Boston

• Boston.com. The Boston Globe newspaper’s official webpage, with links and info on just about anything to do with Boston.
• Boston Phoenix. The arts and nightlife newspaper bible of twentysomething bostonians, brought to you online.

• City of boston. The official city of Boston website, with information on Boston's different neighborhoods, city services and public safety, as well as a visitor's guide to Boston.

• Boston Hotel Guide. Comprehensive accommodations listings in central Boston and outer neighborhoods.
• Hotel Alternatives. lists alternative accommodation options for "living outside the box" in Boston's neighborhoods.

• Citysearch.com. Boston search engine, with links to news and events, community resources, and reservations center.

New York City

• The New York Times. Possibly the most renowned periodical on the globe, The New York Times is, of course, based in NYC! Besides extensive international and national coverage, though, this site can lead you to the Metro section, with breaking news about the NYC area. (Not to mention the extensive entertainment listings and performance and visual arts reviews.)
• The Village Voice. The established underground newspaper known for not hesitating to call a New York politician corrupt for the sake of ethical journalism, the Village Voice is indispensable for travelers heading to the Big Apple (or grungy flea market). Possibly the most comprehensive list of concerts and club nights; and don’t miss the Voice’s Best of New York, where you can find the best dinner-and-movie deal or, if you prefer a different entertainment, the best Manhattan hotel for quickie sex.

• www.nyc.com. A very basic site for useful but not very avant-garde NYC information. Everything is here, from slim long- and short-term accommodations listings to job search engines or temp agencies, and from nightlife hot spots to contact information for ethnic and other special-interest groups. Some useful touristy and even not-so-touristy health and fitness links can also be found.
• ci.nyc.ny.us. "The Official New York City Web Site," you can pretty much link to any necessary information from here: The mayor’s office, city history, and life, cultural, and entertainment sites.
• Halloween-NYC. Most New Yorkers wouldn’t even try to explain the annual NYC village Halloween parade to a visitor. "You just have to go see it yourself," would be the answer you would probably get; and you should. If the pictures from last year’s parade on this site don’t excite your curiosity, remember that the upcoming 2000 parade, H2K, will be crazier than ever before. (And you must be really jaded.)
• ReviewNY.com. An on-line periodical on contemporary art and on-going art exhibits in NYC, this site is "THE critical state of visual art in New York." For reviews on the avant-garde of Williamsburg and the newest SoHo success, click here.
• Prepare yourself for your trip to NYC with MORE pictures of what NYC is known for – skyscrapers. Check out Scott Murphy’s photos, which he was nice enough to put on-line so we all could share the enjoyment.
• "Shake that ass, girl, shake that booty now!" NYC Dance Connection: information on dance events all over the city, from ballroom to latin, lessons to club nights. COMPREHENSIVE!

San Francisco

• Read the local newspapers online – each site offers the complete paper interactively, including weather, real estate and local sports! San Francisco Examiner shares a Sunday edition with the San Francisco Chronicle. For more entertainment news and excellent yearly Best Of The Bay reviews of restaurants, bars, clubs and more, read the San Francisco Bay Guardian.

• ci.sf.ca.us. The official website of the city and county of San Francisco gives you the political connection, including the agendas for the upcoming meetings of the city Board of Supervisors. If you’re thinking about undertaking questionable activities, you can check here with the municipal code first.

• SFvisitor. San Francisco’s official visitor and convention information source has it all: make hotel reservations online, print out maps, browse the yellow pages, and link to every official office in the city from here. Order "city passports", for prepaid transportation and free goodies. Also cash in on the free visitor’s kit they’ll send you (although you do still have to give out credit card information).
• Visit Marin. The goal of this site is clear form its title: it will entice you with its gorgeous graphics and then facilitate your trip with its clear information. Provides accommodations, transportation and site information, including great outdoor getaway options and extensive history of the area.
• Napa Valley Online In addition to maps, winery hours, and lodging information, this site will delight wine aficionados from around the world with its feature articles on viticulture and wine law, and its listings of special wine-tasting events.
• Sonoma.com will help you see that there is more to the Sonoma valley than just wine tasting, but it’ll also give you every wine-related detail you might ever need. This easy to navigate site can connect you with local lodging as well as spas and skydiving.

