Space-Saving Travel Gadgets for Packing Light 9.3.11

Whether you live in an apartment, college dorm or RV, it can always be beneficial to find items that won’t take up a lot of space, help you minimize and multitask. If you are torn between buying something that works for travel and something that works for your tiny living space, you’re in luck. There are five fun and useful gadgets that can work for both, because they are multi-functional and small. And just think, in the long run, it’ll save you money, because they do double-duty.

They won't let you on the plane with your bag like this!

This list was originally posted on Examiner.com for a Back to School theme. If you want to read more articles like this, please feel free to subscribe to my Examiner feed. While I’m the Portland Budget Travel Examiner, I often post general travel-related articles that can save you money. Or maybe you just REALLY want to visit Portland! I'd highly recommend it.

Netbook – While it’s awesome to have a full size laptop, lugging it back and forth to classes and home for the weekends and holidays can be a hassle. It also takes up a lot of room in a travel bag and a book bag. Carry your netbook with you everywhere with ease and half the space. You can do everything you would with a laptop or a desktop. The only thing you’d miss is a disc drive, which you can buy in external form to keep in your desk drawer for downloading new programs or watching movies. Keep all your important docs on an online storage site like Dropbox and get access to them anywhere there’s internet access. These are free for up to 2GB of space and a nice place to store your travel documents and copies of your passport and ID that you might lose in transit. I take my Acer netbook everywhere I go and it does everything I need and more. I can watch Netflix streaming on the go or update my blog!

iGo – Do you have that jumble of chargers in your bag or a drawer for your cell phone, iPod and other electronic devices? Ditch them all and replace them with just one. The iGo multicharger is a compact adapter that uses interchangeable tips for each of your electronics. You can get the wall charger or the set with a wall charger and car charger if you drive, have a friend that does or rent one on vacation. There’s a splitter you can purchase for charging more devices at one time, which is a plus for hotel rooms that have minimal outlets. And at home, you’ll only have to keep track of one adapter. I actually keep mine in my travel bag and my car adapter in my glovebox. It can charge my dying cell phone or keep Tom Tom full of juice, so he can tell me where to turn on long road trips.

iPad – Have you been begging your parents (or anyone) to get you one of these? Now you can argue that you need it for school/work and travel. With millions of apps, there’s sure to be at least a few educational ones that are critical to your learning or ones that make fancy pie charts for those important meetings. You can also store your entire music and movie collections on it, making it the ultimate multimedia tool. That it makes you look cool doesn’t hurt either. Get a functional cover for it and it also makes a good travel device for all the same reasons, except you can download your favorite travel apps to help you sightsee more cheaply and efficiently. Keep your packing lists right at your fingertips and have the ability to Skype with your mom, too. Show all your new travel friends pictures from your travels or what’s cool back home.

Kindle or other e-reader – If the iPad is a little too heavy for reading for long periods of time, then you might like an e-reader. A device like the Kindle can hold your entire library in a very small and lightweight footprint, has a huge battery life and even allows you to lend and borrow books from the library and friends. Soon, you’ll be able to get school books for download, too. Need the entire works of Shakespeare for your lit class? No problem! Another thing I take with me everywhere. I have actually started replacing books I own with e-versions on my Kindle. I always have something to read and if I run out of new material, I just use my 3G to hop onto the Kindle Storefront and browse for something that sounds good. There is always a selection of suggested reading material that is useful for when I have no idea what I want, but Amazon thinks they do!

Digital camera – A camera is always handy. You’ll want to capture all your memorable moments both at school, home and on the road. Upload pictures of Thanksgiving with your awesome family and email them to everyone after the holiday, update your Facebook profile picture with you swimming with dolphins and keep an online photo album to remember the best – and maybe not so good – times of your life. A waterproof, dustproof, freezeproof and shockproof model like the Fujifilm finepix XP10 can hold up to games of beer pong with roommates to your snowboarding trip in Whistler, all while taking a fantastically clear picture. I adore the ease of use of this camera and am purchasing a float wristband to take it into the ocean with me. I don’t want what happened to a fellow cruiser last year to happen to me. She went snorkeling, it slipped off her wrist and was lost in the depths of the Caribbean waters forever. Knowing I’ll be doing a lot of water activities makes it easy to choose to spend $7 to protect my camera from becoming lost should I be totally clumsy, because, let’s face it, I have never been called graceful in my life!

