As I was walking around the booths at the Los Angeles Times Travel and Adventure Show, the whole convention center was buzzing with energy.  From the hundreds of balloons surrounding the Taiwan Tourism booth to the dancers from Malaysia with their vibrant and fun costumes, crowds of people were excited and eager to explore all the different countries booths.  You could even zip line over the convention center and learn how to scuba dive!

We visited all the booths and sat through several of the talks and workshops gathering as much information as we could about what is happening with travel for 2010.  The talks proved to be the most informative with experts like Jen Leo from the LA Times, Johnny Jet and Rick Steves.

Here’s what the experts had to say:

Best iPhone Apps for Travelers with Jen Leo

• Well-known Apps: Southwest, Kayak, Google Maps, Priceline, TripIt, Skype
• Lesser-known Apps:

Flight Track Live ($4.99) – Let’s you know when the plane left the gate and which terminal you need to go to.

G Park and iCar Park ($0.99) – Identifies where you parked your car, gives visual and directions for getting back.

AAA Roadside Service (Free) – If your car battery dies, need to change a tire, general car problems.

Road Trip Fun ($0.99) – List of games and directions on how to play favorites.

• International Apps:

Babelingo ($1.99) – Translates phrases into 11 different languages.

Pano ($2.99) – Takes panoramic pictures.

Travel Fish ($7.99) – Guide Book-like allowing you to book a trip, see pictures, attractions, lodging and restaurants.

Rick Steves Walking Tour Podcast (prices vary) – Walking tour of different European cities.

The Best Tips for Getting Travel Deals Online with Jen Leo (moderator), George Hobica, Johnny Jet & Sam Shank

• Sign up for low air fare alerts such as Air Fare Watchdog, Kayak, Bing Travel, Yapta and farecompare.com.
• Sign up for frequent flyer programs. Some sites send out a weekly newsletter with promo codes for a percentage off airfare.
• Choose a site like Kayak over Travelocity or Expedia because Kayak searches internally through all airlines sites and the others don’t.
• Always check out the airlines directly to get an idea of what they are selling the tickets for and compare that to prices on Kayak or Orbitz.
• If you are flexible with your trip, use Orbitz flexible search option.  Can search specifically weekends or leaving only on Mondays, etc and compare over a month time to see the cheapest price.

Budget European Travel Skills with Rick Steves

• Travel in a way to connect with the locals and the culture.
• Try to think about how to minimize crowd connection.  Major cities like Rome and Paris are so congested and busy during the day, but at night no one is around and you’ll have the romantic experience you want all to yourself.
• Learn a little history before you go so you know the difference between time periods and design styles.
• Find a good map.
• Do things as if you lived there.  If you go to church every Sunday, go to church.  Just because you aren’t at home and can’t go to your church, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go.  You are in some of the most beautiful cities with huge cathedrals and so much history— go to Mass and have a unique religious experience.
• “If art isn’t fun, you don’t know enough about it!” See the art where it was commissioned to be made.  Use it as a way to time travel to that period and experience the life at that time.
• Go to sporting events- you’ll see a lot of locals and the events are always full of energy.
• Fly into one city and out of another.
• “Start mild and work your way to exotic.” If you’ve never traveled out of your state before, start with England where many day to day experiences are very similar to yours here. Then work your way to Greece, where you can’t speak the language or even read the symbols on the street signs.

The biggest tip I took away from the LATTAS was to prepare myself well for my trip. Whether through the latest tech gadget or even in a history book, the places I travel to are going to be more enjoyable if I know not only what I’m looking at, but also how to best take it in. Did you attend the show? What do you think about the experts advice?