Best Travel Sites

Travel

Select a category to view our favorite travel-related web sites:

Online Travel/Destination Guides

Frommer's Destination Guides - Most of you are probably familiar with Frommer's as the publisher of an excellent series of travel guides. But did you know that you can access Frommer's guidebooks online...for free? These indispensable e-guides contain detailed info on local attractions as well as hotel, restaurant, bar, and club listings...and a whole lot more! Visit the web site to view a complete list of destinations.

Fodor's MiniGuides - Like Frommer's, Fodors publishes a popular series of travel guides that are appropriate for any age group and any budget. And Fodors has generously posted abbreviated versions of their guidebooks online, with free access to the traveling public. Each of these "MiniGuides" contains a destination overview as well as information on sights and activities, restaurants, hotels, nightlife and the arts, shopping, travel tips, web links, and more. You can choose one of the "top destinations" listed near the top of the page, or scroll down to view a listing of all MiniGuides.

Time Out City Guides - Those of you who have traveled to London and/or New York may be familiar with Time Out magazine as a great source of entertainment listings (concerts, movies, theatre, dance, nightlife, and more). However, Time Out also publishes a series of City Guides for over 30 destinations around the world. You'll find practical information and overviews of local attractions as well as hotel, restaurant, bar, and club listings. Typically geared toward a Gen-X (or younger) audience.

Rough Guides - This web site is run by the publishers of the Rough Guides travel books, and it offers much of the information you'd find in their hard-copy travel guides. Select a country or featured city from the scrollable menu bar near the top of the page, then (from the city/destination page) click the links in the left-hand column ("Best Of...", "Basics", "Explore...", etc.) for detailed information.

Lonely Planet - Lonely Planet publishes a very good series of travel guides aimed at a younger (20s/30s) audience. You can view condensed versions of their travel guides online; they're an excellent source of background information when planning a trip. (However, they don't seem to provide any hotel, restaurant, or nightlife listings online...obviously, the publishers want you to purchase a travel guide for that info.) To access an online destination guide, click a region on the map, then click a country within the region. When the country map appears, click the "Information" link near the top left corner of the map to go directly to the guide.

Citysearch City Guides (primarily US) - An excellent source of entertainment information for major cities throughout America. (Only a handful of foreign city guides are currently available, including destinations in Australia, Canada, Japan, Korea, and Scandinavia.) Click on your city of choice, then use the links in the blue bar near the top of the page to navigate around the site. The listings for smaller cities include links to Hotels & Visitors info, Local Events, Movies, and Restaurants & Bars, while the listings for major metropolitan areas offer a wider range of categories: Arts, Attractions, Hotels & Visitors, Movies, Music, Nightlife, Restaurants, Shopping, and Sports & Recreation.

Itchy City Guides (UK only) - If your travels will take you to Britain, be sure to check out the Itchy City Guides. Despite the odd name (perhaps they're referring to an "itch" to travel?), they're an excellent source of information...particularly for bar, pub, and nightclub listings. Itchy current offers city guides for Bath, Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Oxford, Sheffield, and York.

JohnnyJet.com - This site contains tons of useful travel links, but my favorite feature is Johnny's weekly e-newsletter, in which he shares travel tips and photos from his latest destination. I really admire the way Johnny has turned his hobby into a career. (As many of you know, my dream job is to be a travel writer. People like Johnny give me hope. Maybe one day...!)

Other Online Guides and Travel Information - Here are a few additional online travel guides and review sites you may want to check out:

	Concierge - Access destination guides online, with information on hotels, restaurants, attractions, shopping, and nightlife in cities around the globe.
	IgoUgo - View travel journals for over 2,000 destinations worldwide.
	TravelApe - Browse city guides for information on attractions, performing arts, nightlife, and more along with ratings, inside tips, and editor’s picks.
	VirtualTourist - Get destination information and recommendations from fellow travelers around the world.
	Paperback Travel Guides - If you're looking to purchase a good travel guide to bring on your trip, we highly recommend the Let's Go series, which are designed for true budget travelers. (When Shay backpacked through Europe, her dog-eared copy of Let's Go: Europe made the entire journey with her...she relied on it constantly to find reasonably-priced lodging and meals, as well as information on attractions and nightlife.) If you prefer more upscale accommodations than hostels and budget hotels or if you'd like to indulge in some gourmet meals during your travels, then you should consider purchasing a Frommer's travel guide. Frommer's guides are appropriate for everyone from backpackers to first-class travelers. In addition to providing basic info on local transportation, attractions, and nightlife, these guides group hotel and restaurant listings by location and price (inexpensive, moderate, expensive, and very expensive), so you'll be able to find suitable accommodations and meals no matter what your budget.

