One disorganized woman’s attempt to organize her travel-lust…one list at a time.

National Geographic Traveler just came out with an article offering 57 ways to cut vacation costs. Some of them are pretty obvious, and some seem a little obsessive–looking for public bathrooms on the street to avoid impulse buys leaving restrooms in stores, for example (if you gotta go, you gotta go).

But there are some useful links and interesting ideas for saving money while traveling. I never thought of deleting cookies in my browser before ordering hotels of airfare online. According to the authors of this article, some sites may quote a higher price than is available because of cookies that store your previous purchase history.

 Another 2009 round-up list has been released; this one is BootsnAll’s Top 10 Destinations for Independent Travelers in 2009. 

Here are their picks:

Walking Tall release

• Tasmania, Australia
• Siem Reap, Cambodia
• Bariloche, Argentina
• Panama
• Bangladesh
• Sardinia, Italy
• Senegal
• Berlin, Germany
• Damascus, Syria
• Columbia

I’ve been to only two of their picks, but several are in my must-do list. But Berlin? Wouldn’t be my pick. BootsnAll’s backpacking traveler readers tend to be far more interested in nightlife than I am.

It’s that time of year—time for the ubiquitous New Year Travel round-up, and for budget minded travelers (and who isn’t, this year?)  Budget Travel Magazine’s Top Ten Destinations  2009 is an interesting read. Their picks include Austin, Washington DC, Hawaii, Budapest, Reykjavik,  Berlin, Cambodia, Panama, and Mexico.

Islands rank high in travel daydreams. Everyone has a list of islands. Travel and Leisure’s 2008 Best Islands is one of the most recent, but if you want to really delve into island dreams,  National Geographic Traveler’s Nov/Dec 2006 issue listed 111 of the best islands and archipelagos and ranked them in terms of sustainable stewardship.

It’s a little light on iconic tropical beaches-the 522 experts polled found that crowds and cruise ships can kill and island quickly. I don’t know how many of these picks have since been defiled by development (the article ran in 2006), but it is great daydream fodder. I’m clearly island deficient-of the 111 ranked, I’ve only seen 15. 

 Islands Magazine has several  island lists:  Check out the 23 best islands for snorkeling , the best islands for art , and, if you want to dream really big, the best islands to live on.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation recently released their “Dozen Distinctive Destinations” list for 2009.  The destinations chosen, they say “offer an authentic visitor experience by combining dynamic downtowns, cultural diversity, attractive architecture, cultural landscapes and a strong commitment to historic preservation and revitalization”.
2009’s Distinctive Destinations include:

Santa Barbara, California
Athens, Georgia
Saugatuck-Douglas, Michigan
Virginia City, Nevada
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Buffalo, New York
Lititz, Pennsylvania
Bristol, Rhode Island
Hot Springs, South Dakota
Franklin, Tennessee
Fort Worth, Texas
Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

It’s kind of a relief not to see Washington D.C. on the list. It’s a lovely town, but it seems to make every list in an election year.

The world waterfall database posts the 100 Best Waterfalls on the Planet list. I have no idea who these people are, but it’s a fascinating site. You can search, for example, the world’s largest waterfalls-limiting results to waterfalls with a volume value greater than whatever you specify, and view the results on a comparison spreadsheet. You can do the same with the world’s tallest waterfalls. I can’t think why you’d want to do that, but isn’t it nice to know that you can, if you so chose?  There is a wealth of intricate detail-number of drops, average width, average volume, height in feet and meters, etc. but not much in the way of photos or tourist information.

 If you want an easier to digest list, the World of Waterfalls (run by a couple of waterfall “collectors”) ranked the top ten waterfalls they’ve personally visited, as well as regional top tens for Australia, Iceland, New Zealand, Norway, Latin America, USA, and Hawaii.

 I can see how easy it would be to become a collector of waterfalls. They tend to be sited in gorgeous locations, and often come complete with a swimming hole–that’s an unbeatable combo in my book. I’m slowly working my way through the waterfalls in Ann Marie Brown’s book California Waterfalls, and have visited a few of World of Waterfall’s regional choices-Hraunfossar, Seljalandsfoss, Skógafoss, and Gullfoss in Iceland; Lower Calf Creek Falls, McWay Falls, Illilouette Fall, Havasu Falls, Vernal, Nevada and Bridalveil Falls, Lower Falls, and Yosemite Falls in the US, and Akaka Falls and Rainbow Falls in Hawaii.

I Am Legend ipod

And if you’d like to photogrpah some of these gorgeous waterfalls, the Digital Photography School has this great tutorial on photographing waterfalls

Two Brothers full

. What’s your vote for best waterfall on the planet?

There has been a movie set almost anywhere you want to go. Movies can help add to the anticipation of a planned trip, spark memories from past voyages, and can set you scouring kayak.com for good airfares.
 
A word of warning: this can backfire. Before our Iceland trip, I rented Beowulf & Grendel, which I was told had stunning Icelandic scenery. It did, but it also frightened my kids (my kids are teens, so don’t tsk tsk me). Later, a dog-sledding guide introduced us to a dog whose 15 minutes of fame included lifting his leg on Angelina Jolie’s boots in the filming of Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. “Why didn’t you make us watch that one?’ my son grumbled. 

 
Robin Locker created a list of 8 movies that inspire travel at BootsNAll Travel. She includes classics like Amélie (Paris), Sound of Music (Austria), Fellowship of the Ring (New Zealand), and Under the Tuscan Sun (Italy).

I loved the book Under the Tuscan Sun, and enjoyed the movie, but geography is the only similarity between the two–I had to go back and reread the book after I saw the movie, so concerned was I about encroaching senility.

What would you add to her list? I’d add A Walk in the Clouds (Napa Valley).

National Geographic Traveler’s (one of my favorite magazines) Nov/Dec 2008 issue  ranks 109 historical destinations, and I realize with a thrill that I’ve only seen 17 of them.  Ninety-two to go! I’d love to hear your favorites so I can target my travel lust more tightly.

Though it’s less than an hour south of San Francisco and hour west of Silicon Valley, the stretch of Highway One along the California coast between San Francisco and Santa Cruz seems oddly remote. The drive passes windswept beaches, foggy canyons, and solitary lighthouses, but only one or two small towns.

Although sunbathing is likely to be out of the question, nature conspires to make this stretch of wild seaside particularly attractive in late winter. If your timing is right and luck is with you, you could score the California coast wildlife trifecta: elephant seals, gray whales, and monarch butterflies.

This is pup time at the 4,000 acre Ano Nuevo State Reserve elephant seal rookery. Visitors are greeted by a cacophonous symphony of squealing, grunting, and roaring elephant seals on ranger lead guided walks through the elephant seal breeding grounds during the breeding season (December through March.) The males battle for mates on the beaches and the females give birth to their young on the dunes. The elephant seals are unperturbed by humans, so the guided walks get remarkably close to these huge animals. [Read more →]

I made it to 68, but this is almost as much about how fast you can accurately type as it is about how many countries you can name (typing isn’t my strength).

How about States?  How many can you name in 10 minutes? I missed Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Apparently my grade school drills nearly overcame my poor typing skills.