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Traveling can be expensive.  While I'm feeling less of a tourist in the UK, having been here for about five months now, I'm well aware of the limitations of being in a different country while relying on technology to get around efficiently and cheaply.

I do love the convenience of my iPhone and the many apps I have installed, but if you use an iPhone (or any other smart phone) and rely on a data network in your own country (for me the United States), you become quickly aware of how reliant that device is on data access once it's stripped away from you.  This makes using the device a challenge when you're outside your network trying to find your way around or discovering interesting things to do.

I don't plan on giving up my US based iPhone any time soon, so most of my days in the UK are spent on free wifi access points or rationing my 20MB of international roaming data (which I do quite successfully most months).  This isn't the US though, free wifi can be difficult to find, and trying to load up the built-in Maps app will eat your roaming data very quickly.

I recently spent a day in London.  I considered it a touristy day, basically roaming one part of London and taking photos along the way.  The goal of the day was to spend as little money as possible, which I thought would be a fantastic challenge for a city as expensive as London.  I may blog about the entire experience some other time, but for this post I wanted to focus simply on the technology.

Features that make a good travel app include offline access with full use of the phone's GPS, and an easy to use interface.  Not everybody may require offline access, but it's good to consider, especially if you plan on using underground transport, or areas where you think there may be no wireless signals present.  I'm focusing on a few apps I downloaded for London, but I hope to take what I learned there to discover different apps for visits to other cities in the future.  A good way to test how an application will work offline is to try it out in airplane mode first.

Travel Guides

I still like to take a paper travel guide with me, but I like to keep them small.  This is because I prefer to plan trips out before I go and don't like carrying giant travel tomes.  I've also been burned on GPS signal in big cities before, tall buildings can interfere with getting an accurate reading on your device.  If you rely too much on the technology it could get you lost.  I prefer the Fodor's '25 Best' Series if I can find it for any city I visit.  It's thin, it only contains a few highlights of the best attractions, and it has maps both inside the covers and a bigger fold out map (oh and it's also cheap).  Having a nice and easy to use paper based map is still a good idea, even when you are traveling with a device that has a digital map.

I relied on my paper map the first time I was in London back in August, though this time I seemed to want to forget I even had it... even when I needed it.  I think it is easier and faster to pull out the iPhone than it is to mess with a map, which is why I try to plan on having both on hand.

I admit I didn't use my iPhone much for travel guides during the trip, I did look at a few before though.  Here's a few I found that I did like:

Free & Budget London - $1.99

If I liked one travel app the most it was this one.  I'm thrifty, what can I say?  It was the most expensive of all the apps I purchased, but I think it was worth it.  The interface is really nice and there are some unique tips and ideas for exploring London on the cheap.  I also liked that there was an average price for restaurant options.  The app works nicely offline, but you do need access to a network to view places on the map.  The distance option does work with the GPS and the phone offline, so it's possible to get nearby options on the fly.

London Map and Walking Tours - Free

This application has a nice interface for walking tours.  Even if you're not into doing an entire walking tour it could be useful for finding places nearby to go.  It also has a map that can be used offline.  There is a full version of this app for $4.99 that includes the same tours but with GPS navigation and turn-by-turn tour routes turned on.  The map and tours are loaded into the application and work offline.

London Highlights - Free

The London Highlights application is a lite version of the Way2GoGuides.  It has an easy to use interface with audio, area maps, and a host of other useful information.  There are a few other more detailed mini-guides that can be downloaded for $4.99, but the free application seems more than suitable for ideas and travel information on local attractions.

If offline access isn't necessary for you then there's a couple of honorable mentions.

Time Out London - Free

For a free app there's a lot going on here.  It's packed full of information, events, and fun things to do with a nice interface.  It doesn't work offline, but because there's a lot of real time information on events in here you can be sure there's less stale or outdated entries.  If I have one complaint about this app it is the nagging Smirnoff screen at the beginning asking if I'm of drinking age.

Spoonfed - Free

Like the Time Out London app, it will keep you up to date on live events and happenings.  It also needs a network connection to run so no offline access here either. 

Maps

Offline city maps are a wonderful thing to have on your phone, but it can be frustrating to find the best one.  There are so many options to choose from.

Smart Maps - London $0.99

I settled for this map because of the offline access and the price.  It uses OpenStreetMap as the base map, which I noticed a number of these mapping applications do.  What you need to know about OpenStreetMap is the data is non-commercial, open, and user-generated (anybody can use it for free).  It will only be as good as the data the users have added to the map (and of course how the app developer implements that data).  Though knowing this I noticed a lot of mapping applications using OpenStreetMap are charging a lot more for their apps, some in the $4.99 range, but others, like this one, a few dollars.  It's good to look at the features, and it's also good to know what you're going to want from an offline city map.  For me use of the GPS was important.  Where this map failed for me was finding a nearby tube station.  The stations are marked but they're not labeled, so I had no idea which one I was looking at.  It looks as if an update to this map does have some tube stations marked and search-able so this may no longer be an issue here.  The icons for tube stations and bus stops are similar so it's not as easy to use as Google Maps, but this is still a good map though.  The GPS works ok, the search feature does bring up some nearby places of interest, and an update to the map allows you to bookmark landmarks (which I've already started adding a few for my next trip to London).  The people who make the Smart Maps do make a few for other cities.

