71Miles - Northern California Travel Guide
Travel writer John Vlahides takes you to the most beautiful, interesting, and delicious spots in Northern California and the San Francisco Bay Area.
If you're a traveler then you have (at least once) been smacked by that sobering chasm between expectation and reality. The guidebook didn't say anything about packing a hazmat suit to navigate the bathroom. And it's often difficult to know when Internet reviews are peppered with shills or hired guns . . . if what you'll find on the other side of the keycard slot is anything close to what you've read.
That's where 71Miles comes to the rescue. 71Miles isn't just a Bay Area travel site. It's a literary journal with vivid truth leaping from its pages, like sound advice from a friend. Experienced travel writer John Vlahides -- the main voice behind 71Miles in Northern California -- will not hesitate to tell you when a hotel serves canned beans on its salad, or when a luxury destination is really just a venue for bad art.
71Miles - Bay Area Travel Help
As its name suggests, 71Miles specializes in the type of travel many of us in the Bay Area do most often: excursions within 71 miles (give or take a few miles).
Vlahides and 71Miles founder Adam Rugel discovered a niche -- or, rather, a gaping hole -- in the travel advice business. "Most getaways that people take are short, local trips," Rugel says. "John and I thought it made sense to create a site that focused on just these kinds of trips."
In the San Francisco Bay Area, the short-trip possibilities radiate outward like spokes. A few miles in any direction -- toward Napa Valley, toward Monterey, toward Lake Tahoe -- produce a change in climate, terrain, and temperament. 71Miles can help you sort through the possibilities . . . and then build a day's or a weekend's itinerary, including notable places to stay, eat, and play throughout the region.
71Miles Website & Interface
You're in for a treat when you launch 71miles.com. The interface is clean and the navigation is simple and fluid. Pick your intended travel destination from the left hand column. The selections include diverse areas of Northern California from the gorgeous Sonoma/Mendocino coast in the north, to Big Sur in the south.
Check the home page for this week's featured location, or browse the travel selections if you simply can't decide on how to spend your next day trip away from home. Each location presents you with John's personal experience of the place, the hotels, the restaurants, and the various attractions you shouldn't (or should) miss in each locale.
The added bonus of 71Miles is the interactive commentary between John and the site's visitors. If you peruse the threads, you'll see John's attentive commentary in response to any number of questions, remarks or even contradictory perceptions. The amalgamation makes for an entertaining read. You also get varied coverage of each particular destination and how it meets expectations or how it disappoints.
The People Behind 71Miles
The collective creative experience behind 71Miles is impressive. John Vlahides has a degree in French culinary arts, was a luxury-hotel concierge, and in addition to writing and producing his own travel pieces, has been published with Lonely Planet, Condé Nast and Fodor's, among others.
Founder Adam Rugel worked for AOL Travel and then later produced travel videos and projects for Serotonin Productions, a company he co-founded.
The sophisticated but friendly tone of 71Miles reflects this pedigree in a way that other customer opinion sites can't always match. It's honest but not snarky. Classy but not sterile. The character of 71Miles is closer to a forum moderated by an expert who can personally lead you to the best each place has to offer.
71Miles Locations & Destinations
71Miles offers its travel services in Northern California and also in the Washington D.C. metro area. There are plans to add more regions in the near future.
Some of the many Northern California travel topics covered by 71Miles:
Big Sur Travel | Calistoga Travel | Carmel Travel | Mendocino Travel | Napa Valley Travel | Sonoma Travel | Lake Tahoe Travel
Additional services offered by 71Miles:
- Interactive Google maps with each location
- Kayak.com hotel deals
- Vacation Rentals Guide
- Free e-mail newsletter and mobile alerts
Learn more about 71Miles: