Geography - Travel Subject Guide

Aids for Travelers

57 resources available
- Restricted to WMU users  - Open Access

• Information on Travel Conditions
• Useful Information
• Events and Activity Calendars
• Health Information for Travelers
• Service Vacations
• Straight Line or Great Circle Distance Calculators
• Time Zone Converters
• Travel Blogs
• Travel Writing
• Weather Reports
• Currency Conversion
• Cybercafes and Wi-Fi Hotspot Locators
• Language Translation Assistance
• Travel Companion Services

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: Great Britain's Foreign & Commonwealth Office
Description: Britain's Foreign & Commonwealth Office provides travel advise by country.  Sometimes the information is very specific.

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: Aniki.com Embassy and Consulate Finder
Description:
Aneki.com is a web site that provides lists of world rankings of all types of things. One of the services Aneki.com provides is a searchable list of U.S. embassies and Consulates. You type in the name of a country or city and the site returns a list of these government offices that are close.

Title: World Tourism News
Description: This site provides interesting articles, and case studies on travel marketing, hotel marketing, the travel industry, and the airline industry. There is s scrolling list of travel related conferences scheduled throughout the world.

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.

Title: The Universal Packing List
Description: When the User types in some criteria for their trip, this site provides a custom list of things to do in preparation for a trip.  The list can then serve as a checklist for the traveler.

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: Whats On When
Description:
What’s On When provides a keyword search of all types of
cultural events. You can limit your search by place. This is a
wonderful aid in planning activities while traveling. You can also choose to search by category. When you do, you get a chronological list of events and a Google map that locates them so you can select the ones near your location.

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: 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: Healthy Travel Tips from AllStays.com
Description: This general travel site has many guides including this one on the health aspects of international travel.

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: TravBuddy
Description: TravBuddy is an online community for travelers.  On this site you find reviews, blogs and travel forums.  There is even a service where you can arrange to travel with others. Much of the content of this site is contributed by study abroad students. 

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.