Interactive Travel Guide - Technology to Help in Your Trips

Family Vacation Help

For sure you have heard something about them, but as a recent invention I think it is good to talk a bit about what is it about and which benefits can it bring to have the support of an interactive travel guide during your trip. Also, I'll look in which places having some interactive travel guidance can be more suitable.

As a starting point, let's look at what we are talking about. I define an interactive travel guide as an electronic device that is aware of its position thanks to a GPS system for open wide spaces or an internal system of sensors for closed or little areas. This system detects where a tourist is and starts playing a recording teaching different cultural aspects of the place where the traveler is placed. Instead of the need of carrying lots of books and papers to your destination to make your trip a cultural experience or needing to get a guide explaining to a crowd of people, you can get this cultural immersions on your own way, either if you are in a museum or traveling with a campervan through a whole country.

Benefits of the system? It really depend on where you are going to use it. As a first example, I'll put the wax museum in Salzburg, Austria. They have a device you connect to your ears which detects areas you cross in the museum and starts with an explanation of what it is about. This allows people to go into the experience at their own speed, repeat explanations if they haven't understood, and it is an advantage for the museum guys because they don't need to pay for a tour guide.

On the other hand, if your purpose is to go on a road trip across a country for example, I'll put the example of a device made in New Zealand for exploring the country. In fact, this device was the first one in it's class and many tourism organizations worldwide are buying the idea to improve the immersion experience to visitors. It uses a GPS system that is connected to the radio of your vehicle and it starts playing a recording every time your vehicle enters any area of special interest. It includes recommendations on hot spots, cultural background, history about the place, legends and myths, or it even recommends a restaurant or a special off the beaten path place where you can spend some nice time.

Advantages are many. You no longer need the help of a book for understanding more deeply any region you cross, you get some good advice about the places you visit and recommendations on what to do and you don't need of course any guide who travels with you in the campervan! The guys running this project have it always open for adding new places with new recordings and even ask New Zealanders to contribute with any of their personal experience in the country.

Finally, thinking ahead in the future, this device could be combined with audiovisual material (not of course while you are driving!) and even incorporate some interactive functionality that could allow you to explore a certain zone with a menu every time you enter it or, in the case of New Zealand and road tours in general, every time you tell the device your vehicle is stopped.

If you are planning a trip and want some help, you'll find it at Travel Planning Help. There you can also ask to see if any interactive travel guides in your destination are available to make your journey more intense.

If you look for 80-90% discounted hotels at your destination, you'll find the deal at Free Travel Certificates

Dani Alonso

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dani_Alonso

Imagination, Fantasy - Children on Holiday With Mom and Dad!

Family Vacation Help

As you know, kids love having fun!

Is it bad? No: it is their right, right that they are pleasured to use and that adults should not prevent them
to.

Responsibilities will be coming, little by little, but meanwhile how about letting our thoughtless sons with their games... living in their imaginary world, made by princesses, magicians or castles.

Would a fairy-tale turn into reality in any other place?

The areas, magic parades and many, many games... from rollercoaster to carousels... Italy has many of!

Fiabilandia, or Italy in miniature are just a sample... but also Garaland, Mirabilandia or Aquafan and Oltremare...

everything for kids; but their parents might worry thinking where to stay with their joyful kids.

Do not worry: Italy Family Hotels are thought for this!

Spread all over Italy, they guarantee high quality standards, focusing on one's needs.

To satisfy them, in fact, was conceived the classification of "bino": bino is the mascot of the hotels and, starting from three to five,in addition to the classic stars rating of each hotel, it classifies the same on the basis of facilities, exclusively devoted to children, which are offered.

Of course, this starts from common services-basis, mandatory (General, in the room, dining and assistance for the child) way up, depending on the number of "bino": From host gift for your children, to the personalized menu, entertainers, the cribs for newborns... all that a family need to feel at home, even if far from it.

For the little ones with food troubles, or only for those a little naughty, for example, there are a special catering service the project "I eat, I play and I have Fun" and somewhere also, the chef's cooking on indications of mom, or the possibility for parents to prepare meals.

In the Italy Family Hotels you can enjoy relax area, playing area, mini-club, swimming pool, typical cuisine, babys facilities, special offers, last minute and also special agreements to spend two days in the theme parks: the day after, your entry is free!

Lisa Guerrini, works at Pensare Web, she writes web content to promote Italy Family Hotels.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lisa_Guerrini