Research your next trip — from adventures to weather
Plan your vacation with the help of the web
By Brenda R. Solman
Planning a trip can sometimes be more work and stress than what you’re trying to take a break from, but the Internet can make things much simpler. Find out the weather before you arrive, read what others have thought of your chosen hotel, and learn some of the language of your destination.
- Stay safe
- Convert your cash
- Travel wisely
- Pack your pet
- Love your lodging
- Discuss your destination
- Watch the weather
- Have fun with the family
- Learn the language
- Travel with technology
- Dare to be different
1. Stay safe
Find out about health risks and get up-to-date country reports before you book tickets to or visit your vacation destination.
- Canadian Consular Affairs provides current travel advisories and assistance in case of emergency.
- Canadian Consular Affairs provides current travel advisories and assistance in case of emergency.
- World Health Organization provides health advice, including worldwide disease maps.
2. Convert your cash
Discover what your hotel bill total will be in Canadian dollars and research travel insurance.
- xe.com provides a currency converter featuring every currency.
- Consular Affairs — Insurance features information about travel insurance for Canadians.
3. Travel wisely
Make getting to your destination easier and more comfortable than ever with sites that show you the best places to sit on planes and trains. Or get help planning a last-minute getaway.
- Seat Guru provides tips on which seats on your plane have the most legroom and cargo space, which are the quietest and which have the best view of the movie screens.
- The Man in Seat Sixty-One provides all the information you need when travelling by train or by ship.
- Sky Guides features guides to the world’s major airports, including maps, car-rental options, public transportation and airport hotels.
- Airtreks features TripPlanner, a service that lets you plan the travel phases of your journey, no matter how complex.
- Sky Auction is a site that lets you bid on airfares, cruises and packages.
4. Pack your pet
Unsure of what to do with Fluffy while you’re travelling? Find out if you can bring her with you and if not, learn about boarding her until you come home.
- Pet Friendly shows accommodations in Canada where you can bring your pet.
- Pet Travel provides an international database of accommodations and services that welcome pets.
- The Pet Center is a good guide to boarding your pets if you can’t take them with you. It includes how to find a kennel, what to look for, how to prepare your pet for boarding and what to do when you pick him or her up.
5. Love your lodging
Find out what real people thought of the hotel you were planning on booking before you spend the money.
- Hotel Guide lets you book at more than 120,000 hotels with a low-price guarantee.
- Hostels.com lists about 7,000 hostels worldwide, user ratings and a message board.
6. Discuss your destination
The best advice often comes from real people, so visit these forums to get unbiased information on destinations; you can even find out about places you’d never discover in a travel brochure.
- The Thorn Tree: Lonely Planet’s forum features more than 50 sections on world regions, news and other travel-related topics.
- Virtual Tourist features a discussion board, travel tips from members, photos and travel resources.
- I Go U Go provides photos and reviews from travellers.
- Expedia lists flights, hotels, cars and packages, promising exactly the trip you want.
7. Watch the weather
Never get stuck without important travel gear like your umbrella or bathing suit again. Find out what the weather’s like before you leave so you’ll know what to pack.
- The Weather Network provides international weather reports and warnings as well as highway conditions, ski reports and forest-fire watches for Canada.
- WorldClimate is not a forecast site, but it tells you what the weather is usually like at different times of the year. The site uses more than 85,000 climate records for tens of thousands of places around the world.
8. Have fun with the family
Conquer the challenges of travelling with kids with great tips and kid-friendly activities.
- Travel for Kids lists fun things to do with your children around the world and has travel tips, food guides and book recommendations.
- Family Travel Network features tips and reviews, suggestions for interest-based travel and message boards.
9. Learn the language
Learn some useful words and phrases before you go.
- Word 2 Word provides basic translation. The site also features etymology, word games, world alphabets and many other language and translation resources.
10. Travel with technology
Find out how you can use technology to share your travels with others and stay in touch with those at home.
- Traveljournals.net lets friends check out your travel stories and pictures, leave you messages in your guestbook and even learn something about where you are in the Maps and Locations database.
- TravelPod features travelogues and forums. This site also features trip-planning resources, including a hostel finder, adventure tours and travel insurance.
- A Global World helps you figure out what kind of voltage converters you’ll need when you’re abroad. (If you’re taking any electronics on your trip, you’ll need to plug them in!)
- Access e-mail while on vacation to keep in touch while you’re away.
11. Dare to be different
Stray from the beaten path with these trip ideas.
- Generous Adventures lets you bid on resorts, outdoor adventures, exotic destinations and special interest trips — and the proceeds go to charity.
- The International Ecotourism Society provides information on responsible travel to natural areas.
- G.A.P Adventures helps you put together your dream adventure based on destination, activity or, if you’re open to anything, whatever fits into your schedule.
- Cruise Critic lets you read user reviews of cruises and find your dream cruise. The site also offers tips for your first cruise and for planning your cruise.
- Vacation for a cause provides information about volunteer vacations to help you give something back to the world.
