As the holiday season rolls around, family trips are a popular activity. Although trips and vacations can be fun and relaxing, sometimes the actual planning can be a headache. Local Travel Tips help alleviate your travel woes. We’ve already discussed safety and planning a flawless family vacation. In addition, we also researched apps to cover all areas of your planning from pre-flight, lodging, activities while you’re there, to easy ways to share your memories with your loved ones.

PRE-TRIP PLANS:

Kayak is a free app that allows you to compare and purchase flights, hotel rooms,and car rentals. It also allows you to view/manage itinerary, tracks your flights; look up baggage fees, airline phone numbers and airport information.

Tripit takes all of your trip details, and creates one helpful itinerary. It can also sync with your calender, eliminating that pocket book and traveling manila folder. Tripit Pro is recommended for frequent travelers and costs about $49.00 a year.

ENROUTE:

Gateguru is the best carry-on, it’s like Yelp for airports. We’ve all had a delay or longer than desired layover, with Gateguru you can view airport security wait times. You can also look up tips and reviews on amenities offered at your airport, like where the best cup of coffee is, or the closest 10-min neck massage.This is one of our favorite apps, especially in large airports such as O’hare, JFK, LAX, etc. knowing where the closest eatery, drink, restroom, or literature stop is essential.

WHERE TO STAY:

Trip Advisor enables you to browse reviews, opinions, and photos of: hotels, restaurants, attractions. The near me now feature shows things closest to you and also allows you to bookmark it in the my saves, for future visits.

Priceline is perfect for those last minute accommodations. You can bid on cheap, decent rooms categorized by location, rating and usual price.

WHILE YOU’RE THERE:

Goby searches activities near you including, live-music shows, family-friendly outings. Complete with details, photos, and map.

Urbanspoon helps settle the universal problematic question, of where should we eat? Shake the slot-machine interface to add some entertainment to your decision. Use GPS to find food near you. Filter your choices by neighborhood, cuisine, or price. There are ratings and reviews from newspapers, bloggers, and fellow eaters.

TRAVELING ABROAD?

Onada Currency Converter is beneficial whether it’s credit card or cash exchanges you need to calculate. Onada helps whether you’re wanting to check/compare the current exchange rate, or making sure your exchange is calculated correctly. This free app comes equip with over 190 currencies for your traveling needs.

Itranslate helps you speak like a local, and avoid foreign language mixups (although these make for great traveling stories). Besides lightning fast translations, it includes 52 languages; essentially an interpretor right in your pocket.

Convert Clothes is for the shopaholic in all of us. It gives you all clothing conversions in one area. Just pick your size and country and voila, see the equivalent in whatever you decide. This should hopefully lessen (but probably not eliminate) the “not the right size” problem.

MAKING MEMORIES:

Fotobabble helps you quickly create and add voice to your images, and share with friends. Make and share memories with a talking postcard in a few simple steps:
1. Snap photo
2. Speak into microphone
3. Share through email, Twitter, and Facebook.

Instagram is another great photo app that allows you to add filters and effects to the photos you take on your phone, then allows you to stream it through your social media accounts
( Instagram, Twitter, Facebook).

Make the most of your travels, this holiday season! All of these apps are available to any smart phone users ( iPhone, Blackberry, Android), and are sure to make your trip a little less stressful and a lot more fun! For more tips and recommendations check out our about us section!

California knows how to party….but what do you like to do when you visit?

Los Angeles and the surrounding cities boast an endless amount of tourist attractions, and fun day-trips. Whether you are into history, science, celebrities, or thrilling attractions, there seems to be something for everyone.

If you are into the arts, be sure to check out the J. Paul Getty art museum, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, etc.

If science is more your thing, check out the Griffith Observatory, the Los Angeles Zoo, the California Science Center, etc.

To check out the sports scene, catch a game at the Staples Center, or Dodger Stadium!

for some excitement and thrills, lose yourself at Disneyland, Universal Studios, Grauman’s Chinese Theater, Venice Beach Boardwalk, Madam Tussauds, etc.

There are countless things to do in this beautiful and exciting city. Check out this site for more ideas, and book your trip to sunny Los Angeles, CA today!

If family vacations have been more stressful than relaxing in the past, it is time to transform this summer vacation into the relaxing getaway you need. Planning any trip can be stressful, if you do not take the time to ensure that your vacation will be just that: a vacation. These tips can help you to book your vacation more smoothly, and keep it staying fun and relaxing in the sun this summer.

To begin with, book your tickets and hotels right away. The longer you wait to book, the fewer choices you will have, and the more stressful the process may become. Planning in advance is key!

Do not cut your travel times too close–the best policy is to be early. Be early to the airport, as there is no way to expect sudden delays. The last thing you want is to miss your flight!

Watch your belongings at all times, to make sure nothing gets lost or stolen. Losing a piece of luggage can turn a vacation into a nightmare very quickly!

If you are driving to your location, make sure that your car is fully serviced and working well before you go. Having a car problem can can lots of stress, and cost you valuable relaxation time.

If you are careful to follow these tips, your trip is sure to go much more smoothly!

While taking Fluffy along on the family vacation may seem like a great idea in theory, when it comes down the actual logistics, it can be a little tough. This decision requires lots of planning and extra care, to ensure the safety of your pet. Flying an animal can be very dangerous, particularly if the storage area in the plane is not temperature and pressure controlled. Traveling with a animal on a road trip is safer in that regard, but requires a lot of planning and extra time. Here are some tips to help your road trip go a little more smoothly, if Fluffy is along for the ride.

If the weather is warm, be sure to use your air conditioning. Always make sure that air is being circulated frequently. Restrain your pet, using a pet seat belt or secured carrier. For safety reasons, do not allow your pet to stick its head out the window. Try to take breaks at least every three hours to allow your pet to exercise and relieve itself.

When you stop at a rest stop, never allow your pet to run loose. A pet can become lost, run into traffic, or get involved in a fight with another animal. Avoid leaving them unattended in the car for any amount of time, especially during warm or cold weather. A car parked in the sun can quickly become overheated – and shade moves quickly.

Remember the “nothing in nothing out theory”. If you do not feed or water your animal right before you leave, they are less likely to need frequent stops. They are more comfortable, not needing to make frequent bathroom breaks.

With these tips, your trip will go much more smoothly, and your pet will be much safer and happier.

Many airlines and cruise ships have special deals that happen when they need to promote business, either as a marketing campaign or because it is the off season and they need to fill spots that are open. For example, Jet Blue had a day last year where they  offered airfare for ten dollars a ticket going to specfifc places worldwide as part of a promotional deal.

Cruise ships sometimes pull the same types of deals, becasuse their industry is based on ceretain seasons being better for tourism. People usually travel during the winter and summer, because it either lets them get away from weather conditions or they have the free time during the summer to do so.

Therefore, planning a trip in the spring or fall can help save money, because the peak season will be over and the relevant companies will need to fill spots and slash prices in order to do so.

Taking the time to research travel options ahead of time can make it easier to get around on a budget. If you don’t mind doing the research and travelling on deals such as these, then the whole world becomes much more reachable financially.