Surf City USA Publishes New Dining Guidebook

Surf City USA – the Huntington Beach Marketing and Visitors Bureau (HBMVB) announces publication of their all-new, all-inclusive Dining Guide for the city of Huntington Beach.

“This dining guide is very unique in the sense that it reflects the funky, and eclectic nature of Surf City USA and offers the reader an insider’s look into HB dining,” explains HBMVB Board Chair and Shorebreak Hotel General Manager Marco Perry. “This mini-magazine reads as if your good friend were referring you to their favorite place to enjoy a meal – unlike most dining guides that read more as paid restaurant listings accompanied by ads.”

Insider scoops on favorite diners and restaurants come from Huntington Beach locals in the “Meet the Locals” section, and from Surf City chefs (who even share some of their favorite recipes) in “Compliments of the Chefs.” Readers will get “Grab and Go” ideas for the perfect picnic, and find inspiration on – “Setting the Scene” for an Old School, Surfside, Cool & Contemporary, or Romantic experience.

With multiple new and trendy restaurants arriving on the dining landscape, Huntington Beach is on the fast track to dining acclaim. From high-end steak, seafood and martinis, to hidden gems popular for their burritos or sandwiches, Surf City dining satisfies discerning “foodie” palates.

The first ever Huntington Beach Dining Guide, including a list of over 275 Surf City USA restaurants, is available at the Huntington Beach Marketing and Visitor Bureau office, the HB Visitor Information Center (located at the base of the Huntington Beach Pier), and at various restaurants and hotels throughout the city. An online searchable page-turning version is also available at http://www.surfcityusa.com.

The Huntington Beach Marketing and Visitors Bureau is the official destination marketing organization of Huntington Beach, Surf City USA®. One of Southern California’s premier coastal destinations, Huntington Beach is the ideal location for a California family vacation, or relaxing weekend getaway.

With 10 miles of wide-open white sand California beaches, Huntington Beach is a destination of choice for vacationers and business travelers alike. To plan your Surf City USA^® vacation, or to learn more about Huntington Beach, visit the Huntington Beach Marketing and Visitors Bureau website at www.SurfCityUSA.com or call 800-729-6232 for a free Visitors Guide.

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Lonely Planet Launches Country Guide Apps for iPhone and iPod Touch

 

Lonely Planet has introduced a series of new country guide apps for the iPhone and iPod touch, available now on the App Store. Initially launching with Italy, Ireland, France, Spain, Australia and Costa Rica, Lonely Planet’s country guide apps are the first of their kind from an expert travel guide publisher.

The ultimate guides for on-the-go travelers, Lonely Planet’s country guide apps contain expert content and recommendations and detailed maps for the entire country – all of which works entirely offline so there are no roaming or data fees. The apps combine background information on a country, practicalities, suggested itineraries, and thousands of author recommended places to eat, drink, sleep, shop, visit and see. The apps include information on every region that’s covered in Lonely Planet print guidebooks.

The offline maps allow users to view the entire country, and then zoom in to a particular region, city, neighborhood or street. Travelers can quickly pinpoint their location on the map through the GPS capabilities of their iPhone or iPod touch—all without internet connection or expensive roaming charges.

Intuitive navigation makes the apps incredibly simple to use with easy-to-browse tabs so that users are never more than a few taps away from the information they seek. In addition, users can easily flip between the maps and text.

“Lonely Planet has established itself as an industry leader in the travel app space with almost 10m downloads of our city guide apps,” says Jeremy Kreitler, VP Wireless Services for Lonely Planet. “Responding to user feedback and given the popularity of country guidebooks, we are excited to be the first travel guide publisher to extend our product range to include country guide apps”.

The Lonely Planet country guide apps are available for $9.99 each from the App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore. They are also available as in-app purchases within the Lonely Planet Travel Guides App.

Lonely Planet country guide apps are the latest addition to Lonely Planet’s portfolio of mobile products for the iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. The country guide apps complements the company’s other travel apps including 70 city guide apps, various audio walking guides, audio phrasebook apps, and offline translator apps.

Lonely Planet is one of the world’s leading travel content providers. Launched in 1973, Lonely Planet enables curious travelers to experience the world and get to the heart of a place via guidebooks to most destinations on the planet, an award-winning website, a suite of mobile and digital travel products and a dedicated traveler community. Visit www.lonelyplanet.com.

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Popular Backpacker Travel Guide to USA, Canada Now Available Online

The USA/Canada Hostels & Travel Guide, a popular travel planning and reference tool for backpackers, students and budget travelers, is now available in an online version © 2012 Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com.

The USA/Canada Hostels & Travel Guide, a popular travel planning and reference tool for backpackers, students and budget travelers, is now available in an online version.

