Tech Tuesday :: Unravel Group Travel

[trip style = any]

################## {Editor's Note: Announcing our biggest giveaway yet! Enter to win two nights at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler and two Scandinave Spa Whistler bath passes. Takes less than one minute to enter. Contest closes Oct. 26.} ##################

Traveling with friends is a blast, but organizing-smorganizing a 10 - 20-person bachelorette, mancation or family trip can turn into a full-time job!

Fear not, like most travel conundrums, the internet has an answer. Tech Tuesday for the win!

Travelstormer Travelstormer likens amateur group travel planning to herding cats, so it helps group travelers get their ducks in a row from idea to itinerary!" I WISH this existed when my girlfriends went on a 14-person triple-bachelorette to Vegas. Sure, we made 'do' with email and phone planning {via hours of conference calls and gazillions of emails}, but this website would have made the process so much more organized and streamlined! Next time...

How It Works Sign up for an account and add friends. Every detail is coordinated from a central and simple dashboard {pictured above}. Brainstorm and discuss with the group or via private message, then enter your dates and destination, build an itinerary and track expenses. Genius.

I'm going to use Travelstormer for another girls trip in the works for 2012. I've already set up an account. For now, we don't know our dates or destination, but we'll input those details as the process takes shape. Time to brainstorm and discuss!

Happy planning.

More Tech Tuesday Virtual Shopping Get A Callback Google Flight Search Hotel Tonight Getting There Direct

[images via travelstormer]

From The Archives :: Going The Distance With Air Miles

[trip style = budget conscious]

{Editor's Note: this how-to air miles guide was originally published in April, 2010. It's been given a total refresh reroute for the present day.}

Air Miles = Happiness Using air miles is a wonderful thing. Most savvy travelers try to accumulate miles with one or two major airline alliances and redeem them to fly for free {other than taxes}. If you're a frequent flier, growing your miles is a breeze; if you're a casual traveler it can take 2-5 years, but when you book that free flight, it's worth the wait! Once you have a 747-worth of air miles, the best way to use them is: a} go as far as you can within your points allowance, and b} opt for a {free} stopover.

Go The Distance If you could fly from Vancouver to Calgary, or Vancouver to Montreal redeeming the same amount of air miles, what destination would you choose? When cashing in on your air miles for a vacation, why not go as far as you can? Air mile reward charts are all about the big picture. They don't present different mileage amounts for flights from Vancouver to Calgary versus Vancouver to Montreal, it's just 25,000 points {approximately} for domestic travel. Full stop. Therefore, when booking a flight with your air miles, go the distance!

Stop For Free Last summer I booked a cross-Canada trip to Ottawa, Montreal, New Brunswick {NB}, Nova Scotia and PEI with my Air Canada Aeroplan miles. Instead of using my air miles to take short trip, I opted to maximize them and fly to NB with a week stopover in Ottawa. Making the stop in Ottawa did not require additional miles. This air miles redemption trick also works for many US carriers, so if you're redeeming your air miles, why not kill two birds with one stone and stop somewhere you've always wanted to go for free! {Note, airlines only allow stopovers if they are generally between your arrival and departure point.}

Booking Travel With Air Miles & Maximizing The Distance

• Travel the farthest you can within your available points.
• Do your homework. Once you know how far you can go, check to see if there are blackout dates, etc…
• Find out your airline’s air miles stopover policy.
• Book in advance for your preferred dates and destinations. Airlines only reserve a small amount of seats for air mile passengers.
• Embrace the web. Most airlines now charge an extra fee for air miles bookings made over the phone vs on the web.
• Even if you book your entire flight via air miles, taxes still apply.

[graphic by @tripstyler]

Roam+Board :: The Met Vancouver

[trip style = luxury + urban]

{Editor's Note: Hovering somewhere between a boutique property and urban resort, the Metropolitan Hotel Vancouver's got it, but doesn't need to flaunt it. Recently I was invited to reacquaint myself with the property---an invitation I gladly accepted given I used to do a lot of business with the hotel in my former life. As in years passed, the facilities, food and guest services approach receive an A on my report card. Here's why:}

What When a hotel has amenities like a Jaguar car service, Frette bathrobes and Molton Brown bath products, you know it's going to be discerning. And it is. Locals call it The Met, visitors call it their contemporary, asian-inspired home away from home. Two black stone lions quarried in China usher you from street to lobby. Inside, something grabs you. A calm sets in. No wonder; the hotel was originally built with the help of a Feng Shui master and constructed in the shape of a fan {though sadly, this is not totally distinguishable from the street}.

Where In the nerve centre of Vancouver's downtown, across from Pacific Centre mall, one hundred steps from The Vancouver Art Gallery, two blocks from Robson Street and near public transit.

When Summer is Vancouver's peak season, but it's during the festive season the hotel gets all dolled up. Perfect as a place to rest your head and feet after a Christmas power shopping session, or refuel over bubbles and molecular cuisine at Diva, the hotel's signature restaurant.

Who/Why You are polished and well-rounded, and you expect the same standard from your hotel. You appreciate discreet service, excellent cuisine and a well-tended facility to sculpt your body.

Cost From $175/night; includes a Jaguar car service in the downtown area, wifi in both public areas and guest rooms, a squash court, pool {excellent for laps}, whirlpool and gym. Note that the following packages sweeten the deal: Long Weekends At The Met - Turn any weekend into a long weekend. Pay for a Fri/Sat night or a Sat/Sun night and get third night free! Rates start at $195/night for the two weekend nights. Out On The Town - In town for a holiday performance, concert, Canucks game or...? Just show your tickets when you check in to get a rate as low as $155/night with complimentary valet parking and late check-out.

