Subject Guide » Geography - Travel

Trip Planning

Title: AAA -American Automobile Association
Description:
Indicate your starting and ending locations and the system will provide you with a route and information on lodging, attractions and restaurants. AAA members get more services.

Title: Rand McNally
Description: Under the "Get Directions" feature you can get directions and other information drawn from Rand McNally guidebooks.

Vehicle Rentals

Title: Vehicle Rentals
Description: Note that experienced users find that the rental companies are more likely to provide you with a more accurate cost online than the general travel sites do. This is because the rental companies are better at figuring local taxes and added fees than the more general travel service sites. In comparison shopping, make sure you are comparing either daily rates or rental period rates. Always talk with your insurance agent to find out if your automobile insurance covers you in a rental car here and/or abroad. In Europe, expect to pay a premium for a car with an automatic transmission because most cars still have standard transmissions there. Everywhere there are numerous additional taxes and fees that make comparison shopping difficult.

Title: Alamo
Description:

Title: Autoeurope
Description: for European vehicle rentals

Title: Avis
Description:

Title: Budget
Description:

Title: Dollar Car Rental
Description:

Title: Enterprise
Description:

Title: Europe by Car
Description:

Title: Hertz
Description:

Title: Kemwel
Description: is a European discount vehicle rental service

Title: Thrifty Car Rental
Description:

Title: Worldwide
Description:

Other

Title: Road Construction Information
Description:
Most state departments of transportation or highways will provide you with road construction information. Rand McNally provides this information for all fifty states. To view maps of the construction areas you must be a Premium or Premium Plus member of the site, but you can view lists of the construction sites by going to the Road Construction section of Rand McNally's Plan a Road Trip site

Title: Road Trips
Description: Visit ByWay.org for information on some of the United States' best road trips. This site is a guide to scenic and/or historic roads you can travel. Use its suggestions as a fun way to get some place or make the road the destination. Maps and lots of information about side trips and points of interest help make this a useful site.

Title: AccuTraffic
Description: This site links you to state and local web sites that report on weather and road conditions, construction areas, road closures and other real time travel conditions.  Be aware that some of the sites that AccuTraffic links to are not as up-to-date as others.

Title: GasBuddy.com
Description:
GasBuddy helps you find the price of fuel in your area. Prices are input by members of GasBuddy. They are subject to becoming quickly outdated.

Title: Hotwire
Description: This site sells discounted airline tickets. Designed for vacationers, this service stresses the cost of the ticket, not the time of the travel. The user needs to be flexible.

Title: Priceline.com
Description: Priceline also returns vehicles usually available at airport rental agencies. If you bid too low on Priceline, you have to wait a set length of time before you can bid on that car again. Use the time Hotwire gives you to make up your mind to make a slightly lower bid on a similar vehicle at Priceline. Just be sure you are bidding on the same or similar package.

Ask A Librarian

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

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