With all that being said, I noticed that the Walking Tours map I mentioned earlier does have the tube stations more clearly marked and uses the same OpenStreetMap base map.  The Mini A-Z maps ($9.99) are very popular in the UK, but I personally do not like how they look and the apps are basically expensive scans of their print maps.  Before committing to a map try to look at the screenshots to see if you can get any a sense of how the information is organized and labeled.  For a good map I don't think $4.99 is too much to pay if you think you're going to use the features, but cheaper is always better.  I did use the offline map a lot to get my bearings, they are incredibly helpful.

Transportation

I love riding on the London Tube!  I didn't bother downloading any bus apps for London because I prefer the Tube and walking, but there's a bazillion different transport apps for London alone.  I've also searched apps like this for Chicago so I know any large city will have many options for you to choose from.

Tube Map - Free

Like with city map applications, transport applications can vary.  The one I settled with was Tube Map because it was free.  It does a nice job getting you from station to station if you know where you're at and where you intend to go.  It does not use GPS though.  There is a naggy screen when you open the app to register but you can skip that and the app works fine offline.  The only thing that will not work offline with any of these apps is the tube status feature, which needs a data network to connect.  For a free app though, this one is good.

London Tube - $0.99

I haven't tested this one out for London, but I have a similar app by the same developers for Chicago.  I do find the interface a bit finicky to get around and you have to pay more for points of interest so it's no good if you want to search nearby locations.  I also have full access to the AT&T network in the US, so I'm not so much concerned with offline access there.  I've given my Chicago app another look though and I do find the interface frustrating enough that I'm willing to skip the London version of this application.

London Tube Deluxe - $0.99

While I still have yet to test it in London, I've decided to upgrade from my previously mentioned free Tube app to London Tube Deluxe.  The reviews are good and it was updated very recently with new features.  I like the interface, you can select a station from the map by tapping twice on the screen, and there is a locate feature that uses the GPS.  My next London trip won't require a ride on the Tube, but I'll try to remember to turn on the app to test the GPS offline while I'm in the city.

Looking through the options and the reviews, $0.99 seems to be the most you want to spend on a transport application.  The free map works just fine, especially if you don't need to rely on a GPS location for finding the nearest station, but if you want a few more features then you can find it for not much more.

WiFi Hotspots

A big "must do" when I plan on going anywhere is to get a handle on where the wifi hotspots are, or rather, the free wifi hotspots.  WiFi is a little easier to find in the US, but not impossible to find in the UK. 

WiFiZone@UK - Free

Most of the wifi locations here include the commercial services like The Cloud and BT Openzone, these are not free wifi hotspots and there is no filter to really determine if any are free.  The app claims it works with no internet connection, but it oddly does not work in airplane mode.  If you need a hotspot quick and don't mind paying for access this one will work throughout the UK.

Free WiFi London - Free

This is a simple app that works offline.  I used it twice in London, once brought me to a location that was closed (it's possible to mark locations closed when you're online, which I did), and another time brought me to a fabulous little cafe that I wished I had eaten lunch in instead of the typical chain cafe I did end up in.  It's not fancy, but it works with no internet connection and with the GPS.  My success rate is still only 50% with it, but it's a free app and it might help you find free wifi so it's worth the download.

Travel requires some planning and traveling with technology requires a lot of patience and research.  The apps themselves can be of varying quality and expense.  What I've learned with this trip to London is that finding the best applications might also take some time.  I'm not against paying money for a good app, but if you look at a decent map application alone you'll see some pretty astonishing prices.  I think once I was out and about during the day I realized what features were more essential than others.  The other unfortunate thing about downloading apps, particularly iPhone apps, is that there is no refund if you decide you don't like it after all.  My recommendation is to start with free or cheaper apps, there are some good ones out there and there are some bad ones too.  If it's free you're out nothing, and if it's cheap you're out a little... and who knows, maybe with some advice from you that mediocre free or cheap app could improve in time for your next trip.

I'm just cleaning up some old email and trying a new "Blog This" plugin for Firefox and Windows Live Writer.

I guess I'm signed up for Driftr.com, an online travel community and travel blogging site.  Not much activity on my profile yet but so far I like the site.  I've signed up for a few similar sites, I never seem to follow through with adding any content on them though.  It might have more to do with the fact that I do most of this sort of thing after the fact and I have a short window of motivation for documenting events when they're over.

