Nothing quite beats the experience of those who have gone before us. However, I have found that some of the best online resources for information besides Fodor's are :

www.Google.com
- To find literally anything.
- A concert venue address, etc.
- Whether a specific hotel has a gym.
- Hours of operation for a state park.
- The correct spelling of a street name in a foreign city.

www.MapQuest.com
- To get driving directions
- To get travel time by car
- To get travel distance by car

www.Weather.com
- Annual temperatures for a specific city
- 10-day forecast for your destination

Please add your best online resource to this list. Many people ask questions and wait for the answers, while they could have the answers almost instantly by using such resources.

Food & Restaurant resources :
www.egullet.com

OnLine dinner reservations
www.opentable.com

maps.google.com is the best site for detailed road maps.

terraserver.microsoft.com has satellite photos of most areas.

Jorr

For frequent miles programs and frequent stay programs:

Flyertalk.com

The best source of cheap airfare (but you can't book with them):

ITASoftware.com

Detailed, updateable snorkeling and scuba info.
www.shorediving.com/Earth/index.htm

www.tripadvisor.com

for hotel reviews. Starting to expand to restaurant reviews, but this is a new feature, so not much data built up on dining yet.

Zagats on-line restaurant guides. It costs $, but I've found that it is a very valuable resource.

Sidestep.com

-Bill

ttt

www.chowhound.com
Good for food specific questions especially in different regions of US. Hint: the responders can get kind of jaded, like on this board, so the more specific a question, the better chance of good responses. e.g. Asking "Where's the best place to get pork fried rice in Ames, Iowa?" would get more responses than "Any good Chinese restuarants in Iowa?"

I like many of those listed already; plus sidestep.com; citysearch.com; virtualtourist.com; lonelyplanet.com. Beyond those, most I use are geographically specific.

But since you mentioned Google straight off, I just wanted to add that if on Google you put the word "tourism" just after the place you want to go, the official site will pop up in the top three spots almost everytime. As a test, it just worked for Arizona, Oklahoma, Hawaii, Sacramento, Omaha, Orlando, the Poconos, London, Istanbul, France, Italy, Ethiopia and Bhutan.

www.igougo.com
Pronounced "I go, you go".

luxurylink.com for high end travel auctions

skyauction.com for air and hotel auctions - can get some steals in Mexico or cruises if you are a frugal bidder

cruisecrtic.com for cruise info

funjetvacations.com where you can find some great deals on airfare or hotel but it is iffy sometimes

seatguru.com to research the best/worst places to sit on your flight.

travelzoo.com for travel specials

quikbook.com for last minute travel

wanted to add:

minimus.biz

a great website where you can purchase travel size items such as shampoos, shaving items, aspirin, etc. But the best is that you can buy packets of reduced calorie comdoments such as fat free/light syrup or mayo.

For Walt Disneyworld, disboards.com
For Disneyland, laughingplace.com

Just thought of another one:

www.jwire.com to find Wi-Fi hotspots

These are all excellent...Keep 'em coming!

www.gasbuddy.com to check gas prices where you'll be traveling to

www.cruise-addicts.com for cruise reviews

www.cruisefools.com for general cruise or off topic chat

Also mousesavers.com is a great website for all things Disney

TTT

My mother. She is a great resource. She's not online, but she can tell anyone where to go - at anytime.