Before You Go

"Best" Travel Websites
Helpful Information
Emergencies
Country Information
Customs and Taxes
Health
Insurance

Money/Currency
Online Forums
Passports and Visas
Phone Calls
Time and Weather
Translators (for web pages)
Travel Gear

Best Travel Websites

Below are lists of the "Best" travel websites as determined by various newspapaers, etc.

Forbes: Best of the Web (BOW): Travel Unannotated lists of the 8-10 best websites in 27 travel categories.
Guardian Unlimited: 50 essential travel websites These are favorites of Gemma Bowes and Lisa James of the London Observer, compiled February 18, 2007 in the Guardian's Travel Section.

Helpful Information

Before You Go: A Travel Toolbox This article by Carol Sottili from the Sunday, September 25, 2005, issue of the Washington Post (Page P09), offers a wealth of links for planning a trip.
Fodor's Focus on Photography http://www.fodors.com/focus/ "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.
My Travel Rights http://www.mytravelrights.com/ From the Consumer Travel Rights Center (CTRC), the largest Web-based nonprofit organization in the United States dedicated to protecting the rights of traveling consumers.
Transportation Security Authority (TSA) Travel Tips
http://www.tsatraveltips.us/
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 ounces - 1 qt clear zip top plastic bag - 1 bag per person
These are the regulations for bringing consmetic items in your carryon.
World Citizen's Guide http://www.worldcitizensguide.org/ 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). The BDA works to improve the image of Americans abroad by educating American tourists, students and companies, encouraging them to be less loud and arrogant and more receptive and understanding of other cultures.
World Electric Guide http://kropla.com/electric.htm A guide to some important issues when deciding to use your electrical appliances in another country.
World Wide Metric http://www.worldwidemetric.com/metcal.htm A site featuring measurement conversion tables

Emergencies

US Department of State: Travel & Business http://www.state.gov/travelandbusiness/ 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.).

Customs and Taxes

U.S Customs and Border Protection http://www.cbp.gov/ Includes information on restricted items, pets and animals, medication and drugs, mailing items back home. Know Before You Go

Health

See Insurance for travel health insurance for individuals.

Centers for Disease Control: Traveler's Health http://www.cdc.gov/travel/ 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. This is a great site because it will give you all the health precautions and innoculations you should take for that region.
HealthMap http://healthmap.org/ 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 http://www.paho.org/english/sha/profiles.htm Profiles of health in all the countries of the Americas, including Mexico and the Caribbean.
Travel Health Online https://www.tripprep.com/ Information on diseases and conditions of concern to travelers. Pulled together by Shoreland. Requires free registration.
World Health Organization http://www.who.int/ 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. International Travel and Health In this section you can click on a map to find information about the immunization suggested for a country.

Insurance

insure.com: Travel http://www.insure.com/Travel/ Travel insurance comparison site.
HTH Worldwide http://www.higsinc.com/ Formerly Hinchcliff International Group Services, specializing in health insurance for overseas educators and students.
MEDEX Assist http://www.medexassist.com/ Medical assistance services abroad.
International SOS http://www.internationalsos.com/ Global medical assistance.
Wallach & Company http://www.wallach.com/ Insurance for health care abroad and also for foreign nationals in the US.

Money/Currency

Visa ATM Locator http://visa.via.infonow.net/locator/global/jsp/SearchPage.jsp Offering global access at more than 457,000 Visa/PLUS ATMs in 120 countries. How to use your ATM card at locations around the world. Search by continent, country, and then input the exact address of your hotel or location.
General Services Administration (GSA)
http://www.gsa.gov/
Under Travel Resources you will find the US Per Diem Rates. The General Services Administration, Office of Government-wide Policy, Office of Transportation and Personal Property, Travel and Transportation Management Policy Division, establishes the maximum CONUS per diem rates for Federal traveler customers, reviewed annually. Search by city or state for per diem rates for lodging/meals in the United States.
OANDA http://www.oanda.com/ 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 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.

Online Forums

Arthur Frommer's Travel Message Boards http://www.frommers.com/cgi-bin/WebX 26 categories of travel questions covering all types of destinations, plus destination boards.
STA Travel 193 http://www.statravel193.com/ This is a new online travel community designed specifically to educate, inspire and connect student travellers from STA (a student travel association). "193" stands for 193 countries.
Trip Advisor http://www.tripadvisor.com/ Read and post travel reviews for hotels, vacations, resorts.

Passports and Visas

(including travel advisories)

US State Department
http://travel.state.gov/
Here you will find information on how and where to apply for passports (includes a passport application that can be downloaded); How to Get Your Passport in a Hurry, Applying for Your U.S. Passport the Easy Way, Foreign Entry Requirements (whether passports and/or visas are required for a specific country). It also contains Travel Warnings & Consular Information Sheets. Travel Warnings recommend that Americans avoid travel to a certain country, Consular Information Sheets are available for every country of the world. They include such information as location of the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in the subject country, unusual immigration practices, health conditions, minor political disturbances, currency and entry regulations, crime and security information, and drug penalties.

Form DS 82: Application for U.S. Passport by Mail
Fill this in online and then print it out to mail with your old passport.
Checking the Status of Your Application
When your passport doesn't arrive in a timely manner (10 weeks), check here for its status.
University of Michigan Library: Foreign Governments http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/forcomp.html A directory of directories of foreign government websites.

Phone Calls

Cell Phone Info http://www.cellphoneinfo.com/ An explanation of the various types available.
Cellular Abroad http://www.cellularabroad.com/ 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.
Cognigen: Best Rate Calculators http://ld.net/brcall.cgi Telecommunications search engine. Choose the international country you are calling to and dlsource will show you the best rates.
Travel Insider http://www.thetravelinsider.info/ Includes articles on using cell phones internationally.
Washington Post: Make the Right Call: Sorting Through Your Phone Choices When Overseas An article by Roy Furchgott from Sunday, February 4, 2007, explaining how to use your own or obtain a cell phone that works overseas.

Time and Weather

CNN Weather http://www.cnn.com/WEATHER Includes world and US weather forecasts.
New York Times: Weather http://www.nytimes.com/gst/weather.html Input the name of a city (national or international) to add it to your list of favorites.
Time Zone Converter http://www.timezoneconverter.com/ Check the time in another city, country.
World Time Server http://www.worldtimeserver.com/ Get the current time for your destination so you can calculate the time difference (useful when phoning or expecting an email response).

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 http://babelfish.altavista.com/ You can either input foreign text or a foreign url. English, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish.
Google Language Tools http://www.google.com/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).
WorldLingo Free Online Translator http://www.worldlingo.com/en/products_services/worldlingo_translator.html English, Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish

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.

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.
Eagle Creek http://www.eaglecreek.com/ 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".
eBags.com http://www.ebags.com/ An online retailer of luggage and travel accessories from major manufacturers.
Ex Officio http://www.exofficio.com/ 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 http://www.letravelstore.com/ Eagle Creek travel gear, luggage, backpacks
Magellan's Travel Supplies http://www.magellans.com/ Online ordering of footwear, clothing, appliances, maps and books, and more.
OneBag.com http://www.onebag.com/ The art and science of travelling light. This sites tells you what to take, what to take it in, and how to pack it. There is a resource section of suppliers, a bibliography, and a page of related links.
Packing Light http://www.packinglight.net/ 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".
TravelSmith http://www.travelsmith.com/ 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.

Tools

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