| Issue date: May 21, 2000
WEB TRAVEL GUIDE
In this feature:
 Great for last-minute planning
Name your price
Best online guidebooks
Indulge your special interest, sport or adventure
Be on e-mail alert for deals
Also:
Basics: maps, weather reports and more
Case studies: readers explain how they did it
For the ultimate
vacation -- done your way -- the Web is great. An easy how-to guide
from the experts at Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel
Within a decade, we'll use the Internet to book half of all our trips. But right now, using the Web to research or book an air ticket or hotel stay isn't always easy. Technical glitches, failed connections and confusing pathways can frustrate even the most Web-savvy. Getting what you want depends on knowing where to go -- fast. We can help you find the smoothest routes into this new frontier and show you what's great about "traveling" online. We'll introduce you to five families who used the Web to make their travel planning not only easier and faster, but cheaper. Along the way, we'll show you where you can name your own price, get bargains e-mailed to you, chat with other travelers and get a lot of free stuff, from maps to travel guides. Even if you don't own a computer, you can benefit. More Web sites are offering toll-free phone numbers to extend your travel options. Or visit a library or cybercafe, where you can log on, access free e-mail and start clicking.
It's great for procrastinators
Go ahead -- drag your feet. On the Web, you can score some big bargains by procrastinating. Hotels, airlines, cruise ships, tour companies and other travel vendors can instantly get out the word on cancellations, vacancies and other last-minute opportunities. Try these eleventh-hour booking specialists:
- LastMinuteTravel.com
(lastminutetravel.com,
404-495-2100) is the last word in sheer volume. It churns out
a massive array of package vacations, hotel spaces, flights, even
event tickets within two weeks to several days of departure. The
discounts are substantial.
- 11th Hour Vacations
(11thhourvacations.com,
864-672-1077) doesn't offer much flexibility, because departure
dates and conditions are often set, but the price is a major compensation.
Most offers here are for travel within a month.
- Moment's Notice
(moments-
notice.com, 718-234-6295) describes itself proudly as a "bargain
basement." It's a club, and for a $25 annual fee you gain access
to some astounding vacation bargains. Best bets: cruises, Rio
de Janeiro, Europe and certain areas of the Caribbean (Margarita
Island, Cancun).
- Click-it Weekends!
(travelweb.com/TravelWeb/clickit.html),
a section of the sizable TravelWeb site, specializes in last-minute
deals on hotel rooms globally. Each Monday, it lists the coming
weekend's offers (and rooms go quickly).
It's great for naming
your own price
Auction sites are a mushrooming phenomenon that can be a tremendous money saver -- if you bid correctly. How? Do your research and set a limit. While many are so new they're hard to evaluate, these offer true value and the thrill of the auction:
- Priceline
(priceline.com,
1-800-771-2354) is far and away the best-known name in the field.
No one's actually bidding against you: You simply name the price
you're willing to pay for a plane ticket or hotel room (allow
for flexibility), and Priceline lets you know if you can get it.
Our advice: Find the lowest price out there, go to Priceline and
offer 20% less; if it can't deliver, you've lost nothing.
- Skyauction
(skyauction.com)
has quickly become a major force in travel auctions since its
1998 start-up; it now offers hundreds of items from all over the
world. A supermarket of a site; the variety's great, but you'd
be foolish to expect a boutique level of quality service.
- Bidtripper.com
(www.bidtripper.com,
1-888-538-0733) includes an intelligent feature: Fill out a questionnaire
listing your travel criteria, and when an auction item comes up
matching it, Bidtripper will alert you by e-mail.
- PremierTravelDeals
(premiertraveldeals.com,
1-800-545-1910) is the sort of specialized auction site we think
will begin to emerge Web-wide. Premier, a respected Africa tour
operator, created this site to auction safaris, airfares to Africa
and other travel products. It's a brand-new site, but its early
showing is promising, and the values are real.
It's great for free
guidebooks
As major travel guidebook series -- from mass-market generalists to quirkier specialized titles -- take their wares to the Internet, some are standouts. In addition to frommers.com, other worthy addresses:
- Lonely Planet
(www.lonelyplanet.com)
is for independent global travelers who want to squeeze the most
out of every dollar. Name an exotic or even a commonplace spot,
and this site can give you lots of practical information on getting
there and getting along once you've arrived. Frank and intensely
practical. The reader reports seem right on the money, too. If
you want to know where to stay and eat, however, you'll have to
buy the printed guidebook.
- Rick Steves' Europe
Through the Back Door (ricksteves.com)
offers generous helpings of the public TV hero's book series,
along with his suggested itineraries for each country, a plethora
of travel tips (helpfully organized into sections) and an encyclopedic
links page.
