Tweet! Only 5 Travel Brands Offer Exclusive Deals on Twitter

Tweet! Tweet! We all know Twitter has become a huge platform for travel companies who want to market their sweet deals. But with so many people logging into the Twitter universe, how do you know who's really going to give you something you can use and who's just adding to the Twitter "noise"? Dealbase.com recently conducted a survey to pinpoint the travel brands that tweet the best offers. According to the survey, only a few brands actually post exclusive offers on their Twitter feeds. Here are the winners:

Kimpton (@Kimpton)

Omni Hotels (@OmniHotels)

Joie de Vivre (@JDVHotels)

JetBlue (@JetBlue)

United Airlines (@UnitedAirlines)

Check out the rest of the survey results here.

Unusual Hotels: Find 'em Here

Okay, okay; I've been a bad blogger...again. Smack me on the wrist and give me my punishment. There's really no excuse for my behavior, apart from the fact it's been a busy summer and I've been gearing up for an autumn onslaught of bigger, better blogging. That said, here we go...

Ice Hotel, Jukkasjarvi, Sweden Photo via UnusualHotelsOfTheWorld.com

Your travel dollars are hard-earned these days. When you do decide to spend the cash and hit the road, you don't want to stay in just any old hotel. You want something different. You want something exciting. You want something underwater, in a cave or carved out of ice. What? Thanks to unusualhotelsoftheworld.com, it won't be such a tall order to find just the place to suit your atypical standards. The site contains tons of information on a bevy of unconventional shelters in all corners of the globe. It's easily searchable, infinitely interesting, and some of the photos are downright amazing. Happy hunting!

Endless Vacation

It's always hard to leave a great holiday weekend behind. No matter how you chose to spend the Fourth of July (Our crew opted to watch the NYC fireworks from the rooftop at Soho House and take in a late-night swim. Who needs a swimsuit when you have a perfectly good dress?), drudging back to work can be a real drag.

If you're still finding it hard to say goodbye to your vacation time, check out earthtv.com. Not only do they have interesting footage of Fourth of July events from all across the U.S., they show live streaming video of beautiful places all over the globe. So, even though you may be stuck at your desk, the vacation's never really over.

screenshot from "The World Live" on earthtv.com

Above photos taken by James Lloyd.

The Naked Truth About Flight Safety

Air New Zealand - screen grab from safety video

Air New Zealand is taking in-flight entertainment to a whole new level. The crew is stripping down to nearly nothing (just a little body paint...and perhaps a captain's hat) for their new safety video. Guess that's one way to make passengers pay attention! You can view the hot little piece of instructional cinema here. I've gotta go book my ANZ ticket...

Lost and Found

Whether the airline recently misplaced a prized piece of your luggage or you just like nosing around in other people's stuff, you'll want to check out isthisyourluggage.com. This guy collects lost luggage (the airlines actually auction it off if they can't find the owners), photographs it (yep, the entire contents, too), and posts the pics on the website. Why? "Lunalaboo,"as he's called, admits it's mostly to satisfy his "weird voyeuristic passion," but says he also truly hopes to find the suitcases' rightful owners. Too bad it's not before the whole world has seen their dirty underwear!

Thanks to Raffy for letting me know about the site!

Earthy Exercise

[Photo by Prabhu B/flickr]

Frequent travelers usually like to stay in shape (you never know when you're going to have to sprint to your next flight gate or squeeze into that tiny bikini), but while we're looking out for our bodies, we can also look out for the planet. In honor of Earth Day, here are seven ways to green your exercise routine, courtesy of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel...

1. Donate your used fitness shoes.
Soles4Souls (soles4souls.com) donates shoes to those in need. Nike also accepts shoes and recycles them into sports courts around the world (letmeplay.com/reuseashoe).

2. When participating in a race, walk or other event, carry your own water or sports drink in a reusable plastic bottle (if you don't mind the extra weight).

3. Leave your car in the driveway and ride your bike to the gym (especially on weekends, when you have more time).


[Photo by Tuftronic1000/flickr]

4. Carpool to races.

5. Wear eco-friendly training clothing.

6. Sign an "eco-pledge" created especially for athletes, at AFitPlanet.com/pledge.

7. Designate a cleanup day for your running, cycling, inline skating or fitness club, where you agree to pick up the garbage along your usual route.

[Photo by Per Ola Wiberg/flickr]

Happy Earth Day!!

Ocean Dreams...

[Photo by Muha/flickr]

Just a little inspiration for planning your next escape. Happy Weekend!!

Bring Your Own

[Photo by delgaudm/flickr]

In this economy, everyone's looking for a bargain. One of my personal favorites is a BYOB restaurant. These little gems can save the day (or night) when you want to have dinner and cocktails, but you don't have the cash for an expensive evening out. The only problem? BYOB's can be pretty hard to find...until now. GoBYO.com is a new site that has complete listings of BYO restaurants in cities across the country. Just enter the zip code you're in and -- voila! -- a list of restaurants in your area that don't mind at all if you bring in a bottle of 3 buck chuck to enjoy with your meal. Cheers!

