Tool Kits |  Airfares, Hotels, Car Rentals & Vacations |  Lodging | Senior Travel
 

There are many sites that will help you in making travel plans. These range from Tool Kits, which are comprehensive sites covering many aspects of travel and offering links to specific sources, to general travel guides like Travelocity, to specific sites covering airfare and hotel pricing.

Tool Kits

• savvytraveler.publicradio.org/before/ offers links to travel guides, airlines, trains, ships, help sources, U.S. embassies, passport and visa information.
  
• www.nationalgeographic.com/traveler/toolbox.html includes links to conversion tables for distances, currency, translations, travel newsgroups, specific locations.
  
• www.aviationboom.com/traveltoolkit provides how to’s for flight tracking, airport delay data, weather, airport terminal maps and international calling codes.
  
• www.etraveljournal.com includes an ATM locator, currency converter, travel warnings, passport and visa information and a site just for kids.
  
• www.cruiseclues.com has links to everything you want to know about cruises: how to prepare, what to take, food, ports, reviews, health concerns, government links.
  
• www.tripspot.com is a comprehensive list of links to most areas of travel that one could want, including guides to destinations, information, bargains, methods of travel, where to stay, activities, safety information, currency conversion, international dialing codes, travel magazines and newspaper travel sections.
  
• www.virtuallythere.com/bulletin includes links to official government sites..travel warnings and alerts, embassies and consulates, U.S., Canada and international airports, security sites, essential phone numbers.
  
• www.cdc.gov/travel The purpose of the CDC Travelers’ Health website is to provide information, based on scientific studies, disease surveillance, and best practices to assist travelers and their health-care providers in deciding the vaccines, medications, and other measures necessary to prevent illness and injury during international travel.
  
• web.mel.org/viewtopic.jsp?id=153&pathid=4226 Michigan eLibrary's comprehensive travel tool kit.
   

Lodging

• www.hotelsdiscount.com
  
• www.hotelreservationsnetwork.com
  
• www.resortsandlodges.com
  
• www.worldres.com
  
• www.hotels.com

It would be advisable to compare prices on more than one of these sources.

Airfares, Hotels, Car Rentals, and Vacations

• www.travelocity.com
  
• www.expedia.com
  
• www.orbitz.com
  
• www.cheaptickets.com
  
• www.hotwire.com
  
• www.lowestfare.com
  
• www.onetravel.com
  
• www.priceline.com
  
• www.smarterliving.com
  
• www.travelzoo.com
  
• www.travelnow.com
  
• www.concierge.com

It would be advisable to compare prices on more than one of these sources. It is of interest to note that some of them are owned by the same corporation. The airfare reservation sources also offer lodging and transportation reservations as well as links to vacation packages.

Senior Travel

If you are traveling outside the United States there are a few things to keep in mind:

• As of January 1, 2008 a valid passport will be required to enter or re-enter the United States.
• Some bank cards allow patrons to withdraw from ATMs without additional service charges.
• Some credit card issuers do not charge a currency exchange fee.