from the Chicago sun times

                        Plan a vacation by touring Web

   October 2, 1997

   BY DON CRABB COMPUTER COLUMNIST

   I don't know how I used to live before the World Wide Web. These days,
   I use the Web for everything, from buying CDs to researching articles
   to booking business trips. I even plan and book family vacations via
   the Web, whenever possible.

   For me, the Web is the perfect vacation travel agent. It never closes.
   It always gives me the best deals available (if I'm willing to look).
   It provides entree to all my favorite travel vendors. And it lets me
   save all my plans, reservations, confirmations and other traveling
   info right to my PC or Newton, while having tickets sent directly to
   me. Very convenient.

   But what if you don't know where you want to travel? Can the Web help
   you there, too?

   Of course. There are more vacation and business travel sites than
   you'd ever believe exist. A good site to start with for vacation
   travel is the Internet Vacation Guide at www.whitehawk.com/vacation/.
   This site suggests vacation attractions organized by nation, state,
   category, transportation resource needed and by other resources needed
   (there is no point, for example, to finding the perfect vacation
   destination if it requires you to own a boat you don't have).

   If you like sun and sand (and what right-thinking individual does
   not), another vacation site specialist to try is the Beach Vacation
   Specialist at www.surf-sun.com/. Providing tips on some of the most
   beautiful beach destinations, you'll find links to more than 450 beach
   venues. The site is organized by function, offering a travel planner;
   airline, hotel, and rental car reservations; driving directions; money
   and language converters; a travel chat room (if you are really
   hard-core), and a beach photo album with submissions by site visitors.

   Like most travel sites (indeed, like most commercial Web sites these
   days), these two vacation sites are sponsored by travel companies that
   hope you'll buy your tickets from them. You are under no obligation,
   of course, but you should be aware that there are few free Web lunches
   these days. These sponsorships don't necessarily taint the
   information, though, as I've discovered through my extensive use of
   the sites.

   Web sites for specific destinations are often sponsored by governments
   or local tourist boards, so the information can be self-serving. The
   best destination sites, though, will give you detailed information
   about the people and the place, including history and culture,
   activities, travel tips, restaurants, lodging, maps and a calendar of
   events. You'll often find additional links from the original vacation
   destination site, allowing you to build a handy profile while deciding
   where to travel.

   Once you have made the decision, though, you also may want to jump to
   one of the popular airline sites to check fares and make reservations.
   I've had good success with American Airlines (www.americanair.com) and
   Northwest (www.nwa.com), although most major airlines now provide such
   sites.