Roundup: Win a trip to the ‘American Idol’ finale; DIY travel guide websites NileGuide & TravelMuse show off their new looks

Travel sweepstakes | JetBlue and Coca-Cola are giving away a trip to see the “American Idol” finale in L.A. Sure you might already live locally, but “Idol” maniacs might do anything to be in the same room as “American Idol” finalists and judges. The grand prize winner of the sweepstakes will get two tickets to the “American Idol” finale May 20, round-trip airfare for two on JetBlue, hotel accommodations and $250 spending money. The first prize winner will get two tickets to anywhere JetBlue flies, but die-hard “Idol” maniacs might prefer the second prize –- a prize pack that includes an “American Idol” directors chair autographed by Ryan Seacrest. TrueBlue members can login to enter, and for those that are not TrueBlue members, signing up for a JetBlue account is free.

Travel websites/DIY travel guidebooks | Today NileGuide shows off the new makeover of its site. I was truly impressed with how much cleaner the site looks and how easy it is to use compared with before. For those of you who are new to Nile Guide, it’s a site where you can plan a trip and build your own guidebook for free. The maps are really intuitive, and you can find activities or restaurants around your hotel or another point of interest with the distance anchor. I also like that those researching a trip can go look at other travelers’ day-by-day itineraries. But take them with a grain of salt. I had a look at the Vegas guides and wouldn’t have passed them on to friends. (I guess that means I need to participate, sign on and write some better ones!)

Whether it’s a coincidence or not, TravelMuse unveils its makeover today as well. Now the site has a more advanced trip planner where you can build and share your own custom travel guide (also for free). Don’t worry, the site hasn’t done away with the magazine-like feel or inspiration finder — they’re still there. And if you want some help navigating through the site, here’s the “How to Plan a Trip” page. It also launched a new Yaycation widget to prove to travelers they have room for travel in this down economy, which I’ll have a closer look at this morning.

Will these two DIY travel guides give Offbeat Guides a run for its money? We’ll see. I think a side-by-side comparison test will get my attention very soon.

– Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel & Deal blogger

[Photo: "American Idol" Top 8. Credit: Fox]

Permalink | E-mail | Print | Add to My Trips

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 14, 2009 at 9:00 am by Jen Leo and is filed under Contest & Sweepstakes, News, Tips & Advice, Travel Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.