Tech Tuesday :: Liftopia

[trip style = active & adventure] Head for the hills!

Liftopia, the largest e-retailer of ski lift tickets, has introduced a free app for that.

If you dream of snow and carving figure eights in "pow", browse a smorgasbord of ski hills in all the major alpine resort areas worldwide: BC, Colorado, Chile, Switzerland, Austria, etc....

Tap it {or go online} to find mountains near you, and deals and details about each resort, for example: number of green, blue, black and double-black diamond runs, amenities, stats, conditions or hours. For select resorts, you can even buy your lift ticket {and score a deal} enroute.

No, Liftopia doesn't post steals for e-v-e-r-y mountain, but it does offer advanced lift ticket purchasing from 10% - 41% off at 150 resorts+ in North America. Think of it as your digital ski bunny without the fur-lined hood and boots.

More Tech Tuesday White Noise Dashboard To Wall Travelzoo App Urban Dig City Guide Hotel Tonight

[photo via itunes]

The Savvy Traveler :: Shaun

[trip style = active & adventure + urban + budget conscious]

Editor's Note: We're excited to feature Shaun, a rockin' packing evangelist---with a book to boot---for this month's installment of The Savvy Traveler. Don't miss next Monday's follow-up piece with a sneak-peek at his packing method and must-haves...before his book comes out!

Shaun is a Canadian rock star {aka bassist for Tegan and Sara} who is as passionate about packing as he is about music. And who better to trust about maximizing suitcase space than someone who is constantly packing and re-packing? Jetting from city to city for the past 10 years with only a carry-on suitcase to call home, Shaun picked up a few packing tricks of the trade and decided to write a book about it {more details below} with tons of how-to pictures, packing tidbits and interviews with other musicians {think Vampire Weekend, Death Cab for Cutie, Cold War Kids, etc.}. Here's why Shaun is our first Savvy Traveler of 2012!

1/ What are your top three trip styles and why?
If I had to narrow it down to only three favorite trip styles, it would be Active & Adventure, Urban and Budget Conscious. Here's why...

[trip style = active & adventure] Simply put, I have difficulty standing still. It could be the fact that I grew up on the rugged West Coast. I love exploring, and exploring to me is a physical and mental state. I like the idea of really taking in a new environment by being active, so whether this is in the form of a ski trip or a jaunt down the Oregon coast for a quick surf, I have to keep moving!

[trip style = urban] After exploring and spending time in nature, I like to switch it up with the busyness of a bustling city. When I grew up I wanted to be an architect. That passion is still there in the form of design, but despite it losing out to a stronger passion in music, I still love tall buildings and beautifully designed museums. I could walk for hours in a large city with no idea or concern of where I'm heading. For a variety of reasons stemming from architecture to overall feel, my favorite city walkabouts would be: Copenhagen, Denmark; Melbourne, Australia; and of course you can never go wrong with New York, NY.

[trip style = budget conscious] I appreciate the challenge of a budget-conscious trip. As the majority of my traveling has come through my profession as a musician, I'm used to constantly being made aware of the cost of travel. After all, for the bands that I'm in or even just performing with, the only reason we're traveling from city to city or country to country is in hopes of making enough money to do it again the next year while still trying to make a living. We have to save money here so we can invest there, and touring for us is no different. How can we set up a gig in Tokyo to not only write off our trip, but also come back with a little money in our pockets, PLUS a lifetime of new stories and experiences?!  PS - I'm still trying to figure out this one :)

2/ You've written a book about packing; what compelled you to write it?
Originally I starting writing the book, How to Pack Like A Rock Star, as a fun project to do while on the road. I started by jotting down a few little packing tricks here and there while perfecting my own packing method. Then I started printing off copies for my band mates as a fun Christmas present, but then my mind started to wander! What if I added a ton of fun photos? What if I asked a few other bands to add their input? What if I challenged anyone who cares about traveling to think about packing in a new way? And then it really started changing and evolving into a much bigger, more rewarding project!

