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Before You Go

 

Best Travel Websites

Below are lists of the "Best" travel websites as determined by various newspapers and magazines.

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Helpful Information

  • Fodor's Focus on Photography
    "How to Take Travel Pictures Like a Pro." With the assistance of author and photographer Jeff Wignall, Fodor's has put together an invaluable guide to shooting great travel pictures: Nearly 100 easy-to-follow tips, with accompanying photos, covering every aspect of travel photography.
  • Transportation Security Authority (TSA)
    This is the TSA's comprehensive travel guide for the flying public: "Here you will find everything you need to know about new airport security measures. You will discover a list of timesaving tips, information on assistance for special needs, the latest list of prohibited and permitted items, and other information that will help guide you smoothly through the security process." Check here before you fly.
    • 3-1-1
      3 ounce bottle or less (by volume) ; 1 quart-sized, clear, plastic, zip-top bag; 1 bag per passenger placed in screening bin.
      These are the regulations for bringing consmetic items in your carryon.
  • The Travel Insider
    Offers articles on issues of concern to travelers, like cell phones in foreign countries, noise reducing headphones for plane trips, etc.
  • Washington Post: The In-Flight Nap: It's Not Just the Stuff of Dreams
    Experts offer ideas on how to get sleep on the plane. (August 23, 2009)
  • World Citizen's Guide
    The World Citizens Guide was put together by students for students to use when going abroad in a project by the Businesses for Diplomatic Action, Inc. (BDA), encouraging Americans to be less loud and arrogant and more receptive and understanding of other cultures.
  • World Electric Guide
    This World Plug Adapters Guide from The International Electrical Supplies Store shows you the voltage and frequency for all of the countries of the world. Click on a country name to find the adaptor you need.
  • World Wide Metric
    A site featuring measurement conversion tables
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Emergencies

  • US Department of State: Travel
    Includes links to Travel Warnings and Consular Information Sheets amd Emergency Services to U.S. Citizens Abroad (if your passport is lost, information on health, sending money in an emergency, etc.).
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Customs and Taxes

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Health

See Insurance for travel health insurance for individuals.

  • Centers for Disease Control: Traveler's Health
    Check here for the latest outbreaks of disease before you travel to an exotic destination. Contains the Blue Sheet (disease infected countries), the Yellow Book (Health Information for International Travel in PDF format), and the Green Sheet (sanitary inspections of cruise ships); what vaccinations are necessary, what precautions should be taken, recent outbreaks of disease.
  • HealthMap
    A web application by two staffers at the Children's Hospital Informatics Program in Boston that plots disease outbreaks on a world map using information from ProMed Mail, World Health Organization, EuroSurveillance and Google news.
  • Pan American Health Organization: Core Country Health Profiles
    Profiles of health in all the countries of the Americas, including Mexico and the Caribbean.
  • Plane truth: Does air travel make you sick?
    A May 4, 2009 Boston Globe article by Carolyn Y. Johnson about people's fear of catching diseases from fellow passengers on airplane flights.
  • Travel Health Online
    Information on diseases and conditions of concern to travelers. Pulled together by Shoreland. Requires free registration.
  • World Health Organization
    Check out their pages for information on diseases that may be a concern in developing countries. Disease Outbreaks are listed in the right hand column.
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Insurance

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Money/Currency

  • MasterCard/Cirrus ATM Locator
    "With more than a million ATMs in over 210 countries, you're never far from a MasterCard, Maestro or Cirrus ATM."
  • Visa ATM Locator
    Offering access from over 1.4 million Visa automated teller machines (ATMs) in more than 200 countries and territories. How to use your ATM card at locations around the world. Search by country and city and/or postal code.
  • General Services Administration (GSA)
    Under Travel Resources you will find the US Per Diem Rates. Search by city or state for per diem rates for lodging/meals in the United States.
  • OANDA Currency Converter
    FXConverter (Foreign Exchange Currency Converter) is a multi-lingual Currency Converter with up to date exchange rates provided from leading market data contributors and is filtered for validity.
  • US Department of State: Foreign Per Diem Rates by Location
    Maximum rates of per diem allowances for travel in foreign areas are established by the Secretary of State and apply to all U.S. Government employees and contractors.
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Online Forums for Travellers

  • Arthur Frommer's Community
    Connect with other Frommers.com members through their active reader Forums, share your travel photos in their Photos section, and read blogs from Frommer's book editors and guidebook founder Arthur Frommer.
  • Fodors Travel Talk Forums
    Travelers share their experiences, tips, and recommendations.
  • Trip Advisor
    Read and post travel reviews for hotels, vacations, resorts.
  • Virtual Tourist World Travel Forum
    Worldwide travel and vacation advice from over 1,000,000 VirtualTourist members.
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Parking

  • Airport Parking Reservations
    Search for a U.S. airport and travel dates to compare parking and accommodations/parking options.
  • Park Sleep Fly
    Get free parking when you fly when you stay a night at an airport hotel at the beginning or end of your trip.
 

