Internet Travel

It's been said that in 2003 30% of all travel had some portion of it  involving the use of the internet.  Do you use the Internet in connection with traveling?  Come and share your experiences with the group. 

Here are some possible uses we would like to hear about:
Research - Looking for places to visit or stay, what to see while you are there,  and ways to get there.
Reservations - Actually booking a hotel, or plane, or cruise.
Newsletters - Subscribing to one, or more, newsletters to keep abreast of what's happening.
Merchandise - Purchase travel related merchandise

Research:

Many of the tour books have on line sites.  Here are a few:
http://fodors.com/
http://ricksteves.com/
http://fromers.com/
http://lonelyplanet.com/
http://www.karenbrown.com/
Select your favorite and it will have links to many other sites.

If you are looking for a tour, most of the tour companies have an online site.  Here are a few:
http://trafalgar.com/world.html
http://globus.com/
http://www.brendantours.com/
http://westtours.com/
http://www.thewayfarers.com/  (Walking Tours)
http://www.elderhostel.org/welcome/home.asp
Do a Google search on "tour company" (use the quotes) and you will get almost 400,000 hits.

Interested in our state parks?  See http://www.parks.ca.gov/
Do you read Tom Stienstra in the Chronicle?  See http://www.tomstienstra.com/

If you want to know more about a hotel, go to Google and do a search on that hotel in that city.  If the hotel doesn't have it's own web site there are probably many companies who will make a reservation there for you.  They will have some kind of a hotel description.

Reservations:

There are always the well know reservation services.  For example:
http://www.expedia.com/
http://travelocity.com/ recommended as best for rental cars.
http://www.bestfares.com/home.asp
http://www.priceline.com/
http://www.orbitz.com/
http://sidestep.com/ search for cheap airline tickets and hotels
http://www.hotwire.com/
http://qixo.com/
http://www.southwest.com/ ask about their senior tickets
http://lastminutetravel.com/LMT/index.jsp the name says it all

And the lesser known such as:
http://www.aarp.org/benefits-hotels/
http://travelweb.com/tvlw_web/jsp/index.jsp
http://www.digitalcity.com/sanfrancisco/travel/
http://www.csaa.com/home/

Many hotels, airlines, rental cars, tour companies and cruises allow you to book directly.  Shop around.  Know your prices so you will know what the best deal is.  Look at http://www.bookingbuddy.com/ to help you shop.

Here is an example of ordering 675 Euros on line.  The cost at Wells Fargo Bank and American Express (using the AARP site) were practically identical ($916.50 vs. $916.88) but the WFB price included at $12 shipping charge and Amex require an additional $5.95 shipping.
 

Newsletters:

It seems there are an endless number of newsletters available.  Here are a just few:
http://www.aarp.org/emailnews/discounts-promotion/Articles/travel-promotion.html#traveloffers
http://www.smarterliving.com/
http://www.on-call.com/index.asp?ID=0101
http://www.tourvacationstogo.com/
http://www.cruisecritic.com/
http://www.cruiseandvacationdesk.com/

Merchandise:
There are many places to buy travel related products, books, and clothing,  Here are a few:
http://magellans.com/
http://www.travelsmith.com/ts/home.jsp
http://royalrobbins.com/
http://orvis.com/
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/
http://www.amazon.com/

Share your favorites with your fellow SIRs.  Send me what you use and I will add them to this page.