Top Travel Websites and Blogs

ANOTHER holiday has just begun—the hottest season of the year: summer!

Time again to plan another escapade. Have you already decided where to go?

In this digital age, you need not be confined to travel agents, guidebooks and brochures as your sole travel resources. You won’t need to sign up and pay for such services or materials; and, you won’t need to rely on obsolete information from the guestbook.

The Web is chock-full of travel websites and blogs. It can all be accessed with one click (ora couple). Imagine reading thousands of travel commentaries and reviews from a wide variety of writers and bloggers around the globe. Where can you go wrong?

According to Peter Ward, co-founder of wayn.com (Where Are You Now), one of the biggest travel blogging sites, blogs are very appealing because of their openness. “You can communicate with the person who has written the blog. You can send a message to the person who has written it and ask them for more details. It brings an additional dimension to things.”

In order to get reliable travel information, you should visit websites that are trusted by many, based from its Alexa Ranking, RSS subscribers, and popularity in the social networking scene.

To give you an idea which travel sites and blogs to visit and share with your friends, help yourself to this list, as ranked by online experts.

• Yahoo! Travel (www.travel.yahoo.com)

Looking for affordable car rentals, hotels and flights? You will need reliable travel guides, articles, honest recommendations and great deals, and you can find all these from Yahoo! Travel.

• Trip advisor (www.tripadvisor.com)

With more than 10 million uncensored reviews, supported with photographs and videos of tours, restaurants and hotels, Trip Advisor is definitely your one-click travel companion.

Reviews come from people who share their unbiased opinions about their own experience to help you plan your next trip.

• Lonelyplanet (www.lonelyplanet.com)

You’ll be inspired by comprehensive travel guidebooks, tips and destination information from one of the best travel websites around the globe. It will never be a lonely planet for you anymore.

• Expedia (www.expedia.com)

Looking for great prices on your next trip? Don’t worry, because you can plan it all with Expedia. Purchase airline tickets, make a hotel reservation, read reviews, and look for great deals on cruises.

• Virtual Tourist (www.virtualtourist.com)

Looking for the most reliable insider travel reviews and tips on more than 72,000 (that’s right: 72,000) travel destinations? Virtual Tourist is the way to go.

• Travelocity (www.travelocity.com)

This top travel website also offers cheap airline tickets, cruises, hotels, flights and car rentals. If you want to book at an affordable price, this is one of the sites to go to.

• Real Travel (www.realtravel.com)

It serves as your free travel blog and trip planner. Have your trip planned by avid travelers and seasoned travel editors.

• Priceline (www.priceline.com)

Are you searching for exclusive travel deals? Priceline is one of the top websites to visit. Avail of great discounts on cruises and vacations, car rentals, hotels and flights.

• Kayak (www.kayak.com)

Looking for the best deal in town? Kayak lets you compare hundreds of travel websites, allowing you to find the best travel deal for your convenience.

• Orbitz (www.orbitz.com)

With its Price Assurance policy, travel security is definitely yours. You can book cheap travel deals, airline tickets, car rentals and hotel reservations.

Other top travel websites that can provide you with affordable prices and great travel deals include:

• Hotels (www.hotels.com)
• Hotwire (www.hotwire.com)
• Booking (www.booking.com)
• Cheap Tickets (www.cheaptickets.com)

Aside from the above, there are also blogs that cater to your specific travel needs and preferences. Here are some of them:

• Best city spots at gridskipper.com

If you’re looking for city hotspots, gridskipper.com may just be the right choice for you. It’s updated five days a week by seasoned writers and editors. In here, you can easily find restaurants, hotels, and the best spots for a nightlife escapade for your picking. With its wonderful photography and useful maps, you will never be lost.

• Get connected at wayn.com

“Where Are You Now” (wayn.com) is named as one of the biggest travel blogs in the world. It now has 14 million members in 193 countries. Through this blog, you can find and meet people from anywhere in the world, locate your friends, browse through various travel resources, and appreciate photographs.

• Celebrity travel gossip at hotelchatter.com

For gossipers who want to be updated about the latest whereabouts of their favorite celebs. Avid travelers share photographs and videos of hotel rooms, featuring the unique experiences of various celebrities.

• Luxury travel at Aluxurytravelblog.com

Do you have passion for luxury travel? Aluxurytravelblog.com provides comprehensive information about the most expensive travel luxuries. In this blog, you can also glean the whereabouts of the rich and the famous. Also, find out why the world’s most expensive dessert amounts to £7,160.

• Practical advice at travel-rants.com

Traveling will always come with the unexpected, no matter how well you prepared for your trip. For practical advice about your delayed flight, canceled hotel reservation and other travel disturbances that you may meet along the way, you can always consult travel-rants.com.