You don't need an iPhone...

By Budget Travel
October 3, 2012

...to do cool tricks as a traveler. Here's a roundup of tips:

Max out your phone. (Try these text-messaging tricks.)

How to Use Your Cell Phone Almost Anywhere. (Don't get ripped off when you're overseas and placing calls.)

Travelers questions about cell phones, answered. (The head of Telestial responds to readers.)

Related: Maximize Your iPod

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Travel Tips

Where does the Lego lady go to unwind?

Cecilia Weckstrom has designed several toys for Lego, such as Exoforce, Power Racers, and Sponge Bob. Since April, her job title has been Experience & Innovation Director. She travels the globe spotting business opportunities for Lego. She's rarely at home for two weeks straight. Clearly, Cecilia is a great person to ask for travel advice. She has broad travel experience as a Finn who works in the U.K. for a Danish company. Plus, she's a professional innovator, with a sharp eye for creative vacation spots. So where in the world would Cecilia say you should go on vacation? "My recommendation has to be Pietra Santa in Tuscany, Italy, a stone's throw from Pisa, known for the leaning tower. Pietra Santa is the home of sculptors from all over the world. Originally even Michelangelo lived here. It has the best foundries in the world, having cast sculptures for Ferdnando Botero, Henry Moore, Mitorai and many more. It further has countless marble-yards, where you can turn up, rent yourself a spot, a block of marble and the tools and have a go yourself and not forgetting the delicious food and cappuccinos in-between. Italians have turned having lunch into an art-form and if you want a piece of the real Italian culture, in an authentic setting unspoilt by truck-loads of tourists--look no further. My dad moved there in the early nineties, which is when I discovered it too. I have visited many times--almost every year if I can make it! Pietra Santa is great for a day trip from Pisa, or you can stay at the many tiny little hotels around and in Pietra Santa itself, and go dip your toe into the sea at Forte di Marmi, the beach resort nearby. It is affordable, genuine and a wonderful place to get your creative juices flowing!" Can you recommend a restaurant in Pietra Santa? Restaurant Gato Negro just by the Piazza del Duomo is excellent and hugely popular. So try to stop by earlier in the day to reserve a table to make sure you get one. Another little known restaurant is Da Piero's, just over the railway bridge, whose sea food pasta Frutti di Mare with a little Frizzante white wine is the best I've ever had--all fresh ingredients and simply unbeatable value. I've tried both and each serve excellent food. Gato Negro is a little more expensive, but then they are in a prime location. Signora who runs Da Piero is very friendly and greets everyone like a long-lost relative, whether you can speak Italian or not. A stroll around the city is good fun, try to stick your nose into the Duomo and the little chapel at one of the side streets to see amazing murals painted by Ferdnando Botero himself, another resident of the town, make sure you also stumble into a marble yard and have a look at what people are working on, it's simply amazing and of course a cappuccino at the Piazza is a must. Is this a place children will like? Italians love children so wherever you go, don't be surprised if your little one becomes the centre of the attention in a shop, a restaurant or a cafe. The town is not a child-specific place as such, so not a lot of play areas or entertainment specifically for children, but then if it's a day trip make sure to visit ice-cream shop next to the Piazza del Duomo, nothing beats proper Italian Ice-cream! What is it about this place that draws you back? The town is unique as the center for sculpture in the world, but it also is a quintessential little Italian town so it is a very genuine experience of what life is like away from the big tourist traps. It is a very beautiful place, a truly authentic Italian town at the foot of the mountains, it seems to time has stopped here--life has a different rhythm and it is very easy to relax here and it is impossible not to get infected by the creativity which seems to be abundant here--everyone is an artist and if you aren't already, you soon fancy being one too! And it makes for an easy daytrip from (or to!) Pisa, Florence, Lucca, and Forte di Marmi. Any hotel or rental car recommendations? I haven't stayed in hotels here, but there are plenty to choose from both around Pietra Santa and in the town itself, in many different price ranges so you are guaranteed to find something to your liking and budget. You can also rent a car at Pisa airport and go visit places like Lucca and Florence too, which are neat little day trips. How to book it: Fly a U.S. discount airline to New York City, and then hop a flight to Bologna on Eurofly for about $700 round-trip during peak season. Or fly on Zoom to London, and hop a discount carrier (which you can find at WhichBudget) to Bologna, Rome, or Florence. Rent your car through AutoEurope for cheap rates. Look for hotels via online booking website Venere. Related: 14 Top Questions About Italy, Answered. Earlier: Where does the Guinness master brewer go on vacation?

