Group items tagged

You already know to budget for tips when you travel. But you should also know who to tip when you travel. It's a no-brainer to tip the maid-at least a couple bucks a day. But don't forget to leave a tip if you're staying at a bed and breakfast, or even a rental property. Those places have to get cleaned too. Did you get any recommendations or reservations from the hotel concierge? You should reward those tips with a small tip. Plus, with so many airport pickups and ride-share services being booked online or through apps, a lot of people forget to bring cash to tip their drivers. That free courtesy shuttle? It's always nice to give the driver a buck or two, especially if he helped you with your luggage. Remember, while tipping is commonplace in the U.S. the rules change when you go abroad. Look for an app like GlobeTipping, which gives you suggestions in 200 countries. Even Starbucks has an app that lets you tip baristas straight from your phone, so watch out for that technology in more establishments.

If there were a Girl Scout badge for travel, you'd surely earn it after using these tips. Name: "101 Tips for Women Travelers E-book," oattravel.com/101tips Available: Interactive flipbook; .pdf for laptop or personal computers;. epub for iPad (with iBooks), Sony Reader and all other non-Kindle e-book readers;. mobi for Amazon Kindle devices. What it does: This free, downloadable e-book by Overseas Adventure Travel, a company geared toward travelers 50 and older, is chockablock with practical tips to help you become a smarter, better-prepared traveler. The e-book is written for women by experienced female travelers, but any traveler, no matter the gender or age, will be savvier for reading it. What's hot: Many of the tips were new to me. Becki from Tennessee said, "Leave your money belt out until you get past security. New scanning machines at airport security can pick up on a money belt as something hidden beneath your clothing, resulting in your being pulled out for a pat-down and additional questioning." I especially appreciated the appendix with digital resources, clothing sizes around the world and the Bandanarama section: 25 uses for a scarf.

With flowering public gardens and boulevards made for strolling hand-in-hand, this is the perfect time of year to visit the City of Light. Here, we share our favorite tips for finding the perfect views, affordable meals, and making Paris your own. Have a plan, but be flexible John Baxter, author of The Most Beautiful Walk in the World: A Pedestrian in Paris, recommends that you pick one must-see for each day in Paris, but improvise the rest of the day. This combination of planning and spontaneity is ideal for Paris, a city that offers not only super-famous sights like the Louvre, Notre Dame, and the Arc de Triomphe, but also super-secret spots that are all the more special for being off the beaten path. "Paris can't be done with just a map or a guidebook. You have to get lost, frustrated, Overwhelmed. Get the perfect view Dubbed "this useless and monstrous Eiffel Tower" by the city's most prominent artists when it was proposed by engineer Gustave Eiffel, Parsons ultra-iconic observation tower debuted as the entrance to the 1889 World's Fair and quickly became so popular that it was never taken down. See the gardens Sure, museums like the Louvre and D'Orsay insist on keeping world-famous paintings like the Mona Lisa indoors and that's where you've got to go to see them. But if you visit Paris in springtime, don't stay cooped up inside. Do lunch A lot of sit-down restaurants in Paris will set you back hundreds of bucks at dinner time. Save them for a (really) special occasion. But Baxter reminds us that prices at some of the top joints can be 50 percent lower at lunch time.

The Canary Island that tourism forgot, Greece and Portugal set to be this year's star destinations and Cotswolds villages. Why go? A half-hour ferry hop from Lanzarote, this is the Canary isle that tourism forgot. There's just one village, sleepy little Caleta del Sebo, with a smattering of whitewashed houses and sandy lanes (there are no surfaced roads on the island) and in winter the glorious beaches, volcanic peaks and dive sites are virtually empty. What to do There are no "sights" as such: people come here for the sunshine, silence and sense of escape. Take a water taxi or Jeep to the white-sand beaches of Playa de las Conchas or Playa de la Cocina - among the most beautiful in the Canaries - or explore Europe's largest marine reserve on a dive trip (buceolagraciosa.es). Where to stay There are no hotels - just a handful of private apartments and simple pensions. Casa Rio in Caleta del Sebo is a bright, well-equipped two-bedroom apartment with sea views from the roof terrace (from €560 per week, graciosagetaways.com). Where to eat Cafe Mesón de La Tierra has the best views of the harbour and the menu del día is great value at €7 (00 34 679 955 969). El Girasol (Calle la Popa 2) is the place to go for fresh seafood - the "vieja", or parrotfish, is a local speciality. Insider tip Adrian Fisk, owner of Casa Rio, recommends taking a boat to Playa del Risco on Lanzarote - a long stretch of fine, golden sand that lies under the spectacular cliffs of Famara. "The only access is by boat or walking down the cliffs," says Fisk, "and most days you will have the beach to yourselves. Take a picnic and spend all day there. The old salt fields are great to explore." Hotspots for 2014: Portugal and Greece to be this year's top destinations Having waded through the annual glut of Where's Hot for 2014 lists, one could be forgiven for assuming we'll all be spending our summer holidays cheering on England in Brazil.

