Product Description

An essential guide for today's traveler: timesaving tips to navigate, book, and troubleshoot your travel planning, on and off the Web. If you’ve ever tried to find a sale fare you saw advertised for a flight, only to turn up much higher prices, or discovered that the hotel you booked wasn’t exactly "steps away from the ocean," you know that the do-it-yourself era of travel can mean something else entirely: you’re on your own.

Now Susan Stellin, a regular contributor to the New York Times, offers the ultimate guide to the sometimes overwhelming logistics of travel, from researching trip plans to avoiding pitfalls on the road. This comprehensive guidebook presents practical advice on the most useful Web sites, strategies for finding the best deals, and resources to help you decide where and when to go. It also provides crucial tips to ensure your trip doesn’t disappoint, including

- what you should research before you book your hotel - how to avoid hidden fees and expensive change penalties - what your credit card covers when you rent a car - whom to call if you need a doctor far from home

No matter what type of trip you're planning -- business or pleasure, domestic or international, budget or splurge, exotic getaway or family visit -- How to Travel Practically Anywhere will be an indispensable resource.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #62453 in Books
• Published on: 2006-04-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

Review
"Even the most experienced travelers are sure to learn a thing or two." (The Chicago Tribune )

"Helpful advice . . . Even seasoned travelers could benefit from information in the book, and neophytes will save themselves a lot of mistakes." (Atlanta Journal Constitution )

"A distinctive guide . . .Including all types of travel from cruise to rail, this comprehensive and well-researched guide is useful for both new and seasoned travelers." (Library Journal )

About the Author
The travel reporter SUSAN STELLIN has contributed features on travel advice and trends to the New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, and Travel + Leisure.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
1 Researching Your Destination

If your days off aren't already set aside for your best friend's wedding in
Denver, Christmas with your parents in Atlanta, or a family reunion in
Montana, you have the luxury of planning an actual vacation — a rare
opportunity when so much of our leisure travel involves visiting friends or
relatives. Not that there's anything wrong with those trips: They certainly
account for most of the travel charges on my credit card. But to paraphrase
someone I once overheard on the subway, "Visiting family is a trip; going to
Tahiti is a vacation."
Of course, there is one thing that makes visiting loved ones easier
than traveling somewhere new and exotic: There's much less planning
involved. (As far as I'm concerned, whoever said, "Planning a trip is half the
fun!" made that comment when travel agents still did most of the work.) But if
you know where to look, the planning process can be part of the fun, and
doing it right can make or break the trip itself.
This chapter guides you through the research phase, whether you
already have a destination in mind or are still deciding where to go. Among
the topics covered: how to find articles about your destination in back issues
of travel publications, choose a guidebook that fits your style and budget, and
track down tourist bureaus and other local sources of advice. There's also a
list of Web sites where travelers trade tips — often, the best source of
information about where to go and what to do all over the world.
As you're deciding where to go, it's also wise to consider when to
go, another issue this chapter covers. Hurricanes, spring-break revelers, and
local festivals and holidays are just a few things you should factor into your
decision, and if you're traveling abroad, State Department advisories are
worth checking for other timely concerns. There's more planning advice in
chapter 8 ("Pretrip Preparations"), which covers the types of things most of
us put off until after we've booked a trip — and some of us, until just before
it's time to go.

Sources of Inspiration: A Week Off and No Idea Where to Go

Some people seem to know exactly where they want to go on their next
vacation, their dream destinations stored in a mental must-see list like titles
of movies to rent. Other people are more likely to ask a friend at a Memorial
Day barbecue, "I've got a week off in August — where should I go?"
Twenty or thirty years ago, that question would have been directed
at a travel agent, and the options would have been limited to certain
predictable parts of the globe. But these days, adventure travel means
trekking in Tibet, and once-inaccessible places like China, Eastern Europe,
and Vietnam have become popular places to travel. So figuring out where to
go on your next trip can literally be a matter of spinning the globe.

Search the archives, on line
Newspapers and magazines that cover travel are a great source of ideas
when you're planning a trip, highlighting places you may not have considered
or giving advice on what to do and where to stay if you know where you want
to go. The problem is, there's a slim chance that you're planning to visit one
of the current month's featured destinations, and the article you remember
reading about a place that is on your short list has probably been recycled by
the time you're ready to book.
Fortunately, back issues of most newspapers and magazines are
now easily accessible on the Web, saving you the trouble of searching for a
page you tore out or flipping through dusty periodicals. Even better, many
publications have set up their on-line archives so you can choose a
destination and see all the articles that have been published about that place
in recent years — usually for free, though sometimes you have to register
first.
Browsing the archives of travel publications can be somewhat hit
or miss. For instance, you may click on a headline about Lake Como, Italy,
only to find out that the article is really about how George Clooney decorated
his home there — great if you're choosing rugs for your own villa but not if
you're looking for a hotel. But with a little digging, you can find useful features
on topics like the fifty best beaches in the Caribbean or where to go in
France if you've already been to Paris and Provence, so don't give up if your
mouse ends up at a few digital dead ends. (See the sidebar above for sites to
check out.)

