It was my last day in India, and I’d just had lunch with an Indian friend. As I was walking back towards my hostel, I noticed a foreigner standing in the middle of the sidewalk—a rock in a river of pedestrian traffic. He wore raggedy khaki shorts, a green t-shirt with the collar cut out, and brown sandals. His dark curly hair was messy and the shirt was askew—one side of the collar all the way against his neck, the other falling off his shoulder. He was glistening with sweat and he looked obviously distressed.

For whatever reason, his eyes were pinned on me.

I should stop and tell you here that I have a bit of an unwritten traveler’s code I live by:
1) Whenever I’m in a group, if I see a traveler who isn’t, I invite them to join me/us.
2) If I ever see a traveler in distress, I approach them to see if they’re OK or if I can help.
3) If someone approaches me, I always try to be as friendly and helpful as possible.

But seeing this guy on the street made me hesitate. He looked like he was crazy or on drugs, or both. And I had a plane to catch that night… what if he dragged me into some sort of bizarre situation I couldn’t extricate myself from and I missed my flight?

As I approached him, I thought to myself that I had two simple choices in this situation: I can avoid him or I can be Buddha-like and karma-minded and stick to my traveler’s code.

Not that he gave me much of a choice. As I passed, he grabbed my arm and launched into his story, babbling away at me in Hebrew. I stopped him, telling him I don’t speak Hebrew and the story came in a gush of English instead: he needed to find a cheaper place to stay than the one he was in because he was almost out of money and he was sick and his girlfriend had left the day before and they’d been traveling together in India for a year and he didn’t know what to do without her and…

You get the idea.

So I took the poor guy, Amit was his name, and lead him to the Salvation Army Hostel. When we arrived there, Amit stood, wordless at the check-in counter. The clerk looked at us expectantly. I looked at Amit expectantly. Nothing.

“Do you have any beds left in the dorm?” I asked the clerk.
The clerk wobbled his head in response, a gesture that can mean a hundred different things.
“For him,” I added, pointing to Amit.
The clerk wobbled his head again and asked for Amit’s passport.

We both waited while Amit watched the air around him.

Finally, I said, “Amit, your passport, please.”
“Oh!” he snapped to attention and fished through his money belt, producing a beaten looking passport and some tattered rupees.
“Where’s your stuff?” I asked him as the clerk took down Amit’s information.
“Gone.”
“Just gone?”
“Gone,” he repeated.

I thought maybe he was gone, too.

Once Amit checked into his room, I never saw him again. But I like to think that I helped him in some way, however small. It was my duty as a fellow traveler.

What about you? Got some stories about a time you helped a traveler or a traveler helped you? I’d love to hear them…

And if you ran into Amit, let me know how he’s doing!

Looking for a road trip planner or ideas for your driving trip? By popular demand, Tripbase is pleased to announce the arrival of our brand new road trip planner that will help you find the best driving trips for your next vacation.
You can set your parameters either by driving mileage (how many miles you want to go) or by time in hours and then get driving trip ideas based on the things you like, where you want to go and your budget.

So why take a road trip?
We’ll give you 3 good reasons.

1. Road trips are better for the environment than flying

Road trip vacation planning, thanks to greater environmental awareness, is becoming more and more popular. People are choosing to go on greener vacations by staying closer to home and taking road trips instead of flying. According to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, even a road trip from coast to coast (around 3,000 miles) releases fewer greenhouse gases than flying. This is because the greenhouse gases released by airplanes do more damage than those released by vehicles lower to the ground and contain additional harmful gases, like methane and nitrous oxide.

Let’s take a look at one example. If a family of four drove from Atlanta to Los Angeles, the emissions would be about 300 grams per mile, around 900 kilograms for the round-trip road trip.
This translates into about 225 kg of carbon emissions per person. For a long-haul flight, the emissions released are calculated at about 180 grams per mile per passenger.

So if you took a round-trip flight across the country (about 2,700 miles), your emissions would be close to one ton per person! That’s almost four times as much as driving provided you are sharing the car. Shorter flights are even less efficient so you release even more carbon emissions on flights with lower mileage. Planning to visit family in Ohio? Don’t pollute the environment with flights to Cleveland, take a road trip!

2. Road trips are cheaper than flying

Beyond being better for the environment, road trips are often cheaper than flying — especially
if you’re in a group. Even with gas at all-time highs, road trips for more than one person are
still more economical than flying because higher fuel costs have also affected airline ticket prices.

For a round-trip road trip across the country, you will spend about $850 (gas is calculated at $4 a gallon).
Now, if it’s just one person, it’s cheaper to fly since you can buy round-trip airline tickets for
about $450. But if at least two people are on the road trip, it’s cheaper to drive. If you’re driving somewhere within a short flight from home, it’s almost always cheaper to drive.
For families and those traveling in groups, the savings are even greater.

3. Road Trips and driving trips are fun

This may be the best reason of all. If you’ve never been on a road trip or a driving trip, you’ve missed out. All those hours in the car along the open road give you a chance to stop in stunning national parks and cool cities across the country. Or, if you’re going somewhere close to home, it’s a chance to discover a new place in a completely different way than just flying in and out. Just imagine all the streets and highways waiting to be discovered!