So, there you have it. My top 5 space-saving electronic gadgets that are great for home and travel. Don't weigh yourself down with a bunch of extra items when you travel and you'll be able to keep track of everything and also be able to carry it! You'll be happy you did when you head home with more than you started with and still have room for it all. At home, all of these gadget can fit into a drawer and be hidden when not in use. In your dorm, you will be able to keep track of a minmal group of items and also they can be tucked away in a small space to keep them safe. All of these are good ideas in my book.

Consider purchasing a PacSafe bag to hold them all and deter thieves when at school or on vacation. What a great invention this is! It has a mesh lining made of slashproof steel cables and loops around an object and locks in place. If someone wants to steal you bag from the beach, they'll look pretty weird and suspicious trying to run away with an entire lounge chair!

Don't forget to join me on the awesome new Savvy Living Community sponsored by Ebates. Not only will you learn how to save money by better utilizing Ebates, but you will also be able to read Savvy blog posts and join in discussions and live chats with Savvy Leaders (like me!) to learn how to save money on all aspects of your life. With 16 bloggers who are experts on everything from travel to family life, you're sure to learn a lot of new information, find some great new blogs and even make some friends along the way. Join Ebates. 

Be a winner!

Our big giveaway is still going on. It includes a Travelon Flat Out Hanging Toiletry bag stuffed with a bunch of awesome stuff: GoToobs courtesy of Human Gear, rinseless laundry detergent courtesy of SoakWash, a selection of LaFresh wipes, some travel sizes of men's Jack Black toiletries, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, Colgate Wisps, nail polish remover wipes, anti-bacterial wipes, sunblock, body wash, Man on the Move soap leaves and (not shown) 2 toothbrush sanitizers. What more could you ask for? Throw in some lip balm and your toothbrush and go! Enter here or click on the Current Giveaway tab at the top of the page.

Frugal Vacation Series Goes to Turkey 8.31.11

It’s time for another frugal vacation destination! This place you may or may not have ever heard of, but it’s way cool and has so many different vacation possibilities! Sleep in a cave, go skiing in the desert, go on a cruise along the coast and still save money! What? Where is this awesome and magical place, you ask? Why, it’s none other than Cappadocia, Turkey! Where the heck is that?? Well, for starters, it’s in Turkey. Here’s some other interesting information about it.

This photo of Cappadocia is courtesy of TripAdvisor

Cappadocia, located in central Turkey, is a truly breathtaking and unique vacation destination with a moon-like atmosphere. Set on a high plateau with high volcanic peaks, it has a very different feel from anywhere else and has a warm, arid climate in the summer and cold, snowy winters. So, pack your sunscreen and hat or sweaters and mittens when you plan your trip to this extraordinary city.

Because the area was formed by ancient volcanoes there are a lot of volcanic deposits that are, essentially, soft rocks and buildings have be carved into the cliffs, including hotels, houses, churches and monasteries. These cave dwellings are a relief from the heat of the summer. There are also fascinating underground cities, interconnected by twisting tunnels, some of which are open to visitors. This region is interesting and has made Cappadocia a popular tourist destination (even though you never heard of it until now).

A trip to Cappadocia is great for budget travelers, because the exchange rate is very favorable to most other foreign currencies, including the U.S. dollar, the Pound and the Euro. You can stay in 3- and 4-star lodgings, dine in restaurants, use public transportation and rent a car all for less than the cost per night to stay in many economy hotels worldwide. Most hotels offer breakfast in their low rates, making it an even better deal, as it is one less meal you will have to cover on your own. Whatever your budget, a trip to Cappadocia can be accommodated. Since you can save on so many different aspects of your vacation, you can splurge on some of the more interesting activities while you’re there, including:

