Planning Travel on the Web

Planning Travel on the Web A presentation by Joel May On the web in the “Presentations” section of www.ewingsnet.com

Major Travel-Oriented Web Sites
Six sites offer "full-service" travel planning and destination reviews as well as hotel and transportation booking services.
Expedia ( www.expedia.com )
Kayak ( www.kayak.com )
Orbitz ( www.orbitz.com )
Sidestep ( www.sidestep.com )
Travelocity ( www.travelocity.com )
Yahoo Travel ( travel.yahoo.co m )

You should routinely check them for information
In this presentation, however, we will additionally focus on the more specialized or "boutique" travel planning sites.

The Five Most Important Travel Questions
Where to Go?
How to Get There?
What to Do There?
Where to Stay/Eat There?
What will it cost and what will the weather be like?

Where to Go
Deciding where to go may be the most difficult of the four steps, after all you have an infinite number of possibilities. Start by asking yourself:
What activities do I like to do on vacation?
What physical limitations do I have that might limit where I can go or what I can do?
What sort of climate do I like?
How do I like to travel?

Get information from dedicated travel information sites
Discovery Travel ( travel.discovery.com )
click on Travel Ideas to start to get some idea of where to go
click on Destination Guides to choose a geographic location
Scroll down to Travel Forums to obtain personal opinions and tips about various destinations
Where to Go

Other great travel information sites include:
Lonely Planet ( www.lonelyplanet.com )
Trip Advisor ( www.tripadvisor.com )
Concierge ( www.consierge.com )
Rick Steves ( ricksteves.com ) Note: Europe only
Rough Guides ( www.roughguides.com )
Moon Travel Planner ( www.moon.com )
And a brand new one, WikiTravel ( wikitravel.org )
Where to Go

" Google ” the name of a location you think you’d enjoy and read about it
Try phrases like
New York sights
Seattle vacation review
Cancun guide
France travel
Vienna highlights
Where to Go

Another good place to start is Wikipedia ( www.wikipedia.com ). Just type the name of your preferred destination into the search box on the left side of the screen.
Where to Go

Where to Go?
How to Get There?
What to Do There?

How to Get There
Getting there by car
Rental Cars ( www.carrentals.com )
Getting there by RV
Rental RVs (http://www.cruiseamerica.com/
Use a mapping program
Google Maps ( maps.google.com )
MapQuest ( mapquest.com )

There are many web sites devoted to automobile travel, including
Free Trip ( www.freetrip.com )
Roadtrip America ( www.roadtripamerica.com )
Mile by Mile ( www.milebymile.com )
National Scenic Byways ( www.byways.org )
Roadside America ( www.roadsideamerica.com )
and, most important of all
- Speed Trap Exchange ( www.speedtrap.org )
How to Get There

Getting there by train or bus
Amtrak ( www.amtrak.com ) and
Greyhound ( www.greyhound.com )
have their own web sites where you can reserve space and purchase tickets
How to Get There

Getting there by plane
When flying, there are usually multiple airlines available to you.
Hence it is to your advantage not to book flights with individual airlines. Instead use one of the big six:
How to Get There

How to Get There
Or a new site that advises on speed, comfort and ease:
http:// www.insidetrip.com /

or, for discount tickets purchased at the last minute:
Priceline ( www.priceline.com )
Cheap Tickets ( www.cheaptickets.com )
Lowest Fare ( www.lowestfare.com )
30 Places to Find Cheap Airline Tickets ( snipurl.com/1wtc6 )
How to Get There

How to Get There
Most of the web sites on which you can access schedules, reserve seats and purchase tickets work in a similar way:

How to Get There
Some sources of information on air travel:
Airport information including maps, parking and other facilities ( www.amadeus.net/home/airports/en/index.htm )
Aircraft seating charts ( www.seatguru.com )
Average waiting time in the security line ( waittime.tsa.dhs.gov/index.html )
Transport to and from the airport ( www.airportservice.com )
Long-term airport parking ( www.longtermparking.com )

How to Get There
More sources of information on air travel
Prohibited and Permitted items ( tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/prohibited/permitted-prohibited-items.shtm )
Tips to make air travel more comfortable ( www.remote.org/jochen/travel/tips/airtravel.html )
Air Travelers' Rights ( www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/travel/flyrights/flyrghts.htm )

Where to Go?
How to Get There?
What to Do There?

