Going to Paris or Rome?  We have built up quite a list of places to try in both places and are adding more and more all the time.  We are finding the cheapest happy hours, most interesting and budget conscious restaurants and a lot more worthwhile tips that will save you time and money.  Don’t be afraid of crazy phone bills for using data roaming because we are tagging all the free WiFi spots we can find.  If you do not have the Foursquare app yet download it now and friend iKangaroo.

Angels & Demons, Dan Brown’s book about a plot to destroy the Vatican, has been made into an international blockbuster movie starring Tom Hanks.  For over 10 years tourists in Rome have been supplementing their guidebooks with this story that features six of Rome’s most famous sites including the Vatican, Pantheon, Piazza Navona and numerous artworks by Bernini, one of Rome’s most famous artists.  Even if you are not a fan of or familiar with the book the explanations of the sites themselves provide a through overview of Rome at a fraction of the cost of a tour guide or book.

The story is about a secret society called the Illuminati that have reemerged after plotting for centuries to annihilate the Catholic Church.  The yarn winds through the streets of Rome as Harvard Professor Robert Langdon races to find a mega bomb planted somewhere in the Vatican by following a secret path called the Path of Illumination which is marked by some of Bernini’s greatest masterpieces.  Besides being a good story, Angels & Demons is a chance to visit some of Rome’s less famous churches and learn more about Catholic symbolism.

For only $2.99 on the iTunes Store you can download this app that provides all the history of the people and places while recommending some of Rome’s best gelato, pizza and restaurants that are nearby to each point of interest.  To save you the pain of a ridiculous bill for data charges we have provided an offline map in the app but we also recommend just grabbing a free paper map in Rome.

Have fun, enjoy your tour and please don’t hesitate to drop us a line to let us know what you think.

St. Christopher's Inn London Bridge hostel - The Village dorm-cam

It was not that long ago that a trip abroad meant disconnecting with friends and family while you found yourself and figured things out.  Then getting away became a little more difficult when along came the internet, digital cameras, Skype, Facebook and now web cams in hostel dorm rooms.  Yes that’s right, St. Christopher’s Inn the London based hostel chain with locations throughout Britain and Europe has installed a dorm-cam into a 14 bed dorm room so the goings on of consenting hostel guests can be monitored 24 hours a day by just about anyone with an internet connection.

According to Murray Roberts, Group Sales and Marketing Director, “There’s nothing out there like this and in the test runs so far, our travelers are loving it. It’s being used to wave at Mums and Dads on the opposite side of the world, celebrate birthday parties happening thousands of miles away and for catching up with friends who are hanging around our other web-cams.”

Interacting with the dorm dwellers isn’t far away either and soon viewers will be able to send the residents free beer for all the fun stuff they do and sound off fog horns in response to the not so popular antics!

Yes, the guests do know about the web-cam as St. Christopher’s has just launched a new booking policy to insure that everyone is up to speed on what is going on.

If you are interested in tuning in to St. Christopher’s new dormcam just visit wwww.stchristopherslive.com.  There is a sign in after viewing for one minute.

Here is an interesting concept. Have a reliable friend at home that you can call or text at any time to get information that you need. True, this power could be used for a number of things including getting stats about your favorite players, learning the score of the game, finding out who won the Apprentice, settling a bar bet or argument about an actor’s original name, but as iKangaroo is a travel website we will focus in how ChaCha can be used to make your life easier when you are on the road.

In the interest of full disclosure, I have been “Guiding” for ChaCha a few hours a week. When I first heard about ChaCha and its concept of guided search in ‘06 I was skeptical about why people would need help searching via chat. As of April 2008 ChaCha no longer offers chat search via computer even though ChaCha.com is still alive. However, what ChaCha does offer is the avaunt guard of mobile search and a fantastic tool to those who know about it. As of press time, April 20, 2008, the service is still free but you are charged according to your wireless plan.

ChaCha Text / SMS (text 242 242 )-

How it works: Format your question into an easy to understand information request and send it off to ChaCha. From here a ChaCha Guide will field the question and search the internet for the best answer. They will send you back a response which includes a source link of where the information originated.

