Climate

- World Weather and Climate
- Weatherbase.com
- Also check out this clever new site: Best Time to Visit
Group and Independent Tours
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Iraqi Kurdistan, 2013 |
If you only want a city tour or short excursion, Viator has assembled extensive options from local tour companies around the world. I've used these often and so far all have ranged from good to outstanding.
- Viator
- Also check out "Tours by Locals"
Airline Flights & Trains
For trains around the world, an amazing site is
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Scanned card of St. Martin's beach flight path. Jet exhaust had tossed me in the water and ruined my camera. |
Want to explore destination opportunities from a specific airport? Check out:
Sometimes route maps help when exploring tricky options:
- Airline Route Maps
- OneWorld Routes (American, British, Qantas, Qatar, more.)
- Star Alliance Routes (United, Lufthansa, Thai, Singapore, Copa, many more.)
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Boarding a return flight from Haiti in 2008 |
Exploit a long layover with a free city tour!
Also check out the airport and local area options:
Hotels
For picking hotels, I’m hooked on Trip Advisor, an amazing resource:

I’ve not yet found an aggregator site (even Kayak or Expedia) that has a definitive list of best prices. Because of its ease of use, easy cancellations, user friendly interface, and room options, I'm increasingly fond of using:
Activities
Trip Advisor has a valuable "Things To Do” sections that let you skim numerous traveler verdicts about the merits of sights and activities. But I recommend supplementing it with other site like Foders and googling location-specific web sites.
If you haven't had time to plan details and want to try a cool city adventure, check out the day plans proposed here:
- 12 Hour Guides
- Also Viator
Destination Safety
To check security in your destination countries, I recommend the clear, concise, and practical travel advice offered by the British Foreign Office. Sad to say but the U.S. State Department's (CYA) travel advisories are usually verbose, rambling, vague, and embarrassingly timorous.
Packing

Packing light is important ― only carry-on if possible. Three of the best web sites for constructing your minimal checklist:
Currency
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If you need a converter now, here it is:
Destination Inspiration
Brainstorming about where to go next?
National Geographic and others have published big handsome books filled with creative travel ideas:
World Times