View rich HTML email with photos as well as PDF, Word, and Excel attachments. Get maps, directions, and real-time traffic information. Take notes and read stock and weather reports. Touch your music, movies, and more. The revolutionary Multi-Touch technology built into the gorgeous 3.5-inch display lets you pinch, zoom, scroll, and flick with your fingers. Internet in your pocket with the Safari web browser, see websites the way they were designed to be seen and zoom in and out with a tap. And add Web Clips to your Home screen for quick access to favorite sites.

Recently I was reflecting on a road trip that my wife and I took through the Southwest a couple years after college. When I started to think more about that trip, I could not recall what camera we used. I think we used my wife’s point and shoot, brace yourself, film camera. See kids, back in the day, people had to carry rolls of film with them when they went on vacation. All joking aside, I think that camera was the most advance piece of technology we took with us on that 3500 mile journey.  How we made it back to Santa Barbara, I will never know.

There are currently five tech tools that I am not without on most trips. I figured I would provide my thoughts and insights as to the usefulness (read necessity) and the disadvantages (really there aren’t any) of each. So here they are, read ‘em and cheer!

1. The digital camera
2. The iPod
3. The mobile phone
4. The laptop
5. The GPS

Over the course of the next few weeks I will be posting an article on each of these five tech tools for travel. Make sure you register for the site or subscribe through RSS or email to make sure you are notified when each part is published.

The Digital Camera:
With no less than five digital cameras in our home now, I think we are prepared for any number of Kodak moments. Why so many? Two reasons. One, the rate of technology changes can drive anyone insane or at least empty you checking account. Second, based on your travel and photography need, you may find different devices are more suited to one situation over another.

Our first digital camera, a Fuji, was bought just before a trip to London. I was so excited, we could take over a hundred pictures on my huge 128MB memory card. Don’t laugh, that was a decent size card in 2002. While just a simple point and shoot, it did the job just fine. Enough reminiscing though, what do I carry today and what would I recommend for most travelers? Keep on reading.

Different travel situations can call for different camera needs. For example, if you are going on safari to Africa, my Fuji point and shoot 1.3 mega pixel, probably would not be my camera of choice. For an adventure where you will need to stop motion, zoom, and take wide angle shots, I would highly recommend a digital SLR camera. The SLR will allow you to change lenses based on your current photographic need. There are tens if not hundreds of books written on digital SLR so I will not go into any further detail here. I currently use a Canon Rebel XT with multiple image stabilizing lenses for these travel situations.
The most current model of the Rebel is the Rebel XSi. It is a 12.2 megapixel. Among the many improvements over my model is the 3.0-inch LCD monitor and the CMOS sensor and DIGIC III processor which can optimize pictures for highlight-shadow control.

For our point and shoot needs my wife uses a Canon SD870 IS. This is a very capable 8 mega pixel point and shoot digital camera. It has multiple scene modes, a high quality movie mode (we do not even use our digital video camera any more), and a 3 inch screen to preview and review our pictures. A useful feature has been the face detection. A common issue with portrait photography can be ensuring you have your subject in focus. Most PowerShot models now come with face detection. This feature can detect faces in the frame and ensure they are in focus when you snap the picture.

The PowerShot SD990 IS, the newest model in SD line up boasts a 14.7-megapixel sensor and improved face detection. Since technology is advancing at such a rapid rate, you can almost get everything you need all in one camera.

So what are the most important features to look for in a digital camera for your next travel adventure? If you are going to take one camera, I would recommend you stick with a smaller, point and shoot camera over a SLR camera. A key aspect of the point and shoot cameras are their size. A couple of key advantages over SLR cameras is that many are lightweight and they are small enough to fit into your pocket. In addition to size and weight, there are three features that stand out to me, focal length, a wide variety of shooting modes, and optical image stabilization.

Focal length is critical because you will only have one lens with you if you bring a point and shoot and that lens is built into the camera. Optimally you can find a camera with a wide angle some where in the 28 to 30 mm 35mm film equivalent range. This will give you a wide enough lens to capture those breathtaking landscape scenes. As far as zoom, you should be fine with a 3x to 4x capability. This will not get you super close, but if the camera sensor has a capability of 8-megapixels or higher, almost the minimum these days, you will be able to crop the photo when you get home to meet most of your needs.

A wide variety of shooting modes are key because you will most like be shooting photos in many different light situations. The ability to manual control exposure and shutter speed are features found on all SLR and many advanced point and shoot cameras. If you do not know what these features are you are probably better off finding a camera with multiple shooting modes until you can learn to use the manual settings to create the image you want. There are many different shooting modes on cameras these days. The ones I find most useful are “foliage”, enhances the contrast of the greenery in your photos; “beach and snow”, prevents over exposure in these bright situations; and “night mode”, helps you take better pictures of people with city scenes in the background.

Optical image stabilization is a feature that is finding its way onto most midlevel digital point and shoot cameras. This features is important to you because you probably will not be carrying around a tripod with you on your travels. Optical image stabilization works by sensing your hands shaking as our are about to take a picture and then uses mechanics to compensate for the shaking. It works amazingly well. This also allows the camera to use a slower shutter speed in low light situations, making for higher quality photos.

In summary, I have found that a small point and shoot digital camera meets most of my travel photography needs. Certainly, if you are a more advanced photographer, this camera alone will not meet your needs. Still, for most travelers, the jack-of-all-trades digital point and shoot cameras fit the bill. What are your thoughts? Please join the conversation by writing comment below.

Subscribe to the TripPlans podcast in iTunes by clicking here.

In this episode of the TripPlans podcast we will cover a few news stories, review an Instant Itinerary to New Zealand, and take a look at another independent travel podcast produced by a couple of Kiwis.

News:

Ultimate Adventures

http://www.concierge.com/ideas/activeadventure/tours/2675?page=0

2008: A travel year in review:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28355794/

“No really, the air on the plane will not make you sick”, and other myths

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27702665/

Featured Topic:

New Zealand Instant Itinerary

Today we have a special guest, my wife Becky, to discuss our TripTemplate to New Zealand.

Link of the week:

http://indietravelpodcast.com