Intelligent Travel Blog

Intelligent Travel Blog http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/ Cultural, Authentic and Sustainable - This is your brain on travel. We showcase the essence of place, what's unique and original, and what locals cherish most about where they live. And we highlight places, practices, and people that are on the front lines of sustainable travel—travel that preserves places’ essential uniqueness for future generations. en Copyright 2009 Fri, 03 Jul 2009 08:30:18 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification Legality of Fireworks by State

Crossing state lines this holiday weekend? If you're planning to set off a fireworks display of your own making, then be sure to check out the laws regulating firework usage in each state. The National Council on Fireworks Safety reported that 9,800 people were injured using fireworks in 2007, so please don't become a statistic. We all know that fireworks can be dangerous, so be smart and use the proper techniques to keep yourself safe. Have a fantastic fourth!

How do you feel about consumer fireworks?

Map: Sarah Aldrich
]]> http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2009/07/legality-of-fireworks-by-state.html http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2009/07/legality-of-fireworks-by-state.html IT News Resources _United States fireworks Fourth of July laws United States Fri, 03 Jul 2009 08:30:18 -0500 Great Places to Watch Fireworks this Fourth

Being in the nation's capital for the Fourth of July is one of those experiences that you never forget. Something about watching the fireworks with the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, and Capitol as the backdrop is thrilling.

My favorite spot to watch is directly beneath the show. I tell everyone I know to bring a blanket and grab some room underneath the Washington Monument facing the Lincoln Memorial. The fireworks are shot from the reflecting pool so from there you feel every loud "boom" in the bottom of your gut as they're set off. At the same time, music from the National Symphony Orchestra plays over loudspeakers in time with the fireworks display. It's always packed, but there's a buzz of excitement that emanates from the massive crowd, who naturally are all adorned in red, white and blue paraphernalia. The Washington Post put together a great map that shows other places to sit and watch the fireworks.

Everyone has a different place that they think is great, so I asked some of the staff at National Geographic Traveler to share their favorite spot to watch, whether it be in D.C. or elsewhere in the United States. Read on to get some new ideas for you and your family and friends, and share your own favorite spots in the comments.
]]> http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2009/07/claim-your-spot-great-places-t.html http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2009/07/claim-your-spot-great-places-t.html Do IT: See IT News _United States D.C. Fireworks Fourth of July Independence Day Washington Fri, 03 Jul 2009 07:50:55 -0500 50 Books of Summer

Renting a villa in Umbria this summer? Perhaps you're hiking in Nepal or just lazing on a Bermuda beach. Or you may be taking the kids on their first U.S. road trip. Whatever your plans, we have a book for you, selected from Traveler's online Ultimate Travel Library of classic and new reads with a great sense of place. Each of these books will illuminate your destination, give you unexpected tips on what to see and do, and keep you turning pages during that long flight or that sunny poolside afternoon.

[50 Books of Summer]

Photo by Hans F. Meier/iStockphoto.com

]]> http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2009/07/50-books-of-summer.html http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2009/07/50-books-of-summer.html Armchair Travel Beach Books National Geographic Reading Summer Travel Travel Reads Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:18:38 -0500 "The Ledge" Opens in Chicago

One of my favorite things to do when I arrive in a new place is go to the highest point, it helps me get my bearings and lays out the landscape in front of me like a huge buffet table that I'm eager to dig into. But I do admit to the occasional bout of vertigo when it comes to actually looking down. So my stomach feels a little queasy right now just thinking about "The Ledge," the new glass-enclosed feature of the Skydeck in the Sears Tower in Chicago, which opens today to the public. These new glass balconies are suspended 1,353 feet (412 meters) in the air and extend 4 feet (1.22 meters) from the Sears Tower's 103rd-floor Skydeck. According to the Sears Tower:

The inspiration for The Ledge came from hundreds of forehead prints visitors left behind on Skydeck windows every week. From the memorable scene in Ferris Bueller's Day Off to curious children going right up to the window, visitors are constantly trying to catch a glimpse below. Now they have a unique and unobstructed view of the city.

"The Ledge" is made from three layers of half-inch thick laminated glass, and each of the panels weighs 1,500 pounds. Apparently (and thankfully for the cleaning crew) the boxes are retractable, so they're able to be pulled into the building for easy maintenance. Because if this slide show from the AP is any indication, the number of forehead prints they're going to have to deal with will exponentially increase.

What do you think? Would you stand on "The Ledge"?

[Sears Tower Unveils Glass Balconies on Skydeck]

Photo: AP
]]> http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2009/07/the-ledge-opens-in-chicago.html http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2009/07/the-ledge-opens-in-chicago.html Do IT: See Family Friendly IT News _US: Midwest AP Attractions Chicago Heights National Geographic Sears Tower The Ledge Travel Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:34:01 -0500 Bike Florida: Trail Boosts Sustainable Tourism

What better way to explore some of the country's greatest natural treasures and historic sites than a bicycle tour through the back roads of Florida? And now, you can do it any time of the year! In an effort to help make Florida tourism greener, non-profit organization Bike Florida is bringing back year-round, long-distance bicycle touring for the first time in 25 years.

