endless_journey

Whats a good website that can provide some travel planning tools ? I'm looking for something more than just reviews and journals.. more like planning tools..

toedtoes

What type of "planning"?

Are you looking for tools to get a cheap airfare? - try FareCompare dot com.

Are you looking for tools on what things there are to do in a destination? - do a search on the destination and "things to do". Many cities have websites that provide everything from "what to see" to "how to get there".

Are you looking for tools on how to budget your money? - I haven't found one to do that, but I've created my own system for figuring out how much I'll need for a trip.

suze

What kind of tools? What are you hoping to find?

Cheap airfare? Maps? Distances between cities? Calendars of events? Budgets? Train schedules? Driving routes?

United States, Canada, Europe, where?

janisj

as the others say - you really haven't given us anything to work w/

Help w/ planning what sorts of things, where???

endless_journey

Sorry for not being specific in my earlier post..
If I start planning a trip, what shud I consider before the trip (things to carry based on the type of trip/ destination, research the destination on what to do, print out the maps, make reservations, mark and save all the places I want to visit, get some of this relevant info on my cell phone through GPS when in that location, and similar stuff.
I would also like to write my own blog after the trip and share it with others..

I was wondering if there is a single site where I can do all this.

toedtoes

I don't know of any one site that does all that.

I use Excel spreadsheets for my planning and it works something like:

Budget page - lists the cost of airfare, lodgings, ground transportation (car rental, bus passes, etc.), gas (if renting car or driving), pet sitting while I'm gone, per diem (I start with $80 per day for food, activities and shopping, then adjust as needed - rarely upwards).

In the beginning, I list the higher end cost from prior trips and then as I find specifics (like which hotel to stay at), I put in the actual costs.

Another sheet will have "activities" and as I research (AAA books, internet, Fodors, etc.), I list the activity, cost, address, hours of business.

Another sheet will have my planned itinerary, adding the activities in appropriately.

Another sheet will have my packing list separated out into categories: clothing, accessories, electronics, paper (insurance cards, credit cards, books, etc.).

For directions, if applicable, I use Mapquest and email the directions to myself. I also download maps from websites like public transit, etc.

When I'm ready to take my trip, I print out all the confirmations, maps, etc. and put them in my "pocket folder" (it's a standard plastic coupon folder that fits in a tote bag, outside pocket of suitcase, etc.) to take with me.

I don't blog so I have no ideas on that.

endless_journey

thanks toedtoes.. your planning is very good and gives a lot of ideas. I was just too lazy and looking for a site that does all this for me..

Carrybean

A friend of mine swears by this site for her trips. Unlike me, she's constantly flitting all over the place & seldom the same place twice. Check & see if it's of any use.

http://upl.codeq.info/

thursdaysd

I also don't know of a single site for this. I'm not as organized as toedtoes, but I have evolved a system.

Budget - I have a rough per diem cost in mind, which guides my hotel choice - a night at a pricier place needs to be balanced by a night at a cheaper. Actually, with the current state of the dollar, I'm generally just looking for the cheapest en-suite room in a good part of town that isn't panned on tripadvisor. I prefer to travel on the ground, but I will take planes if it's noticeably cheaper or there are no good train connections.

Packing - I keep my previous packing lists on my computer (and the "master" is on my website). I just pull the closest and revise.

Actual trip planning - I read LOTS of guidebooks, either borrowed from the library or while I'm drinking coffee at the local bookstore. Plus I check sites like this for suggestions. When I have a list of places I print off blank calendar pages and start doing day-to-day planning. This lets me include travel time, which quite a lot of proposed itineraries on this site seem to leave out. (Number of nights somewhere is more important than number of days.)

Blogs - I haven't blogged yet. I maintain a (currently a little out of date) website (www.wilhelmswords.com) and run an email list off the site. I send my trip reports to the list, and lately I've been posting them on fodors as well. My photos go on smugmug. I don't travel with a laptop (too heavy and too valuable) and this works well with internet cafes.

I print out tickets and hotel confirmations as I make them (and save the confirmations in a separate folder on my email account). I now take Streetwise maps for big cities, along with the cut-up guide books I've been taking all along. Last trip I bought an iPod, so now I'm also loading interesting stuff to that.

The last biggy is the "leaving check list". I go for at least four weeks at a time, so I have things to do to shut the house down and redirect my mail. That usually comes straight off the previous list.

suze

For me, those are all just things you do to *plan a trip*. I don't know of any one single website, and don't think you need one.

Start your own planning. Here's the order I do things in:

First I pick a place, which I decide by reading guidebooks or travel magazines, have an idea and start researching on the internet, or sometimes on nothin gmore than a whim.

I book my plane ticket on the internet after researching the various options. Start with Expedia, then go to the individual airlines website to buy the ticket.

Then find hotels and make reservations. Doing this part of the research on Fodor's & Trip Advisor, then contacting the hotel(s) directly.

Besides that I don't do much detailed pre-planning. My usual trip it to 1-2 cities (nothing too exotic or involved) so it's pretty easy to figure out what to see and do once you get there.

Other people will have to chime about blogging, posting photos to the internet, cellphone, GSP... can't help with any of that, never done it, don't have one -lol!

lollylo25

I start researching 3 months before my trip. I use websites such as Fodor's, Thorntree Lonely Planet. I also look into tour companies to get ideas of their itineraries. I ask questions. I read other's travel blogs on wordpress.com. I research places/weather/visa requirements etc. on the internet, read books about the history of the country, and learn some basic words of the language if I am unfamilair with it. I also go to the CDC.gov website for info. on disease/immunizations needed. I have a travel "file" of all this info, & I go through it & highlight the important info. and cut and paste it. I then get "Rough Guides" to take along with me on my trip, plus my notes.

Kristina

You might look at www.tripit.com
It's a website where you can upload all your itinerary info and then add things like notes, maps, directions. It's pretty cool.

pointofnoreturn

I was about to recommend tripit.com but the last poster just did so.

It's a great tool to organize all your travel itineraries and documents and can be accessed any time you have internet (whether it be your wireless laptop or a internet cafe).