In short, the final product ended up far better than I ever could have imagined. It really is the best "nerdy-cool, how-to book" on packing your suitcase---probably because it's the only one, but still! And besides it isn't just about packing; it's "an insider's look at the how to pack for tour or vacation, complete with helpful hints, comments and advice from some of the world's top touring artists." So in other words, even if you don't care to learn a new way to pack, it's chock-full of fun stories {including some disastrous ones!} about being on the road.

3/ Carry-on or checked bag?
Carry-on. I wouldn't have written this book if it weren't for being forced to use a carry-on for many years of my young touring life! It's about being efficient and the carry-on forces you to be just that!

4/ Last trip, next trip and what destinations are on your radar and why?
Aside from a few trips across Canada with my own band Rococode in the last couple of months, my last real trip was New Zealand and Australia. It was my first time in New Zealand, and now I just need to get back there before it's too late to sign up for "Middle Earth, Lord of the Rings Tours"!

I'm heading off on tour again through Canada, but I'm sure I'll also be adding a trip style = weekend getaway {or two} down to Cannon Beach, OR---one of my favorite places to just get away and relax. And when I say relax, I obviously mean surf, play tennis, etc.

Japan is still the ultimate destination on my radar right now. From what I've heard, it's like no other country and you feel lost the moment you get off the plane. I've heard this about the United Emirates too.

5/ Where and when can we buy the book?
The easiest way to get a copy of my book right now is to say hi and e-mail me at howtopack@gmail.com. Shortly you'll be able to order it from my website, as well as buy it in a variety of stores, from airport gift shops to regular book stores!

More Savvy Travelers
Christina, Taking Care of Biz
Charles, The Global Travel Influencer
Rachel, The Suitcase Siren

{If you know anyone who should be featured in our once-monthly Savvy Traveler series, drop us a line!}

[photo via Shaun]

Spotlight :: A Palm Springs Holidette

[trip style = sun + weekend getaway + active & adventure]

{Editor’s Note: This month we've featured two of Palm Springs' swanky resorts for Roam+Board, as well as explored the history and mystery of the Palm Springs Pull in our four-part Spotlight series. Today is the icing on the cake: our must-eat, -sleep and -do suggestions for the savvy traveler seeking trip style = sun + (extended) weekend getaway or holidette (aka three- to four-day getaway, usually occurring over a weekend).}

Both starlets and snowbirds have been drawn to the desert for the better part of 60 years. But after its heyday, just when it looked like Palm Springs was losing its pull, something happened: retro became rad, crooners became cool and mid-century design became divine. Hot hotels popped up in tired old motor lodges, stylish restaurants took over bygone corner bistros and entire city districts devoted themselves to design or artisan rebirth.

With this shift came a younger visitor enamoured with the iconic desert lifestyle. Tacking an extra couple days onto the weekend was justified by bike riding in the morning, eating a snow cone by the pool in the afternoon, browsing boutiques at dusk and dining out at stylish restaurants in the evening.

I think Audrey Hepburn would approve, though she may swap the spiked snow cone for wine. So let's get into it. A Palm Springs holidette:

Do

• Tour the city's mid-century modern masterpieces on your own {nab a $5 Map Of Modern Palm Springs at the Visitors Centre} or in style with Robert Imber for $75/person {e-mail psmoderntours@aol.com or call 1 (760) 318-6118 to book}.
• View Warhol, Wyeth and other celebrated artists at the Palm Springs Art Museum.
• Hike the Indian Canyons {$9 adults, $7 children & students] and ask if Raven is available to be your guide {$3 extra for tours at 10am & 1pm daily}.
• Bike towards the Palm Springs Visitors Center {built in an old gas station} and then up the long and winding road to the Palm Springs Tramway...and back.
• Browse the Uptown Design District on North Palm Canyon Drive for mid-century finds and cool boutiques.

