Planning Travel on the Web
44
Planning Travel on the Web A presentation by Joel May On the web in the “Presentations” section of www.ewingsnet.com
Transcript of Planning Travel on the Web
Planning Travel on the Web
A presentation by Joel MayOn 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.com)
Major Travel-Oriented Web Sites
• 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?
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
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?
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
Major Travel-Oriented Web Sites
• Expedia (www.expedia.com)• Kayak (www.kayak.com)• Orbitz (www.orbitz.com)• Sidestep (www.sidestep.com)• Travelocity (www.travelocity.com
)• Yahoo Travel (travel.yahoo.com)
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 )
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?
What to do There(specific locations)
• Use the “big six” to seek out information– Expedia (www.expedia.com)– Kayak (www.kayak.com)– Orbitz (www.orbitz.com)– Sidestep (www.sidestep.com)– Travelocity (www.travelocity.com)– Yahoo Travel (travel.yahoo.com)
• 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
What to do There(specific locations)
• Use Google (e.g.)– seattle walking tours– new york sightseeing– prague theater – tijuana nightlife
What to do There(specific locations)
• 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)
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 Stay/Eat There(Hotels)
• Use the “big six” to seek out information– Expedia (www.expedia.com)– Kayak (www.kayak.com)– Orbitz (www.orbitz.com)– Sidestep (www.sidestep.com)– Travelocity (www.travelocity.com)– Yahoo Travel (travel.yahoo.com
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)
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?
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)
Additional Travel Information
• Currency conversion (www.xe.com/ucc)
• ATM locations: – Visa (snipurl.com/visa_atm) – Mastercard (
snipurl.com/mastercard_atm)
• Travel insurance information (www.insuremytrip.com)
Additional Travel Information
• 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
The End