To inaugurate the new initiative, Herb Hiller and Linda Crider, co-founders of the modern-day Florida bicycling movement, will lead a week-long bicycle tour this October 10-16, starting and ending at Palatka, a rural county seat by the St. Johns River in northeastern Florida.

"For too long there's been no organized comfortable cycling way to discover backroads Florida," says Crider. "These tours are organized for that, but also for fun."
]]> http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2009/07/bike-florida-trail-boosts-sust.html http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2009/07/bike-florida-trail-boosts-sust.html Best Practices Do IT: Move Tour Guide _US: Southeast Bicycling Florida National Geographic Sustainable Travel Tours Wildlife Refuge Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:55:32 -0500 I Heart My City: Lindsay's Pittsburgh

Greetings, city-lovers! Lindsay Welsh calls Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, home, and she's got heaps of advice on what to see and do in the city.

Want to see your city on IT? Copy and paste our list of fill-in-the-blank questions into an e-mail, fill in your answers, and send your responses to IntelligentTravel@ngs.org. And if you're still waiting for us to feature yours, fear not! We're going to keep posting as long as we keep getting them (please include photos and links!).

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is My City

The first place I take a visitor from out of town is The Strip.

When I crave middle eastern cuisine I always go to Ali Baba's in Oakland. This place has been here for years and so has the decor but the food is great and service is quick. BYOB

To escape the hustle bustle I head for a walk in Frick Park.

If I want to people watch I go to the Beehive in Southside or Kiva Han in Oakland.
]]> http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2009/07/i-heart-my-city-lindsays-pitts.html http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2009/07/i-heart-my-city-lindsays-pitts.html I Heart My City _US: Mid-Atlantic I Heart My City Intelligent Travel Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:50:07 -0500 Daily Radar: 07.02.09

Kangaroos in London? Australia's Kangaroo Island was promoting a free trip to the "Galapagos of Australia" by placing 20 kangaroo statues around London. Check out the photo gallery of all of the kangaroos here. Also, be sure to check out the site's RooTube, where you can watch kangaroos in their natural habitat.
German scientists have discovered what they believe to be the world's oldest musical instruments. Three flutes--dating back some 35,000 years--were found in Germany's Hohle Fels cavern.
Taking a leap of faith? Look no further than Brave New Traveler's photo essay on the 12 Most Spectacular Houses of Worship.

Photo: Roocatcher
]]> http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2009/07/daily-radar-070209.html http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2009/07/daily-radar-070209.html The Radar Intelligent Travel The Radar Thu, 02 Jul 2009 08:00:00 -0500 We Heart National Parks

Just launched today: Traveler's quick and easy guide to ten of our favorite national parks. Each guide includes great hikes, scenic drives, natural wonders, insider experiences, photo ops, and strategies for getting the most out of your visit. And as a bonus, we went back through the archives and assembled two fantastic slide shows of classic Yellowstone and Yosemite photographs. Pick your park and go! And stay tuned for ten more parks in September.

[National Parks]

]]> http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2009/07/we-heart-national-parks.html http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2009/07/we-heart-national-parks.html IT News National Geographic Society Resources _United States Family Travel Hikes National Geographic National Parks Summer Travel Travel Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:45:34 -0500 World in Focus: Today's Pic Traveler and Photo District News are currently hosting our annual World in Focus Photo Contest, and this year we're letting readers preview the submissions and vote on their favorites. We just put a new batch of images up on our website, and here's one of our favorite picks:

This image, by Alasdair Turner, is of four climbers descending Washington's Mt. Baker in very high wind. Click here to view more images, vote on your favorites, and submit your own photos to our contest.

[World in Focus]
]]> http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2009/07/world-in-focus-todays-pic-9.html http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2009/07/world-in-focus-todays-pic-9.html Contest Photography _US: Pacific, Northwest Mt. Baker Photography Travel Washington World in Focus Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:47:50 -0500 Staying Healthy on a Kenyan Family Safari It's less than a week until senior editor Norie Quintos's trip to Kenya with her teen sons. In this posting, the third in a series of blogs on her trip, she covers vaccinations/medicines. Find the first and second posts here.

The glossy catalogs filled with pages of majestic elephants, lions in mid-roar, or huggable baby cheetahs rarely, if ever, mention the vaccinations or medications you'll need for an African safari. The catalogs' job is to romance and seduce, and not until you have fallen hard for Africa do you receive the get-down-to-business, no-more-cute-animal-photos information packet with "optional, recommended" travel health precautions against the scary tropical diseases you could catch.

