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Expedia.com  Expedia.com continues to improve its
service, adding a Fare Compare feature that tells you what other people are currently paying for the flights you
want, seat pinpointers to help you get the perfect seat, a place to save your previous search queries, vacation
and cruise wizards, express service for frequent users, and, most recently, a Priceline.com-like service to let
you name your own price for tickets. You can turn to 250 customer-support staffers if you have a question, so chances
are you’ll have great success at this excellent site.
Lonely Planet Online  How refreshing: a travel site that
actually gives you insider insight about your destinations. The Lonely Planet series of guidebooks has an outstanding
reputation, and much of that content is here, in searchable form. Don’t miss the worldwide travel news updates,
and feel free to post your travel questions on The Thorn Tree. It’s obvious that the people who visit this site
are adventurous travelers; you’ll find all kinds of great travel tips.
Travelocity.com This big site has always had a slight technological advantage over its competitors: It’s owned by the Sabre Group, which maintains the largest worldwide reservation system. That underpinning makes it easy for the site to offer features such as one-click access to the best current fares from your hometown to major cities and automatic searches for the three lowest-priced itineraries for your travel needs. You can also sign up for e-mail fare bulletins and a service that will send important flight information to your pager. Last October, the site merged with Preview Travel, making it the largest travel site around, with access to 95 percent of all airline seats sold and with 42,000 hotels, 50 car-rental companies, and 70,000 vacation packages in its database.
WebFlyer  Frequent fliers love their miles, and
they love to keep track of them. Though this site isn’t particularly interactive (you will find discussion boards),
it’s an outstanding, up-to-date repository of everything you need to know about every frequent-flier program. You’ll
also find the contents of InsideFlyer magazine and the opportunity to apply for a free frequent-flier “makeover,” where you’ll
get advice about how to maximize the value of your accounts.
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