Web Reviews

Travel Destinations, Deals, and Details

Indianapolis, IN - February 19, 2006

“...the whole experience becomes cold weather therapy for my soul.”

- Jim Cota

February. If there was ever a reason to travel, this is it. For me, by the time February rolls around, I feel like Winter has been camped out for about six months and Spring is still six months away. The weather stinks, the sun is in hiding, and the golf clubs are in deep hibernation. So it's not surprising that my thoughts, and I suspect the thoughts of many other normally productive citizens, turn to distant lands. Warmer lands, perhaps. Or, if they happen to be colder, at least the cold serves a purpose like skiing or mushing or sleeping in a hotel made of ice.

So, in February, I often find myself mercilessly wandering to travel sites. (Mercilessly, because with four small children, we're not going anywhere anytime soon; the whole experience becomes cold weather therapy for my soul. But just because I can't get out of town doesn't mean you're stuck here, too.) The good news, of course, is that there are so many great travel sites out there, most offering outstanding content and great deals. One of my favorites is National Geographic Traveler. The site is primarily a companion piece to the magazine, but it's beautifully designed and packed with information. If you're not a subscriber to the magazine, you'll enjoy the access to the feature storie covering a variety of travel-related topics, all with the distinct National Geographic perspective. Even if you do subscribe to the magazine, you'll find additional content here that is best delivered via the Internet, including travel-specific content, tips and trivia, and deals. In fact, every Tuesday they update their "A List" deals, where the "A" stands for affordable. They also show season-specific addresses specific travel deals (right now you can find several very good ski deals.) Don't miss "51 Ways to Cut Vacation Costs," and "Destinations Scorecard: National Parks."

Of course, once you decide where you're going, it never hurts to shop around to find the best fares. While nearly everyone is already familiar with sites like Travelocity, Expedia, and Orbitz, I also like to stop by a few others.

Two worth checking out are are Kayak and Farechase. They both work by searching a list of providers (airlines, hotels, car rentals) and presenting the information in one location. On Kayak, one of the cool features is the ability to limit the results by sliding bars that let you narrow your travel times for flights by either time of departure or price. Farechase also lets you narrow the results, but uses a checkbox system that requires slightly more mouse-work. Kayak also lets you search hotel rates and "strives to include every hotel on earth." One other feature of note on Kayak is the Buzz. The Buzz presents the best fares from several hundred thousand searches performed over the last few days. For instance, enter the airport of your choice and hit search to see all of the best fares to destinations throughout the world. Think of it as "fare-based destination selection." Ultimately, most of the sites will present fares that are pretty similar and your choice may come down to one of preference. While I like Kayak, you may be more comfortable with Farechase or one of the others. Safe travels!