Maps – www.maps.com – has every kind of map you can imagine from wall maps, digital and electronic maps, to travel maps and travel guides, globes, atlases, and just about everything else. They have Lonely Planet and Thomas Guides as well. It’s a traveler’s delight!
World Atlas – www.worldatlas.com – a great site, and one of my favorites for doing research; the maps are not as interactive as Google Maps, but you’ll get great information on each area, and the maps give good overviews as well; very useful and fun and easy-to-use site.
CIA country information – www.cia.gov – click on World Factbook – gives current and extensive political, economic, and demographic information about each country, from boundaries and government to date of independence and length of coastline, and more. Extremely useful as a first stop for getting to know a country, but doesn’t cover cultural and social issues or points of attraction.
Trip Advisor – www.tripadvisor.com – nominated as one of the Internet’s best travel sites; traveler reviews and opinions of hotels, destinations; articles; maps; links and resources; forums; photos; aimed more for the crowd that travels by air and car; does have budget offerings, but not student or super-budget travelers; good source of travel-log type postings.
Travelers Vaccines – www.travelersvaccines.com – a great website (says it’s for US residents only) that details typical health problems for each county, with the recommended vaccines; can also find health/travel clinics for a location near you in case you don’t know where to go for immunizations; gives travel health tips (good practical suggestions) for before you go, while you are gone, and when you return; emphasis on visiting your medical doctor – not oriented towards alternative medicine.
Adventure Travel – www.adventuretravel.biz – a site for growing the adventure travel business; gives very useful information for international adventure travel; supports responsible tourism.