• Half- and full-day city tours – Take a guided tour through Cappadocia and learn about the most important and interesting sites from a knowledgeable escort. Then you can go back and explore those areas that you found to be most remarkable on your own time.
• Hot air balloon rides ­– Get a bird’s eye view of the wondrous landscape of Cappadocia in the early morning. Take in your destination from a whole new perspective and then commemorate your ride with a traditional champagne toast upon touch down. Bring a sweater, as it is likely to be cold.
• ATV quad tours – The territory is has conditions that are fantastic for viewing from an all-terrain vehicle. Take a unique tour of the city on a quad to cover ground quickly and see different parts of the region than you can on foot or by car. You can go with a tour guide or rent all day for a fun day of exploring the dunes, valleys and hills.
• Skiing – For those of you that travel in the winter and like the colder climates, Cappadocia has incredible skiing in the winters, which are generally quite chilly and snowy. You can rent equipment when you get there and save on baggage fees. With the multitude of mountainous peaks, you can ski all day, whether you’re a beginner or an expert, and then warm up back in your hotel or at a cozy little café.
• Yacht cruise – Take a day trip and sail the Aegean or Mediterranean Seas on a yacht or gullet cruise. These include lunch, sightseeing stops and beach visits for swimming.
• Go shopping – Turkey is a country of bazaars and boutique stores. It is a great place to shop for antiques, brass and copper items, carpets, bold jewelry, silk and one-of-a-kind items you won’t find anywhere else. Pack an extra bag for all the souvenirs you find to bring back home.

This photo of Cappadocia is courtesy of TripAdvisor 

Whether you’re used to luxury accommodations or you’re a backpacker who enjoys saving money and staying in budget lodgings, you will find what you’re looking for. Cappadocia really has something for everyone and is a remarkably distinctive vacation destination that would be hard to match wherever your travels take you. If you usually stay in budget hotels, this might be the time to break out of your rut and treat yourself to a unique and luxurious accommodation. Stay in a cave dwelling! It’ll be a once-in-a-lifetime experience and something you wouldn’t have a chance to do elsewhere. On top of all that, it'll still be similarly priced to the hotel rates you're used to staying in. Seeing some of the pictures associated with these kinds of rooms made me want to skip my the vacation I had planned and go here instead. 

Photos of Cappadocia courtesy of TripAdvisor

How have we never heard of this place before? Cappadocia seems to be über popular and one of the world’s best kept secrets all at once. I am always amazed by these kinds of gems. Have you ever been to such a destination? I’d love to hear about it!

This photo of Serinn House is courtesy of TripAdvisor

Another short post? But why? Hopefully you found this post fun and informative enough to not cry over the length of it. This week I am working on book edits in order to get it done and get my book out to you as soon as possible! The cover is being worked on as we speak, as well! Two steps closer to your bookshelf.

Insure Your Travel Plans 8.27.11

It seems like the last couple of years have been rife with natural disasters which have screwed up travel plans (and the lives of people living across the globe). Now, while I try very hard to be an optimistic person, there’s never any guarantee that your vacation will be ruined right before you leave or while you are in the midst of it with something like a hurricane, earthquake, tsunami, flash flood, fire, riots or even the dreaded ash cloud. This is why in the wake of Hurricane Irene, it might be a good idea to take a look at the benefits of travel insurance.

When I travel, I rarely get travel insurance, mostly because I never think anything might happen to me. Once I got it in conjunction with a cruise I was taking, but even though there was a storm that prevented us from docking in one of our ports, nothing else unfortunate happened, and so we never had to use it. I suppose that thinking back on all of our travels, we should have really considered getting insurance, especially with our fondness for traveling during hurricane season. It’s not that we want to get caught up in a hurricane, but that time of year is more affordable and less crowded and we probably just assume that either it’ll happen or it won’t. Of course, with the hurricane warning in Nassau that closed almost everything around us, the tropical storm in Cancun that turned into a Hurricane Wilma the week after we left, our car break-in in Quito and our honeymoon involving airfare to/from London and train service to/from Paris, we should really start looking into getting some coverage on our next big getaway.