Published by Bakpak Travelers Guide, the 92-page digital guide is a replica of the print version and includes tips and information on popular trip ideas, backpacker and adventure tours, car and campervan rentals, listings for over 200 hostels and covers the most popular destinations. The Guide is also packed with information on free and cheap things to do which save travelers money.

The digital edition, powered by Issuu, can be downloaded, printed and viewed online at www.bakpakguide.com. The digital version also provides web links to all the hostel and tour companies and advertisements found in the guide.

“The print guides fly off the shelf at hostels and international student program offices. Now any traveler worldwide can get it online and start planning their backpacking USA or Canada adventure,” says Bakpak Dave, Chief Bakpaker and publisher.

Bakpak Dave Barish launched Bakpak Travelers Guide in March 1998 and also publishes a Backpacking Europe Hostels & Travel Guide. Prior to Bakpak, David set-up, co-owned and operated a top-rated hostel, the Nomads Market Inn, in South Melbourne, Australia. Prior to his involvement in the travel industry, Dave was a senior accountant at Arthur Andersen in New York and Price Waterhouse in Melbourne, Australia.

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GuideGecko Releases ‘Cheatsheets’ for Backpackers

Just in time for the traveling season, backpacking got a lot easier. GuideGecko, the world's leading publishing portal for travel guides, just released its first batch of official 'Backpacker Cheatsheets'. © 2011 Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

Just in time for the traveling season, backpacking got a lot easier. GuideGecko, the world’s leading publishing portal for travel guides, just released its first batch of official ‘Backpacker Cheatsheets’. Comprising two highly condensed PDF pages, each Cheatsheet suggests backpackers exactly where to go, how to get there, where to sleep, what to see & and do, and everything else the traveling nomad needs to know.

Cheatsheets are available for free download from http://www.GuideGecko.com. The first batch covers Thailand and Bali as well as Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Vietnam and even Burma/Myanmar. The popular backpacking destinations of Australia and New Zealand are also included. For the more adventurous, there is a 4-6 weeks itinerary for Indonesia from Jakarta to Kelimutu.

“While every traveler researches his own trip, 95% end up on the same itinerary. Our Cheatsheets save you time, while giving you options to explore along the way”, says Dr. Daniel Quadt, Chief Backpacker at GuideGecko.com: “Each Cheatsheet is a whole guidebook packed into a double-sided print – the font-size is optimized for the young backpacking crowd.”

More Cheatsheets for South America and other destinations will be released in the coming weeks. GuideGecko also encourages backpackers to send in updates to keep the free Cheatsheets up to date.

All Cheatsheets are available at: www.GuideGecko.com/backpacker-itineraries.

About GuideGecko

GuideGecko is the world’s leading publishing platform for travel guides, offering more than 2700 guidebooks on 169 countries and 270 cities and regions around the world.

GuideGecko offers worldwide travel guides for the iPhone, Amazon Kindle and on the web. All guides are independently researched and written by professional travel writers from around the world.

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Innovative ‘Discover Paris a la Carte’ map gives you insider tips on visiting ‘City of Lights’

You’re in Paris and the thought occurs to you: Where can you join a game of “pétanque”? How about joining an extraordinary dinner, where 50 strangers from all over the world meet every Sunday in the City of Lights? Looking for traditional French crêpes, gallettes and an impressive selection of ciders? Interested in learning how to play “la vie en rose” on an accordion? Or are you a shopaholic searching for the temple of shoes?

The “My Paris à la Carte” Map is a brilliant way to get to know Paris, or to discover whole new sides of this fascinating city. No matter whether you are traveling  for business or for leisure, “My Paris à la Carte” Map gives you an array of the city’s best kept insider tips on a beautiful and handy 70x42cm hand-drawn map.

The idea for A la Carte Maps emerged during a one year trip around the world: Frustrated with thick guidebooks as well as unhandy city maps, two Swiss globetrotting entrepreneurs decided to “revolutionize” the traditional way of traveling by combining travel guide, city map and a piece of art in one. The concept is simple: Imagine you had a local friend in exciting cities all over the world. Not only will this friend provide you with the most important information about your city, he or she will also reveal the city’s best-kept insider tips by writing them on a hand-drawn map.

All maps are made of high-quality material and are additionally matt-laminated which makes them moisture-resistant and durable. All the maps are designed by talented young artists trying to capture the spirit of the city making each map unique in its appearance.

Launched in August 2009, these little pieces of art are currently available for 15 cities across the world. Four new maps for Istanbul, San Francisco, Beijing and Sydney will be released in September 2011. A la Carte Maps have been featured by New York Times, Travel & Leisure, GLAMOUR, ELLE, Cosmopolitan, Lufthansa Inflight Magazine, Stern, NZZ as well as many other publications.

The maps are currently sold in book stores, gift shops and hotels in 20 countries; the full product range is also available online on http://www.alacartemaps.com.

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