The Travel Bug
Travel is the sorbet
between courses of reality.
I
grew up in
I
spent 5 years working for a government contractor in
I
then spent three years as a U.S.
Department of State English Language Fellow, teaching English in Ukraine and doing
teacher training in the nearby
The
rest of my home page is devoted to travel and related Web sites--where I am,
where I've been, and any other information on travel which I've acquired. If
you have any additions, questions, corrections, etc. please feel free to e-mail me.
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Sometimes you really want to
hear advice from someone who has been there. In addition to links on this
page to my own travelogues and travel guides, you can go to these pages to
find more stories and information from people: |
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A web site with travel
information, stories, forums, and blogs.
A great all-around Web site. |
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Not quite a blog, not quite a
newsgroup, but rather a place where people can post articles on just about anything.
The travel articles seem to be written by authors who are more mature than
the average 20something round-the-world backpacker. Plus, they have writing
contests! |
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Has trip guides, plus Web site
users who post their own thoughts and recommendations. |
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Similar to Trip Advisor, except
my friend Adam swears by this one. |
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If you are planning to travel to
another country you may find these sites useful: |
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Provides access to State
Department travel advisories for Americans traveling overseas as well as |
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Use this Web site to find the
contact information for foreign embassies and consulates in your country, and
your country’s embassies and consulates in foreign countries. |
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Learn how essential words and phrases in one of 60 languages translate into one of over 60 languages. Many language pages include sound files and links to dictionaries or further learning opportunities. Be sure to scroll down past the advertisements to get to the language links. |
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This Web site has gone beyond converting simple measurements; it now also converts time zones and does currency exchange and finance calculations. Just convert it! |
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This Web site can tell you what time it is in the world relative to your time zone, and help you choose the ideal time for a meeting. Good stuff! |
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This is my favorite Web site for
looking for airfares for specific dates. It hunts through multiple airline
and airfare Web sites for the best deals. |
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Expedia's main competition, and
the one I prefer to use for finding domestic |
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Comprehensive information on
air, hotel, and car rental information worldwide. I use it mainly for booking
hotels and car rentals in the |
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A travel booking Web site like
Travelocity and Expedia. Sometimes it has lower prices, but it charges
services fees. |
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Yet another low-price travel Web
sites. |
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Another travel booking Web site,
reportedly with lower prices. |
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An alternative Web site in which
you can “name your own” price for travel. However, you
don’t get to specify the provider or, for airlines, the time of day.
Also, I don’t think you can earn frequent flier miles on flights.
I’ve never used it, but other people swear by it. |
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Get information on subjects covered on the Travel Channel shows as well as some general travel information.. |
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A travel site with general information plus "trip planners" for people with special interests such as hiking, biking, kayaking, or cultural tours |
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Another source of city
information for the |
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For the independent, adventurous
traveler. Some people debate the
accuracy of Lonely Planet, but it covers most of the “weird”
places I like to go ( |
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For the "off the beaten path" types. |
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The bible of the budget traveler. Their books are a great source of information on cheap eats and the hostels to stay in or avoid. |
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The most mainstream of the guidebooks listed here. Their books are good at laying out a large city in manageable chunks. Good advice on walking tours as well. |
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Author of the "Europe Through the Back Door" guides and host of a PBS show by the same name. I saw him at International Travel Day 1997--down to earth guy who like me believes in budget accomodations, traveling light, and finding places just slightly off the beaten path. |
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This magazine includes stories
with advice on traveling, working abroad, volunteering abroad, and studying
abroad. |
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Best feature is the Weekly Net Specials list--a table of all major airline airline, hotel, and car Internet specials. The rest of the site is harder to take advantage of unless you are a Best Fares magazine subscriber ($59 a year). |
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Formerly the Epicurious travel site; designed for Conde' Nast Traveller magazine fans. |
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HOSTELS AND HOTELS |
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Hostels, often called youth
hostels (though few have an age limit), are dirt-cheap alternatives to
hotels, highly recommended for young people traveling alone or with one other
person. A great way to meet people from all over the world. Some links about
how to use hostels and about specific hostels: As I’m getting older, though, I’m turning more to hotels than to hostels. Most of the “general information and online booking” web sites also have sections for booking hotels. I’m only including one Web site here that focuses specifically on hotels. |
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The most comprehensive guide on the subject. Includes contact information, prices and links for hostels worldwide; frequently asked questions; and a bulletin board. |
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A private site, best used for its links to different countries' hostelling organizations. |
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A booking site for hotels.