Of course, travel insurance doesn’t just cover natural disasters and unfortunate incidents. It can also cover medical emergencies, alternate transportation, lost baggage, cancelled flights, stolen passports/wallets, personal emergency trip cancellation and more. Imagine if you had a trip planned to Egypt and right before you went they closed down all entry to the country because of the riots. Under normal circumstances, all the money you paid for your trip to that point would be lost, unless you paid with a credit card that has coverage for any of those things. That would totally suck, right? While I wouldn’t recommend spending the extra money for a local trip or to go somewhere within you home country (like, I’m not going to get travelers insurance to go to Disneyland for 4 days), because it’s highly likely you can work something out with the hotel or rebook your airfare for a fee, I would urge you to think about getting it for international trips and any big money trips you plan to take in the future.  Planning a once in a lifetime African Safari, only to have it ruined by terrorist activity near the airport would really break your heart...and your wallet.

For most travel insurance, you should expect to pay around 5-8% of your total trip cost. Decide ahead of time if this is something you want to go forward with. The best time to buy your trip insurance is right after you’ve put down deposits (or paid in full) for your trip. The closer you can secure both of these things, the better off you will be, as there are certain benefits that are only available within 2 weeks of booking your trip.

So, where can you get travelers insurance? Many times if you buy airfare or a package deal from a booking engine like Travelocity or directly from the airline it is offered to you on the last page before you hit enter to buy your trip. Take a look at costs and what it covers. Look into the credit card you are using and what is covered and what isn’t. They might include extra auto insurance, trip cancellation, lost or stolen bags and some will cover a trip up to a certain dollar amount.

If you’re looking for customizable plans, check out:

• Travelguard – They have plans for travelers of all kinds, including budget, golfers, last-minute, adventure travelers and those that want several tiers of comprehensive coverage.
• InsureMyTrip – The #1 travel insurance site, purchase a whole package or just separate kinds of insurance, like trip cancellation, baggage, medical and evacuation.  
• AAA members – Are you a member of AAA? Then you already have access to great trip insurance. With their Trip Assist program, choose from a variety of different insurance packages that suit your needs.

Do you NEED insurance? Are you going to an area where they are likely to get bad weather or  hurricanes? Get it! Will you be in an area that has a lot of political strife? Get it! Did you save up forever to be able to go on this trip? Get it! Is there a chance someone in your family might fall ill? Get it! May work obligations prevent you from going on your trip? Get it! You may think an extra 8% on top of your vacation expenses is more than you want to spend, but think about how much it will save you if something happens and your trip is cancelled or ruined. Check this picture I snapped on our way back to the hotel in the Bahamas. Soon after it started to pour down rain, the news issued a hurricane warning and people were encouraged to stay inside or seek shelter in one of the big hotels, since those building were the most secure. Luckily, that was the worst of it and the hurricane passed us by, but you could still see the damage made by the previous hurricane that hit land.

Look at the wind and sky in Nassau.

Learn more about what kind of insurance you should get, why you should get it and compare companies that sell it with the TravelInsurance Review. Do you have personal experience with travel insurance that you’ve used or when you wish you’d bought some? I’d like to hear your stories. You can join in the Savvy Living Discussion, too!

Don't forget that you can get Shereen Travels Cheap on your Kindle (or via your web-enabled device and free Kindle reading app) through Amazon. Get updates instantly as soon as new posts are added!


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 Project Runway Live Chat          Mon. 8/29 9pm EST/5pm PST

I hope you can join me on the Project Runway live chat on Ebates on Monday with Kristin from BonBon Rose Girls and several other community leaders. We'll be talking about the designers, Tim Gunn, the fashion and more! 

Winner! There are two great giveaways happening. 

The first is for a Travelon Flat Out HangingToiletry bag stuffed with a bunch of awesome stuff: GoToobs courtesy of Human Gear, rinseless laundry detergent courtesy of SoakWash, a selection of LaFresh wipes, some travel sizes of men's Jack Black toiletries, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, Colgate Wisps, nail polish remover wipes, anti-bacterial wipes, sunblock, body wash, Man on the Move soap leaves and (not shown) 2 toothbrush sanitizers. What more could you ask for? Throw in some lip balm and your toothbrush and go! Enter here or click on the Current Giveaway tab at the top of the page.

The second giveaway is sponsored by Travelon. They have generously offered to send one of our readers their fantastic Pack-flat Backup Bag. It's an extra carry-on bag for your travels. Packs flat for your journey there and then unzips into a full carry-on bag that fits under the airplane seat for all the goodies you bought on your trip. Click here to enter. Drawing will take place on September 1.

Some photos courtesy of Daily Venture.