Eat

• Breakfast: Norma's in the Parker. Brunch in a high-end diner on Bertoia-inspired chairs and Saarinen-esque tables under orange, white and yellow shades and pearly globes. With a strong French-pressed coffee, a shot glass of a heavenly smoothie and a breakfast quesadilla big enough for two, you'll be satisfied until five!
• Lunch: Jake's. The perfect petite lunch spot serving brightly coloured salads and inventive sandwiches in an open-air, Paris-meets-Palm Springs courtyard. For the record, if I was a snowbird, I'd be a regular.
• Dinner: Citron in the Viceroy. Refined without stuffiness; where food, beverages and design experts have worked in tandem to create a warm desert dining experience.

Sleep

• The Viceroy: A strikingly pulled-together retreat that's fancy without being frou frou and whimsical without being overdone.
• The Parker: A Hollywood hideaway where towering palm trees guide the way through curvy trails to pools and posh pads.

Getting There Getting there is a cinch. Here's a full list of direct flights to the Palm Springs Airport {PSP} from both Canadian and US destinations. From Vancouver, there's direct and daily WestJet service. Or fly from Bellingham with Allegiant or Seattle with Alaska.

Related Content Spotlight :: The Palm Springs Pull Winter Heat Palm Springs Cool Roam+Board :: The Viceroy Roam+Board :: The Parker

[photos by @tripstyler taken while exploring PS with its CVB]

Spotlight :: The Palm Springs Pull

[trip style = sun + weekend getaway + active & adventure]

{Editor’s Note: Today is the LAST DAY to enter to win a $200 credit for zozi, an online hub for local experiences in 63 cities in Canada and the US. Perfect as a Christmas gift for the person who has everything.}

{Don't miss next Thursday's Spotlight :: A Palm Springs Holidette}

It's sundown in 1950, and you're waiting for the signal. As the day fades into the night, an invitation is delivered. Not by mail or messenger pigeon, but by the raising of a Jack Daniels flag in the distance. Cocktail hour has arrived, and so have you. You're headed to Frank's---Sinatra that is---for his almost nightly happy hour. With a Jack on the rocks in hand, you chinwag with the Rat Pack crooner at his Twin Palms Estate in the Movie Colony neighborhood.

That was then. But who says you can't carry on Frank's tradition now? Trip style = sun + weekend getaway anyone?

Palm Springs is full of crooners, characters and community. Its pull spans generations, movements and time, with the first inhabitants being the Native Americans followed by an influx of Hollywood's elite. Audrey, Cary and Marilyn first flocked to the desert oasis to lounge and let their hair down. It was the perfect location outside of Hollywood's limelight, and fell within their 100-mile clause set by the studios, meaning they had to be within two hours of LA while filming.

A few of these 50s and 60s-era Hollywood actors still call Palm Springs home, as does a brood of artsy types who color the landscape. Robert's one of them, and so is Raven. Dressed in a fedora and retro-cool outfit, Robert leads modern architectural tours around Palm Springs neighbourhoods. His knowledge is encyclopedic, but he's the real attraction; a celeb unto himself with stories that are as entertaining as his tours. {More info on this next week}.

Raven was my Native American Ranger/guide in Palm Canyon, the world's largest fan palm oasis with m-i-l-e-s of easy to rugged hiking terrain. What I thought was going to be a one-hour nature walk turned into an hour of power as Raven dished out sage advice like "A man either leads, follows or serves. Serving is the greatest honor." He's obviously a man of wisdom, but when he told me what he does in his "free" time, the deal was sealed; he's a medicine man, raiser of scorpions for arthritic relief, flutist with a few CDs, speaker {at the same events as Deepak Chopra}, counselor to kids in prison and youth ranger leader. For all I know he also walks on tightropes, but I'll have to return to confirm this...

