Be Your Own Travel Agent

Using the Internet to Plan Your Next TripSkokie Public Library

May 26, 2011Terry Ratoff

How Web Resources Can Help You Plan Your Next Trip

• Choosing a Destination• Planning Your Itinerary • Comparing Costs• Reviewing Transportation Options• Selecting Accommodations• I’m Hungry – Where should we eat?

Choosing a Destination

Travel Guides and BlogsInformation comparable to printed guides

andAdvice from other travelers

andOnline communities to ask questions and

discuss your plans

Travel Blogs and WebsitesMany travel blogs & guides online, useful

for:– choosing destinations– creating itineraries – making plans

Travel blogs present one person’s or groups point of view about travel. A few favorites:

– The New York Times Travel Page– The Wall Street Journal Travel Page

New York Times Travel

• Has searchable destination guides that include maps, reviews and reader comments for activities, restaurants and accommodations.

• Has links to The New York Times Travel Blogs:– In Transit A Guide to Intelligent Travel– Frugal Traveler

Costa Rica Travel Guide from the NYT

Choose a Featured Interest Guide from the NYT

NYT Travel Featured Interest Guide Biking

NYT Travel Featured Interest Guide Biking (Continued)

New York Times Travel Blogs

• In Transit – Guide to Intelligent Travel

• Frugal Traveler – Budget Travel

NYT In Transit Blog

NYT Frugal Traveler Blog

Wall Street Journal Travel

• Compilation of recent articles about travel that have appeared in the Wall Street Journal

• Includes a link to “The Middle Seat Terminal” – one of my favorite blogs- written by the travel editor of the Wall Street Journal.

WSJ Middle Seat Terminal Blog

Where do I want to go?• Travel Guides useful for choosing destinations

and planning itineraries.

Trip Advisor

• A travel site where you can gather information about destinations and accommodations and see other travelers’ reviews.

• Links to other sites to where you can make reservations.• Trip Advisor is being sold by Expedia.

Trip Advisor Links and Partners

Trip Advisor Seattle Guide

Trip AdvisorSeattle Guide Continued

Trip Advisor Seattle Hotels

Trip Advisor Hotel Traveler Reviews

Trip Advisor Seattle Restaurants Near Hotel

Trip Advisor Travel Forum

Fodors.com

• An online version of the familiar print guide.• Like Trip Advisor, has a “forum” section for user

comments, questions and answers, planning ideas and a Blog.

Frommers.com

• An online version of the familiar print guides.

• Easily printed guides and itineraries.

Frommer’s Website

Frommer’s Destination Guides

Frommer’s Seattle Guide

Frommer’s Seattle Itinerary

Frommer’s Forums

Rick Steves

• Good for European travel itineraries. • Travel tips, questions and message

boards. • A little heavy on selling books, backpacks,

and other products.

Lonely Planet

• If you like to go a little bit off the beaten track.

• ThornTreeTravel Forum.

Moonguides

• More off the beaten track advice.• Trip ideas and itineraries by activities like

surfing or backpacking. • Printable maps

Moon Guides Home Page

Moon Seattle Guide

How much will this trip cost?

• Metasearching- Websites that allow you to compare airfares, accommodation and rental cars options from multiple sites.

• Where can I stay and how will I get there?• Southwest Airlines is not included in these

searches.• American Airlines recently removed itself

from Orbitz searches.

The Big 3 Metasearching Sites

Expedia Home Page

Expedia Hotel Search Results

Expedia Car Search Results

Travelocity Home Page

Travelocity Hotel Search

Travelocity Car Search Results

Travelocity Rail Search

Orbitz Home Page

Orbitz Hotel Search Results

Orbitz Car Search Results

Searching for Flights• Sites for comparing airfares and other

costs, like hotels. Will be directed to another site for booking.

More Tools for Flying

• SeatGuru.com - Find the best airplane seats.

Has airplane seating charts.• FlightStats - Track flight arrival, departure, and

airport delay information. Can track flight progress on a map.

• FlightArrivals.com - Similar information to FlightStats.

SeatGuru.com

FlightStats

FlightStats

FlightArrivals.com

FlightArrivals.com

Additional Booking Sites & Tools

• Priceline & Hotwire– Name your own price. – Bid on unknown hotels in rating categories and locations

you specify. – Can save money if you can live with a little uncertainty.

• Bidontravel.com– Learn about bidding strategies for Priceline and

Hotwire.“bidding tips to make an informed bid that has the greatest chance of being accepted.”

• Hotels.com– Easy to use hotel booking site, includes reviews.

• Room 77 – Personalized hotel room recommendations.

I’m Hungry, Where Can We Eat?

• Restaurant Review and Reservation Sites

Yelp: Skokie Restaurants

Urban Spoon Restaurant Reviews

Have I got a deal for you!Local deals at your destination

Must sign up at these sites to participate.

•Yipit.com - Daily deals in many cities. Searches other daily deal sites for discounts.

•Dealery - Aggregates deals from Groupon, LivingSocial, BuyWithMe, Tippr, KGB Deals & other sites in many locations .

•TravelZoo - Travel entertainment & local deals in many cities. Recommends deals they can confirm.

•The Dealmap - Local deals, coupons and discounts, on a map.

Dealmap: Events in Chicago

Special Interests• Cruise Critic

– Reviews from cruisers who have sailed on the ship you are considering.

• The National Park Service – Links to the National Parks to plan a visit.

• Google Maps – For planning walking routes, bicycling routes and public

transportation options.

• TripIt – for managing travel plans and creating itineraries.

Cruise Critic

Cruise Critic – Disney Magic Traveler Reviews

Cruise Critic: Disney Magic Traveler Review Detail

National Park Service

NPS Acadia National Park

Google Maps

Google Maps-Transit Option

Trip It Sample Itinerary Part 1

Trip It Sample Itinerary Part 2

Be a Tourist in Chicago!

Government Sites• Department of State

– Get passport and Visa Information.– Travel warnings and advice.– Useful links to :

• Students Abroad website• The TSA

• TSA – Find out what you can bring on a plane or if you are on a travel

watch list.

• Traveler’s Health – Find health information for your destination.

U.S. Dept. of State Travel Information

U.S. Department of State Students Abroad

TSA: Transportation Security Administration

CDC’s Travelers Health

Happy Travels!