• discounts at hotels. Although they may not be able to get you the very best bargains in town, discounts-at-hotels.com can get you great rates at mid-to-upper range accommodations, and more importantly can find you a place even during the busiest conference weeks.
• SFguide. Although you can’t book rooms through this site, their listings are extensive and well arranged. Search by location, type, and price range – they go as low as $20 per night! Find out methods of payment and possible discounts, and then take down the phone number and give a call. Also offers area maps for each listing.
• Hotels-SF. Use handy-dandy area maps to find the perfect hotel location for you, then get the particulars and make your reservations online. Prices tend to be high, but for each area they flag places offering rooms for under $100 per night.

• Metroscope San Francisco. Links to every imaginable aspect of the city, from job searches to local buses to museums to online guides. You can even get to local college applications form here, and don’t forget to check the earthquake and weather reports.
• SFBayArea. Get free email updates from the selection of your choice off of this enormous index, of dining, entertainment, government offices, jobs and media to name a few. A few sites require registration.

Washington, D.C.

• atbeach This site serves as a portal page to a more than a dozen regional newspapers, including DC, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware. A sprinkling of small Atlantic Coast beach town gazettes are also linked to this page.
• The Washington Times. The Washington Times Online dishes the city's daily quality scoop. Its breaking news front page, usually wrought with political coverage and accompanied by color photos, is bolstered by sections on the Nation/Politics, Election 2000, World, Commentary, Opinion-Editorials, Metropolita, Sports, Business, Technology, Entertainment, Culture, and Weather. Stock charts are retrievable, as well, through this business-conscious site.

• DCregistry. Living in D.C.? Dcregistry.com has the up-to-the-minute skinny on weather, news, traffic, lottery, arts & entertainment, and financial reports. Its discussion forums and chat rooms let D.C. natives shoot the shit on driving, dining, dating, and more.
• The Washingtonian A savvy, graphics-laden e-zine encompasses all you need to know about living the good life in D.C. Restaurants are critically reviewed. Listings are provided for hotels, weekly arts and entertainment events, and outdoor recreational activities. Find an apartment, a date, or a job in the Washingtonian's classifieds section.

• House.gov. This is the government's official tourist site on Washington, D.C. Sparse in terms of design, the page's listings cover the basic facts and prices for tourist information in a bland, unbiased, and uncritical tone. Comprehensive coverage is given on memorials, monuments, points of interest, outdoor theatres, plantations and historic mansions, the Smithsonian institution, sports, tours, transporation, and the weather forecast. Don't expect to find anything off the beaten path at this site.
• MD is fun. This is Maryland's Office of Tourism Site promoting wholesome good fun for the family. It contains shopping/dining/accomodations guides, maps, and a calendar of events. This site also provides a search engine for accomodations, color photos of various beauteous Maryland counties, and suggestions for kid-friendly tourist locations.
• Gate way VA. A service of the Richmond-Times Dispatch, this site has the latest word on Virginia's headlines and columns, updated daily. Get a taste for D.C. fashion, wining & dining, sports, and employment opportunities with this online webzine. The Yellow Pages section permits a quick-and-easy search of businesses in Virginia state.  

• Discounts at hotels. Lets you punch in the date and duration of your stay and generates a list of hotel prices. Lodgings can be booked directly online with a credit card. Each hotel listing contains a map of the surrounding area, photos of the interior and exterior of the lodging, and a rating out of five stars.
• DCaccommodations. This cute, cartoony site streamlines your hotel choices by breaking it down into traveler-personality categories...are you "business-minded," "legislative," "traveling with children," or "creme de la creme"? Each hotel is critically reviewed, with a checklist of amenities noted. However, this site is best attuned to high-budget travelers; there's a noticeable lack of bed&breakfasts and hostel listings.
• DCregistry. This ghetto page has only the sparsest of hotel listings. However, it carries valuable links to webpages for hostels in D.C., Virginia, and Maryland.      