The list of vaccinations is daunting, and includes Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Meningitis, Typhoid, Rabies, and Yellow Fever. The vaccines are also eye-poppingly expensive and not generally covered by insurance. The good news is you may not need every single one; it depends on your specific itinerary, your length of stay, your planned activities, and your health. To suss this out, you'll need the help of an experienced travel clinician. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website details recommended vaccines and links to an external clearinghouse of travel clinics.

]]> http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2009/07/prepping-for-a-kenya-family-sa.html http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2009/07/prepping-for-a-kenya-family-sa.html Family Friendly Resources _Africa Africa Kenya Malarone National Geographic Norie Quintos Safari Travel medicine Travel with teens Vaccines Wed, 01 Jul 2009 11:48:49 -0500 A Galactic Vacation

For those travelers who feel like they have done it all, a new out-of-this-world opportunity will soon be available--for a price. On June 19, New Mexico unveiled plans for the nation's first commercial spaceport, Spaceport America. The spaceport, estimated to be completed by 2010, would take travelers up 50,000 feet, break out of the Earth's atmosphere, and then fly up to 62 miles above the Earth.

The $200 million project is being fronted by the state of New Mexico in hopes of creating jobs and increasing tourism. The spaceport will work with Virgin Galactic, who will supply the space vehicles. Spaceport America is anticipating launching one Virgin Galactic flight per week, and each will hold six passengers.

If you want to be on one of the tours, you will have to add your name to the waiting list of over 45,000 other travelers, and be willing to dish out $200,000. Passengers must also attend three days of training to prepare for the trip. The total travel time is around two hours with five minutes of weightlessness.

What do you think? Is the flight worth the price?

[Spaceport America]

Photo Courtesy of Spaceport America
]]> http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2009/07/for-those-travelers-who-feel.html http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2009/07/for-those-travelers-who-feel.html IT News _US: Southwest National Geographic New Mexico Space Travel Spaceport America Travel Virgin Galactic Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:00:22 -0500 Daily Radar: 07.01.09

Can't get to Zion National Park? The folks there have created an "ehike", complete with photos, audio, and video, that takes viewers from the bottom of Zion Canyon to the top of Angel's Landing. If you've never been there before, the ehike will make you want to book tickets today.
Good news to people who travel between Baltimore and D.C. frequently. SmarTrip cards, currently used on the D.C. Metro system of subways and buses, will eventually work on the Maryland Transit Administration system around Charm City as well.
Want to go to Reno but don't like to gamble? Check out SFGate's guide to casino-free Reno.

Photo: Wolfgang Staudt via the Intelligent Travel Flickr pool
]]> http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2009/07/daily-radar-070109.html http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2009/07/daily-radar-070109.html The Radar Intelligent Travel The Radar Wed, 01 Jul 2009 08:00:00 -0500 Your Photos, Your Issue

Images can create intrigue, bring wonder, and cause laughter or inspiration. They're something we're known for here at National Geographic, and since March 2006, we've enabled our readers to share their own visions of the world with us through our "Your Shot" online gallery.

So we're excited to announce that National Geographic's Your Shot Special Issue hits newsstands today (June 30), featuring 101 brilliant images submitted by readers. And over at NGM Blog Central, Oliver Uberti shares how he and photo editor Susan Welchman chose from among the hundreds of thousands of images to create the issue, and the two of them talk (eagerly, passionately) about some of their favorites.

Order your own copy of the issue now, and get it personalized with your own photo on the cover.

[Why We Love Your Shot(s)]

]]> http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2009/06/your-photos-your-issue.html http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2009/06/your-photos-your-issue.html IT News National Geographic Society Photography National Geographic Photography Special Issue Your Shot Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:00:49 -0500 GrassRoutes Travel with Serena Bartlett

The East-Coast-in-Seven-Days tours are the stuff of my nightmares: traipsing from monument to monument at the crack of dawn, shoveling in food at all-too-crowded restaurants with the entire entourage, and learning about dead people rather than meeting live people.

Enter Serena Bartlett, a seasoned traveler from Philadelphia who has lived in and visited over 25 countries and currently resides in Oakland, California. Like many other travelers, she had trouble getting the bigger picture from the regular travel books - so she decided to pen an original series of urban eco-travel guides, GrassRoutes. The first two in the series, Oakland & Berkeley and Northern California Wine Country, will be released July 7. The Grassroutes San Francisco guide will hit bookstores August 1.

For travelers looking for the real deal, these books introduce local eats, shops, and more for a dynamic experience. Barlett's creative and engaging activities are organized by states of mind, like "Up Early" and "Learn." The idea, as Serena tells Traveler, is that "there are lots of ways to be on vacation no matter where you are" without much environmental and social cost.

Here, Serena reveals the inspiration behind her guidebooks and gives Traveler readers tips on how to discover authentic culture.