Travel research: Go online

The world’s an awfully big place. How do you find out about destinations, tours and the many ways to save a buck on your travels?
 
The Internet is ideal for the 50plus armchair traveller with time to do research. It’s easy to get started with websites for airlines. For example:
<A href="http://www.aircanada.com/" >

• www.aircanada.com
  You’ll find listings for sales and frequent flyer points promotions.

Your favourite newspaper likely has a weekend travel section that’s chockablock with Internet sites. Clip and save interesting articles, like I do, and check out the sites mentioned in the articles. 

National sites
The online version of the Globe and Mail recently added a new section: 
<A href="http://www.globeandmail.com/travel"

• www.globeandmail.com
  It mixes travel news, destination featus, city guides, restaurant listings and other resources. It also gives users access to three years of travel articles in the Globe and Mail and the Globetrotter business travel guide, from the R.O.B. magazine.

And let’s not forget www.carptravel.com covering everything from cruise deals to a foreign exchange calculator. The Canadian online travel agency:  

• www.tripeze.com

Some of the best travel sites are American such as:

• www.travelocity.com
• www.seniorssearch.com

Then take your choice from the national sites:

• The British Tourist Authority’s www.visitbritain.com
• France’s www.franceguide.com

Contact points
Theses guides give you sites for every city and town you’re likely to visit. There you can learn where to stay, what to see and details like which day of the week the local museums are free.

Contact the closest consulate or travel bureau for the country or region you wish to visit and within days you’ll have a whole library of information, including books of discount coupons.
 
In the gorgeous (and free) Magic France book, for example, you’ll read about a 40 per cent discount on Europe’s trains, and a 4.5 kilometre walk through parks and gardens of Paris, starting near the Bastille.

Travel guides
Travel guides in public libraries tend to be out of date. Instead, head for Chapters or Indigo where they don’t mind you having a sit-down browse. Take your time and pick the guidebook that suits your style and pocket book. My personal favourite:

• the Lonely Planet series for the budget-minded, www.lonelyplanet.com
• the Rough Guides are a good bet, too,  www.travel.roughguides.com<A <>href="http://www.travel.roughguides.com" >www.travel.roughguides.com

On the ground
If you’re going to a metropolis, check out city magazines such as:

• Time Out in London, England  www.timeout.com
• Vancouver Magazine, www.vanmag.com
• Toronto Life www.torontolife.com

They’re always stuffed with good deals and finds as well as the latest about what’s on.

In the end, there’s no shortage of online sites offering travel information. The challenge for the bargain hunter is finding the ones that deliver the information you need. Once you do, bookmark the sites, and park them with your favourites.

And check out the Travel Forum here on 50Plus.com.

–With files from Marilyn Smith.