A road trip is also a great way to spend quality time with the whole family or go on a romantic adventure with your partner. And with so many different driving trip possibilities, the options are practically endless. As an added bonus, you won’t have to wait in long lines at the airport, deal with extra charges for every ounce of luggage or get frustrated by hours going through security.

So for your next vacation, why not consider taking your time and driving to your destination?
Visit Tripbase’s road trip planner to find driving trip ideas that cater to you.

In our upcoming blogs, we’re going to be writing about specific driving trip ideas — including
the best California road trips and cross country road trips as well as great motorcycle and rv driving trips.

To read a detailed scientific study commissioned by the climate care organization that
provides a great explanation about how aviation greenhouse gas emissions are calculated visit:

http://www.climatecare.org/media/documents/pdf/Aviation_Emissions_&_Offsets.pdf

Family vacation travel can be a challenge to plan—especially if you’ve done Orlando and you’re tired of the local beach. Maybe you’re just looking for some exciting family vacation ideas for the upcoming family vacation and you want to travel far and away. We here at Tripbase decided to put together a list of the best family vacation travel destinations.

Our data covers a wide range of parameters in thousands of locations, and we considered everything from places with the most all inclusive kid friendly resorts to the number of attractions and parks as well as things like the popularity ratings with families, the range of kid friendly restaurants, hotels, entertainment and activities in order to come up with the best family vacation travel spots.

There are plenty of great family vacation ideas in destinations that are kid friendly, affordable and stunning all at once—especially if you take advantage of the package deals and all inclusive beach vacations in places like Cancun and the Caribbean Islands of Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. If you prefer a family vacation in kid friendly destinations that offer an urban landscape as well as plenty of family vacation activities, like zoos, parks, museums, natural wonders and historical sites, Sydney, Singapore, Vancouver and Victoria are great family vacation ideas.

For the history and art buffs, London and Barcelona are full of great family vacation ideas that are easy to navigate with public transportation and always have plenty of things to see and do. Finally, for those who want an easy-to-reach country with incredible wildlife, stunning natural parks and beautiful landscapes as well as plenty of water sports and attractions, like butterfly and orchid farms and canopy tours of evergreen rainforests by zip line, nothing beats Costa Rica for excellent family vacation ideas.

For more information about each location, including flight, hotel and car rentals as well as personalized travel recommendations tailored to you, family vacation ideas like where to stay and eat and what to see and do while you’re there, visit the Tripbase location page by clicking on the link.

1. Costa Rica Vacations
Costa Rica Vacations offer guided night safaris through rainforests, zip lines above a lush, green canopy, surfing lessons, and fun in the sand at one of the hundreds of beautiful beaches that line Costa Rica’s Caribbbean and Pacific coasts. If you’re into family vacations that have adventure tinged with the exotic, Costa Rica Vacations offer hikes at the base of active volcanoes, windsurfing on interior lakes, and visits to butterfly and orchid farms.

2. Cancun Vacations and Riviera Maya (Mexico)
Cancun Vacations offer kid friendly, all-inclusive packages, exciting activities and stunning nature are all wrapped up into one. The nearby Riviera Maya is a great place for family vacations away from the hustle and bustle. If you’re looking for a family vacation with great restaurants, clubs and shopping to go with your beach, Cancun Vacations have a hotel zone with plenty of choice. The Club Med Yucatan, nestled on its own little peninsula, has plenty of things for kids to do, including water sports and lessons, and is slightly quieter than the rest of the area. At Riviera Maya, you can enjoy 100 kilometers of white, sandy beaches alongside stunning Mayan ruins. Cancun vacations also offer fantastic snorkeling above the world’s second-largest barrier reef, the Xcaret eco-theme park, and swimming in “Cenotes”—to name just a few of the adventurous, kid friendly activities.

3. Dominican Republic Vacations (Dominican Republic)
Dominican Republic vacations offer plenty of all-inclusive, kid friendly vacation packages—not to mention the many direct flight options, which makes getting here for family vacations even cheaper. Learn to windsurf, work on your tan and enjoy great seafood while you’re at it! If there are teenagers in your family, Dominican Republic vacations include suave teen lounges at the Club Med in Punta Cana. It’s a crowd pleaser.

4. Jamaica Vacations
Jamaica vacations are great family vacations because it’s easy to reach the island and affordable to stay thanks to plenty of all-inclusive kid friendly resorts and direct flights from all over the world. Jamaica vacations offer great water sports, beaches and natural landscapes too.

5. Singapore Vacations
Singapore vacations might be humid, but family vacations there are great because it’s a safe and clean, kid friendly destination that your children will love for its incredible ‘open’ zoo– where you can go on night safaris. Check out the best deals on flights to Singapore and don’t miss the mystical temples, urban parks and water park attractions that Singapore vacations have to offer.

6. Sydney Vacations
Sydney vacations offer great wildlife, ultra-cool bridges, nice beaches and fast boats. Sydney is a great kid friendly destination for family vacations—especially if you like nature and want to use it as a stop-off point to some of the incredible offshore islands and the Great Barrier Reef on your next family vacation. The flights to Sydney are long, that’s for sure but this vacation spot is well worth the trek!