• DC pages This is hands-down the most thorough and searchable site on Washington, D.C. available. Current news on the arts, autos, business, classifieds, community, computing, dining, education, entertainment, lodgings, media, museums, music, people, real estate, recreation, shopping, sports, tourism, travel, and weather are all linked through dcpages. Chat and message boards for Washington urbanites are a bonus feature of this useful, comprehensive site.

California

• NEWS
• GENERAL BACKGROUND
• TOURIST INFORMATION
• TRANSPORTATION
• ACCOMMODATION

• LA Times. Perhaps the most prestigious news source in the state, the Los Angeles Times takes its information resources to the web. At latimes.com, you will find both local and national news, as well as bountiful information about food, arts, and culture in the Los Angeles area.
• SFgate.com. This news site compiles the resources of the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Francisco Examiner, and a local television station, KRON 4. The site has a list of news headlines and entire sections devoted to food, travel, and traffic in the Bay Area.

• ca.gov. California’s official government site, ca.gov provides a network of departmental links to administrative branches of the government, including the department of employment, the department of transportation and the arts council. Check out the schmaltzy, feel good presentation of the governor’s office or brush up on the fine points of the state legal codes.

• Go California. You may not "find yourself here" as advertised, but you’re sure to find maps and weather information, as well as links to regional and local tourist sites. The online accommodation reservation tool is worth a look, but the visitor’s guide provides very little help to a serious traveler.
• The Virtual Tourist has a list of links to just about anything you could possibly imagine, from grocery stores, to night clubs, to cities, to real estate companies. Visit the Virtual Tourist when you have a pretty good idea of what you’re looking for. Those who come to browse will lose themselves amidst the hundreds of links.
• La.com An informative website for travelers in Los Angeles and Southern California as a whole, la.com is a great source on local attractions, dining, and accommodations. The site also gives somewhat frequently updated reports on the conditions of beaches, weather, and, of course, traffic. Be sure to explore the entertainment section.
• Sannet.gov The official site of the City of San Diego, sannet.gov has extensive listings of local leisure activities and attractions. The feature of the site for travelers, however, is the "Local Media and Guide Books Web Sites" listings at the bottom of the page devoted to Information on San Diego. Together, these links to local magazines, guidebooks, and visitor’s bureaus impart a vast range of information about the city and its resources.
• Surfscene. Surf Scene Magazine and Southern California Surf Report.

• Greyhound is the only bus service operating throughout the state of California. The Greyhound website allows visitors to view schedules, locate bus stations, and purchase bus tickets with speed and ease.
• Amtrak Traveling by train in California is generally slower and more expensive than taking the bus. However, if you’re still up for train travel, view schedules and purchase tickets from Amtrak online, and make sure you do so well in advance.
• Greentortoise. The slow-paced, whimsical alternative to straightforward transportation, Green Tortoise’s communal "hostels on wheels" – remodeled diesel buses – offer Adventure Tours along California routes. You may peruse the tour descriptions and schedules that the website offers, but keep in mind the Green Tortoise webmaster’s motto: "Don’t trust computers". The web site will give you the Green Tortoise flavor, but make sure you double check the hard facts.

• Hostels.com. With a comprehensive and frequently updated database, Hostels.com provides the address, telephone, and price of just about any hostel you could hope to find. However, the site does not describe or evaluate the hostels in its database.
• HIAYH. The American branch of Hostelling International provides descriptions, maps, and contact information for its member hostels. The site also presents membership information and takes online reservations.
• Bed and Breakfast.com presents comprehensive listings of Bed and Breakfasts in California. You may search for bed and breakfasts city by city, then view detailed descriptions, pictures, and online booking information.

USA

• CNN. Yes, they are supposed to be international, but for the most part, they aren’t. U.S. news with some international content is served up in a flashy, multimedia style 24 hours a day. With somewhat more content at hand than the New York Times site, cnn.com is perfect for someone wanting a lot of information, fast.
• The New York Times. The Newspaper. Accept no substitutes. The New York Times, for as long back as one can think, has set the standard for journalism across the country and throughout the world. Their website lives up to their standard of excellence, providing free access to today’s headlines and archived articles up to 6 months. old (with free membership). The layout mimicks a real newspaper for those with paper nostalgia.

