INSIDE AIR TRAVEL
The Best Travel Web SitesWhether you're seeking inspiration or already mobile, the Net has it all. And because it is all so mind-boggling, we've tried to narrow things down by presenting a chapter that lists only the best travel sites. You'll find the rest of our guide useful when it comes to drilling down into specific subjects, but start here if you want to quickly jump to the cream of Internet travel sites.
Let's start with a few useful compilations:
Auctions
Priceline.com http:/www.priceline.comTravelbids http://www.travelbids.com
Both of these are reverse-auction sites where you bid on a destination and wait for a bite. You're likely to get a good deal if you bid shrewdly and don't mind somewhat draconian restrictions.
Couriers
Air Courier Association http://www.aircourier.orgIAATC Air Courier http://www.courier.org
Companies constantly need warm bodies to deliver documents on their behalf. The schedules can sometimes be inconvenient, but the prices can't be beat.
Discount Booking Sites
1Travel.com (Worldwide) http://www.1travel.comAESU (US) http://www.aesu.com
Cheap Flights (UK) http://www.cheapflights.co.uk
Cheap Tickets (US) http://www.cheaptickets.com
Internet Air Fares (US) http://www.air-fare.com
Lowestfare.com (US) http://www.lowestfare.com
TravelHUB (US) http://www.travelhub.com
Here you'll find some of the best discount specialists on the Web. Try searching widely across the Web for airlines that fly the routes you care about, and then come back to see if these discount firms offer lower fares.
Full-Service Booking Sites
Biztravel (US) http://www.biztravel.comExpedia (AUS) http://www.expedia.com.au
Expedia (UK) http://www.expedia.co.uk
Expedia (US) http://www.expedia.com
Internet Travel Network/American Express (US, but ships global) http://www.itn.com
Thetrip.com (US) http://www.thetrip.com
Travel.com.au (AUS) http://www.travel.com.au
Travelocity (Worldwide) http://www.travelocity.com
Travel Select (Worldwide) http://www.travelselect.co.uk
TravelWeb http://www.travelweb.com
Booking through one of the bigger online ticketing sites is one of the easiest and quickest ways to secure your travel. You probably won't find the most rock-bottom prices at these full-fare sites, but their services and features are among the best on the Web.
Lodging
Hotel Discount http://www.hoteldiscount.comHotel Net http://www.hotelnet.co.uk
InnSite http://www.innsite.com
Bed & Breakfast Channel http://www.bbchannel.com
Find, appraise and reserve all types of lodging around the world.
Maps
MapQuest http://www.mapquest.comMapBlast http://www.mapblast.com
Multimap http://www.multimap.com
Maps On Us http://www.mapsonus.com
Generate street maps and driving directions for cities worldwide.
Late-Notice Deals
Bargain Holidays (UK) http://www.bargainholidays.comBest Fares (US) http://www.bestfares.com
Lastminute.com (UK) http://www.lastminute.com
HYPERLINK http://www.lastminute.comLastminutetravel.com http://www.lastminutetravel.com
Web operators that specialize in late-notice deals on flights, hotels, events and more.
Travel & Health Warnings
Australian Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade http://www.dfat.gov.auUK Foreign & Commonwealth Office http://www.fco.gov.uk
US State Department http://travel.state.gov/travel_warnings.html
Center for Disease Control http://www.cdc.gov/travel/
International Association for Medical Assistance for Travelers http://www.sentex.net/~iamat
MCW Health Link http://www.intmed.mcw.edu/ITC/Health.html
Travel Health Online http://www.tripprep.com
Essential stops if you're planning to visit a potential hot spot or country with health risks.And don't forget these individual noteworthy sites
A2Btravel.com http://www.a2btravel.com
Everything you need to know about traveling to and around the UK. Includes: flight booking; up-to-the-minute flight arrival and departure times; hotel finder; car hire; ferry, bus and train timetables; and, traffic reports.AfriCam
http://www.africam.com
Sneak a peek at wild beasts.Airtoons
http://www.airtoons.com
You'll never look at another flight safety card without smirking.Air Traveler's Handbook
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/user/mkant/Public/Travel/airfare.html
This FAQ, originally compiled for the rec.travel.air newsgroup, offers a huge volume of information about every possible travel subject.ArabNet http://www.arab.net
Bulging resource of North African and the Middle Eastern people, geography, economy, history and culture. Also worth visiting are 1001Sites.com (http://www.1001sites.com) and LexicOrient (http://www.i-cias.com).Art of Travel http://www.artoftravel.com
How to see the world on $25 a day.ATM Locators
http://www.visa.com/pd/atm/
http://www.mastercard.com/atm/
Locate a machine willing to replenish your wallet.CIA World Factbook
