The Radar: Americans Least Adventurous, Floating Hotel, Amtrak's New Fleet

• According to new study results released by Intrepid Travel, Americans are the least adventurous when they travel compared to travelers from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Kiwis topped the list as the biggest thrill seekers. In the States, Californians are most adventurous, while New Englanders were found to be twice as likely than the national average to try deep-fried tarantulas. In other findings, residents of the nation's capital are the least likely to want to sleep under the stars in a desert camp at only 26.5 percent compared to astronomy-loving San Diegans (68.4 percent). [Intrepid Travel via PR Newswire]
  

• An Italian architect revealed his futuristic designs for a structure that's part hotel, part cruise ship. Called MORPHotel, like its name, the hotel "morphs" to fit into specific ports of call or to adjust to weather patterns. A flexible spine and interlocking wings allow the hotel to change shape. Check out more photos on the architect's website. [USA Today]

• Seventy new locomotives will hit the rails in February 2013 along Amtrak's Northeast Regional route from Boston to Washington and its Keystone route in Pennsylvania. The cars set to retire are between 20 and 30 years old and have logged an average of 3.5 million miles each. The new fleet, built with renewable energy, will provide cleaner, more efficient travel. Amtrak travel reached a new ridership record of 28.7 million in September, up 5.7 percent over the previous year. [Huffington Post Travel]

Photo: Dainius Pilypas/MyShot

Post originale: http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2010/11/the-radar-americans-least-adve.html

The Radar: Star Wars Travel, Unusual Berlin Hotel, TNI Canadian Rockies

• Most travelers today are familiar with the iconic travel posters of the art deco era, advertising Monaco's Grand Prix and Rio's sunny beaches. It's the kind of art that makes you wistful for a ride on a PanAm flight or... the Millennium Falcon? Illustrator Steve Thomas has created these hilarious and fabulous Star Wars-inspired travel posters that combine the films' out-of-this world destinations with the art deco glamour of travel's yesteryears. Now about getting that light saber through security... [Paste Magazine]

• Guests at Berlin's Propeller Island City Lodge will find unusual rooms designed in themes ranging from the wacky to wild. In the coffin room, sleep under a closed lid or sleep securely in jail-cell themed diggs. [Spot Cool Stuff]

• Twitter's TNI (Travelers' Night In) is this afternoon from 3:30-5:00pm Eastern, sponsored by Banff Lake Louise Tourism. Follow along and tweet to win awesome prizes including a three-day heli-hiking adventure in the Canadian Rockies, and a photo op with the Banff Squirrel. [ZipSetGo.com]

Got Radar? Tag your favorite travel stories from the web #ngtradar and follow us on Twitter @NatGeoTraveler and @IntelligentTrav.

Illustrations courtesy of Steve Thomas

Post originale: http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2010/11/the-radar-star-wars-travel-unu.html

The Radar: Harrods Hotel, Urban Escapes, SkyCouch

• Shopping 'till you drop takes on a whole new meaning in London now that the Qatari owners of the iconic department store Harrods are considering building a hotel on its upper floors. The Evening Standard reports that if a hotel were constructed, a restaurant would also be added on the building's fourth floor. [USA Today via Gadling]

• Group buying sites just keep getting better for travelers: LivingSocial has acquired the website Urban Escapes, which currently offers outdoor activities and getaways to young professionals in Boston, Washington D.C., New York and Philadelphia. [Mashable]

• Air New Zealand's highly anticipated SkyCouch seating is now available for April 2011 bookings between Auckland and Los Angeles, reports Jaunted. The in-flight couches cost about $3,200 -- about $2,000 more than a regular seat. [Jaunted]

Photo: Christian Simic/My Shot

Post originale: http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2010/10/the-radar-harrods-hotel-urban.html