Rain, Rain, DON'T Go Away!

White Lipped Green Tree Frog [Photo by whotheheckareyou/flickr]

All the rainy weather in New York today got me thinking about...the rainforests! Some of the most beautiful and diverse places on earth, we all know our planet's beautiful rainforests are in grave danger of disappearing -- and we certainly don't want that to happen. Doing your part to save them is as easy as a click a day. Head on over to The Rainforest Site right now and "click to give." It's free!

Costa Rica [Photo by baxterclaws/flickr]

Each time you click, you're shown the list of site sponsors. The Rainforest Site donates 100% of these sponsors' fees to charities who buy endangered rainforest land. In the five years they've been operating, the site has raised the funds to purchase and protect over 5,650 acres! When you're done with your "click" (bookmark and do it every day), check out the on-line store. They've got lots of great goodies, and, of course, the proceeds go towards --you guessed it -- saving the rainforest.

Drive Like A Woman

Female Cabbie in Yuncheng, Chia [Photo by Helga's Lobster Stew/flickr]

There's a great article on MarieClaire.com that includes lots of fun facts about how women around the world take to the wheel. A few highlights:

In SWITZERLAND, some shopping centers offer women's-only parking spaces close to stores to ensure apres diem shopping safety.

In MOLDOVA, twice the number of women as men applied for their licenses last year.

In TURKEY, a members-only car service especially for women picks up in pink BMWs stocked with disposable cosmetics, healthy snacks, and magazines. All drivers are female and trained in self-defense.

In CHINA, 25 percent of Ferrari owners here are women. (Compare that to 10 percent in North America).

Colombia in NY Part 2

As I mentioned in my last post, I spent the better part of Friday night driving around New York in La Chiva -- the Colombian Party bus. It was a fun time. (That's me in the middle with my man, James, and best friends, Zofie and Raffy -- don't we look HAPPY?) I think four hours on a bus may have been a bit much, though, even with a DJ and drinks.

My friend Kristin and me taking a break

After the trip, I got curious about this Colombian tradition and did some research. A little background: Chiva buses are old buses modified by artisans and used for regular transportation in rural Colombia. Here's the real deal...

More recently, the Chivas have been used as "party buses," for touring areas like Bogata and Cartagena, Bolivar. A few sights you might see along the way on a typical Chiva...

Mountains surrounding Monseratte, Bogata [photo by lornapips/flickr]

Smiling Tucan in Cartagena [Photo by LUZA lack of inspiration/flickr]

Cartagena, Bolivar [Photo by LUZA lack of inspiration/flickr]

Cartagena, Bolivar [Photo by LUZA lack of inspiration/flickr]

Makes me wanna head to Colombia ASAP!

Feed Them with Knowledge

[Photo by foto morgana/flickr]

Got some down time at your desk? Spend a few minutes on freerice.com and build your brainpower while helping those in need. Free Rice generates a series of questions to test your knowledge of basic subjects (vocabulary is my personal favorite). For every answer you get right, they donate 10 grains of rice to help end hunger through the UN World Food Program. If you miss one, they give you another shot at it later in the session. So, you learn something new and feed the hungry all at the same time. Genius!

Irish Secrets

[Photo by Tomsaint11/flickr]

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, here are 10 fun facts about Ireland the ferries have kept quiet until now, courtesy of Irish Central:

1. Technically, it is an offense to be drunk in public in Ireland

2. An Irishman founded the Argentinean Navy

3. Only two members of U2 were born in Ireland

4. The British Embassy in Tehran is on a street named after an Irishman

5. Until the early 1990s, Ireland had a low per capita consumption of alcohol


[Photo by wanderlustphoto/flickr]

6. A Belfast hospital is a world leader in kneecap reconstruction

7. Ireland has the fourth largest stadium in Europe

9. Playboy was banned in Ireland until 1995

10. More Guinness is sold in Nigeria than in Ireland


[Photo by apesara/flickr]

A Night at the Opera

Yvonne Naef as Fricka in "Die Walkure" [photo by Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera]

You don't have to be in New York City to attend an opera at the Met. Nearly 850 local movie theaters around the globe are showing the performances live in HD. Next up: Puccini's Madama Butterfly on March 7th. Check for a venue near you, buy tickets and watch the Live In HD trailer here.

Eye in the Sky

Bora Bora, Tahiti [Satellite Image Courtesy of Geoeye]

Suffering from a serious case of wander lust but stuck at your desk staring at a computer? Geoeye has the cure: a collection of super high-res satellite images snapped all around the planet. Jet over to Bora Bora (above) or check out ancient sites like Stonehenge and Easter Island. On a more serious note, you can also view images of natural disaster areas (they've got pictures of Myanmar taken before and after last May's cyclone) and get a bird's eye view of newsworthy events like Barack Obama's inauguration. Everything's easily downloadable, too.