What I like best about Driftr is integration of my Flickr account.  That seems to be a must for any web service like this, and I'm disappointed when many of these sites make me upload photos to their site, it's way too much work to duplicate that whole process again.

Now they just need a Facebook app and I'd be happy.  I've been using Facebook to aggregate as much of these services I sign up for as I can, probably as much for me than anybody else.  It's easier to keep track of what I'm doing online this way.

I'll probably write more about my trip to Toronto tomorrow, but in the meantime here's an annotated map of our trip in Google Maps.

Toronto Map, January 2008

I usually make these for geocaches, but since I didn't take a whole lot of pictures I did one of our entire trip (plus 2 geocaches, just because I can). The map includes some landmarks, places we went, and even the geocoded pictures from the trip.

Plaza
Originally uploaded by heidigoseek.

Just trying to get the last of my Vegas pictures up on Flickr. My last day was mostly pretty stressful, but after the stress subsided we made it to Downtown Las Vegas to visit the Fremont Street Experience. We did this on the way to the airport, however, and I didn't actually get to experience the experience. We just barely missed the first light show and I didn't want to be late boarding the plane so we didn't see the next.

Hopefully next time though! Downtown was pretty interesting though, it's all Old School Vegas. It's nothing like being on The Strip at all.

My overall experience with Vegas was pretty positive. I would definitely visit again. I guess I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the city. I don't know what I was expecting but it exceeded my expectations.

The one thing I would do differently next time is probably rent a car. Sort of accidentally I found out the renting cars is actually not that bad if you do it from the airport. Since I will likely be staying with my dad again then it'll be easier to get around and I wouldn't have to rely so much on my dad's work schedule to visit places I would want to go. Also parking is totally free in Vegas...I'm still excited about that! We're going to Toronto for a few days starting Sunday and we're paying $30/day for parking, that's just a lot of money just to park your car!

Hoover Dam Panorama
Originally uploaded by heidigoseek.

We didn't do much more than go to Hoover Dam today. It was a pretty short trip too, we didn't go on the tour or anything so we didn't even walk over to the Welcome Center.

Hoover Dam looks impressive, but it seems more impressive in photos than it does in person. I'm sure I would've been more impressed with the history of how the dam was built than anything. It was a lot shorter across than I expected, although it is pretty tall up. Considering the dam was built over 80 years ago, it is a pretty decent engineering feat.

What I didn't expect is the amount of people all over the place. It seemed cars and people share the road on top of the dam. No buses or trucks are allowed over on the dam, but it's probably a good thing because you have to watch out for people walking out in front of your car.

The picture is a vertical panorama that I cropped because I had a lot of the concrete barrier on the bottom. Ever since yesterday I started messing around with panoramas, they're actually pretty fun to take so you might see more of them from my pictures.

Tomorrow is my last day in Vegas and then I head home with what may be very little sleep in the evening.

Red Rock Canyon
Originally uploaded by heidigoseek.

Today we went to Red Rock Canyon and that was about it. Both my dad and I are pretty tired, although him more so than I am since he's working the weird hours. I think he made some comment that we look like a pair of old folks walking around like we do. Red Rock Canyon was an amazing sight though. I can tell you that this, I have never seen anything quite like this in my lfie, since I grew up in the cornfields of Ohio. No mountain ranges in sight where I'm from.

I had hoped to find some geocaches here, and there were quite a few, but none seemed to be any closer than .2 miles walk. I decided that since my back is still a little sore I didn't want to walk that far on rocky ground to try and get one. Plus my dad was in no mood for hiking either.

Now I actually have to attempt some homework or reading. It's been hard for me to get anything done because I seem to start to crash this time of the day.

Tomorrow we're actually heading off to Hoover Dam and then I get to decide what to do on Wednesday. I'd probably like to head back into Vegas again and do something before I leave.

The Mirage
Originally uploaded by heidigoseek.

I'm in Vegas! I came to visit my dad who has been living here for about a year. I even got a few pictures I took around the city uploaded on Flickr. The one in this blog post is of the Mirage, where my dad is currently working. He actually just started his new job there last night when my flight came in so I didn't actually get to see him until this morning.

The flight to Vegas was pretty uneventful, but I did think of a few things that I had wanted to tweet but didn't want to pay for internet while I was waiting. One thing was how airports and flying give me anxiety. This is only the second round trip flight I've ever take in my life. I would much rather take a slow boat to China than fly there. My anxiety from airports comes mostly from picking Alex up or dropping him off all the time. Ironically when I drop him off for his flights I'm fighting what seems like a million cars doing the same thing, but this time there was maybe 3 cars including ours outside the terminal. Figures.

The other annoying thing was that Google Gears doesn't seem to be working all the time with my Google Reader. I had wanted to go through some feeds in the airport and on the plane. In the airport the browser kept redirecting me to buy internet and on the plane it would catch for a second and then send me to a network error page. I had plenty of other things to occupy my time with though.

Once at the airport I had to catch a taxi to my dad's house, as I mentioned, he started his job last night so I didn't get to see him until this morning. I threw the taxi driver off guard when I gave him an actual address in North Las Vegas instead of one of the typical hotel/casinos. He asked me if I knew where it was, I said, "no but I have GPS." I had already loaded my dad's address in my device before I left. He said I was his first GPSer. That dang thing really does come in handy...and I think I had him impressed enough to want to go buy one himself. My dad used to be in real estate so he had one of those house key locks hanging on the front door for me...I guess those things come in handy too.

Today he just took me around some of the different casinos. I actually like Las Vegas a lot more than I thought I would. I'm not really into the casino thing, but with the amount of shows and other things to do, it's actually a pretty cool place. Sadly the thing that impressed me the most is free parking. This is sad because there are a lot of really impressive things in Vegas and I choose parking. I guess I need to get out more.

I don't get to travel all that often, but come January that will change. I have two trips planned almost back to back to one another. The first trip is to Las Vegas to visit my dad for about four days. My dad moved to Vegas a little less than a year ago in an attempt to find a job. I'm not sure how well his attempt has paid off since he's now laid off from the job he had, but I think he would agree that he wouldn't be doing better in Toledo if he were still there. At any rate, I found some cheap plane tickets from Detroit to Vegas the other night and called him to see if he was up for a visit. After my phone conversation I felt a little bad, however, because I realized that having Alex and I visit when he currently has no money could be a bit of a burden. I gave it some serious thought though, and I decided that I would go by myself because I really did want to see my dad, and he's also in a place where he doesn't know anybody so he probably also wants to see me. As much as I would love to take Alex along, I think it'll be easier on my dad if it's just one visitor this time. What made my day yesterday was when I called my dad to tell him I would definitely be coming. He said he was excited, looking forward to it, and I made his day. I know I made the right decision to visit.

Then a few days after I get back from Vegas, Alex and I will be driving to Toronto for about four days. I'm really psyched about this trip too! Alex is sort of being recruited to a lab at University of Toronto for a post-doc, and he'll be visiting that lab next month to check out what they do. Since there's about a 90% chance that we'll be living there I thought I should really go along and check out the city. I've never been to Toronto, let alone Canada, but I've only heard wonderful things about the city. Last night I started making a list of the places I wanted to go, I'm totally in the tourist mode at the moment. I don't mind either; we don't do the tourist thing much. We'll get some geocaching in, probably on the drive there; we definitely need to add a new country to our list. One day Alex and I will sightsee together and then the day that Alex is visiting the lab, I'll be on my own. I personally love roaming around new cities by myself so I'm going to take full advantage of the opportunity. I didn't see a whole bunch of shows that looked interesting (can somebody please produce an original musical and not repurpose old rock songs) so I think we'll go to Second City one night instead. Our main day there together is on a Sunday too, so I don't expect a lot going on that day. I'm also amazed that it's only a four hour drive. Compared to the seven or so hours it usually takes us to get to Wisconsin, four hours will be a breeze! Now I just have to find our passports, they're buried in my office somewhere (eek!)

Schmap Guides are free city guides that you can download to your computer. They're kinda cool. They contacted me to include three of my Cleveland pictures awhile back and again today to let me know that the Cleveland guide is ready. They have some other cities too, it's kinda neat to check out.

I'm thrilled that our camping trip from last fall is getting a lot of mileage from the Absolute Michigan site, we did go to a ton of great places in Michigan though. Anyway, Destination Michigan did a slideshow of the Whitefish Point lighthouse and museum, many of my pictures are included here. Then on their blog site, Michigan in Pictures, my Whitefish Point Lighthouse picture was featured. I just added these not too long ago, even though it's been almost a year now since our trip...slowly but surely I guess, I took over 200 pictures on this trip. I'm almost done though, and I really think the best pictures are yet to come.

I have to marvel tat this Whitefish Point picture I took though, I can hardly believe that 1. this is something I took, and 2. this came from my camera to begin with. It's simply beautiful. I should make some sort of poster, postcard, or something with this.

My husband and I were talking about going camping again in September, this time I was thinking about somewhere along the Lake Michigan coast in Michigan (we'll be spending time at the other coast in Wisconsin when we go to homecoming in October). I do enjoy traveling around the state though, it's been a lot of fun. I have to also force myself to remember that we went to Northern Wisconsin on that same trip, it amazes me that we visited so many great places in only 1 week!

Tags: travel, michigan, pictures, whitefish point, lighthouse, museum