10 Cool Travel Ideas from Social Sites

Personalized Map

Cool Category: Travel-Inspired Home Decor

Social Media Source: Pinterest

Most trip memories are so virtual these days. Photos live on phones or computers, itineraries sit tucked safely away on apps, and blogs replace travel journals. Which makes this project of creating a physical souvenir of your travels really stand out. The idea, from Martha Stewart Living, is to sew your route through a country or region onto a map and then frame it. And since travel routes are rarely straight, this is a sewing project that even the most stitch-inept can handle.

21 Swings

Cool Category: Interactive Art

Social Media Source: Google+

If you happened to be in Montreal last spring, you might have seen the interactive 21 Balancoires ("21 Swings") art installation in the Quartier des Spectacles. These swings were made for playing … music. When in motion, each swing triggered a different note, and when multiple people went at the same time, the swings created melodies (see it in action in this great short video). This "exercise in musical cooperation" came from Daily Tous les Jours, a group that creates projects that blend participation, design, and technology.

Sensory Maps

Cool Category: Maps

Social Media Source: Twitter

Conceptual maps aren't always the best navigation tools, but they sure are fun to look at. Case in point: Sensory Maps by designer Kate McLean. Part data, part synesthesia, these maps document the views, scents, tastes, and feels of cities like Edinburgh, Paris, and New York City, inspiring a new way of looking at familiar cities.

Marble Caves, Chile

Cool Category: Attraction With a High Wow Factor

Social Media Source: Pinterest

One of the great things about Pinterest is that it's a daily reminder of just how magnificent nature can be. Take, for example, Las Cavernas de Marmol (The Marble Caves) in Chile. The caves are part of Lake General Carrera in remote Patagonia, near the town of Chile Chico. (The lake, which straddles the Chile-Argentina border, is also known as Lake Buenos Aires.) The marble caves were carved from water erosion over thousands of years. Today, visitors can explore the caves on boat rides offered by local tour companies.

Airport Goats

Cool Category: Airport Innovations

Social Media Source: Google+

Google+ directed us to this Chicago Tribune article about O'Hare International Airport's plan to manage hard-to-reach overgrown brush by recruiting goat herds to munch through 250 square feet of vegetation each day. The goats' hard work will "reduce the habitat for wildlife [that is] hazardous to airport operations, such as birds or deer." So next time you're flying through Chicago, keep an eye out for those grazing goats.

Giant Buddha Statue

Cool Category: Attraction with a High Wow Factor

Social Media Source: Pinterest

If you've traveled in Asia, you've probably seen a lot of Buddha statues. But even if you've seen a thousand, your jaw will still hit the floor when you meet the Leshan Giant Buddha, a 230-foot tall marvel in China's Sichuan province. The world's largest Buddha was carved out of a hillside in the eighth century; visitors ascend a staircase that clings to the side of a cliff to get the best look at his massive, ancient face.

Hole in a Mountain

Cool Category: Attraction with a High Wow Factor

Social Media Source: Pinterest

Tianmen Cave is a dramatic opening in a cliff face in Tianmen Mountain National Forest Park in China's Hunan province. In addition to admiring the cave, visitors come to the park to experience the twisting mountain road called "Heaven-Linking Avenue," with its 99 hairpin turns; the Tianmenshan Mountain Cableway, the world's longest mountain gondola; and the natural bonsai forest.

Tube World Map

Cool Category: Maps

Social Media Source: Pinterest

Looking for a great gift for the Anglophile/map addict/colonialist in your life? Then take a gander at this World Map as a Tube Metro System. Artist and Etsy shopkeeper ArtPause takes the iconic tube map and thinks big, crafting continents out of the lines and using cities as the stations. The map comes in two sizes and starts at about $25 before shipping.

Haunted Island Paradise

Cool Category: Undiscovered Destination

Social Media Source: Twitter

Matt Gibson, a.k.a. Xpat Matt, introduced us to the small Taiwanese island of Xiao Liuchiu, a gorgeous, secluded island close to Taiwan's second-largest city. It was only after multiple trips to the island that Gibson figured out why such a gem remained so undeveloped: It's an island full of tragic tales and graves in a culture that strongly believes in ghosts. Intrigued? We were.

Google Earth's Tour-Guide Feature

Cool Category: Maps

Social Media Source: Google+

Google just announced Google Earth 7's new tour-guide feature for desktops. It's the ultimate in armchair travel: Visit more than 11,000 popular sites in over 100 countries and regions without getting up from your desk. Better yet, use the tool to help plan your next vacation. This video walks you through the tour-guide feature.

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