Budget Travel Packages

	Go-Today - A great source of discount vacation packages. The best deals can be found in the winter, when Go-Today offers specials like a 6-night trip to London or Paris with roundtrip air, accommodations, and transfers starting at $399 per person, plus taxes. (We booked our 2000 Paris trip with Go-Today, so we can vouch that they delivered exactly what was promised...we had comfortable flights on US Airways, the transfer vans were timely, the hotel was in an ideal location, and the rooms were lovely [if ridiculously small]. You have a choice of hotels, so you can research them beforehand and upgrade if you'd like something nicer. You can also extend your trip; we booked three extra nights at our Paris hotel for a reasonable price.) Check out the Go-Today web site for full details. The best deals are generally the Air-Inclusive City Breaks and the Holiday/Themed Specials.
	Vacation Outlet - Vacation Outlet offers travelers some excellent vacation deals. While the company's store locations are limited to eastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire, their web site extends travel bargains to customers throughout the country. (Out-of-state travelers can book trips online or via a toll-free telephone number.) You can search for travel specials using the simple search form on the home page or conduct an advanced search for cruises, vacation packages, or tours. You can also view a complete listing of all the cruise, vacation package, and tour specials currently available.
	11thHourVacations - This site is a good source of last-minute travel specials. Some of their packages are amazing deals; others aren't much of a bargain. We haven't actually booked any trips through them, so we can't provide personal feedback on their services. You can search the web site for travel deals, or sign up for email notification of packages that match your interests.
	Cruise Consolidators - For rock-bottom prices on cruises, try CruiseDirect, iCruise, GalaxSea, and VacationOutlet. You can really get some terrific deals, especially if you're able to travel on short notice.
	Vacation Packages from Airlines - Most major airlines have a division (or an affiliated company) that offers travel packages featuring flights on that airline. For travel to Europe, Virgin Atlantic Vacations and IcelandTotal (affiliate of Icelandair) offer some wonderful deals. (Be sure to sign up for Icelandair's Netclub/Lucky Fares for weekly email notification of their flight and package specials.) We've found that domestic carriers are rather hit-or-miss; sometimes their vacation packages are a bargain, but sometimes you could do better on your own. If you'd like to check them out, try: American Airlines Vacations, Continental Airlines Vacations, Delta Vacations, Northwest Airlines WorldVacations, Southwest Airlines Vacations, United Vacations, and US Airways Vacations.

Cheap Airfare Sites

Sidestep - This terrific search engine is a tool that you download onto your desktop. Once you've installed it, whenever you run an airfare search on another leading travel site, Sidestep will open in a separate window and run the same search for you...enabling you to get two full sets of results from a single query. Sidestep obtains its fares directly from the airlines, allowing you to view the airlines' lowest fares in one place without having to search multiple airline sites. In addition to airfares, Sidestep also allows you to search for the best hotel and car rental rates. Highly recommended.

QIXO - This search engine allows you to compare fares from 20 different travel sites, including Travelocity, Expedia, and Lowestfare. Why search multiple travel sites individually when you can search all the major ones in one go? We've found that using QIXO in conjunction with Sidestep (see above) will generally allow you to find the lowest fares available. In addition to airfares, you can also search for discount hotel rates on QIXO.

Orbitz - This is easily the most widely-advertised travel site (I'm sure we've all dealt with their annoying pop-up ads), and it is quickly becoming one of the most popular. While we generally prefer using Sidestep and QIXO (see above), we often run a secondary search on Orbitz to determine whether they have any lower fares or alternate routes/schedules available. (However, we have heard some complaints about Orbitz - some users have stated that when they attempt to book a particular fare, Orbitz indicates the fare is unavailable. This is why we generally rely on other fare-search sites.)

Hotwire - This site may be useful to bargain-hunters with very flexible travel plans. Hotwire often undercuts other travel sites by a considerable amount...however, they will not tell you what airline, route, or times you will be flying until after you book and pay for your ticket. This can be a great bargain resource for some, but it's certainly not for everyone. (Personally, we're willing to pay a bit extra for the peace of mind in knowing exactly what airline, route, and times we'll be traveling before we lay down money for our tickets.)

Airline Specials/Last-Minute Fare Deals - Virtually all of the major airlines offer last-minute travel deals...you can sign up at their web sites to receive weekly emails featuring special weekend fares. (Roundtrip fares under $250 coast-to-coast are not uncommon.) Here are a few of the ones we subscribe to:

	American - Click here to sign up for American's Net SAAver fare alerts. Emails are sent out each Tuesday featuring low fares for travel on the following weekend. Net SAAver fares are valid for Friday evening or Saturday departures, returning that Monday or Tuesday. *Note:* You need to be an AAdvantage member (American's frequent flyer program) to sign up for the Net SAAver emails. If you are not currently an AAdvantage member, you can register for free online.
	US Airways - Click here to sign up for US Airways' E-Savers fares. Select up to five departure cities, and US Airways will send you an email whenever special fares are available from your selected cities. E-Savers specials are valid for Saturday departures returning the following Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday.
	United - Click here to sign up for United's E-Fares. Emails are sent out each Tuesday featuring low fares for travel the same weekend or the following weekend. E-Fares are valid for Saturday departures, returning that Monday or Tuesday. *Note:* You need to be a United Mileage Plus member (United's frequent flyer program) to sign up for the E-Fares emails. If you are not currently a Mileage Plus member, you can register for free online.
	Delta - Click here to sign up for Delta's Web Fares and Fan Fares. *Note:* You need to be a Delta SkyMiles member (Delta's frequent flyer program) to sign up for the Web Fares and Fan Fares emails. If you are not currently a SkyMiles member, you can register for free online.
	Continental - Click here to sign up for Continental's Specials. Continental.com Specials are valid for Saturday departures, returning that Monday or Tuesday. *Note:* You need to be a registered user of Continental.com to sign up for these Specials. If you are not currently a registered user, you can register for free online.
	Icelandair - Click here to sign up for Icelandair's Netclub and "Lucky Fares" offers. Each week, you'll receive an email featuring special fares and package deals to Iceland and Europe. (We booked one of those specials to Reykjavík in March 2000; the package included roundtrip airfare, transfers, three nights' accommodations with breakfast, and an excursion that featured horseback riding and a visit to the famous Blue Lagoon...all for $399 per person [plus taxes]!) *Note:* You need to be an Icelandair Netclub member to sign up for the Lucky Fares emails. If you are not currently a Netclub member, you can register for free online.

Discount Lodging Sites

	Sidestep - This terrific search engine is a tool that you download onto your desktop. Once you've installed it, whenever you run a hotel search on another leading travel site, Sidestep will open in a separate window and run the same search for you...enabling you to get two full sets of results from a single query. Sidestep allows you to view the lowest rates for leading hotels in one place without having to search multiple sites. In addition to hotels, Sidestep also allows you to search for the best airfares and car rental rates. Highly recommended.
	QIXO - This search engine allows you to compare discount hotel rates from several major travel sites, including Hotel Discounts, PlacesToStay, and 1800USAhotels. QIXO's hotel search is a great resource for finding low rates on top hotels; we've found that using QIXO in conjunction with Sidestep (see above) will generally allow you to find the lowest rates available. However, on a couple of occasions we encountered some technical problems with QIXO's hotel search. On the off-chance that you encounter a similar problem, try going directly to the hotel sites using the links above.
	Quikbook - This site boasts that it is "the fastest way to book a hotel at the guaranteed lowest rate." We haven't actually tried booking a hotel via this site, but they seem to offer good rates (based on a sample search we ran). However, Quikbook doesn't seem to offer as many budget/moderate hotel options as Sidestep and QIXO.

Foreign Language Phrasebooks/Translators/Dictionaries

	Fodor's Living Language - This terrific online tool is a great way to learn a variety of useful phrases in French, German, Italian, and Spanish. Choose from such topics as "useful expressions", "at the airport", "finding your way", "accommodations", "dining out", and more. This site provides each phrase in English, in the foreign language (linked to an audio clip), and with the correct pronunciation phonetically spelled out.
	BabelFish - An online translator tool hosted by AltaVista. You can enter in up to 150 words in French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, or Korean to have the text translated to English (or another language), or copy and paste a URL to translate an entire web page. This is extremely useful if you find travel web sites published only in a country's native language.
	WordReference - This site is great if you're looking to translate a single word from English to Spanish, German, Italian, or French (or vice versa). Unlike BabelFish, WordReference generally provides multiple options for each word.
	Language Dictionaries on YourDictionary.com - YourDictionary.com is easily the best dictionary resource on the web. In addition to English and specialty (technical, medical, legal, etc.) dictionaries, this site provides links to over 280 different language dictionaries.

Currency Exchange/Travelers Cheques

OANDA - Log onto OANDA to access the site's useful FXConverter tool, which allows you to calculate exchange rates for more than 150 worldwide currencies. You can calculate exchange rates according to the Interbank rate, typical credit card rate, typical cash rate, and more. You can also purchase foreign currency and have it delivered to your home using FX Delivery.

American Express Travelers Cheques - If you're a member of AAA (the American Automobile Association), you can purchase no-fee AmEx travelers cheques at any AAA office. Not only do they offer travelers cheques in U.S. dollars, but you can also purchase them in several major foreign currencies (including the Euro). Choose from standard individual travelers cheques or Cheques for Two. Tip: Once you've purchased your no-fee AmEx travelers cheques from AAA, you can cash them in for local currency at any American Express office worldwide - for free! This is the best way we know of to avoid fees when exchanging currency overseas.

Our Favorite Places Around the World

Visit our Favorite Places section for our top sightseeing, restaurant, nightlife, and hotel picks in our favorite cities around the world! If you're planning a trip to any of those destinations, we hope you'll find the information and links to be very useful in planning your vacation.

Do you know of any other good travel sites? Send us an email with the link(s)...we'll check out the sites and add them to the list if we think others will find them helpful!