Music insiders offered insights and travel tips about the world of music festivals at a Saturday panel at the L.A. Times Travel Show called "On the Road: Traveling for Music & Festivals." The panel returns noon Sunday. Times staff writer Jessica Gelt led the discussion with Betto Arcos, host of KPFK's Global Village; Rick Farman, creator of the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival and Outside Lands; and Nigel Dick, filmmaker. Secrets to tickets If tickets sell out quickly, Farman recommended companies that sell packages, noting most are VIP packages. Bottom line: Be prepared to spend more if you really want in to a particular festival. If you miss out on buying tickets to the multi-day Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts in England or other big festivals, Nigel Dick suggests checking out smaller festivals in Europe, even if there are no big acts. It's still a chance to have a cool cultural experience. Navigating a festival Do not get overwhelmed by all there is to see and do. "Festivals are not programmed for people to see everything. They're for people to have lots of different experiences," Farman said. Arcos said to "spend some time looking at the program, highlight those shows you have to see and then if you feel you've seen enough you can leave and go see another act." Farman recommends that you "budget more than half of your time for just wandering around." That is how you learn about new artists and acts, he said. Split time between city and festival If the festival is in a field, it may be hard to spend time sightseeing. But if it's in or near enough to a city, plan to squeeze in a few tourist activities between shows. "Spend a few hours in the morning making sure you can check out the sites or leave early and go to a local restaurant," Farman said.

When the smartphone was in its infancy and app stores were not yet operational, its best built-in app to help travelers was the Maps app. There were no walking directions provided, just a map that you needed to interpret to help you get to your destination. These days, smartphones have so spoiled us that we wonder how we have lived without it. For example, the technologically-advanced descendant of the first map app now features not only driving and walking directions, but also directions for those who take public transportation (for some countries, at least). This has made it easier for travelers to navigate through some foreign countries the same way that natives do. With the right apps, you can turn your smartphone into an indispensable travel companion that can save you money; if your pockets cannot afford travel just yet, you can even do a little armchair traveling from your smartphone. Below are some handy apps to have when exploring foreign territory: > Bla Camera Pro ($0.99, iOS) > Camera Plus Pro ($1.99, iOS) > Google + > Google Maps (Free, iOS/Google Play) > City Maps to Go (Free, iOS/Google Play) > VSCO Cam (Free, iOS/Google Play) > Pin Drop (Free, iOS) > Metro (Free, iOS)

Why go? Known as the Dragons Tail, this 30-mile peninsula poking into the Irish Sea feels like a place apart: a stronghold for Welsh language and culture with a distinct microclimate which can see it basking in sunshine while the rest of north Wales is lashed by rain. The chichi yachting town of Abersoch may have been colonised by well-heeled holidaymakers and second homers, but elsewhere youll find empty golden beaches, fishing hamlets and peaceful clifftop walks. What to do Start by visiting Porth y Went, the new National Trust centre in Aberdaron (nationaltrust.org.uk). You can pick up maps, walking routes and ideas for days out, such as a visit to the "whistling sands" at Porthor which squeak as you walk on them, or a boat trip to Bardsey Island, a medieval pilgrimage site. Llyˆn Adventures can organise canoeing, kayaking and coasteering (llynadventures.com), but if you prefer to stay on dry land, the Wales Coast Path runs right around the peninsula. For a day at the beach, Llanbedrog is postcard-perfect.