Simple interface with standard information. Nice feature: displays the price in the country's currency and also converts it to US dollars. Despite the name, has information on international hotels, too. No pictures.
If you are going abroad for a longer stay and aren't interested in staying in a hotel, you can try posting to this site. List the city and dates you are planning to visit and the kind of arrangement you want (sublet, rent an apartment, etc.) Note: as always when using the Web, the user must be discriminating about the information sent and received.
Click on the "hotels" tab from this main page. Rates, room descriptions (with pictures), star ratings, amenities, and local attractions are listed. You may book online.
Praised in a number of magazines, newspapers, and web sites as a good place to find hotel bargains that are not listed on other travel sites. The opening page has a number of ads, but once a city is selected, there are few to none. Information provided includes rates, amenities, pictures of hotel areas, and nearby attractions. You may book online.
Classified ads for many countries. Ads include room, apartment, and house rentals, as well as hotels. Also includes areas for iWork, iTravel, iStudy. Note: as always when using the Web, the user must be discriminating about the information sent and received.
This site guarantees that the price shown is the lowest available. Hotels range from the modest to the very expensive. Reviewers call this one consumer-friendly.
If you are concerned about security measures at U.S. airports, this page may help. It includes information on what not to pack, carry-on baggage tips, and prohibited items.
Elderhostel is a nonprofit organization providing educational adventures all over the world to adults aged 55 and over. Catalogs online (Adobe Acrobat Reader required, which can be downloaded free in necessary) or order a paper copy.
Expedia is a customizable site that allows you to book airline flights, hotels, cars, cruises, and vacation packages online. It also has sections highlighting destinations of particular interest and vacations appropriate for families, adventurers, etc. You can also get driving directions and street maps of the United States and road maps of Canada, Mexico, and Europe.
Fare Compare allows you to research (compare) the best available fares to your destination. Currently only for travel to, from, or within North America. You can not book the flight from this site. Once you have selected your flight choice, a link sends you to the appropriate booking site.
Contains a planning center and allows users to create their own mini-guides. There are also forums for users to exchange impressions, experiences, and tips. Site is easy to use and informative.
News, newsletters, low-stress trip ideas, and information for first-time travelers. Arthur Frommer also writes an opinion column that doesn't sugar-coat his topics. The "vacation ideas" area includes budget trips, student travel, honeymoons, skiing and road trips, and alternative travel (study, health, political, etc.) Design is slightly confusing, as the main body of an article appears in the center of the screen and links to continue the theme are on the left, with little or no indication of such in the main article.
One-stop shopping for travel information. Book cars, flights, hotels, or a cruise. Check out package deals and special low rates. Also has a travel news section. User-friendly interface.
You provide information on what you're looking for and how much you want to pay, and the site matches your requirements with brand-name partners' offers. You will not see the name of the company until you accept the price offered. The ability to be flexible is the key to using this site successfully.
SideStep searches dozens of sites for the best travel deals from 585 airlines, 40,000 hotels and 2,800 rental car locations worldwide. Offers side-by-side comparisons to Expedia and Travelocity.
This site will help you to find the best deals on flights and hotels. Its sponsored links from Expedia, Orbitz, and Travelocity allow you to compare those sites' prices easily. Probably most helpful, though, are the ratings and feedback on hotels and vacation spots provided by visitors. This is a visually busy site with a potential to overwhelm new visitors or those new to making travel arrangements on the web.
Special deals, best fares, quick flight search, "Plan a Trip" by destination, lifestyle, or activity, and a customizable "My Travel" area are features of this site.
Want to know what's going on in a city you plan to visit? This site lists movies and local events as well as restaurants and hotels. Lists of "best inexpensive date restaurant", "best ice cream", "best place to kiss" and more help give an "insider's" view of where to go, especially because visitors may make comments and vote. This site is sponsored by Ticketmaster, so is reflected in listed events.
Official Alaska tourism site. Includes virtual tours, travel specials, community links, trip planner, and a lot of helpful information about regions, weather, etc.
An initiative of the Connecticut Humanities Council, Connecticut’s Heritage Gateway is designed for for tourists, teachers, families, and history buffs. A calendar of events, maps and listings of places to go, and photographs from Connecticut's history are all available.
Sponsored by the Hawaiian Visitors and Convention Bureau. Besides the usual information, there are virtual tours, a wedding planner, lots of restaurant information, and lists of golf courses.
This is the official Massachusetts tourism page. For another helpful site, look at Massachussets Tourism at http://www.masstourist.com/. Both contain information on places to go and things to see and do.
Helpful features: an events calendar and a searchable database of lodgings in the state. Select an accomodation type and a region and a list of places to stay appears, with a brief synopsis of their features and links to web sites.
Travel information for Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Shopping, wildlife, baseball, group tours, amusement parks, and more.
Multimedia slideshows and video provide a variety of vacation ideas. Included on the site is a list of tour operators, as well as links to online brochures and a mail address for free brochures.
Official site. Not quite as user-friendly as other sites listed, but still provides the traveler with needed information about places to stay and events. Click on "Travel Planner".
The Country Studies Series presents a description and analysis of the historical setting and the social, economic, political, and national security systems and institutions of countries throughout the world. They are published through a division of the Library of Congress and focus on areas of the world which are less well-known and/or where U.S. troops may at some point be deployed. Other links on this page will be more helpful to travellers. This site is included here for those needing background information on a country.
Contains information for both those traveling TO the U.S. and FROM the U.S. One helpful feature is the "Know Before You Go" brochure. There is also information pertaining to changes made after September 11, 2001.
Passport and visa information, U.S. and foreign embassy addresses, online pamphlets. Consular information sheets for all countries contain safety and medical facts. Travel advisories and public announcements for those traveling out of the country can be found here.
Lists only official government tourism offices, convention and visitors bureaus, chambers of commerce, etc. which provide free, accurate, and unbiased travel information to the public. No travel agents, no tour operators, no hotels.
AAA's Hartford office site. The site is quite informative, but will be most helpful to members, as you must be a member to access maps and Triptiks. The AAA's main website can be found at http://www.aaa.com.
Subway maps, general information concerning the Official Transport Authority, route finder, links to interesting places nearby the subway station you have selected. Plot out your route on national and international subway systems. Print out a map or simply see it on the screen.
You can get driving directions and street maps of the United States and road maps of Canada, Mexico, and Europe. Topographical maps of some countries are available.
Local, national, and international weather, including ten-day forecasts, radar loops, NEXRAD, thunderstorm activity, and historic averages. Note: there are advertisements on this site.
Site allows creation of free maps that pinpoint almost any location in the United States. You can also email maps to friends or download them to a Palm Pilot.
Type in a city or zip code and get data on local weather information. Includes a ten-day forecast and a link to monthly and daily averages and records.