• Stateconnect. Some people spent a lot of time compiling this site. Even the tiniest hamlet in the most oft-forgotten state has all of its banks and restaurants neatly alphabetized and ready with a few clicks. A clean look and a smooth feel compliment the impeccable content. Yellow and White page listings, government offices, and maps are well-integrated. If you are looking for one informative site on the states, this is it.
• InformationUSA. By far the most complete portal for official information on all fifty states, information-usa.com provides the hard facts often lacking on the web. Click on an intuitive map to find travel essentials, including the addresses of and links to all of the major tourist bureaus in the state you are interested in. No glitter – just the facts.
• 50states. Throw that almanac out the window! 50states.com essentially provides all the crazy, somewhat useless info that we don’t feel like putting in our books. The state song, bird, tree, nickname, motto, flower, climate, are all nicely sorted, with some more unconventional additions, such as "live webcams" in the state of your choice and a license plate compendium.

• Hostels.com. Though an international hostel site at heart, hostels.com provides excellent listings of US hostels in nearly every state. You won’t get much more than the essential facts, such as address, price, open hours and dates, and affiliation, but it’s a start. Their hostel-related news and advice may be attractive if you crave adjectives and an occasional verb.
• USA hotel guide. A fairly obscure, gem of site. If you can afford the pricey hotels that are indexed, nightly rates, discounts, room pictures, maps, hotel descriptions, services, and an online reservation system are available for nearly every major city in the USA. The design is intuitive and friendly. 40,000 listings, of which many offer discounts if you book online.
• Lodging.com If you know your date of travel, where you are going, and your price range, lodging.com provides a quick way to get listings of hotels (both upscale and budget) and their average rate. Select the city from a menu, enter your maximum price and your check-in/check-out times and receive a pleasant list of hotels that meet your preferences.

• Google. Forget Lycos, Yahoo, Excite etc. — if it's searching power you're after, Google's delivers. The interface is as simple as it gets, and the unusually accurate search results are returned in microseconds.
• 4cities. In terms of depth of information, 4cities.com is unsurpassed. Rather than presenting an unorganized list of relevant sites, the surfer is rewarded with a custom-built menu of attractions and items of both local and visitor interest, such as "Getting Out," "Shopping," and "Getting Around." Surprisingly thorough and quite whimsical, the site is a pleasure for both researching and browsing.
• Localeyes. The interface may be a bit jarring, but localeyes.com doesn’t skimp on function. Enter a city name or click on a region on a misshapen USA map and arrive at a Yahoo-like categorized list of relevant sites and accompanying city map. No original content, but meticulous organization.

Pacific Northwest

• Seattle MSN and Portland MSN. Microsoft is based in Seattle, so where better to get local news on the web than from the MSN corporate machine?

• Tourism.wa.gov. The government website for Washington state tourism. Covers sights, the outdoors, and cultural activities. You can also select specific cities you want more information on, such as Seattle.
• Travel Oregon. Official website of the Oregon Tourism Commission. This site will give you information about the sites and events taking place statewide. It also enables you to move into more specific regional and city descriptions.
• Gorp. An incredible guide to the outdoors in Oregon that covers trips, lodging, maps, parks, forests, monuments and more.

• WA Accomodations. A search engine that will enable you to find hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts, hostels, RV parks, and campgrounds throughout Washington State.

Canada

• National Post. One of the Canadian national newspapers.
• Vancouver Sun. One of Vancouver’s daily rags.
• Calgary Sun. Calgary’s daily newspaper.

