Plan Your Trip Online
Whether you need a country map, street map or driving instructions, you can probably find it somewhere online for free. The CIA World Factbook is a good source for maps of countries and regions. For city guides, try:
- City Maps On-line for Asian cities and Australia
- MapQuest and Google Maps for U.S. destinations
- Google Maps for European and Latin American towns and cities
What's the local currency? How much is a dollar or pound worth in the euro zone? To convert currency and determine exchange rates, visit Oanda.
5.Make ReservationsMost major airlines and hotel chains have their own websites, so if you have a favorite, start there to check for availability, prices, and to book tickets.
A number of websites do it all: planes tickets, vacation packages, cruises, accommodations, car rental--the works. Before you can make reservations however, you will need to establish an account with the site. Among the giants of Internet travel are:
For the flexible traveler, there's Hotwire, a site where you can score rock bottom prices on last-minute airfares and hotels.
Other discount sites offer good values for budget travelers. We recommend:
6.Learn the LingoIt never hurts to know a few words of the local language. For helpful phrases, visit Travelang, Foreign Languages for Travelers. To take a free online language course, try Parlo.
Bon Voyage!
Last update: Jan 14, 2010