Better for |
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Pick a city or even a street and this site will give you the name and addresses of banks nearby that accept Mastercard or Cirrus ATM cards. |
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Search engine for finding ATMs that accept Visa or Plus. |
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The currency exchange site
preferred by the English Language Fellows program and other businesses that
work in reimbursement. Shows exchange
rates for specific dates as well as for different types of rates (Interbank,
street exchange, etc.) |
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Another good site for currency exchange. Type in an amount, select the currency you are starting with and the currency you are converting to, and Voila! |
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Expedia's currency exchange, similar to Xenon Labs. |
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A site dedicated to those of us who believe in packing light when traveling. If you are still taking too much stuff with you while traveling, check this site out! |
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The FAQ (Frequently Asked
Questions) for the old rec.travel.air newsgroup. Includes a list of airline Web sites, but
it’s not complete; it doesn’t even have Ukrainian International
Airlines, which flies to |
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Not very good for the |
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Actually named World Travel
Guide, this Web site has links to both airports and general information on
traveling to a particular country or city. |
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The online source for tips on how to maximize earning frequent flier miles. |
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One of the best new |
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Another budget airline. Often has "fly round trip cross country for $198" specials. |
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A major |
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A major |
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Another major |
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One method for avoiding jet lag. Not scientifically proven, some people prefer to drink alcohol or stay up for two days straight or take Melatonin, but I think this is worth a try. |
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Train travel is the way to go around Europe, and this site is the one to go to for information on the many Eurail passes available to non-European Union residents. |
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The German state rail system's page has the most comprehensive page for finding out times for destinations throughout the EU. For full travel services or other languages, click on “Internat. Guests”. |
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A web site for information on
trains in the former Soviet Union and nearby parts of Eastern Europe. Theoretically available in English too, if
you don’t mind being creative with your spelling of cities. |
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Has links to each European country's national railway system. Deutsche Bahn is easier to use, but this site is really cool for people who care about terms like "SNCF" and "NS". |
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A link for the main provider of intercity and interstate bus transportation in the U.S. |
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Web site for the U.S. train system. Can see schedules and purchase tickets online. |
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Web site for the Canadian rail system. |
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Sponsored by RATP (the Paris Metro Authority), this site can help you plan a route on a subway system in cities of nearly 30 countries worldwide. |
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A private site which uses frames to link visitors to information on U.S. and international ferries. Special emphasis on Washington State and British Columbia ferry information. |
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Maps and driving directions,
though mainly for the U.S. |
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Maps and links to information on cities worldwide, plus driving directions in the U.S. Be careful: directions can be more complicated and detailed than necessary. |
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A must for drivers in Southern
California, this web site has real-time information on traffic conditions in |
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Click on a state on the U.S. or
Canada, and find out where the cheapest and most expensive gas prices
are. Like sigalert.com, this
one’s not just for travelers! |
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My preferred Web site for
international weather. Has 8-15 day forecasts for cities worldwide. |
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The on-line version of this Atlanta-based 24-hour weather channel which has weather information on cities all around the world, plus airport delays, weather facts, etc. |
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An alternate source of worldwide weather information. I like its weather maps of the U.S. |
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CIEE offers student and youth study abroad and work opportunities. |
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Seems to have taken over the travel services of the old Council Travel (now CIEE)—cheap flights for students internationally. Domestic fares are just okay. |
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Places I've Been Since May 1994
Note: All places I have visited are in reverse chronological order; if there were multiple visits to a city or region, I went by the date of the most recent visit. Plus, some places I go to every year so I’m just saying “multiple trips”. Even if there is no link to a specific trip, you can check my blog for articles about it by searching the subjects on the right column of the blog.
Seattle, Washington (multiple trips)
New York,
Boston, Massachusetts (November 1995, October 1999, September 2004)
Frankfort, Kentucky
(August 2003)
Austin, Texas (March 2001)
Denver, Colorado (June 1998; August 2000)
See my USA Road Trips page for information on additional
cities and states.
International Places I Have Lived:
Seoul,
Korea (October 2004-March 2005)
Chisinau, Moldova (September 2003-June 2004)
Khmelnytsky, Ukraine (September 2002-June 2003)
Kharkiv, Ukraine (September 2001-June 2002)
International Places I Have Visited:
Rothenburg
ob Tauber, December
2004
Lima Cuzco,
Vancouver, Canada (July 1997, March 2000, March 2007)
Montreal and Quebec, Canada (September 2005; June 2006)
Mexico City, Mexico
(March 2006)
Taipei, Taiwan
(February 2005) (photos only)
Vienna, Austria (December 2001, February 2004)
Baku, Azerbaijan
(December 2003/January 2004) (photos only)
Budapest, Hungary;
England and Wales (June/July 2003)
Helsinki, Finland and Tallinn, Estonia
(April/May 2003)
Warsaw, Poland (December 2002)
Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia (May 2002)
Crimean Peninsula, Ukraine (April/May 2002)
Istanbul, Turkey (March 2002)
Strasbourg, France (June 2001)
Paris, France (July 1996, May/June 1998, June 2001)
Prague, Czech Republic (January 2001)
Toronto, Canada (May 1997, June 2000)
Amsterdam, The Netherlands (July 1996, May 1998)
Copenhagen (Kobenhavn), Denmark (July 1996)
Last Revised: September 2007