What to do There (specific locations)
Use the “big six” to seek out information

Use a dedicated information site like Fodors ( www.fodors.com )
Click on the Destinations tab
or click on the map
or type the name of your destination in the search box

Use Google (e.g.)
seattle walking tours
new york sightseeing
prague theater
tijuana nightlife

Ocean Cruises: Cruise Web ( www.cruiseweb.com )
Freighter Cruises: The Travelers’ Notebook
( http:// thetravelersnotebook.com )
Theme Cruises: Locate Theme Cruises ( http:// www.vacationstogo.com/theme_cruises.cfm )
Yacht Cruises: SeaDream Yacht Club ( www.seadreamyachtclub.com )
River Cruises: Affordable Tours ( rivers.affordabletours.com )
see also: Cruise Critic ( cruisecritic.com )
What to do There (Cruises)

Affordable Tours ( www.affordabletours.com )
Tour Vacations to Go ( www.tourvacationstogo.com )
and my two personal favorites
Tauck Journies ( www.tauck.com / )
Vantage Travel ( www.vantagetravel.com )
What to do There (Escorted Tours)

Adventure Vacations: Gorp Travel Away ( gorptravel.away.com )
Educational Vacations: Shaw Guides ( www.shawguides.com )
Senior Vacation Packages
ElderHostel ( www.elderhostel.org )
Senior Summer School ( www.seniorsummerschool.com )
AARP Travel ( www.aarp.org/travel/destinations )
Elder Treks ( eldertreks.com )
What to do There (Vacation Packages)

Where to Go?
How to Get There?
What to Do There?

Where to Stay/Eat There (Hotels)
Use the “big six” to seek out information
Yahoo Travel ( travel.yahoo.co m

Where to Stay/Eat There (Hotels)
Or get discounted prices at
Priceline ( www.priceline.com )
A1 Discount Hotels ( www.a1-discount-hotels.com )
Hotels.com ( www.hotels.com )
Use theWeb site of the hotel chain you prefer or look up chain hotels around the world in All Hotel Chains ( all-hotel- chains.com )
Find pet-friendly hotels ( www.petswelcome.com )

B&Bs BedandBreakfast.com ( www.bedandbreakfast.com )
Rentals and Time-Shares
Vacation Homes ( www.vacationhomes.com )
Vacation Timeshare and Rentals ( www.vacationtimesharerentals.com )
RV Parks and Campgrounds: Go Camping America ( www.gocampingamerica.com/ParkSearch.aspx )
or try Googling "lodging" + the destination you've chosen
Where to Stay/Eat There (Other Lodging)

Use a big six site
Use a restaurant directory web site:
Fodors ( www.fodors.com/reviews/drevselect.cfm )
Zagat ( www.zagat.com ) Note: click the Restaurants tab
Chef Moz ( www.chefmoz.org )
or Google " type of food you want restaurant near city, state or zip code "; e.g. italian restaurant near pennington nj or indian restaurant near 08648
Where to Stay/Eat There (Restaurants)

Where to Go?
How to Get There?
What to Do There?

What Will it Cost and What Will the Weather be Like?

Additional Travel Information
Passport, Visa and safety information from the State Department ( travel.state.gov )
Health information
Center for Disease Control and Prevention ( www.cdc.gov/travel )
International Association for Medical Assistance to Travellers ( www.iamat.org )
Information for Disabled Travelers ( access- able.com )

Currency conversion ( www.xe.com/ucc )
ATM locations:
Visa ( snipurl.com/visa_atm )
Mastercard ( snipurl.com/mastercard_atm )
Travel insurance information ( www.insuremytrip.com )

WiFi locations ( www.jiwire.com/search-hotspot-locations.htm )
Cyber Cafe locations ( cybercaptive.com )
Clean Bathrooms ( www.thebathroomdiaries.com )
Expected weather ( www.wunderground.com/tripplanner/index.asp )
Travel Gear ( snipurl.com/Travel_Gear )

Planning Travel on the Web
Enjoy the Planning
Enjoy the Trip
Available on the Web: www.ewingsnet.com (click on the Presentations tab) [email_address] The End

Planning Travel on the Web

by Joel May on Jun 30, 2011

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Planning Travel on the Web — Presentation Transcript