AOL also has a traveler's opinion message board similar to Fodors....does anyone know the exact web address of this board (California)?? I've been on it before but can't seem to find it now and it doesn't show up under "Channels- Travel"?? Thanks, Sara

You have to go through the AOL menus to get to the Board. You can't just type in the website since it is an AOL members-olnly site.

You can only access the AOL travel boards as an AOL subscriber. They are not available to nonsubscribers. Just go to Keyword TRAVEL.

And there's good news/bad news about the AOL board.

Bad news: They don't get nearly the amount of volume as Fodor's, so you don't get as wide a range of responses & expertise.

Good news: Since you have to post under one of your AOL screen names, that cuts out all the nonsense, since you're readily identifiable to AOL.

It depends on the particular boards as to how much traffic the AOL travel boards get. I find them much more informative than these boards.

I am a member but am currently staying at a friend's home. I can go to www.aol.com, log in, check my mail etc. with no trouble but I can't seem to find the correct travel page. At home I have it listed under "favorites" so I have no trouble pulling it up. Why can't I do it from another computer?? Sara

I find the AOL boards much more helpful. They do not get all of the useless posts that Fodors gets.

go to keyword "travel"

Sara, if you have to go to AOL.com, you cannot pull up the message boards. The only way you can do that is to download AOL onto her computer.

I know you all must think I'm crazy, but there is no option....KEYWORD. Although this is AOL, this doesn't look anything like my AOL page at home. Even when I go to "Main" there still isn't an option for keyword. I feel like I'm in the twilight zone or something!

Sara, you cannot pull up the message boards unless AOL is the provider.

Sara, this has already been answered for you by the above post. When you're at a "guest" computer, you can't access AOL for all the same things exactly as you do on your "home" computer. You only have limited availabilty for some things such as email. It's meant as a convenience when you're traveling, and not as a substitute for your home computer.

Sara, what people are trying to tell you is that certain content on AOL is available only to subcribers and cannot be accessed via the aol.com website, even if you log in to that site. The message boards are not accessible via the aol.com site.

Thanks Doug, I guess I'm SOL because I don't want to download AOL on her computer etc. I guess it will just have to wait a couple of weeks until I'm home. At least I'm able to check my mail. I never realized that you couldn't access EVERYTHING the same from www.aol.com. Sara

I learned something new today as well. I thought you could access things the same as long as you're a member. Although I do enjoy Fodors and check it often, I find the AOL board to have very useful info as well without all the B.S., troll type postings since everyone is identified. To each his own. Bruce

I also really like the AOL travel boards - have gotten some great travel advice there. I have some major gripes about AOL in general, so for most of my e-mail and internet I have switched to broadband, but kept limited access to AOL for, among other things, the travel boards. One thing I don't love about the AOL travel boards is that they don't have an overall US BBoard. The Board is separated by the states. And for the big travel states (i.e. Florida) it is further separated in several areas of the state. But one thing I really like is what a previous poster referred to - because you have to give a legitimate e-mail address, you don't have the trolls and nastiness that happens on the Fodors board.

Go to a computer store and get the free AOL CD that they give away and just use it for the time you are there. Then cancel.

Unless you hate your friend, I would not suggest loading the AOL software onto their computer. It is a very insidious program that invades all kinds of files, attaching and altering some - making for a difficult un-install even when using a wizard. Spread your wings a little and explore the real web for a couple of weeks. I despise and resent the limitations that AOL software dictates when surfing outside of their little dominion. I used it for years back in the mid 90's and have now grown to think of them as the "John Ashcroft of ISPs".