Programs: Budget Travel on the Web

Introduction

• Class Objective - You will learn more about various popular travel web sites along with a few tips about finding that great travel bargain.
• Prerequisites - You must be familiar with using a browser and have some experience searching the Web.
• General Considerations -Internet only, Travel Agent only.......or both?  Group tour or independent travel?
  

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Where Am I Going?

General Travel Sites:
All of the major travel guidebook publishers have websites, such as Fodor's, Frommer's, Lonely Planet, Let's Go, Rough Guides, etc.

http://www.ricksteves.com/  Rick Steves of PBS fame offers not only a variety of tour packages but lots of good advice. 
http://www.tripadvisor.com  Trip Advisor: find newspaper and magazine articles, guidebooks and user comments that tell you about the ins and outs of most destinations.

Country Specific Sites: 
http://www.towd.com/  Tourism Offices Worldwide Directory: A listing of official travel web sites for most states and many countries around the world. Examples:

• http://www.newzealand.com/travel/ for New Zealand travel
• www.mairie-toulouse.fr/Accueil.htm for Toulouse France
• Foreign language "obstacles" and how to overcome them: 
  Google
  or watch for British or American flag to click

Specific Events: a well designed event website will help you with your travel plans. For example:

• Mardi Gras, New Orleans, Louisiana - http://www.mardigrasneworleans.com/

Currency Exchange Rates: 
Oanda  Oanda, a great place to not only find the current exchange rate, but the rate patterns over time.

Which to use: Travelers Checks or Cash or ATM?  Credit Card or debit card?

Check with your financial institution before you leave: to let them know about your trip and to ask if they have ATM agreements with any bank system in your destination country.. 

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How Do I Get There?

General Sites:

Kayak - Kayak wide variety of airlines, email price alerts  
Expedia - Expedia: started by Microsoft but just recently became its own company. 
Travelocity  - Travelocity: owned by Sabre Holdings, a large travel agency. 
Orbitz   - Orbitz: developed by five major airlines: American, Continental, Delta, Northwest and United 
Opodo - Opodo - created by nine European airlines
http://travel.yahoo.com/ - Yahoo Travel has been around for a number of years. 
Hotwire  - Hotwire: cheap tickets but you don't know who they're with until after you pay. 
Priceline - Priceline: name your price and see if it's accepted.
http://www.bestfares.com/ - Best Fares: Tom Parsons' discount travel site

Flying:
http://www.qixo.com/ - Qixo - a meta-search airfare site
http://www.cheaptickets.com/  - Cheap Tickets
http://www.cheapseats.com/  - Cheapseats
http://www.flightcoordinators.com/ - Flight Coordinators - great prices for tickets to international destinations

Specific Airlines Sites, such as:
Delta, Alaska, etc.  

You can only book a Southwest Airlines ticket on their website 

Rail:
United States: 
Amtrak  - Amtrak

Europe: 
http://www.raileurope.com/index.html  - Rail Europe
http://www.bhan.de/  - German railway site

Automobiles:
Maps: 
MapQuest  - MapQuest for USA directions

http://maps.google.com/ - Google Maps

Rentals:
After checking the major travel sites, go to:
Avis, Hertz, Thrifty, Dollar, Alamo, Budget, etc.  There may be other car rental agencies specific to the location to which you are traveling. 

Tip: For traveling in other countries, you might save money by using a travel guidebook to find the names of the main local car rental companies.

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Where Do I Stay?

Hotels: 
Hotels.com  - Hotels.com  
http://www.placestostay.com/  - Places To Stay (in 6 languages)
http://www.lodging.com/  - Lodging.com
http://www.quikbook.com/ - Quikbook  (US & Canada rooms only)
http://www.travelweb.com/ - Travelweb

Or also use the general travel sites listed above.

Cabins: 
KOA.com  - KOA Kamper Kabins - an alternative way to travel

Bed and Breakfasts:
http://www.bedandbreakfast.com/ - Bed and Breakfast
http://www.lanierbb.com/ - Pamela Lanier's Bed and Breakfasts 

Hostels:  Quality lodging not just for young singles, but for couples and families as well.
Hostelworld
Hostelling International - a large international network

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Student and Senior Travel 

Students:
http://www.statravel.com/  - STA Travel: the world's largest student travel organization (formerly Council Travel)
www.studentuniverse.com/ - Student Universe

Seniors:
http://www.elderhostel.org/ - Elder Hostel - educational travel
www.aarp.org/travel/ - AARP - for those over 50
www.eldertreks.com/ - ElderTreks - small group adventures

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Travel Tips

• Travel guide books and maps: Don't leave home without them, either a print copy or an ebook version.  Spokane Public Library has a vertical file containing travel brochures and maps from both the United States and other countries that can be checked out.  You can also search our catalog for travel books.  Use search terms location name (i.e. Colorado or Pacific Northwest) and travel or location name and guidebooks.
• An excellent magazine for finding travel bargains: "Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel"
• Make a packing list so you don't leave anything behind.
• Travel as light as possible since the weight of your luggage will be a constant travel companion.
• Make printouts of all confirmations and take them with you.
• You are a target in many foreign countries.  Protect your credit cards, money or documents.  Consider using a money belt.   
  

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