• Discover Alberta. This site gives you the low down on attractions, links to town sites, snow reports, avalanche reports, cross country skiing reports, road reports, and driving times. In addition it has tips on planning your trip and it has maps.
• Hello BC This is the official site of Tourism British Columbia and will hook you up with maps, accommodations and events going on across the province. You need to register to use this site. It also will link you to regional web pages.
• Tourism Vancouver an Tourism Victoria. These are the government’s Vancouver and Victoria tourism pages. It provides you with local news, accommodation information, travel tips, weather and a currency converter. The Victoria site has a search for accommodations as well as information on travel planning and local events taking place.
• YFNTA. This is page for the Yukon First Nations Tourism Association and provides information on attractions and events that are being put on by the First Nations people in the Yukon.
• Tour Yukon. This site has suggested itineraries, explains how to get up there, and touches on the cultural and wilderness highlights. It can also help you find accommodations. Also gives the weather report and a road conditions report that is useful because not all roads are accessible year round.

• Viarail. The Canadian national system lives up to North American railway standards — it's slow, infrequent, and expensive, but the views are incredible. Their website provides the standard but essential services: find departure and arrival times, get prices, learn about the company, and discover discounts.

• Hostelling International Canada Information on HI hostels in Canada with links to regional hostelling assocations, travel packages, and bus passes. You can also book places at select cyber-equipped hostels online.
• Monday.com. This search engine accesses 600 places to stay in BC and a few options in Alberta.
• Hostels.bc.ca. Gives you a list of hostels in BC.

Central America

• Travel Belize. The Belize Tourism Board’s official site. Comprehensive and well-organized, including travel tips and destinations.
• Belizeit. General interest site on Belize, with info on culture and travel.

• Tourism Costa Rica. The official site, very smooth and well-done.
• Costanet. Resources for visitors and (English-speaking) residents alike.

• Guatemala Travel The colorful site of Guatemala’s official tourism board, INGUAT, provides a good overview of the country.
• La Presna Libre The site of Guatemala’s largest daily newspaper (in Spanish).

• Virtualnet.com.sv. Not too sleek, but a decent introduction to El Salvador.

• Panama Info. Well-organized site with travel and business information.

Mexico

• El Excelsior. Up-to-the minute news, sports, and weather from one of Mexico City’s leading newspapers, El Excelsior. Includes discussion of cultural events as well as archives of previous issues. Spanish only.
• La Reforma. This page, home of La Reforma, another prominent Mexico City paper, offers up news, sports, weather all available to download in PDF format. Also includes sections on science, the arts, and culture. Offers internet subscription. Spanish only.

• ddf.gob.mx. One of the most comprehensive and useful webpages on Mexico City, maintained by the city government. The page contains little in the way of tourist information besides maps. Nevertheless, it is a good source for up-to-the minute information on weather, politics, and current events in the Mexico City area. It is also possible to access important Mexico City statistics and laws. Finally, the page does have the all-important search feature if what you’re looking for is a little bit more obscure. Site is in Spanish only.
• Monterrey.gob.mx. The Monterrey city webpage has little tourist information, but offers a look into the political life of the city. The Spanish-only site includes information on the ordinances, local representatives, and the various ministries within the government. It also includes helpful practical information such as police and emergency phone numbers.

• Mexico Travel. Mexico’s Ministry of Tourism website, though not technologically sophisticated and with minor frame-related glitches, offers up some interesting information about the country. The comprehensive site includes information on beaches, festivals, and archeological ruins throughout the country. It also includes links to state tourism offices and tips for the safe traveler. Available in English and Spanish.
• Mexicocitynet. More of a travel and entertainment page than one featuring news or politics, MexicoCityNet (operated by Intelligent Net) contains a search engine and links to various items of interest, including museums, art galleries, newspapers, television states, and various government agencies. The page also offers up guides to restaurants and hotels and includes information on airport departures and arrivals. Finally, and perhaps most excitingly, the page includes real-time updates of Mexico City traffic, made possible by way of real-time images of Mexico City streets updated every minute. The web site can be accessed in both English and Spanish.
• Mexicocity.com.mx. A fairly standard travel guide to the city, which includes information on restaurants, museums, and upcoming attractions. Many links to other organizations, including links to newspapers, TV stations, and government agencies. Access is in Spanish only.
• Guadalajara.gob.mx. The flashy city website of the city of Guadalajara contains many links and much valuable information. Not only can you send virtual postcards of the city, but you can also browse through an image gallery and take a look through the various area tourist guides. The page also offers up information on Guadalajara government as well as local businesses. Access in Spanish only.