http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/pubs.html
The Central Intelligence Agency's encyclopedic summary of every country's essential statistics and details.Citysearch
http://www.citysearch.com
Useful guide to mainly US cities, although it does contain sections on a small handful of international locales.Oanda.com
http://www.oanda.com
Convert between the updated rates of 160 global currencies.Deja.com
http://www.deja.com
The largest discussion archive on the Net, with millions of postings to Usenet and other popular Web forums.Distance
http://www.indo.com/distance/
Calculate the distance between any two cities.Electronic Embassy
http://www.embassy.org
Directory of foreign embassies in Washington D.C.Erich's Packing Center
http://www.stetson.edu/~efriedma/packing.html
Erich lives to pack geometric shapes into boxes. Why not invite him over next time you're stuffing your rucksack?Europe
http://www.eurotrip.com
http://www.ricksteves.com
Look out Europe, here you come.Excite Travel
http://www.city.net
Regionally sorted links to community, geopolitical, health and tourist info.Fielding's Danger Finder
http://www.fieldingtravel.com/df/
Adventure holidays for all.Find a Grave
http://www.findagrave.com
Trace where celebrities are buried, and in some cases see their graves.Gomez
http://www.gomez.com
See how the online booking sites rate.Home Exchange
http://www.homexchange.com
Swap hideouts with a foreigner.Hostels.com
http://www.hostels.com
For those who want backpacker rates.International Student Travel Confederation
http://www.istc.org
Everything you need to know about student and youth travel.Journeywoman
http://www.journeywoman.com
Smart ezine for sassy sisters on the road.Lonely Planet Guidebooks
http://www.lonelyplanet.com
Offers precise summaries of every country in the Lonely Planet series, along with basic info and heath precautions. Of most use is its wealth of first-hand tales posted by backpacking survivors. Also come here to find travel partners, advice and ideas for your next adventure.Moon Travel Handbooks
http://www.moon.com
Read excerpts--and sometimes even the full text--of Moon's acclaimed travel books and newsletter.No Shitting in the Toilet
http://www.noshit.com.au
Comic take on the delights and oddities of low-budget travel.Outside Online
http://www.outsidemag.com
Current and back issues of Outside magazine, spanning all kinds of outdoor activities, from cycling in the Alps to windsurfing in the Columbia River Gorge.Paris
http://www.paris.org
http://www.paris-anglo.com
Two virtual tours of Paris, presented in both English and French.Roadside America
http://www.roadsideamerica.com
Guide to the strange attractions that loom along major US highways.Rough Guides
http://www.roughguides.com
In its new incarnation, this has to be one of the best travel sites on the Web. It features the full text from over 20 of the Rough Guide travel guides, and nearly every other destination the book covers should be online by the end of 1999. It's free, searchable and linked to flight booking and car rental facilities.Subway Navigator
http://www.subwaynavigator.com
Plot your journey via public transport in over 60 cities worldwide. The site, offered in both French and English, offers detailed maps and helps estimate travel times.Time Out
http://www.timeout.com
There's no excuse to stay at home now that Time Out has put its hip city guides online, offering an endless stream of information about 33 of the world's most-happening cities.Tourism Offices Worldwide
http://www.towd.com
Get in touch with local tourist offices worldwide, most of which are the best places to start finding information about a destination.Traffic & Road Conditions
http://www.accutraffic.com
Live traffic and weather updates across the US.Travelmag
http://www.travelmag.co.uk
Travel ezine featuring travel reflections, news, deals and links to other travel sites.Travlang
http://www.travlang.com
Add another language to your repertoire.UK Travel Guide
http://www.uktravel.com
Guide to getting around London and the rest of Britain, including a castle guide.The Virtual Tourist
http://www.virtualtourist.com
Calls itself the original travel community, and allows visitors to create their own travel page, explore 31,000 destinations and interact with other members.WebFlyer
http://www.webflyer.com
Keep tabs on reward and mileage programs.The World Traveler Books & Maps http://www.travelbookshop.com
Order from a wide range of travel literature and maps.Yahoo's Travel Section http://www.yahoo.com/Recreation/Travel/
Yahoo's travel section (as distinct from Yahoo Travel) is one of its best areas, with links to thousands of travel sites. Most have simple descriptions rather than reviews, but each entry will give you some idea of what to expect.
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