[Blindtlk] 5 Sanity-Saving Smartphone Apps for Your Summer Travel

Mon Jul 13 19:35:36 UTC 2015

Hello everyone:

Just returned from the Diamond Anniversary National Convention of the
National Federation of the Blind.

The NFB Travel & Tourism Division has an exciting year coming up, from
learning about different forms of travel. Possible discussions with Amtrak
and Grey Line, our 2016 Fundraiser Trip, and  many other things throughout
the year. If you would like to participate in the discussions, please come
and join us on the Travel & Tourism talk list  at 

http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/travelandtourism_nfbnet.org

Join the division by paying $10 for the year by either paying via paypal.com
or by mail by check or money order.

That link is :

http://nfbtravel.org/how-to-join-the-nfb-travel-tourism-division/

We look forward to working with you and other divisions about traveling,
adaptable excursions, conferences in DC or other states where we can have
our voices heard with other organizations about traveling and enjoying the
places once we get there. All over the world not just here in the USA.

Also if you are interested in going into the Trillion Dollar Hospitality
Field, which I spoke about at the Jobs Seekers Seminar, we will be doing
that as well, but our division, you do not have to work in the field to
belong. 

Enjoy the article below, that is sent out from Echevarria Travel on our
weekly e-zine.

Let’s Go Build the Federation!

I know many of you are getting ready to sneak in that last hurrah vacation
before school starts up again, and I wanted to pass along a few of my
favorite apps that can help you save time and hassle when you reach your
destination.

5 Sanity-Saving Smartphone Apps for Your Summer Travel

As you get ready to embark on your next vacation, here's a quick list of
smartphone apps that can help you get organized, find great deals, navigate
new cities in your rental car, and save you hassle along the way.

Waze -  Whether your trip involves a lot of road travel, or you just want to
find a faster way to get to places in your own city, consider Waze. Recently
purchased by Google, it uses social media input to give real-time updates on
traffic situations. So, for example, if there's a game downtown in the city
you're visiting, as you're trying to navigate that same area to get to a
restaurant, Waze will let you know where the jams are so you can avoid the
tangle and the time (and fuel) wasted waiting for game-goers. 

TripIt  - Reservations, tickets, events, meetings, personal gathering with
friends or family - you can basically have all the important details of your
trip at your fingertips, all in one convenient place. 

You know all those confirmation emails that you get from hotels, airlines,
car rental services and the like - the ones you frantically search for in
your Inbox the night before you leave on a vacation? Now you can simply send
all these emails along to your tripit.com email account, which will then
magically generate a digital itinerary that you can refer to on your mobile
device. It also provides weather info and maps of your destinations. You can
add multiple trips to TripIt if you're a frequent traveler, or just use it
for a single vacation. TripIt was awarded Best Travel Mobile App for 2011 at
the Webby Awards. All the services described above are free, or you can
upgrade to a paid version for even more cushy service and alerts.

Around Me - Ever find yourself in an unfamiliar city, and you just want a
decent cup of coffee or a place to buy an extra toothbrush? This application
tells you all the points of interest that are located near you. It detects
your current location, and lets you select from categories like bars,
cafÃ©s, hospitals, pharmacies, and hotels to filter through the results. 

Road Trippers - This is a fun travel tool made for the iPhone as an app, but
that is also available via mobile web so you can use it with Android,
Blackberry, and other smartphone platforms. Here's how it works: you type in
your starting and destination points and it tells you distance, time and
estimated gas costs. This is great for day trips - think of a great tour of
Napa while staying in San Francisco (or vice versa!). While the
distance-finding feature isn't necessarily groundbreaking, Road Trippers
goes one better and tells you about all of the attractions worth seeing
along the way, from the obvious to the wonderfully ridiculous.

There are tons of apps to explore, of course, and this is just a glimpse -
but these should add some fun and help you plan your travels and avoid
potential hassles that sometime come along with traveling. Once we've worked
together to plan out your awesome vacation, give these apps a try and let me
know how it goes!

Cheryl Echevarria, President

National Federation of the Blind's Travel and Tourism Division

A proud division of the 

NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND - "Live the life you want"

www.nfbtravel.org <http://www.nfbtravel.org> 

To join the talk list

http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/travelandtourism_nfbnet.org

631-236-5138

cherylandmaxx at hotmail.com

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
between blind people and our dreams. You can have the life you want;
blindness is not what holds you back.

Cheryl Echevarria 

Travel is our specialty and offering the best of meaningful travel for all
ages is our passion!

http://www.echevarriatravel.com

reservations at echevarriatravel.com

631-456-5394

Visit my website to get my FREE report, “Top 5 Good Reasons to Use a Travel
Professional”

I build my business on referrals. Please pass my details on to friends and

family members that deserve the best vacation that they can imagine

P.S. – Families of all sizes is my specialty. Whether you are just starting
out and looking for that romantic destination for your destination wedding
or honeymoon. Booking that planned family vacation to Walt Disney World or
that bucket list trip that Grandma  & Grandpa are planning for the family, I
would love to help you. 

We have partnered with Braille Smith. www.braillesmith.com for all her
braille needs.  Gail Smith is the Secretary of the NFB of Alabama