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This guide lists dozens of recommended
Web sites to save you time and effort in researching trip planning,
destination information, health and travel
advisories.
Inaccurate information can result in
expensive travel mistakes. Remember to evaluate sites you find! The Web has
few quality control standards. See the Better Business Bureau site below for
information on fraudulent travel deals.
Consult a librarian for advice at any
time. Also look at these research guides, available on ACC Library’s Research Guides & Tutorials link:
- Finding
Information on Travel Destinations: Books and Articles offers details
on the Library’s reference travel books, destination guide books and
travel magazines.
- How to Search the Web, offering time-saving trips, available
as a handout, a Web site, and a longer online tutorial.
Travel Planning and Deals:
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Kayak (airfare meta-search site, searching 120 travel sites. Multi-city searches, My Profile to saves preferences, e-alerts when fares change; seat assignments; hotels, cars, etc. )
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http://www.kayak.com/
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Travelocity (for basic travel planning: destination guides (based on Frommer’s guides), last-minute bargains; lodging; maps, currency converter, more)
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http://www.travelocity.com
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| Momondo
(flight search engine, searching 456 travel sites) |
http://www.momondo.com/Default.aspx |
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Fodor’s (by travel guidebook publisher. “Create your Own Miniguides” feature; restaurants, lodging, attractions, best time of year to visit, MapQuest, more)
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http://www.fodors.com
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Arthur Frommer’s BudgetTravel
Online (travel tips, opinions, booking, health tips, more, from guidebook publishers. Also see http://www.frommers.com for destinations details, more)
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http://budgettravel.msnbc.com
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Mobissimo Travel (searches
over 120 travel sites for airfares)
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http://www.mobissimo.com/search_airfare.php
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Orbitz (travel planning)
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http://www.orbitz.com
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TripAdvisor (destination information)
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http://www.tripadvisor.com
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Reidsguides.com (advice on buying tickets, travel guides, packing, more)
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http://www.reidsguides.com/ |
Budget Travel from About.com |
http://budgettravel.about.com/ |
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Islands Magazine (guide to islands around the world)
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http://islandsmag.com
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MapQuest (driving directions, maps, road trip planner)
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http://mapquest.com
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TravelZoo (top 20 travel bargains of the week)
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http://top20.travelzoo.com/
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GORP: Great Outdoors
Recreation Page
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http://gorp.com
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Away.com (travel adventures trips)
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http://away.com/index.adp
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Expedia (travel planning
site)
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http://www.expedia.com
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Hotwire (discount travel deals: flights, hotels, more)
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http://www.hotwire.com/
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Insure My Trip (travel insurance comparison site)
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http://www.insuremytrip.com
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TravelWeb (trip planning site; travel deals, more)
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http://www.travelWeb.com
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WebFlyer (trip planning site, flight tracker, more)
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http://www.Webflyer.com
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Cheap Tickets (To track today’s flights, see
Flights > Flight Status)
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http://www.cheaptickets.com/
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| Airfare WatchDog (search for best Albany area airfares, other last-minute deals on all airfares.) |
http://www.airfarewatchdog.com/ |
SeatGuru (see plane floor plans to pick best seats) |
http://www.seatguru.com |
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TSA’s Prohibited Items for Air Travel
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http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/prohibited/permitted-prohibited-items.shtm |
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Onetravel.com (travel deals, trip planning, more)
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http://www.onetravel.com
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Educators Bed and
Breakfast Travel Network
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http://www.educatorstravel.com/ |
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Membership
group of educators in 52 countries sharing homes at discount rates.
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International Home
Exchange Network
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http://www.homexchange.com
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Exchange
residences at little or no cost. Searchable by location.
|
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Better Business Bureau (to check reliability of businesses
above)
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http://www.bbb.com/
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Country
Information (Health, Money, Travel Warnings, Language, News Media):
These sites give valuable
information about your international destination.
