The Virtual Woman: A Woman's
Weekly Guide To Cyberspace
I get lots of emails like these:
Dear Virtual Woman:
Help! I need a vacation!
Don't have a lot of time or a lot of money. I know that there is a ton of
information out there on the Web concerning travel, but frankly, I'm
feeling overwhelmed. Any recommendations?
Signed,
- Have Modem Will Travel
Given the growing need for advice on this subject I am going to spend some time this week letting you in on a couple killer online travel resources. And while you still might need something to talk to co-workers, in-laws, your accountant, your ex husband and your hairdresser about, you no longer have to rely on pulling together their collective experiences to tell you where you should spend those precious fourteen days (note how this sounds better than two weeks) a year you get to relax. Thanks to the Internet, planning a vacation is now truly, fun and easy. Granted, you've heard similar claims for building your own log cabin or putting in solar heating, but you can trust me on this one. It comes with The Virtual Woman Lifetime Guarantee (Sounds pretty official, huh?)
One of the best destinations for travel information is Web Travel Secrets located at http://web-travel-secrets.com. This site provides extensive one-stop-shopping for the online travel consumer. Web Travel Secrets was developed by Internet Learning Systems, creators of online training courses for travel agents. Who better than to put out a site than the folks who teach travel agents how to use the web? No one. Clearly. These guys have put together an exhaustive, well updated guide that educates and informs consumers about their online travel options.
Web Travel Secrets has three main sections: Web Travel Guides, Web Travel Links, and Web Travel Reports sections. The Web Travel Guides area introduces you to booking travel online as well as how to find and use essential travel resources. Their Links area boasts a comprehensive, organized, and current list of the most popular travel sites. Airfare deals, cruise lines, hotels, cars, and travel magazines are just a few of the topics covered in the link section. Don’t even think about flipping through the phone book anymore for an airline or car rental number, just bookmark this site and you’ve got it all.
Anyone who has traveled a reasonable amount has heard of Frommer's guides. Arthur Frommer's expertise is now online at http://www.frommers.com and like his books, Frommer's website is well organized, up-to-date and budget minded. Convenient categories such as Standard Travel, Novel Travel, Discounts, Reservations and Budget Travel are all accessible off the homepage. He's got the old standards like beach vacation, B & Bs, and golf and tennis get-aways (yeah, yeah, yeah) but what I found fascinating were Frommer's ideas for alternative time off. For example, under altenative travel there are categories for vacations that stretch the mind and change your life (that sounds refreshing), political travel and cerebral vacations.
Additionally, the destinations sub page at http://www.frommers.com/destinations/ is super useful. Select any country and you'll get a brief introduction about the country, information on getting around, main sights and attractions and lodging advice. This is another great way to research and choose a destination. One of the best features of this site is the access to new features from Arthur Frommer's monthly Budget Travel Magazine where articles like "Cheap Hotels in Costly Cities" and "Walking Tours of American Cities" give online readers free, fast tips on traveling within a budget.
And, well, if all that's not enough, even after you have long returned from your vacation, Frommer's can also send you current travel bargains via email. At no cost to the subscriber, you can receive a summary of Frommer's Budget Travel Newsletter delivered directly through email. Now there's no excuse for missing fantastic travel bargains like Club Med Mexican resort stays for as little as $699/person/week or Marriott's holiday rates at nearly 200 hotels for less than $85/night.
Bon CyberVoyage!
Find these links and more at WWWomen.Com (http://www.wwwomen.com) the web's largest search directory of topics for women online. Email the Virtual Woman with your Internet questions or send snailmail to: WWWomen.Com, Attn: Virtual Woman, 3701 Geary Blvd., #325, S.F., CA 94118. Copyright, 1998. WWWomen, Inc. All rights reserved.
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