General Travel Resources
- TravelHUB is where small travel agencies fight back. Its backbone is a member base of hundreds of certified, specialized agencies, who list their special offers through TravelHUB. You can also sign up for their email newsletter, which promises to tell you about deals as soon as they come up.
- Travelocity is the grandaddy of online travel sites. While the hotel reservation and car rental services are aimed more at business travelers, the airfare search engine — powered by the same system used by travel agents around the world — is hard to beat.
- Expedia is the Microsoft juggernaut's contribution to internet travel, trying hard (and doing a good job) to offer everything you could ask for. Bargain hunters can use a regular airfare-search engine or a Priceline-style name-your-fare version, plus you can reserve hotels, rent cars, and book vacations.
- American Express isn't a corporation renowned for its budget-friendlyness, but it has a last-minute travel bargains page — cardmembers also get special deals.
- Yahoo's travel site offers the standard range you'd expect from a major internet operator — a flight finder, business-oriented hotel and car booking facilities — plus regional information supplied by Lonely Planet (Booo! hissss!).
- Weekends.com specializes in short breaks. They don't come cheap, but if you're looking for that perfect break without the hassles of booking everything separately, it's worth a try.
- Travelairline.com isn't a budget-specific site, but its airfare finder is worth a try. For the more affluent traveler, you can also get special on-line hotel rates and bookings for a number of US and international cities.
- STA claims that "this ain't your parent's travel agency" — although it probably was when they were in college. You'll need an ISIC student ID or a IYTC youth ID (available on the site) to take advantage of the low, low fares. An added bonus is that unlike most bargain airfares, STA tickets are usually flexible. You'll cometimes find a lower rate by calling them up (USA 800-781-4040) than by using their online fare searcher, so be sure to try both options.
- Council Travel is the other major student and youth travel agency, currently revelling in a new, deep-purple website. The site offers a lot more than STA — they offer language courses and study abroad programs as well as the standard flights, railpasses, and insurance, plus imaginativley named "cool tours". Again, you need to be a student or be under 26 to take advantage of their offers.
- Southwest Airlines America's favorite low-cost airline offers even better bargains through its website. If you're flying within the US, check Southwest out first.
- ETN/Discount Airfares "now guarantees the Internet's lowest fares" — if you book with them and later find a cheaper deal, they'll refund you the difference. They work by comparing quotes from hundreds of different online travel agencies, though, so it's unlikely you'll find a better offer. As always, though, check the small print — you have to find a cheaper ticket for the exact same flight to be eligible for a refund.
- Priceline now offers everything from groceries to mortgages, but they're famous for their fantastic deals on flights. The concept is simple: you name your price, and Priceline gets the goods within the hour. The catch? Well, obviously if your offer price is unreasonably low, you're unlikely to get anything. A riskier aspect is that you don't have a chance to review before purchase — whatever Priceline finds, you have to pay for. A less obvious catch is that Priceline won't let you start out with a low offer and then gradually up it until you get a ticket, so you only get one shot to guess a reasonable price. If you're flexible about your travel dates, don't mind travelling at strange hours or making multiple stopovers, Priceline could be your ticket to cheap flights; otherwise, caveat emptor.
- Lowestfare.com is a gaudy-looking site that offers — no suprises — bargain-basement airfares. But they also offer budget vacation packages and on-line travel information and listings for destinations around the globe.
- the YellowJacket. Let's Go's very own online travel e-zine is packed with articles written by the same students who write our best-selling travel guides. You'll find in-depth features on their favorite locations, hilarious travel stories, and opinionated insights on the state of budget travel in general.
- Babylon Travel. This site includes "adventure travel writing and photography from around the world for the independent and culture conscious traveler" (option of Portuguese or English). A compilation of individual stories and anecdotes, the reviews are not meant to be particularly informative, rather its purpose is "for those who are out there to expand their knowledge of the world and its people and who want to share their joys encountered along the way."
- Big World. In the spirit of Let’s Go, big world magazine "might be less glossy than some of the other [glitzy travel mags]" but strives to promote "the thrill of on-the-cheap" and "down-to-earth travel." The site offers links to budget travel fares, cheap hospitality programs for international travel, and opportunities to travel write for them. All of their articles/reviews are written by traveling readers.
- Shoestring Travel. An e-zine focusing on budget travel.
- Monk.com. Two guys and their cats spent thirteen years traveling the US and various international cities and compiled all their experiences in this site. It’s divided into three main categories: People to See (select "Real Doll" and read about a man who makes inflatable sex dolls.), Places to go (select "Berlin" and read about the history of the Berlin bear and what these guys thought about the Berlin folk), and Things to do (select "Burning Man" and read about a neo-pagan annual ritual in Nevada’s black rock mesa that is described as a "pyromaniac’s wet dream." There’s really no rhyme or reason to the site, just a couple of guys telling stories (they’ll print yours as well).
