20 Useful Online Travel Resources

We all do it. We hear about a new website that is supposed to be this or that and we sign up for it. At first we’re skeptical or excited, or both. We begin to fill out our profiles and then we get distracted. We never return to said site. Other times, the exact opposite is true and we find our lives turned inside out because of a website. Had it not been for Craigslist, my life would be very different today. I jotted down the URL in early 2003 when I began a search for a new apartment in New York City. Since then, Craigslist has helped to shape every aspect of my life. I’ve found jobs, furniture, pets, housing, gigs, bandmates and roommates on Craigslist. By extension of a roommate found on the site, I found my husband. It’s no stretch to say a website can change your entire life. And by the same token, a website can completely gut and renovate the way you travel.When I came across Golden Book Traveler’s list of 20 Best Travel Websites On The Internet (because the Internet is where websites live), I continued reading past the headline. Some sites listed are ones I stand behind fully. Others are sites I’m now eager to use, including Airbnb, Couch Surfing, Hostel World, Road Sharing and Sleeping In Airports. This list seems promising to me.

Read it in its entirety here.

Moon Travel Guides enjoys a handsome facelift

My brother-in-law, Jason Salter, has been working long hours for Five Paths, his web developing company, updating the website for Moon Travel Guides for over a year now. His hard work has paid off, and Moon was so pleased with the results that Gadling recently heard from a Moon representative alerting us to the latest changes and features on its new (and quite modern) online look.

Redeveloping an already existing site was quite complicated, but Jason reports that about 10,000 pages of content were added to Moon’s website, and it will grow exponentially in the near future to about 100,000 pages of online travel information, which is fantastic news for online travel information seekers.

On the new Moon website, there are now full descriptions of all published Moon books, which are easily searched by using the blue “Find Books” widget. Jason also tells me there is deep content for select books. Destinations in Central and South America are particularly well-developed, but Jason assures me that an increasingly larger number of books and sections are already being built.

If you don’t like searching for information based on the destination, you can also search for content based on activities using the “Find Activities” widget. This is a great search tool for someone like myself, as I’m always on the lookout for awesome surf spots in the world!

There are Q&A pages for authors of selected books, and maps for those books. Finally, Moon is hoping its readers can correspond with the authors through their author blogs.

Unlike Lonely Planet, which has been slow to move its content online, Moon appears to be fully embracing the world wide web, and I’m sure its readers are grateful.