• Hoteles.com.mx. This straightforward site lists hotels by state and then by city, providing links to all. While useful, the links are limited to those establishments which have webpages, thereby limiting the number of budget establishments listed. Access is available in both Spanish and English.
• hotelmex.com. Another link referral service, this web site provides nothing more than links to moderate to pricey hotels. Text is in both Spanish and English.

• Infoseek Mexico , Lycos Mexico , and Yahoo! Mexico all offer Spanish-language Mexico specific equivalents of the giant US portals.
• dfglobal.com. A very typical type-and-search website that looks very Yahoo!-esque. The page covers only the Mexico City area, however, and is Spanish only.

Peru, Ecuador, & Bolivia

• Peru
• Ecuador
• Bolivia

• CIA Peru factbook. Here you'll find basic information on the country.

•  Peru.com A good, basic website with information on Peru. Information on everything from current events to tourism and Peruvian futbol.Only in Spanish.

• Peru Explorer. This is a great website. Information on tourism, adventure travel, people and cultures, etc. Check out the "best of" section which directs travelers to the "must see" areas of Peru.

• Hotelstravel.com This website is dedicated to finding accommodations in Peru. The only problem is that it doesn’t really list many accommodations for the budget traveler.

• Peruonline. A pretty basic search-engine for Peru which runs in both English and Spanish.

• ecuador.org. Website of the Ecuadorian embassy in Washington, D.C. Includes current events, international relations, culture, and travel information.

• andes.org. Details cultures of the Andes. Includes pictures, songs, language lessons, and idioms. Fun info on cultural aspects, though not much factual information for the tourist. Contains links to other Andean websites.

• Ecuadortours The EcuadorTours website. Accomodations and tours are probably too steep for the budget traveler, but contains slideshows, picture galleries, current events, and general information.

• Emulateme Not exactly the most entertaining website; reminiscent of the CIA Factbook. Useful for current weather conditions as well as forecasts.

• World Travel Guide: Bolivia This link proves especially useful in obtaining both general information on Bolivia and on more specific aspects of visiting the country. From basic geography, to passport and visa information, to sports and activities, the WGT Bolivia web site serves as an easily accessible resource for potential travelers. The information, however, is not extremely detailed, nor footnoted, so, as with all internet sources, use caution when using information found here.

• Library of Congress Bolivia page This web site contains a lot of interesting information on Bolivia, including a detailed country profile, a fairly detailed history of Bolivia, the economic situation, in addition to many other aspects of country-specific information. While the web site is extremely useful in obtaining general history and geography of the region, it is based on a study and information gathered in the late 1980s, and therefore is outdated, especially with the constantly changing political arena there.

• Boliviaweb As one of the more comprehensive web sites on Bolivia, boliviaweb.com is a wonderful resource for information on all aspects of the country, including pictures, maps, links, and even a site listing Bolivian restaurants around the world. On the left-hand side of the page, there is a green box which lists the different pages within the web site. Click on "travel," and find extensive travel aids. The page includes lists of hotels, airlines and car rental agencies, among others. For those traveling to more than one city, the site also contains summaries and information about nine of Bolivia’s most popular cities, and from there one can find links to hotels and tourist information for that particular region. Definitely a good place to go for a wide range of useful travel information.

• GORP The Great Outdoors Recreation Pages serves as a good starting point for general information on Bolivia, and especially for information regarding wilderness opportunities in the country. On the main web site, click on the search box, type in Bolivia, then choose from one of several options regarding the country. Of particular interest is general information about the wildlife, geography, and embassy locations, along with a listing of many of the popular destinations for tourists looking to enjoy the natural wonders of Bolivia or its history. While city and town descriptions are somewhat brief, they provide a good jumping off point for deciding where to visit. The web site also includes links to pages with more information on specific wilderness trips and tour guides.