Hit the books
Of course, you can also hit the magazine rack of your local bookstore for
current issues of travel publications — and while you're there, the travel
section offers plenty of ways to dream about your next vacation during your
lunch hour.
Although guidebooks tend to be more useful once you've got a
destination in mind, publishers are starting to catch on that travelers also
want help deciding where to go. One book that literally outlines a road map
for a lifetime of travel is 1,000 Places to See Before You Die, by Patricia
Schultz. Organized by country, the book is nearly 1,000 pages itself, offering
encyclopedic entries on must-see cities, towns, attractions, and experiences
all over the world. Another option is The Travel Book, published by Lonely
Planet. This A to Z guide to more than 230 countries is mostly a pictorial
book, but there's also a description of each country.
Travel narratives are another source of inspiration for many
people — evoking a place so artfully that you're motivated to follow in the
author's footsteps. So don't overlook this section of the bookstore if you're
searching for ideas, especially if you're looking for a more exotic place to
explore.

Word of mouth
One of the best sources of advice on where to go is other travelers — often, a
neighbor, relative, or coworker who just got back from a trip and can't wait for
you to make the pilgrimage yourself. Of course, most of us have a pretty
good sense of whom we trust for travel advice: Uncle Lou always knows the
best undiscovered resorts, but beware Aunt Sally's preference for high-rise
hotels.
So when it comes to relying on the opinions of strangers —
available on countless travelogues all over the Web — you have to be
somewhat savvy about the source. The on-line communities described later
in this chapter can be great for generating ideas, with travel journals you can
browse and message boards where you can post questions like, "I'm
planning a trip to New Zealand. If I can spend only ten days there, where
should I go?" These Web sites are also helpful once you've decided on a
destination and want advice on topics like where to eat or how to get from the
airport to your hotel.


Choosing a Guidebook: Which Series Fits Your Style — And Budget

One of the first places most people turn to when they're planning a trip is the
travel section of their local bookstore, where you can always find plenty of
customers leaning against the shelves, paging through books about places
they may never go. (I'm certainly guilty of being one of those loiterers.)
This can be a pleasant way to kill time while a friend is searching
for a present in the cookbook section, but if you're in the market for a
guidebook, the number of choices can be daunting. Going to London? You'd
better find a place to sit down. I once counted seventy-three guidebooks just
about London in my local bookstore — and that's not including guides
covering the rest of the United Kingdom.

What's new
With people traveling more — and to more places — it's not surprising that
more guidebooks are being published. But people are also traveling
differently, so guidebooks have started to reflect some of those trends. For
instance, with travelers taking more short trips, publishers have created more
miniguides that focus on one city. Among the options: Dorling Kindersley's
Top 10 series, Fodor's City Packs, Frommer's Portable Guides, Lonely
Planet's Best of books, Insight's City Guides, and Rough Guides' Directions
series. These pocket guides are smaller and lighter than their country
cousins — and cheaper, too — but they generally maintain the writing style
of the brand.
Travel publishers are also selling more specialty guides, either
targeting a specific segment of the population — such as families, women,
gay travelers, or people who won't leave home without their pets — or a
certain type of trip, from camping, hiking, or biking getaways to spa vacations
and road trips. Guidebooks also tend to have more of a "best of" focus these
days, so you'll often find a list of must-see attractions at the beginning of a
book, as well as books about the best spas worldwide, the best cruise
vacations, or the best hotels.

Deciding which guide to buy
So what's the best guidebook? There's no one-guide-fits-all answer to that
question, but here are some tips on choosing a series that's right for you,
which will probably vary from trip to trip. Much as publishers insist that their
customers are loyal to a particular brand, I've snooped around lots of home
bookshelves and found a wide range of travel titles sharing shelf space. (By
the way, if you live in a big city, there may be a travel bookstore nearby,
where you can often get more personal advice from the staff.)
Look at the publication date. Guidebooks aren't always updated
yearly, so befo...

Customer Reviews

Expert Advice for Every Situation
This is by far the best book I have read about travel. It covers all phases, from transportation to lodging, from preplanning to on-site emergencies, I doubt you'll find a situation this book doesn't cover. It is encyclopedic in its scope, incorporating the latest websites and an evaluation of their content and relevance to your needs. The book is well laid out, and the explanations simple, comprehensive and readable. For example, I finally understand all the different car rental insurance coverages they always push and you wonder if you'd really need. She even evaluates the travel guides so you know their strengths and weaknesses, which I think are spot on.

I have never taken a cruise, but after reading that section, I feel like I know everything I need to do to book a memorable experience. I would say this book is indispensible for planning a trip. Even if you've done a bit of traveling, you'll likely find some things you never knew. I would bring this book along with me on my next trip, esp. overseas. If you are planning to travel, this will be one of the best investments you'll ever make.

Wouldn't plan a trip without it !
Just her tip on Passports saved our trip ! A must have for every traveler or would be travelers library. A fun read also.

Travel Planning Resource
Bought this book because it is so current and full of up-to-date information that I could not imagine not owning it. Already it has saved us several hundred dollars on recently purchased airline tickets. It is a "must have" for the "do-it-yourself" traveler with concise tips and tricks and useful web links. Checked out a pile of "How To" travel books at the library and this one was way ahead of the pack. Thanks to the author for her foresight, exceptional research and providing us with this valuable resource.