Tourism and Travel

The Web provides an embarrassment of riches. If you are planning a trip or about to embark on one, you will find that the Web will enhance your enjoyment and make your trip truly memorable. It will give you a preview of what to expect or whet your appetite, if you are just thinking about taking a vacation. You can also travel vicariously to any place in the world from the comfort of your computer chair - take a virtual vacation! The Web will give you access to all sorts of practical information: maps of countries, cities, and subway systems; travel guides with detailed descriptions; opening times for museums, parks, buildings, and points of interest; train, bus, and airline schedules; current weather and typical weather conditions, and much more. You can make hotel, bed and breakfast, airline, festival, theater and concert reservations online. Information about passports, visas, travel advisories, vaccination requirements and health concerns, etc. are provided by US. State Department Web sites. I have listed just a few of these many useful and rewarding travel related sites. You will also find search engines very useful in finding more travel sites or answers to specific travel questions. For example, merely typing "Seattle" in the Google (www.google.com) search box will turn up Seattle's official Web site as the first search result. Type in "Munich" and the second search result is the Munich Tourist Office Web site.

US Government Links

  • Links to United States Embassies, Consulates and Diplomatic Missions Worldwide
    usembassy.state.gov
  • U.S. Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs
    travel.state.gov
    International travel information for U.S. citizens - registration with embassies,travel tips, document requirements, current health issues, passports, visas, country information, and more. Issuance of travel warnings - "Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department decides, based on all relevant information, to recommend that Americans avoid travel to a certain country. Countries where avoidance of travel is recommended will have "Travel Warnings" as well as "Consular Information Sheets". "Consular Information Sheets" are available for every country of the world. They include such information as location of the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in the subject country, unusual immigration practices, health conditions, minor political disturbances, unusual currency and entry regulations, crime and security information, and drug penalties."
  • Foreign Embassies in Washington, DC

Weather and Road Conditions

  • AccuTraffic
    www.accutraffic.com
    Weather forecasts and traffic conditions for the nation. Clicking on a specific state takes you to the state's highway site. This site is operated bu AccuWeather, the private company that provides meteorological information online. Construction reports, traffic cameras and maps, etc..
  • National Traffic and Road Closure Information
    www.fhwa.dot.gov/trafficinfo
    Traffic and closure information for all states.

Weather links
www.yorkcommunitymaine.org/weather.html
Several online weather services. Get a second opinion.

Health and Safety Issues

Travel Services

Air Travel

Currency Converters

  • Currency Converter for 164 Countries
    www.oanda.com/convert/classic
    A multilingual currency converter for over 164 currencies and 3 metals. It uses daily OANDA Rates®, the touchstone foreign exchange rates used by corporations, tax authorities, auditing firms, and financial institutions. These filtered rates are based on information supplied by leading market data contributors.

Travel Guides

Transportation
  • Eurail (aka Eurorail)
    www.eurail.com/
    "With a Eurail Pass, Europe is there to explore! Endless miles of railway lines across the European continent connect breathtaking sceneries and exciting cities. All you need to do is board a train and enjoy your holiday through unlimited rail travel in an elegant and comfortable way."
  • Subway Navigator for various cities around the world
  • The Subway Page
    www.reed.edu/~reyn/transport.html
    Links to world subway systems and other transportation information resources.
  • Local and Regional

In addition:

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