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Subject Guide » Geography - Travel

Aids for Travelers

51 resources available.
restricted - Restricted to WMU users open access - Open Access

Information on Travel Conditions

Title: Travel Warnings & Consular Information Sheets
Description: From the US Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs, this information is arranged alphabetically for ease of use.

Title: Travel Security Alerts
Description: Diplomacy Monitor provides health, crime and terrorism information to international travelers.

Title: IJet Travel Intelligence
Description:  There is a fee for this personalized travel information and alerts. Individuals and organizations can subscribe to this service. A travel agency may also provide this service.

Title: time and date.com
Description: Helps you find the time and time zones anywhere in the world. The calendars available for many countries also list holidays.

Useful Information

Title: Background Notes
Description:
From the United States Department of State, this site provides brief introductions to most of the countries of the world.

Title: Consular Information Sheets
Description: Country specific travel information from the United States Department of State. 

Title: Transportation Security Administration
Description:
The Transportation Security Administration, formed in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, has a number of hints for travelers (did you know you should carry on all of the film you will be taking on your trip because the machines used to examine checked baggage will ruin it!!) and a list of prohibited and permitted items you can carry onto a plane.

Title: U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Description: The "Know Before You Go" section provides information on the rules for briging items back to the United States from foreign counties.

Title: Federal Avaition Administration - Travel Tips
Description:
This page is designed for passengers and provides numerous travel tips including: traveling with children, pets and persons with disabilities, baggage size limits, and links to airlines.

Title: Passport Information
Description: The Department of State provides information on how to obtain, replace or renew your passport at this page.

Title: OneBag.com
Description: This site provides lots of hints on how to travel light.  For the person who wants to travel - even for extended periods of time - with just one bag.  Also provides general hints on packing your luggage.

Title: TripIt
Description: TripIt uses information from your confirmation emails and information you add to organize your plane tickets, hotel reservations, and planned stops and create a complete itinerary of your trip.

Events and Activity Calendars

Title: Events and Activity Calendars
Description: In addition to the sites listed here, the traveler will always want to check sites that specialize in a specific interest or a site for the city and/or country one is traveling to. A site that lists symphony schedules or small, specialized museums might be a better choice than the following. The sites listed here specialize in only the largest cities.

Title: City Guide
Description:
�This is a service of AOL. It is good for locating links to local sites that may help you plan your trip.

Title: Citysearch.com
Description:  This is a nice site if the city you are traveling to is covered. Currently, only the largest cities in the United States and about 50 foreign cities in a limited number of countries are covered. There is a nice arrangement of information when you click on a city including lots of "best of" information. This site is owned by Ticketmaster so you can frequently link through to purchasing tickets.

Title: Culturekiosque.com
Description: is an international guide to arts, culture and entertainment that appears to cover Europe and North America. (Part of this site will become a paid subscription service in the future.)

Title: Operabase.com
Description:  This is an example of a specialized interest site. There are many others like it. 

Health Information for Travelers

Title: Center for Disease Control and Prevention
Description:
This site contains valuable health information from the CDC. If you click on Reference Materials you can get to the CDC's Health Information for International Travel, Summary of Health Information for International Travel, and cruise ship health inspection reports.

Title: Chinook Medical Gear
Description: Travel medical/first aid kits

Title: International Society of Travel Medicine
Description: (locate a clinic in many countries)

Title: International Travel and Health
Description:
This is a WHO publication that offers guidance on the full range of health risks likely to be encountered at specific destinations and associated with different types of travel.

Title: SOS International
Description: global health assistance insurance

Title: Travel Health Online
Description:

Title: Reference Materials
Description:
You can get to the CDC's Health Information for International Travel, Summary of Health Information for International Travel, and cruise ship health inspection reports here.

Service Vacations

Title: Global Volunteer Network
Description: Based in Wellington, New Zealand, the Global Volunteer Network places volunteers with local community organizations in around ten countries.

Straight Line or Great Circle Distance Calculators

Title: Great Circle Calculator
Description: (You need to know latitude and longitude)

Title: Great Circle Mapper
Description:
Great Circle Mapper displays the great circle between
locations and computes the distance along that path. It can also
display the area which is within a given range of a location.
You need to know the codes for airports at either end of the great circle.

