FREE phone calls from Google Maps

If you're planning an out-of-town trip, long-distance phone calls to make inquires or reservations at hotels, restaurants, theaters, tour companies and other businesses can start to add up. But a new feature on Google Maps changes all that by offering FREE phone calls to any business in the United States.

To use this new cost-saving new feature, simply search Google Maps for any U.S. business you want. Then just click the "call" link that's located at the end of the business listing. Next, enter your phone number in the box provided, and click "Connect for Free". Google Maps will immediately call you, and once you answer the phone, connect you to the business. You can even check a box to have Google Maps remember your phone number so you won't have to enter it every time.

Of course, you could use this handy feature for reasons other than travel, such as ordering flowers from a local florist in a friend's hometown, calling an ill relative at a distant hospital, or simply phoning someone at work to chat...all for free. Check out Google Maps cool new call feature today.

Winning at the Security Checkpoint Game

With the holidays nearly upon us, more people than usual will be flying the "friendly" skies to visit family and friends. And if you're one of these lucky individuals, that means you're likely to find yourself enduring impossibly long wait times at airport security checkpoints around the country. But thankfully, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has a handy online tool that might ease your pain...just a little.

The Security Checkpoint Wait Times tool (catchy name, huh?) lets you easily determine how long you can expect to wait in the security line before your flight, based on airport, day of the week, and time of your departure. Mind you, these are historical figures that show the "average" time spent in line, but at least they'll give you an idea of how early you need to head to the airport. But just in case, make sure you pack a good book or magazine in your carry-on.

Safe flying!

Memorable Travel Reading Made Easy

When I go traveling , I often like to take along a book to read that's set in the place I'll be visiting. In fact, one of my most memorable travel experiences was riding trains through Italy reading The Agony and the Ecstasy, Irving Stone's excellent biographical novel about Michelangelo.

I recently discovered a handy website that makes finding an appropriate book for any upcoming trip extremely simple. Entitled the Vacation Book Review, this exhaustive website collects reader reviews from Amazon.com to organize its top book recommendations by geographical location. With just a few clicks, I can find literary gems about Greece, a country I'm planning to visit with friends next summer.

For a more general recommendation of great travel writing, be sure to also check out this list recently compiled by the World Hum website: Top 30 Travel Books of All Time.

Got a favorite travel book you'd like to share? Post your recommendations on the Travel Coach forums. Happy reading.

The Travel Coach in U.S.A. Today

Be sure to check out this article in the November 2nd edition of U.S.A. Today on the increase in marketing aimed at gay consumers. The piece discusses the fact that more and more advertising dollars today are being spent trying to woo gay consumers along with their higher-than-average discretionary incomes. But even more significant to my faithful readers is that yours truly, the Travel Coach, is quoted at the very end of the article.

You can tell your friends you "knew me when." Please, no autographs.