Plan Ahead and Manage Your Travels

Americans are over-worked and stressed, and so we should all take more vacations, right? Not so fast. Research shows that some vacations can actually make you more stressed. A 2010 study in the Netherlands found most people were not happier after a vacation. If there was moderate to high travel-related stress, then there was no happiness gain after vacation. Stress such as dealing with details of the trip, planning and managing transportation, and lack of familiarity with the destination all contributed to the stress. So, how can we manage travel-related stress? Plan ahead and focus on the details.There are some great apps that can help you plan and manage your trip.

One of the most stressful things about traveling is managing transportation, such as dealing with flight delays and keeping all the flight times straight, especially when traveling to multiple destinations. Many airlines now have mobile apps that enable users to store upcoming reservations, get notified of flight statuses, and pull up boarding passes and frequent flyer information. United Airline’s app is available through http://www.united.com/mobile.

Another useful app is TripAdvisor’s Offline City Guide app https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tripadvisor-offline-city-guides/id480066121?mt=8. The great thing about this app is that it works offline so there is no need for a data connection since everything is stored on your phone. The TripAdvisor City Facts provides helpful information such as when to go, what neighborhoods to visit, and how to get around in the city.

You can alsocreate your own Trip Journal with the app. Just check in, take a photo and add a note for each location, and your journal will be created for you automatically.  You can use it to remember your trip or share it with friends and family on Facebook. 

There are greatitineraries available through the app, so you can explore famous landmarks and neighborhoods by using your phone's GPS.

When you are exploring a certain neighborhood, hoursmap.com can help you find what’s open so you can get your essentials at stores like Target or Walgreens or grab a quick bite to eat at familiar places like Burger King or Denny’s.

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Traveling on a Budget

Summer is a great time to travel, especially for families and students but summer travel can get expensive. Here are some tips on how to travel on a budget.

One of the best ways to travel on a budget is not to have a set destination in mind. Look for incredible deals, and when you find one, grab it. It’s hard to find bargains in the summer, but if you can wait until September to travel, there are usually great airfare and hotels deals to be found.

Another great way to save is to use sites like www.vrbo.com to book a vacation rental instead of a hotel. Staying at a vacation rental is a particularly good choice in places like Maui where there are plenty of condos available, often at prices comparable to a hotel stay. Staying at a condo means that you can cook your meals at your vacation rental and save on eating out. This is also where hoursmap.com can help. On hoursmap.com, you can easily search for hours and locations where you can get your groceries, like Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods Market.

If the idea of staying at a vacation rental doesn’t appeal to you, another great way to save is to take advantage of Express Deals offered by www.priceline.com. You can save up to 55% on these types of deals. The catch is that you know the star level of the hotel you are purchasing and the approximate area but not the specific hotel until your purchase is complete. If you are flexible on where you stay, and you choose a star level of three and up, you can often get a great hotel at a huge discount. Expedia offers a similar type of deal.

Another great way to save is to do weekend get-a-aways in cities that usually cater to business travelers. Business hotels in these cities will generally offer discounts for weekend stays, since weekends are not popular days for business travel. And if you do a weekend stay using Priceline’s Express Deals, you can even find 4-star hotels for less than $100 if you are willing to be flexible.

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Discover San Francisco with the hoursmap app

Planning a trip this summer? Then consider putting San Francisco on your short list. San Francisco has long been one of the top tourist destinations in the U.S. You can ride a cable car, visit great museums like the Exploratorium and de Young, and enjoy a wide range of live performances in the theater district.

The dining experience in San Francisco is world-class. On the high end, there’s Michael Mina’s, located in the renovated lobby of the St. Francis Hotel. Here, you can enjoy signature dishes such as lobster pot pie or new additions such as poussin leg with mac 'n' cheese croquette.

You can also dine in neighborhood favorites such as A16, a beloved spot in the trendy Marina District, and enjoy Southern Italian specialties—chewy-crusted pizzas baked in a wood-burning oven. Another favorite is Bocadillos in the Financial District. On the tapas bar menu, you’ll find baked eggs with chorizo and Manchego and grilled ham and cheese bocadillos (small sandwiches).

Shopping ranges from world-class to bargains. Union Square is home to such high-end stores as Nordstrom, Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, Neiman Marcus, and Saks Fifth Avenue, and on Chestnut Street, you’ll find beauty outlets, sophisticated shops, and restaurants as well as well-known retailers. You can also shop The Embarcadero, Union Street, Chinatown, and the wharf.

When you visit San Francisco, you can discover what’s happening in real time with the hoursmap iphone app. The app is easy to use and provides up-to-date hours and location information on familiar stores such as Fantastic Sam’s, Macy’s, and Dollar Tree to fulfill your essential needs. Each place also includes a brief description. The interactive maps are easy to use and make driving the famous streets of San Francisco a breeze.

Get the hoursmap app at hoursmap.com

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Find directions to your nearest store/restaurant/pharmacy with ease

Nowadays, everyone checks the internet for directions. Using the internet for directions generally works great, but what if the store you go to ends up being closed? All of us have experienced the frustration of driving to a store only to find it closed after we get there. This might be ok sometimes, but what if it's an emergency in the middle of the night and you need to get some cough medicine for your cold right away?

Using just Maps/Directions:

You drive to your nearest CVS pharmacy and find out that it's closed. You then drive around town in search of other pharmacies that may be open and end up frustrated after spending two hours just looking for a pharmacy.

Using hoursmap.com:

Instead, you can just log on to hoursmap.com, type in CVS pharmacy and your city or zip code. In an instant, you'll find all available CVS locations which are open near you

Step1: Find the CVS pharmacy highlighted in green (Open now)

Step 2: Ignore those locations that are marked red (Closed)

Step 3: Get an accurate address

Step 4: Get driving directions

As simple as that, this information can be extremely helpful during times when you need to find out CVS pharmacy's hours right away.

And if you just moved to a new city, and you are not sure if the nearest department store such as Macy's will be open, just type in the zip code on hoursmap.com

Listings of the stores and restaurants in your local area can be easily found along with addresses and operating hours which is a great way to save time and make running errands a breeze.

hoursmap.com making it simple to find stores and essentials

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