Travel

It's a new year and already I'm thinking about travel! I've honed my list of favorite travel sites down to those that I use all the time. I try new ones and drop those I don't find useful any longer, but these have been my favorites for a while:

1. First on my list is Yapta, http://www.yapta.com/, a service that will alert me to price changes for my favorite or tentative trips. If I want to fly to San Jose, and the price from my home airport is now $500, I can sign up with Yapta to alert me when the price changes by any amount I specify. Another use for Yapta is as a price guide for which time of the year is cheapest to fly.


2. I don't think I could live without Tripadvisor, http://www.tripadvisor.com/. If I plan to visit Chicago, I can look on Tripadvisor for a list of hotels with reviews by other travelers. Some people have criticized this site on the grounds that others are too picky or that the hotel owner may have slipped in a review. That happens occasionally, but judicious reading of the reviews, paying attention to the dates and other clues, usually gives good results. I don't think I've traveled anywhere in the past 5 years without consulting TripAdvisor, and I've never had a bad hotel or B & B; some of them have been gems.


3. Having decided where and when to fly, I check Seat Guru , http://www.seatguru.com/, before picking out an airplane seat. There are other sites purporting to be as good, but this one is my favorite.


4. I also like the 36-hour guides from the New York Times, with suggestions on things to do, places to stay and places to eat in cities around the world. Most of the cities are in the United States, but there are many from other places. These guides cover Friday evening through Sunday afternoon. Some link to Frommer's destinations, also excellent.

Those are my standbys. I've tried lots of new travel websites, but not many impressed me. Those that did are:

1. Straight-up Traveler, http://www.straightuptraveler.com/, lists the latest travel articles from the best travel publications. The web site is attractive and you may find yourself spending more time there than you meant to.
2. Uptake, http://www.uptake.com/, filters your search for lodging and attractions. After you enter a location, you choose from Family vacation, Romantic B & B's, Budget travel , etc. You can set a sliding scale to the price you'd like, as well. Other travelers' opinions are available, as well as practical data.
3. Finally, I found Hostel Bookers, http://www.hostelbookers.com/, which looks good for budget and student travel. It's not chatty like Lonely Planet, but lists affordable lodgings