I'm a student and have been traveling for about eight years now. Since the advent of the internet I plan trips COMPLETELY from my computer.(couldn't even do that in the mid-nineties!)<BR>Whatever did we do before this fabulous invention!?!

I would buy my plane ticket, buy a michelan guide, and do the 'fly by the seat of your pants' thing.<BR>Now that I'm older I much prefer to know where I will be sleeping at night and god knows I can do without the aggravation of searching out a decent hotel after I have journeyed all day to wherever I'm going.<BR><BR>The internet is/was a godsend!

We had books, you know....<BR>I still use them but - I do use all the advise I can get on this forum. It adds a lot of other bits & pieces of small little things which are not at all in the books.

Guide Books, telephone and mail (even before fax).

Books: Rick Steves, Karen Brown, fodors and Frommers, Europe's Wonderful Little Hotels and Inns; a lot of faxes and telephone calls, and National Tourist Offices.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

Guide books.When we were going to London the first time, we went to the British Tourist offices in NYC and got loads of brochures and books from them for free! The hotels would send brochures so we could look at pictures and decide on which one.It was fun,just not as immediate.

Use a travel agent. Good thing for the internet because it's difficult to find a competent travel agent nowadays.

There's this historical building in pretty much every American city/town called a library - it's full of books and magazines and newspapers. You go in, there's a "card catalogue" which lists subject matter and book titles alphabetically. You write down the titles of the books you want, then - now here's the most amazing thing of all - YOU BORROW THE BOOKS FOR FREEEEEE! That's right, no monthly ISP fees, no 2-night rental for $2, the books can be taken home for FREEEEE...<BR><BR>Then, of course, there's another quaint old item - stationery. It's paper, you write on it "please send me maps and a list of B&Bs in the area around the Ring of Kerry", and send it to tourist offices. This does cost money; you have to buy the stationery, the pen, and a stamp.<BR><BR>As much as I love the Internet, I still depend on paper for most of my research. Never once in all my life have I had a book flash "This Page Cannot Be Displayed. There is a problem with the page your are trying to reach..."

There used to be a card catalogue. Now there are 5 computers which are always busy.

Gee, I'm from Canada - I don't think I've seen a library around these here parts...

Sometimes it is a curse rather than a blessing. Before, you did your research and took off, now you book something, find someone's opinion, change, find another opinion and so on...seems I've been suffering from TMI lately (Too Much Information!!!)

elvira,<BR><BR>Thank you for that belly laugh. <BR>I have to admit that I am guilty of not using the mail system more often.<BR>I tend to use the local library & internet to gather the info and then either phone, fax or e-mail to make the contact.

Elvira, thanks for the chuckle! But, you must admit,you never look up at the computer screen and find that someone has underlined certain passages in ink, or torn the screen off....