7. Paris Vacations
Paris vacations offer far more than just the Eiffel tower. Packed with urban thrills that kids will love—from charming urban parks to carousel rides and ‘bateaux mouches’ boats that travel up and down the Seine—Paris vacations are great for the entire family. The Louvre always has plenty of kid friendly exhibits that are engaging for family vacations and kids will enjoy experiencing metro rides and tasty new food. So what are you waiting for? Check out the flights to Paris and pack yourself off on a “tres chic” family vacation!

8. London Vacations
London vacations are certain to thrill everyone on the next family vacation. No one of any age could ever be bored in London. Top-notch museums with kid friendly interactive exhibits and urban attractions like the London Eye and the London Bridge are just a few of the mystical treats in this European playground. On your London vacation, you can visit castles and fortresses as well as sprawling urban parks and historical landmarks. London is a great destination for fun, educational activities and family vacations. Plus, it’s overflowing with some of the best kid friendly entertainment in the world—from street puppet shows to box office hits. So bag yourself a great deal on flights to London and get working on your cockney slang!

9. Barcelona Vacations
Barcelona vacations may have a reputation for offering chic design, top-notch seafood and stunning architecture that appeals to big kids, but small ones will find plenty of things to do here too. Family vacations here are great because Barcelona is teeming with lovely, urban spaces like Parc Guell, a kid friendly waterfront and zoo. Top-notch art museums choc full of interactive and engaging exhibits make Barcelona vacations constantly stimulating for kids. And the tourist destinations that adults flock to, like the old Blue Tram that climbs up a hill to Tibidabo and the aerial cable car that takes you from the port to Montjuic, are just as exciting for family vacations with kids. For even more adventure you might want to check out the flights to Madrid and spend some time in the capital before heading on to the architectural delights of Barcelona.

10. Vancouver and Victoria Vacations
Vancouver vacations are jam packed with kid friendly attractions, historic sights, natural wonders urban thrills and a wide range of hotels and restaurants to choose from. Visit the Kids Market on Granville Island, a mall with a Lilliputian entrance and many other charming features just for kids on a family vacation here. Just across the Strait of Georgia from the city of Vancouver on Vancouver Island is Victoria. Overflowing with beaches, biking, whale-watching, and hiking, Victoria vacations are great for family adventure vacations in nature.

For kid friendly travel in the U.S., see our previous blog on Family Vacation Destinations in the United States.

Tripbase is still under development, but we’re working on improving our algorithms and adding content every day, so if you have comments and criticisms for us, we’d love to hear from you.

i.e., where to get the most for your money abroad this year

From exotic islands with pristine beaches and coconut palms to bustling cultural capitals, these international travel destinations top Tripbase’s list of recommended best international travel destinations in 2008 for value. So whether you want romantic escapes on idyllic beaches in a tranquil environment or places with great natural landscapes, culture, shopping, nightlife and dining, these are the places that will give you the most for your money—from Africa to Asia and South America to Europe.

We looked at many parameters for each of our thousands of locations in order to come up with our best international travel destinations for value in 2008, including accommodation options, affordable entertainment choices, what kind of discounts are offered to travelers, and average costs to travel (per day averages include hotel costs) in these destinations—to name just a few.

To read more about each location in our list of the top best international travel destinations for value in 2008 and find useful information, including flight, hotel and car rentals as well as personalized travel recommendations tailored to you, such as where to stay and where to eat and what to see and do while you’re there, visit the Tripbase location page by clicking on the link.

Best Beach Destinations 2008 for Value
1. Kingston travel recommendations (Jamaica)
2. Bali travel recommendations (Indonesia)
3. Cape Town travel recommendations (South Africa)

Best Asia Destinations 2008 for Value
3. Bangkok travel recommendations (Thailand)
4. Kuala Lumpur travel recommendations (Malaysia)
5. Beijing travel recommendations (China)

Best Africa Destinations 2008 for Value
1. Cairo travel recommendations (Egypt)
2. Essaouira travel recommendations (Morocco)
3. Tunis travel recommendations (Tunisia)

Best Central and South America Destinations 2008 for Value
1. Buenos Aires travel recommendations (Argentina)
2. Mexico City travel recommendations (Mexico)
3. Rio de Janeiro travel recommendations (Brazil)

Best Eastern Europe Destinations 2008 for Value
1. Warsaw travel recommendations (Poland)
2. Budapest travel recommendations (Hungary)
3. Dubrovnik travel recommendations (Croatia)

Best Middle East Destinations 2008 for Value
1. Istanbul travel recommendations (Turkey)
2. Amman travel recommendations (Jordan)
3. Nicosia travel recommendations (Cyprus)

In our next blog, we’ll share with you the Tripbase team’s recommendations for green vacations and eco friendly travel, i.e., where to go for the best green vacations in 2008.

Tripbase is still in development, but we’re working on improving our algorithms every day, so if you have comments and criticisms for us, we’d love to hear from you.