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Budget Travel Web Sites
Perceptive Travel is a new narrative travel site featuring articles from well-known travel book authors. Aimed at independent,
curious travelers, it goes beyond the consumerism you see on most newsstands, but with a high level of quality writing often
missing on the web.
IgoUgo is a great place to read what others have been through and to see travelogues and journals. Contains plenty of photos and
ratings from both editors and readers. Much like VirtualTourist below, but entries are generally longer and more detailed.
Many writers definitely not in the budget category, but overall is pretty useful.
 GoNomad offers a great wealth of information for independent travelers,
loads of useful travel links, and a good newsletter you can subscribe to. It supports lots of family businesses around the
world that practice sustainable tourism and has some good features on travel with kids.
Transitions Abroad is the best web site out there to find information on studying and working abroad. They also have a great ever-evolving collection
of articles on budget travel, responsible travel, and living in a foreign country. Articles are the real deal, with a refreshing
absence of puffery and self-centeredness.
Contrarian Traveler is a resource site jammed with links that can save you loads of money and give
you the inside scoop on where to find travel deals.
Elliott.org is the blog and website from Christopher Elliott. He's the ombudsman for National Geographic Traveler, one of the founders
of Tripso, and all-around good guy who is trying to keep the travel industry from pulling a fast one on us.
Planeta.com is billed as "the global journal of practical ecotourism." A meeting of the minds on ecological and responsible tourism,
a wealth of resources, and an active forum.
WorldHum offers a collection of travel writings that is a good step above the glorified journal entries on many sites, with a growing
number of award-winning travel authors featured. It also features a great travel blog, travel book reviews, and more.
Budget Travel Online offers what's in the print mag and more, with lots of great info on ways to travel on vacation for less.
VirtualTourist is kind of like the alleyways and souks in Fez: sensory overload and hard to navigate on the first try. Lots of good
tips on destinations once you get your bearings, including info on inexpensive hotels people have stayed in. Around since
1994 and claims to have nearly 600,000 members from 220 countries.
If you’re the kind of person who can spend hours looking through magazine racks, likes to get lost for the adventure
of it, or feels overwhelmed in a book store because there’s just too much cool stuff to check out, JohnnyJet is your site. Must set some kind of record for the number of useful links: everything from fly fishing for women to air travel
complaint sites to subway maps. And when I say "everything in between," I mean pretty much everything!
Tripso is billed as "the last honest travel site" and while that may be stretching it, they are one of the few willing to take potshots
at the poor performers in the travel industry on a weekly basis. Headed up by the ombusdsman for National Geographic Traveler
and featuring a regular column from yours truly. It gives a great rundown on deals and disappointments with airlines, rental
cars, and hotels.
Go World Travel is an international magazine covering the world's fascinating people and places. Well-written articles, essays, videos, and
photos go beyond the standard fare.
Passplanet.com is a non-commercial alternative travel site that focuses most of its attention on Southeast Asia and Central
America. It covers these areas quite thoroughly and even has a chart detailing costs for everyday items.
Travelfish is a great comprehensive site for backpacker and independent travel in Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia.
For Women Traveling Solo offers advice from an author who lectures on the subject and has a forum where readers exchange ideas on solo travel.
Lonely Planet’s site has been around since the beginning of the Web. The "Postcards" section
has tidbits about what has changed or what to watch out for. The "Thorn Tree" message board is a very active community to
browse or just get your question answered by people who are there or have been there.
About.com's Budget Travel section contains everything from book reviews to travel coupon links to sites that warn of dangers in specific
locations. A great place to get lost in daydreams or to find that nugget of travel info you've been searching all over for.
Fabulous Travel declares, "He who dies with the most experiences wins." Seems to have suspended its updates, but it features a large archive
of quality articles.
GORP stands for Great Outdoor Recreation Pages and it's the place to go for in-depth info on adventure travel: hiking, rafting,
kayaking, etc. You'll have to sort through lots of pop-up ads and pitches for expensive package tours, but good info underneath
all that.
Walkabout Travel Gear is a great site for finding travel packing and survival aids, but they also have a great random list of tips from travelers.
Some are pure gold.
Bootsnall.com offers some great travel stories, loads of advice for budget travel bargains, discussion boards, and links.
Also has regional experts on tap that you can send e-mail questions to.
The Round-the-World Travel Guide is a non-commercial collection of great tips for journeys around the globe. A wealth of advice that most anyone would wish
they'd had before they boarded that first flight.
FindaGap is a site for all those lucky students in various countries who get a year off between high school and university--a
"gap year." The site aims
to provide its users with a simple but effective search engine specific to gap year opportunities. From cheap gap year travel
to finding a volunteer organization and project: what is available, where it can be done and how much it costs.
Free in Europe is a growing guide to free tourist attractions and activities in Europe that will keep the travel budget in line.
Travelogues and Blogs There are a zillion travelogues and travel blogs
out there and I used to try to list some of my favorites here. My RSS reader is at 85 and counting now though, so I am punting.
Travel Writing So you want to be a
travel writer, eh? This travel writing portal will tell you everything you needed to know, and plenty that you thought you didn't...
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