More Roam+Board Custom Hotel – LAX Bitter End Yacht Club – BVI Sleep On The Water – London A Woodsy Hideaway – Big Sur, CA

[photos assembled by @tripstyler via The Metropolitan Hotel + Diva]

TS's Experience Whistler :: Ziptrek

[trip style = active & adventure]

{Editor's Note: This week we're starting a three-part series---that we'll likely add to in the future---focusing on extraordinary experiences in one of our favourite trip style = weekending destinations: Whistler, Canada. This week we take flight on Ziptrek, next week we brush up on our Nordic bathing skills at Scandinave {outdoor} Spa, and the following week we'll venture into cellars and frosty rooms to experience Whistler's food and beverage marvels. PS. Stay tuned over the coming week for a not-to-be-missed Whistler giveaway---our biggest yet!}

This past weekend I got a taste of an Ewok village and Cirque du Soleil-esque aerobatics. This unique combination, coupled with an almost anyone-can-do adventure, has made this sky-high, over-water flight path one of Trip Styler's must-do Whistler activities.

With a six-point harness intimately close to your nether-regions---the parts you want protected while flying down a steel cable at up to 80km/hour---you criss-cross between Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains, dangle over Fitzsimmons Creek {which looks more like a raging river} and walk over suspension bridges between treetop platforms.

Even if you've never been to Whistler, Ziptrek Ecotours might still ring a bell. You may recognize the name or experience from The Bachelorette or Lonely Planet's Top 10 Canadian Adventures. If not, here's a visual: helmet and harness-clad zippers strap in, step out into thin air and assume the tuck or spreadeagle position while gliding {and often screaming} from platform to platform at Trans-Canada Highway speeds.

Addressing the obvious, if you're afraid of heights, it can be scary. Usually, this turns into exhilaration. I've zipped twice before; once  into the Pacific Ocean, and once on North America's longest continuous dual zipline, and I wasn't scared Ziptrekking until I inverted myself for 15 seconds on the last of five lines. I don't like handstands at the best of times, but being upside down made my body realize I was flying at the height of treetops in an old-growth rainforest. For five seconds, my brain panicked, then I remembered my six-point harness, my guide double- and triple-checking my zipping getup and the fact that Ziptrek is the North American pioneer of zipline tours. Momentary freakout averted.

My guide said he replaces his well-worn gloves once every three weeks. Not for fun, but for necessity. Guides use a smart and stealthy combination of pulleys, foot pedals, bicycle break handles and their glove-covered hands to slow zippers to a grinding halt at the base of each line. This is especially unbelievable when you consider the longest line, a 2,000-foot rush, where for 45 seconds you and Tarzan have a lot in common, aside from the leopard print loin cloth.

While my ecological exploration from 15 storeys high will not encourage me to run off and join Cirque du Soleil's ariel acrobatics team, it's enough to make me feel like I gave a great audition. Oddly, post-Ziptrekking conjures up the same feeling as après-ski, so make sure you set aside time for wine and cheese or beer and nachos.

The Skinny

• Who: Anyone older than six and less than 275 'ish' pounds. Perfect for singles, couples, families or groups. Check specific tours for more details.
• When: 365 days a year. {Gas heaters warm zippers at platforms in winter.}
• How/Cost: Starting at $89 for adults, the 2.5- to 3-hour Bear Tour is best for first-time zippers with 5 ziplines up to 1,100-feet in length and 4 treetop bridges. Starting at $109 for adults, the 2.5- to 3-hour Eagle Tour is for the adventurous soul with 5 ziplines up to 2,000-feet in length and 4 treetop bridges. Starting at $199 for adults, the Mammoth Tour combines the Bear and Eagle experiences with 10 ziplines and 9 treetop bridges. For those who simply cannot stand a high-wire adventure, there's the two-hour TreeTrek Canopy walk from $39.

Related Content Whistler :: Live High Pay Low Spotlight :: Whistler A Slower-Paced Whistler

[photos by @TripStyler]

Pink For a Purpose

[trip style = urban + luxury] Like a crisp rosé savoured with a creamy rocchetta cheese, when an afternoon or overnight break is paired with good cause, it is that much more rewarding. This month, eating and staying with a purpose comes in a shade of pink in support of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation {CBCF}.

Here are a few eat + stay + support opportunities at hotels in BC* embracing breast cancer awareness month: *if you reside outside of Vancouver or Seattle, and want to support pink, check with your favourite hotels and resorts for pink partnerships

Tea Raise your pinky---a functional and fashionable part of tea drinking etiquette---and partake in the sophisticated tradition of sipping a spot of tea in the afternoon. Partial proceeds donated to the CBCF in Canada and the Susan G. Komen Foundation in the USA. Where - The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver The Fairmont Pacific Rim The Fairmont Empress {Oct 24-30} The Fairmont Chateau Whistler The Fairmont Olympic {Seattle} Cost - $25 - $47/person

Stay One of Canada's leading hotels {according to Travel+Leisure readers}, is combining frothy ocean views and pink bubbly. For the month of October, stay overnight and along with Blue Mountain Vineyards, partial proceeds from your stay will be donated to the CBCF. Package includes an overnight stay, a bottle of Blue Mountain Brut Rosé, a $100 Ancient Cedars Spa credit and valet parking. Details. Where - The Wickaninnish Inn, Tofino BC Cost - From $550 Note - If you haven't booked the pink 'stay' package, you can still support the cause by sipping bubbles at The Pointe Restaurant, with $2 from each glass or $10 from each bottle of Blue Mountain Rosé sparkling donated to Breast Cancer Awareness.

[photos by @TripStyler & @wickinnBC]