ChaCha Voice (1-800-2ChaCha)-

How it works: Call 1-800-2ChaCha and ask your question. There will be someone who will transcribe your question and send it along. Your question will be returned to you via SMS. Easy breezy!

Some tips for getting the best results from ChaCha:

Add as much detail to your query as possible in terms of your location (i.e. I am at 79th and Broadway in NYC, can you find me the closest place with free wifi?).

Remember that Guides are- for the most part- only as good as the internet and that even though the internet has a ton of info not all of it is accurate. It’s best to have it in your mind where YOU would look and exactly what information you are seeking (i.e. the more focused your question, the more quickly you will get your answer and the more accurate it will be).

Remember that the response you get from ChaCha is constrained by the number of characters that can fit into a message, which is 160. So, asking for lists of restaurants or lists in general may not be feasible. One way around this is that all of the customers’ questions are tracked and you could respond to your answer and ask for more options. The Guide would then be able to see what options you were given and then send other options.

Great uses for ChaCha when you are traveling!

• Flight info: If you know your flight number and info you can send it to ChaCha and they will access flightstats.com to get updated info on your flight. Don’t forget to add the airline, airport, date and flight number.
• Finding out opening hours: Nothing is worse then rolling up to a restaurant or museum only to find out that it is closed. To get around this ask ChaCha the hours. With museums you can ask if there is a dress code, if they accept credit cards and ticket price.
• Gas prices: If you are on a road trip and want to find the lowest gas prices then ask ChaCha. Don’t forget to add the location of where you are looking.
• Wine pairings: ChaCha can run checks on the wine you are interested in and what it should go with.
• Weather: If you are heading out for the day, send a quick text to ChaCha with your city and weather request.
• Get reviews: If you are unsure about a restaurant you are about to eat at then send ChaCha the name, address and ask for a review. Sites like Trip Advisor and Yelp give aggregate scores which you might find useful.

At the time of this writing ChaCha is only available in the USA, however, there are plans to expand into other markets. I love the idea of this for a travel tool and think that there is a lot of potential to make the travel experience much more rich. Too many times have I showed up to a closed restaurant- or needed reservations or a dress code- or just missed the closing of a museum, which for now seems that ChaCha will help me not do this in the future. Now in about 3 minutes you can have these questions answered and save yourself the time, money and hassle!

Happy Travels,

Chris

Where to buy: 

• www.skyroll.com 
• Men’s Warehouse
• S&K Menswear

Additional research:

• YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzoePV4jUlk
• Skyroll.com has video and in depth information about each product

First, let’s do the math to figure out what the the monetary value of what an average student tourist carries around:

• Cell phone= $200 + data
• iPod / MP3 player= $200 + $200 in music
• Digital / Camera= $150 + memories
• Credit cards, debit cards and cash= $100 + $1,000s in potential liability + the hassle of filling out police reports and making the calls to banks in the case that credit cards are lost or stolen

As a base case, assume that an average student traveler carries around about $850 in material possessions and cash, which can fit into a medium size envelope with each item being small enough to fit into your pocket.  This is a huge opportunity to either lose, break or have stolen a large-ticket item, which in addition to being expensive can taint an otherwise beautiful trip.  So it makes it worthwhile to explore alternatives for carrying around valuables in something other than a day-pack that has numerous pockets with zippers that by design keeps your stuff out of your sight.  While it is impossible to guard against all incidents, keeping your personal items closer to your vest will keep them more secure and make you and others more comfortable. 

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With the winter months approaching we recommend one of these jackets /vests which are comparable to a day-pack, will keep you warm and will better secure your valuables.

Product 1, picture on left:  Dad Gear 

Seems like a funny product to be promoting on a travel site but essentially Dad Gear has created a travel friendly garment where everything can be easily stored.  Furthermore, the $82 price is reasonable in that you get a nice looking fleece and day-pack all-in-one.

Product 2, one the right:  Scottevest- Gear Management Clothing

As the tag-line implies this gear is designed to manage your gear, especially electronics.  So this makes it the perfect product to secure iPods, MP3s, cameras and cellulars.  Scottevest is more expensive than Dad Gear but they have a number of products beyond jackets and vests that will come in handy on the road.