These individuals and 49,998 others make up the desert retreat's fun-loving, modern-thinking and art-collecting community. Include the winter and weekend swell and these numbers heat up like the hot-to-trot town's 354 days of sunshine per year. This impressive average---which makes my Vancouver soul cry/rain a little inside---is part of what pulls people to this oasis of relaxation and activity. The other reason is the community; the locals, young weekenders {aka "the margarita crowd"} and greying snowbirds mix like a cool gin and tonic with a twist.

The Palm Springs pull is as relevant today as it was in the mid-century mod boom. Sinatra's nightly cocktail hour invite nailed it. Don't wait for an invitation to come in the mail---the Jack Daniels flag is always flying in Palm Springs.

PS - Walk in Frank Sinatra's shoes at his former home---complete with living room recording studio, piano-shaped pool and twin palms---now a vacation rental. While many of the original fixtures are included, the Jack Daniels flag pole is not. Rent it for $2,500/night.

Related Winter Heat Palm Springs Cool Roam+Board :: The Viceroy Roam+Board :: The Parker

[photos by @tripstyler, taken when I was invited to explore Palm Spring with their CVB in November]

December Gift Guide :: An Experience {& Giveaway!}

[trip style = staycation + active & adventure, etc...]

{Editor's Note: Each December our editors round up the year's must-haves for Trip Styler's traveler gift guides. In the next few weeks leading up to Christmas we'll feature a variety of gift ideas for travelers of all stripes and styles. This year we're kicking things off with an experience---and giveaway!---versus a giant box under the tree.}

'Tis better to give than to receive; but store line-ups, out-of-stock signs and crowds can zap the joy out of Christmas gift-giving. What about an experience gift instead? It's just as thoughtful and there'll still be a present under the tree---perhaps just in envelope form!

I came across zozi earlier this year and l-o-v-e-d the concept: a website dedicated to local experiences in 63 cities throughout Canada and the US. From Vancouver to Virginia Beach browse activities like a full-day guided Mt. Baker backcountry skiing trip, a sailing cruise for two with cooking lesson and cocktails in San Francisco or sipping boutique tequilas and whiskeys in NYC to name a few.

The Giveaway :: $200 to use toward a travel experience for two people with zozi. See entry details below.

Started by a guy who saw a spitting image of his corporate self 30 years into the future, he quit his job, sold everything and went traveling. Like those HSBC ads lining most airport jetways, some would call this pursuit heroic and others would call it irresponsible. Fast forward a few months and continents, and then while diving in Australia he came face to face with a school of bull sharks and had two more epiphanies: a} his fear of sharks was largely irrational, and b} most other peoples' fears are irrational too. So under a banana tree in Byron Bay he wrote the business plan for what's now an city-based, experience hub for amateur and seasoned adventurers.

Peruse the site for gift-giving purposes, inspiration or to take on a personal challenge as a trip style = staycation or active & adventure trek out yonder.

PS - this weekend I'm going to Dallas, Texas, so I just browsed the local offers which include a concealed handgun license and shooting range course or a high-flying powered parachute ride. Now if those experiences don't get you up close and personal with a bang-up, big and bold Texan encounter, I'm not sure what does.

How to win {You can enter up to 3 ways, but you MUST start with STEP 1 to be qualified to enter.}

• Step 1: Comment on this post {below} and tell us tell us what travel or staycation experience gift you'd love to receive.
• Bonus entry: Like the Trip Styler PAGE {not an individual post} on Facebook. If you're already a fan, share any of Trip Styler's status updates pertaining to the contest. In both cases, tell us you've done so by commenting below.
• Bonus entry: RT the following on twitter...   I entered to win 2 travel experience #Christmas gifts from @zozi {Via @tripstyler} Enter: http://goo.gl/wvv9A

Details Open to residents of Canada and the USA 21 years or older. Entries will be accepted Dec. 7 – 15 {end of day}, 2011. Winner will be chosen via random.org and announced on Dec. 16. After prizing notification, winner has two days to make contact.

[photos by zozi]