Traveling Can Be Expensive!

…especially when you forget some crucial components of your travel gear and have to buy it retail. :-p

The Hubs and I had a wonderful trip out to the Finger Lakes this week. It was amazing! I’ll have loads and loads of details and photos and travel tips up and coming.

This trip was my first time using an iPhone GPS system. And I love it! It made navigation so easy. Unfortunately, using the GPS eats up the iPhone battery. I ran out of juice only a few hours on the road. And I had forgotten to pack my iPhone car charger. :-p I have two of them at home, you know. Ugh. So I had to buy one retail at a drug store, and it cost me dearly. I am so spoiled when it comes to shopping online with coupon codes that retail prices horrify me. Next time, I will be better prepared.

I also think we could have saved money on restaurant fare with Savings.com coupons. I love Savings.com– I use the website for all my online shopping needs– but I totally forgot that I can search the site for coupons and deals for offline stuff, too, like travel deals, restaurant coupons, tickets, and more! Ugh!! The website also has a unique forum where you can pose questions about where to find deals, and members will submit suggestions or alert you to deals. Believe me, I will remember this next time!

As for you, you now know it all ahead of time. Before you spend a penny, check Savings.com for ways to save before you start spending. They have a listing of the best travel sites, too: Expedia, Travelocity, Cheap Tickets, tons of restaurants and specialty stores.

Review of Octopus Travel Hotel Search Site

I have been seriously contemplating a visit to the UK, sometime in the future. For one, I think my genealogy research will lead me there (as it did my grandmother, who was unsuccessful in her treasure hunt), and I would just love to see the United Kingdom beyond gazing at glossy photos in books. I am not sure when we will get to go, but it is one of my life’s dreams, and, Lord willing, I do plan to go there some time within the next few years. The real dilemma is finding good accommodation prices. I believe I have actually come across a spectacular website offering deals on Hotels in London! It’s called Octopus Travel, and they boast over 90,000 hotels in their database. I think I may be able to afford a holiday in the UK! The prices are the best I have seen, and I have visited a LOT of hotel websites, believe me.

Octopus Travel is well organized. Every listing has multiple photos of hotels, and in an instant you can view amenities, location, ratings, reviews, and more. Prices are up front, and Octopus Travel says there are no hidden costs. Octopus Travel operates out of London, and is partnered with TripAdvisor® and uses their ratings and reviews, which I think is is a great feature (I always go to TripAdvisor® when researching a hotel).

I found quite a few possibilities at the website, results I could not find elsewhere (most other websites predominately showcase only the more expensive resorts). I am basically looking for a tiny, clean little place to dump my bags and sleep in– I don’t want swimming pools, spas, gourmet cuisine, etc. I fully expect to be out and about all day when visiting the UK. Octopus Travel is the only hotel website I have seen that presents the smaller “mum and pop” hotels beside the Big Box hotels (like Radisson and Marriott). I’m very impressed.

Of course, Octopus Travel doesn’t just cater to the city of London– they showcase hotels around the world, including tons of listings for New York hotels, everything from the Ritz Carlton to the Vanderbilt YMCA. The descriptions are very detailed (and I found the description of the Soho Grand very accurate).

If you’re looking for a good deal on hotel rates, or just looking for a vast listing of hotels from which to choose, take a peek at Octopus Travel. They are a member of the ABTA Travel Booking Association and Travelport. I think I will make my hotel plans through Octopus Travel!

Note: Please be aware that while I am compensated for reviewing this website, all opinions are completely mine and are truthful to the best of my ability. Thanks for reading!

Camping, New York Style

What a terrific resource I just found! It’s Campground Owners of New York. Looks very good! It looks comprehensive, and is very user-friendly. The website is “Dedicated to the promotion, growth, improvement and development of privately owned campgrounds in New York State.” I love the search features. It has a clickable map of New York State, if you are looking to camp in a particular area.

The “Find a Park” feature gives you more options: search by amenity, location, and region. If you’re scouting around for a camping site this summer, check out the website. It’s impressive!

Finding Auto Repair Help While Traveling

Ouch. It’s happened to us: you are far away from home, and something happens to the car. You’re in a strange town, you know absolutely no one and now you need a brake job (or, as was in our case, a totally new transmission)– what on earth do you do?? Here’s a tip: bookmark this webpage for future reference: RepairPal. I’ve checked out the website, and I like it! They are kind of like a “yellow pages” for car repair, and their lists cover every state in the U.S., from Rome to Miami to Dallas auto repair. I did some searches on the site, and was very pleased to see some local businesses in my area listed at Repair Pal.

Nowadays, we’re always bringing some kind of Internet-capable gadget with us when we travl (phone, netbook, etc); and libraries in cities all across the nation offer free Internet access, too. So if you can’t find a hotspot on the highway, get to a convenience store or library to connect. You can access the RepairPal website and search for a good mechanic. You can search the website by location, or by car make. So, if you’re looking for a local car deal for a Chevrolet Silverado, you can search and get some good results.

Repair Pal also had reviews of car repair shops, helpful articles on common problems with types of vehicles, and an area for you to submit a car repair question to an expert. It’s a really terrific site! I’ve got it bookmarked for whenever we go out. You just never know, and being stranded in a strange town has happened to us twice!

Remember, I’m a pro-blogger and I am sometimes compensated with stuff or money to review or mention products or services! This was one of them. You can read more about my blog policy on my Sitewide Policies page.

Springpad Presents Springsgiving

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Springpad. All opinions are 100% mine.

This is perfect timing! It’s “Springsgiving,” a special contest from Springpad! Ever hear of Springpad? It’s an online organization portal– a very convenient online personal organizer where you can stash your stuff: recipes; restaurants you like or want to visit; receipts; lists; websites; notes; wine lists; everything! It’s a classy website and very intuitive. If you haven’t seen it, and you are an organization freak like me (or even if you’re not a freak!), you should try it. I like it because the stuff you put in Springpad is accessible anytime, anywhere, no matter where you travel, all through your mobile device. I always like to have my email and my organized lists with me wherever I go, so Springpad is perfect. Check out Springpad and enter the contest.

There is a lot to Springpad, but I’ll try to list the basics:

• Springpad is free to register! It only took me seconds. From there, you can start adding stuff– search for restaurants by name and location and save the information for later use; search businesses in like manner; add a recipe from a website or type one in; and there are “Apps” you can use– create a calendar, packing lists, wish lists— the choices are vast and the only limit is your creativity.
• Everything can be saved within your own Springpad account.
• Everything can be accessed from your mobile device! It’s a traveler’s dream.
• There’s lots of stuff for the home organizer, too: weekly meal planners where you can plan menus and make a shopping list at the same time; send pals your recipes via email or Facebook; use Apps for planning gifts, making shopping lists, tracking expenses– it’s just amazing.

OK, now what’s the thing about this “Springsgiving”? It’s part of a promotion, a very nice one! The Springpad food bloggers are promoting their exceptional favorites for Thanksgiving. If you “spring” a recipe to your Springpad recipe box, you’re in the pool for a $100 cash prize! There’s nothing you need to do besides add a recipe; you’re automatically entered. Or, you can enter manually, too: Check out Springpad and enter the contest. I think it’s terrific, because I am in the market for some new (and improved) Thanksgiving recipes. I don’t know about you, but I’m getting pretty tired of the mashed potatoes/green bean casserole thing. Times for some change! I think the Springpad community can help.

It’s really a win-win situation. Springpad is a great community and a great place to organize your plans. Plus, the $100 is a very nice prize at this time of year. Check it out!

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