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CIA's World Factbook (search by country) |
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html |
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Country Studies (from
Library of Congress)
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http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cshome.html
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The Travel Channel (see
Destination Guides)
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http://travel.discovery.com
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Bureau of Consular
Affairs
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http://travel.state.gov
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U.S.
State Department’s travel warnings, passport/visa services,
embassies, data on countries; services for Americans abroad. Click "Country Specific Information" on lower left for travel warnings by country. For other
English-language viewpoints, see these travel advisories:
|
|
-
United Kingdom:
http://www.fco.gov.uk/
-
Australia:
http://www.dfat.gov.au/travel
-
Canada:
http://www.voyage.gc.ca/dest/sos/warnings-en.asp
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| InfoNation
|
http://www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/infonation3/menu/advanced.asp |
Site displays charts comparing statsitics for up to six countries. Choose areas
to compare; at blank graph, choose statistics to compare from drop-down menus.
From United Nations. |
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Centers for Disease
Control
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http://www.cdc.gov/travel
|
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For
health advisories in countries around the world and more.
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NewsDirectory
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http://www.newsdirectory.com/ |
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More than 8,000 online newspapers and magazines from around the world, in English. Also, links to Web sites of about 1,000 broadcast TV stations in the United States.
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Web Radio (Links to radio stations broadcasting on the Web, from around the world.)
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http://www.radio-directory.com/ |
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Zagat’s (restaurant review publisher)
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http://www.zagat.com |
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Oanda (currency site; click FXCheatSheet to create wallet-sized currency converter table)
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http://www.oanda.com |
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Universal Currency
Converter
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http://www.xe.net/ucc
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| Weather Underground (then select a country or region) |
http://www.wunderground.com/ |
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Weather around the world
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http://www.intellicast.com
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The Weather Channel
Security
Checkpoint Wait Times
|
http://www.weather.com
http://waittime.tsa.dhs.gov/index.html
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| International Driving Permit (application form from AAA's Web site) |
http://www.aaa.com/vacation/idpapplc.html?association=AAA&clb_id=212&secure=N |
Worldwide Tipping Guide
(guide to common tipping practices in 70 countries) |
http://www.magellans.com/store/article/367?Args= |
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globalEDGE (international business)
|
http://globaledge.msu.edu/
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Mango Languages
Free online self-paced language lessons with sound. Teaches Spanish, French, Greek, Italian, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, Russian, more. Registration required (free). |
http://www.mangolanguages.com/ |
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Virtual Tourist (travel tips, reviews)
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http://www.virtualtourist.com
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United States Travel Information:
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New York State Hospitality & Tourism Assn.
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http://www.nyshta.org
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Lodging & attractions
association; links to New
York State
travel information.
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Recreation.gov
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http://www.recreation.gov
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Information on 1,900
recreation areas on federal land; from U.S. Dept. of the Interior: national
parks, forests, wildlife refuges, with weather forecasts, maps.
Searchable.
|
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Theme
Park Insider
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http://www.themeparkinsider.com/
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Award-winning
guide to world's best theme and amusement parks, written by consumers.
Offers ride, hotel and safety ratings and reviews, accident & safety
data. (Description from Librarians' Internet Index.)
|
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Theme Park
City
|
http://www.themeparkcity.com/
|
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A directory
of amusement and theme parks, zoos, and waterparks
in the U.S. and Canada,
listed by state or province. "The Institute For Theme Park
Studies" lists books, theses, Web sites, and other sources of
information. (Description from Librarians' Internet Index.)
|
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Bed and Breakfast site
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http://www.bedandbreakfast.com
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Travel Site Collections:
These sites offer dozens of
travel Web sites, organized by subject: fares, travel guides, recreation,
activities, restaurants, city guides, camping, safety, warnings, trip
planners, fares, currency exchange, lodging, much more. Many sites listed on
this guide are also here.
Hospitality
Industry:
Hospitality 1st
http://hospitality-1st.com
Hospitality and
tourism industry site; lists job openings, small business marketing, schools,
careers and jobs, travel industry news & press releases, newsletter,
more.
Updated July, 2008/JM |