Today's travel intel

Versailles reopened its Hall of Mirrors today. After a three-year restoration, the 8,640-square foot gallery is open to visitors again. Most of the hall's 357 mirrors date back to the 1600s. The cheateaux of Versailles was the onetime home of Marie Antoinette and other French royalty, who--as the mirrors make obvious--loved themselves dearly. Tickets cost $27 per person. [French Tourism] Dubai is heading to the big screen. Yesterday, Paramount announced that it will film a political thriller set in Dubai, according to Variety. The script involves a plot to attack the U.S. economy. No doubt, this film isn't what the tourist officials at Dubai want to see hit the screens. (Perhaps the emirate will buy Paramount to stop the filming.) Dubai, as you may know, has been busy touting the upcoming construction of Dubailand. This series of delights in the desert will include replicas of the Pyramids, the Eiffel Tower, and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Also to be included: Tiger Woods Dubai (a 25-million-square-foot golf course), a Universal Studios theme park, a museum with the name Louvre, and 50 themed hotels with 60,000 rooms. In the meantime, there is a lot to see and do in this Middle Eastern destination already. See our story: Dubai: Just Add Money. Las Vegas gets a movie, too. "What Happens In Vegas" is the title of an upcoming comedy. The plot: After a night of mischief, two people get married. Hijinks ensue. By the way, "What happens here, stays here," is one of the most successful tourism campaigns ever, first launched four years ago. But tourism officials in Las Vegas are testing a new slogan: "Your Vegas is showing." [story here via Las Vegas Review-Journal and this story via the San Diego Union Tribune] Related: Visit the 10 locations of 2006's coolest movies.

Record flight delays

The number of flights canceled in the first 15 days of June was up a whopping 91 percent compared with the same period last year, according to this article in the Wall Street Journal. Airline delays were also widespread. Roughly one out of three U.S. flights failed to arrive on time from June 1 through June 15. Passengers on Northwest and United have been particularly hard hit by both cancellations and delays. To cope with summer air travel, consider these tips from Budget Travel's editors: Wield your cell phone like you're Jerry Macguire. If you're at the airport when your flight is canceled, call the airline's 800 number while you're walking to the airline counter (and stay on while in line); this increases your chance of getting on the next flight. To be prepared, print out this wallet card with a list of airline 800-numbers. Get confirmation numbers. If you're not planning on rebooking yourself onto a later flight, then get a confirmation number, or, even better, a confirmation email. If you don't have proof in writing, you're facing an uphill battle if the charge eventually shows up on your credit card bill. Sign up for alerts from your airline. If your airline won't send text messages to your phone, then you can always use Google. Just send a text message to "Google" (466453) from your cell phone and you can get all kinds of info. For flight arrival/departure info, type the flight number; for example, for Delta Flight 395, type DL395--the code you'll find on your boarding pass. If you have access to a Web browser, you can access FlightStats.com. Be wary of tight connections. If your itinerary requires you to change planes, you face a risk that you may not make your onward connection if your first flight is delayed. Budget-conscious travelers often face this problem for a simple reason: Some online travel websites sell discounted tickets with layovers that require you to make unreasonably tight connections (or implausibly quick transits through airports). Be attentive to the layover time between flights and consider paying a little more to book an itinerary with additional time to make any connections.

Inspiration

A Dozen Distinctive Destinations

For the eighth year, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has put together a list of 12 distinctive communities, each one rich with character, a sense of place...and historical preservation activists. One of this year's picks is Charlottesville, Va., which Budget Travel recently profiled, too. [Photo: My Hobo Soul via Creative Commons and Flickr] Here's the full list: Charlottesville, Va.-- This college town is near Jefferson's Monticello, Monroe's Ash Lawn-Highland and Madison's Montpelier. Chatham, Mass. -- Here's a coastal community with an architecturally rich downtown. Chestertown, Md. -- Lined with 18th and 19th century houses, this town--about 90 minutes from Washington, D.C.--holds annual festivals, including a "cute dog" parade. Durango, Colo. -- Nestled between red sandstone bluffs, this town has well preserved Puebloan ruins. Ellensburg, Wash. -- A Victorian town that's home to Central Washington University and offers great fly fishing. Hillsborough, N.C. -- Holds some fantastic summer festivals and boasts an original, rare NASCAR speedway. Little Rock, Ark. -- With a presidential library, a WWII-era submarine, and the world's longest pedestrian bridge, this is the little town that could. Mineral Point, Wis. --Cornish rock houses, Craftsman bungalows, and simple log cabins can be found in this gem hidden in rolling hills. Morgantown, W. Va. --This university town has a Riverfront park with an amphitheater and miles of paved trails. Providence, R.I. --On summer weekend nights, this college town holds a festival with music and small bonfires along a central canal. West Hollywood, Calif. --This predominantly gay neighborhood offers great opportunities to spot celebrities at trend-setting places, such as the ice cream shop Pinkberry. Woodstock, Ill. -- This Victorian village town has a nationally renowned Mozart festival and a Victorian Christmas every year. Related: Budget Travel's list of coolest small towns.