- Mungopark. This site offers simulated expeditions and info on 14 places/topics: Dinosaurs, Costa Rica, Panama, Cuba, Space Shuttle, Newfoundland, Chile & Antarctica, Journey of the Magi, Timbuktu, Ethiopia, China’s Jade Tiger, Vietnam, Papua New Guinea, Cousteau’s Fiji. Each are fairly comprehensive, with practical information, specific reports, and celebrities’ impressions.
- New Traveler. New Traveler magazine's small-but-classy website offers monthly travel features written by contributing writers from across the web, book reviews, and a few links.
- Salon.com. The cyberworld's answer to the New Yorker, Salon.com is one of the webs most respected content-driven magazines. Exceptionally well-written — unlike most websites, Salon is selective when it comes to writers — the travel pages offer insightful travel tales, doleful short-stories, and philosophical musings.
- undergroundtravel.com. This is everyman’s travel site. It’s got a little bit of everything: current international issues that are potentially pertinent to travelers; narrated musical video clips that offer a taste of two dozen countries; practical information (e.g. "10 Biggest Myths About Airlines"); and access to educational resources (e.g. "How to Learn More about Working Abroad).
- Accessible Journeys. Since 1985, Accessible Journeys has been designing accessible holidays and escorting groups on accessible vacations exclusively for slow walkers, wheelchair travelers, their families and their friends. Includes group tours, guided tours, cruises, companions, and a pic of the month contest.
- Adventuremom.com. Hey Adventuremom: Live it Up! News, reviews, travel guides, resource centers, kids’ stuff, and travel gear all for the mom traveler. Includes weekly family travel deals and features.
- Jewish travel network. Homes and contacts for Jewish travelers. Travel while enjoying the warmth and hospitality of a Jewish home. When you travel, have you ever wished you could meet and interact more with Jewish people who are living there? Do you enjoy the warmth and hospitality of a bed and breakfast experience? Imagine yourself on a Friday and knowing that you can look forward to a Sabbath observance with a Jewish family.
- Planeta.com. Here’s a site that offers travel advice and information to Latin American countries with the intent of promoting ecological conservation, cultural understanding and local economic development in these areas. They provide links to other sites, local reports and current events to promote "ecotourism" among us gringos.
- Planetout.com. Information on domestic and international travel for gay men and lesbians. Includes gay-friendly accommodations, restaurants, bars, health clubs, events, and organizations as well as features,. travel tips, trips especially catered to gay men, lesbians, and bisexuals, and destination guides.
- Vegetarian Vacations. Veggie Tours! This is a site entirely devoted to Veggie itineraries and services around the world, including veggie travel agents, and individual resorts.
quirky
- Bizarro Boston. Here’s an example of categories:Disasters - Where else have people drowned in molasses? True Crime - Not just your run-of-the-mill murders; History - Things they didn't teach you in school;Creepy-crawlies - Gypsy moths, glass fungi and giant hissing cockroaches; Harvard - There have been some strange goings-on at theWorld's Greatest University; Miscellaneous - Assorted oddities; Fine Dining - After all that touring, you're bound to be hungry.
- Budget Travel Resources…With a Twist! What happens when a devoted budget traveler decides to set up a travel website based on her own experiences? How about "The budget traveler's guide to sleeping in airports", with rpeorts on over 825 airports around the world, plus some of the most frank and opinionated hostel reviews on the web.
- Fieldingfinder.com. Instead of telling you where to go, Fielding’s Dangerfinder tells you where not to go. Choose from 30 notoriously unsafe countries (e.g. Colombia, "the butthole of South America") and read statistics of massacres, land mines, a chronology of "dangerous days" in the country’s history (e.g. genocides, major riots). Under each country is also a brief section of caveats and travel advice. The author goes on tangents on humanity’s evils, epidemic diseases ("souvenirs from hell"), drugs ("War’s Bastard Son").
- Noshit.com. No Shitting in the Toilet is a "celebration of everything that is perverse about travel. It's about getting stranded and ripped off. It’s about sitting alone in a tiny room counting cockroaches and feeling sorry for yourself. It’s about being totally clueless, hopeless and pathetic and loving every minute of it." From the home page, click on the corresponding cockroach icon to find out about Weird Shit, Useful Shit, Who Gives a Shit, and Fresh Shit. Accompanied by photos of bright-eyed tourists posing in godawful attire.
- Roadsideamerica. Come here for a guide to "offbeat attractions" in the US, from the world’s largest twine ball to a monument of a patriotic pig. Images and stories/histories. It encourages feedback and tips from site visitors. You can type in any attraction and it’ll find a link to it.
- Traveletiquette.com. A site devoted to business travel etiquette. Offers interactive quizes, an etiquette guide, do’s and don’ts, web travel resources and phrases taught on streaming video.
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