- Time Out
(www.timeout.com)
has built its rep on knowing what's what in cities all over the
world -- 32 on this site -- from New York and New Orleans to Hong
Kong and Prague. Sleeps, eats, shopping, children's activities
and the latest cultural news (concerts, movies, exhibitions).
A can't-miss for the urban adventurer.
- Fodors.com
(fodors.com),
the Internet component of the venerable series, lets you "build
your own miniguide" from its database of 110 cities, with hotels
and restaurants and anything else you need to know. A little more
upmarket than the other sites listed here.
- Rough Guides
(roughguides.com)
just launched a new, expanded online version. This sensible, budget-minded
series gives a great down-to-earth overview of 140-plus cities,
from Milwaukee to Bratislava, Slovakia.
Go to top
It's great
for special pursuits
Literally thousands of Web sites cater to every cranny of the planet and every special need you can imagine. Here are some of the best-executed sites for travelers with special interests or needs.
- Backpackers:
hostels.com
resembles a shopping mall for the intrepid traveler. Far from
a simple listing of those gloriously cheap hostel digs, it can
advise you and help you buy airline tickets, rail passes, maps
and gear.
- Bed-and-breakfasters:
Information on more than 24,000 of these quaint lodgings throughout
the world is available at bedandbreakfast.com,
where you can book rooms online.
- RVers: If the lure of the open road is your thing, go to rvamerica.com,
where you can find out about buying or renting a recreational
vehicle for your next vacation, post questions on a lively bulletin
board, visit chat rooms, and click on the site's new resort and
campground guide.
- Physically challenged:
Access-Able Travel Source (www.access-able.com),
founded by husband-and-wife team Bill and Carol Randall, does
the best job we've seen of aiding physically challenged travelers.
(Carol has multiple sclerosis and uses a wheelchair or scooter.)
The site has concise, honest assessments of cruise lines and airports;
articles on new tours and packages; and copious links.
- Women only:
Probably the most comprehensive spot is ivillage.com/travel.
Packed with resources, including tips, chat rooms and "travelers'
journals" that offer uncommon wisdom for women traveling solo
or with others.
- Pet lovers:
We're partial to www.petswelcome.com
because it's a comprehensive state-by-state (and Canada, too)
roster of hotels happy to see Snowflake and Rusty. Also: campgrounds
and amusement parks that welcome pets, emergency vets and kennels.
Go
to top
It's great for adventure
and sport travel
If your vacation style craves lots of activity, exercise your index finger by clicking below:
Great Outdoor Recreation
Pages (gorp.com).
For tips, gear and info on where to hike, bike, climb, fish, ski
or do just about anything else outside. It has excellent organization
and encyclopedic reach.
Fishsearch.com
(fishsearch.
com) is an angler's Eden. Whether you're looking for fishing
lodges, guidebooks, clubs, tournaments, tackle shops, boat dealers,
exhibitions, seminars or a taxidermist to mount the one that didn't
get away, it's a formidable source of info.
GoSki
(goski.com).
Detailed descriptions and reader reviews of more than 2,000 ski
resorts in no fewer than 37 countries make this site a must-browse.
Equipment reviews, chat rooms and weather reports, too.
Tennis Resorts Online
(tennisresortsonline.com).
The brainchild of veteran tennis writer Roger Cox offers write-ups
of more than 100 spots in North America and the Caribbean where
you can improve your ground stroke and outlook. No booking on the
site.
America by Bicycle
(abbike.com),
run by passionate pedalers, hosts a 52-day U.S. tour (you don't
have to sign up for the whole thing, thank heaven). No direct booking,
but all the contact information you'll need.
Go
to top
It's great for getting
bargains e-mailed to you
Even easier than scouring the Net for travel deals is having those deals sent to you. The easiest way: Sign up for lists that alert you to bargains via e-mail. Frommers (frommers.com) is a valuable stop; although you can't buy a vacation on the site, its Daily Newsletter can give you money-saving leads for your next trip. Other e-mail services we like:
AIRLINES
Most major U.S. carriers offer this weekly service. Among them:
Smarter Living (www.smarterliving.com) consolidates many last-minute discount programs offered by domestic and
foreign airlines, sorts them according to your gateway, and offers them in
e-mail form to those willing to endure some low-key printed advertising.
HOTELS
Try these for e-mail alerts:
NEWSLETTERS
Anyone who registers at frommers.com
receives our Daily Newsletter. And check out the travel section
at Cyber Tips (cybertip4theday.com).
We're also partial to eurotrip.com
and www.planeta.com.
For a full slate of incredibly focused e-newsletters and lists,
visit Topica (topica.com).
|