Passports and Visas
including travel advisories

  • US State Department: Travel
    • Passports
      How and where to apply for passports (includes a passport application that can be downloaded); Get a Passport in a Hurry
    • Country Specific Information (Consular Information Sheets)
      For Foreign Entry Requirements (whether passports and/or visas are required for a specific country) go to the Entry/Exit Requirements section for that country. Includes information on unusual immigration practices, health conditions, minor political disturbances, currency and entry regulations, crime and security information, and drug penalties.
    • Current Travel Warnings
      Travel Warnings recommend that Americans avoid travel to a certain country
    • Current Travel Alerts
      Short-term conditions, either transnational or within a particular country, that pose significant risks to the security of U.S. citizens.
  • Embassy.org: Embassies
    Links to embassy websites in Washington DC. For visa requirements in foreign countries, check their embassy.
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Phone Calls

  • Cellular Abroad
    This is a commercial site for renting cell phones abroad. It can give you an idea of the rates and possibilities using GSM mobile phones and SIM cards.
  • How to Call Abroad: Country codes, area codes
    Instructions on what country codes to use and how to call from the U.S. to another country, from another country to the U.S., or between two foreign countries.
  • Skype
    A free software program that allows users to make telephone calls over the Internet, including calls to and from foreign countries.
  • Slow Travel: Cell Phones in Europe
    Information on cell phone options for Americans and Canadians traveling to Europe.
  • Telestial
    A commercial site selling phones and sim cards for use abroad. Includes an article on "getting started".
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Time and Weather

  • CNN Weather
    Includes world and US weather forecasts.
  • New York Times: Weather
    Input the name of a city (national or international) to add it to your list of favorites.
  • World Time Server
    Get the current time (and weather) of destinations around the world (useful when phoning or expecting an email response).
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Translators (for web pages)

Have you found a web page in a foreign language that you would like to have translated? Here are some website that try to do just that.

  • Babel Fish Translation
    You can either input foreign text or a foreign url. English, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish.
  • Google Language Tools
    On this page ou can search for a term on pages from a particular country or in a particular language. You can also input the url of a page in another language and have Google translate it. The results, although not great, are interesting! It apparently uses the same translation system as the older Babel Fish (see above).
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Travel Gear / Traveling Light

Most of the sites below are commercial sites that want to sell you gear but they allow you to see what is available since much of this is not carried by regular department stores. Some of them also offer packing tips.

  • Eagle Creek
    Manufacturer of useful bags, suitcases, pack-it system, and travel accessories. Also includes travel tips such as The Art of the Carry-On or "How to Pack 50 lbs into a 20 lb Bag" and how to travel lighter.
  • eBags.com
    An online retailer of luggage and travel accessories from major manufacturers.
  • Ex Officio
    Travel and adventure clothing, such as climate control vented shirts; moisture wicking, fast-drying clothes that provide UV protection; stain-resistant and now even bug-repellant clothing.
  • LeTravelStore.com
    Eagle Creek travel gear, luggage, backpacks
  • Magellan's Travel Supplies
    Online ordering of footwear, clothing, appliances, maps and books, and more.
  • OneBag.com
    The art and science of travelling light, going pretty much anywhere, for an indefinite length of time, with no more than a single carry-on-sized bag.
  • Packing Light
    Find out how to pack a 22" Carry-on bag for weeks of easy, care-free travel; from Holloway Travel Outfitters, Sacramento, CA. Follow their 6 steps for packing a suitcase, and their 4 steps for packing a suit under "Travel Info Depot".
  • Rick Steves' Europe: Travel Tips
    Includes a section on packing with a packing list for women and men.
  • TravelSmith
    At this "premier purveyor of performance travel gear" you can find, in addition to quality travel-resilient clothes, packing lists for a variety of travel scenarios.
  • Washington Post: The Packing Issue
    A November 5, 2006, article on how to and how not to pack. Additional tips can be found in the Washington Post Travel Reference section.