Title: How Far Is It?
Description: Simply type in two locations and the computer reports back distance as the crow flies. This site also provides links to sites that provide directions and maps.

Time Zone Converters

Title: Time Zone Converters
Description: Links to time zone converters from the Library of Congress. 

Travel Blogs

Title: TravelBlog.org
Description:
A collection of travel journals.� You can browse by region or search the site.� You can even contribute your own blog.

Title: Thorntree at LonelyPlanet.com
Description: The Lonely Planet travel guide people bring you this "travel forum."

Travel Writing

Title: Travel Writing
Description: People who like to travel invariably like to read about the adventures of other travelers.

Title: TravelPod
Description:
This is a compendium of travel blogs.

Title: World Hum
Description:
WorldHum is a travelzine that also has a nice directory of other travel writing available on the web. Links to other net zines, magazine, newspaper travel sections, specialty publishers and bookstores, television and radio shows, and "offbeat" web sites make this a nice gateway to travel literature on the web.

Title: The Society of American Travel Writers
Description: recognized the best travel writing each year with the Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards.

Weather Reports

Title: Weather.com
Description: Weather.com from the Weather channel is the most popular web site for conditions and forecasts.

Title: accuweather.com
Description:
is very useful for weather conditions for locations worldwide.

Currency Conversion

Title: Go Currency.com
Description: This is a currency converter that also provides a graph that shows the trend of the strength of the currencies.

Title: Oanda
Description:

Title: Universal Currency ConverterTM
Description:

Title: XE
Description:

Cybercafes and Wi-Fi Hotspot Locators

Title: Cybercafes
Description:

Stay connected. Find a cybercafe near where you are or where you will be.

Title: Cybercafe Search Engine
Description:


Title: cybercafes
Description:



Title: Net Cafe Guide
Description:


Title: Wi-Fi Hot Spot Locators
Description:

If you have a wireless enabled computer you can locate Wi-Fi enabled areas by using the many directories of these hot spots. Some hot spots are free while others charge. No directory is comprehensive however, so use chat rooms and list-servs to locate hot spots before you travel.


Title: jiwire
Description:
One of a number of directories of wireless hot spots.

Language Translation Assistance

Title: Babelfish
Description: Translates a block of text or a web page.

Title: Dictionary.com
Description: provides the standard bilingual translation service between European languages but also has a web page translation service.

Title: Free Translation
Description: offers translation of most European languages.

Title: Freedict.com
Description: offers bilingual dictionaries that translate back and forth between English and sixteen other languages.

Title: Foreign Languages for Travelers
Description: allows you to hear how a word or phrase sounds in a foreign language. The number of words is limited. You end up with a lot of open windows that you have to close. The number of languages covered is impressive.

Title: iLoveLanguages
Description: http://www.ilovelanguages.com/ This website is an index to language resources arranged by topic. For instance, you can choose language and literature resources, schools and institutions, linguistics resources, dictionaries, or language lessons, and then narrow your search to specific resources in a language that interests you. Updated frequently.

Travel Companion Services

Title: Travel Companion Services
Description:
Traveling alone is more expensive than traveling as a couple or part of a group. Supplemental charges, known as the single supplement, are frequently added to cruise, package tour, and hotel charges for the person traveling alone. Services have been developed that aid solo travelers in meeting others wishing to share or reduce expenses. Some tour operators work with solo customers to make travel for the individual more affordable. Caution should be exercised when using the matchmaker services. Most of these services charge a fee. Most of the sites require members to fill out extensive questionnaires which are then used to make a match. Users of these services should thoroughly investigate any potential travel partner.

Title: Singles Travel International
Description: offers guaranteed shares programs that will find you a travel partner or pay the single supplement.

Title: Solo Travel Network
Description: A fee for service site that looks for specials for the solo traveler. Not a travel partner finder.

Title: Travel Chums
Description: is a free site with a large number of members. Message boards help you meet others with similar interests and travel plans.

Ask A Librarian

Michael McDonnell, E-mail: michael.mcdonnell@wmich.edu
Phone: 269-387-5187
Last updated: January 2006

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