Journey Woman's Top Travel Items

Chico's Travel Collection
Orvis Leather Bags
Sephora Felt Lip Markers
Talbot's Packable Raincoat
Tilley Underwear

Websites for Lodging/House Exchange

applevacations.com
homeaway.com
homeexchange.com
homelink.org
interhomeusa.com
lacurevillas.com
tripadvisor.com
villasofdistinction.com

Travel Size EVERYTHING

Great places to buy travel size items.
Minimus
3floz.com

Picnic Ideas

I love these Real Simple picnic ideas and menus.

Last Minute Travel Deals

FareCompare
Choose your departure city and how much you want to spend.

Last Minute Cruises

Reminders: Better deals for leaving on Saturday, Tuesday or Wednesday. And sales are usually announced on Tuesday morning.

Route4Me

I've been waiting for this FOREVER!
ROUTE4ME
Just enter all the addresses of your errands, and it will calculate the shortest route to get it all done...with driving directions!

Beach Tips

Use metal grilling skewers to hold down the corners of your towel or sheet.

Take a bottle of baby powder to the beach, shake a little on your legs and Voila! the sand rubs right off.

Private Sales for Hotels

Sign up for a free account at Tablet Hotels and get weekly private sales up to 60% off of hotels.

NOLA Crab Au Gratin

Next time we're in NOLA, we gotta try Bon Ton Cafe's Crab au Gratin.

Foldable Hanger

Today I wondered if you could get such a thing...and Mindy found one. It doesn't help me for tomorrow but here's the info if I ever decide to spend the money on such!

Passenger Foldable Travel Hanger

TripIt

This looks fabulous...gotta remember it for my next trip.

TripIt: An Effortless Online Travel Organizer

Anyone who's ever travelled is surely familiar with the dreaded Manila Folder—that sheaf of printouts, receipts and tickets we rely on to stay on schedule during a trip. Now TripIt promises to free us from those manila shackles with an online service that organizes all the pieces into a single, consolidated itinerary.

TripIt then searches the web for complementary information, including Google maps and directions, weather from the NOAA, SeatGuru airplane seat advice, Wikipedia city information, current events information from Eventful, city photos from Flickr, and dining reservations from OpenTable.

Broadway Box

Check Broadway Box for free discount codes for Broadway shows...some savings up to 50%!

Journey Woman

I haven't spent much time surfing yet, but it looks pretty cool! Journey Woman is "the premier travel resource for women".

Italian Getaways

Two recommendations for our trip to Italy:

• The Grand Hotel Minerva in Florence (if you're going with family, the 2-bedroom suites are the way to go)
• Il Pellicano in Tuscany (a seaside splurge!)
  

Mayan Riviera

In case I win the lottery (do you have to play to win?), this is one for a remote resort get-away! (No one under 16 is allowed January through April.)

Maroma Resort & Spa

Maui Hotel

This one is for when I get to go to Maui again!
Kaanapali Beach Hotel

Unclaimed Baggage

If I'm ever in Scottsboro, Alabama, I think it would be fun to go to the Unclaimed Baggage Center. Over 1 million items a year end up here after going unclaimed at the airport. And it's all on sale here! Plus it's also pretty fun to check out the website and see some of the strange things that go unclaimed!

Some More Travel Sites

Airfare Watchdog - locates last-minute deals, plus has a section of the Top 50 Fares of the Day
Cruisemates - Advise and reviews about cruising
LastMinute - Last minute weekend packages, sometimes saving 70% on unsold airplane seats.
WorldAirportGuide - check out maps of any airport
FlightStats - displays up-to-date arrival and departure boards for major airports

**Note: The best time to buy an airplane ticket is:

• 5:15 pm on Saturday if you're doing it by phone
• after midnight on Sunday if you're doing it online

Some More Travel Tips

Most hotels still leave a shower cap in your bathroom. But if you're like me, you don't ever need a shower cap for it's intended purpose. So I save them anyway and use them to put over any shoes in my suitcase that may be dirty so they don't rub against my clothes.

If you know you're traveling and intend to purchase breakable items or souvenirs, pack a couple of kids arm floaties. They don't take up much room in your suitcase and you can blow them up a little bit to protect any special items, including bottles of wine.

Fast Fix Buttons

This is a good addition for a clothing emergency kit. Button pins...temporary button replacement on men or women’s button-up shirts. Sometimes you just don't have time to sew!