TRAVEL
Pack these quick hits of info — and awesome products — into your suitcase (or PDA), and you’ll march through the month in fine travel style.
TRAVEL APPS YOU’LL ACTUALLY USE
1 Whether you have 30 minutes between flights and just want to grab a quick meal or you have a little more time for, say, shopping, a mani/pedi or a massage,
GateGuru (free) will key you in to all the restaurants, shops, restrooms, ATMs and bars at airports around the United States (and soon, Europe). For iPhones.
www.gateguruapp.com
2 Keep your upcoming travel itineraries in order with
TripIt (free). Just e-mail travel confirmations to the service and
poof!, the dates, flights and even local weather info get added to your schedule. Use online — perhaps on a netbook? — or on an iPhone.
www.tripit.com
3 New to town and not sure how to get around?
Hopstop (free) will help you navigate public transportation — whether you’re in Long Island or London — like you’ve been living there forever. The service has been around for a while, but if this mention keeps even one person from getting lost, it’s worth talking about it again. Available for iPhone, BlackBerry, Treo and more.
www.hopstop.com
4 Want to save money?
Shooger (free) can help. It finds out where you are and sends you coupons for local stuff you may want to do, buy, see or eat. For iPhones.
www.shooger.com
Coming Attractions:
TV to Go
Not keen on the TV station of choice in the lobby/waiting room/airport you’re sitting in? Stop kvetching. Mophie is about to release a new version of their much-celebrated iPhone-charging case: the
Mophie Juice Pack TV. It’ll charge you up and, paired with a subscription from FLO TV, turn your go-to gadget into a mini TV. Price TBD.
www.mophie.com
THREE IS A MAGIC NUMBER …
Especially on
3Floz.com, where beauty and personal-grooming products shrink down to travel size. It’s the perfect way to put an end to all that pretrip big-bottle-to-small- bottle pouring you’ve been doing. Brands for sale on the site include the Art of Shaving, Ahava, Dr. Hauschka and Beauty Without Cruelty. Look for more to be added as the site builds a following.
Three Great Reasons to Add (or Cash In) Miles
One of life’s great joys: literary readings by people with Irish accents. Make a beeline for the
Cúirt International Festival of Literature in Galway, Ireland. April 20 to 25.
www.galwayartscentre.ie/cuirt/literature.html
You always talk about going, so …
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. It runs April 23 to May 2.
www.nojazzfest.com
Bands including Vampire Weekend, the Avett Brothers and Charlotte Gainsbourg? Crikey! That’s a good lineup. See you at
Coachella, in Indio, California. April 16 to 18.
www.coachella.com
BATH TIME
The newly opened spaRelaken at the
Miyako Hybrid Hotel in Torrance, California (310- 212-5111,
www.miyakohybridhotel.com), features a Japanese bathing-culture treatment called ganbanyoku or “bedrock bath.” Lie back on a giant stone mined from the mountains of Kyushu, Japan, and as it heats up, you’ll sweat out the bad stuff (or so we’re told).