Summer, 2007, Abbey Newsletter

Plan Your Vacation Online

The summer vacation season is hitting full stride. If you want to plan a perfect summer getaway, it’s easier than ever with the resources available on the Internet. Remember the old days of planning a vacation? If you wanted to know more about a place, you’d have to call them, order a brochure, wait for it to arrive, compare it to other literature from other places. Whew! It’s a wonder anyone ever took a vacation at all.

Today, in just a matter of a few minutes, you can have detailed information on just about any destination you would care to visit. You can even take it to the next step and make reservations online – including your travel arrangements.

Researching Your Destination

The Internet can instantly link you to detailed information about any destination anywhere. As with anything on the Internet, make sure you do a reality check and that you’re not just buying into what someone is selling. Verify your information with multiple, trusted sources.

If you use a search tool like Google, you will find that some popular search phrases will get you a lot of links to websites that are just set up basically as advertisements – they get paid for guiding searchers to certain sites, not for providing you with information you need for your trip. Look for sites from local tourist commissions, government agencies and major tourist websites – like the ones in the box labeled “Major Tourism Websites.”

Here is a quick list of some of the major tourism websites. You can use these to both plan your vacation and make reservations.

Making Reservations

With sites like the ones in the box, you can make hotel, airline and car rental reservations online. They make it fast and easy to compare rates. But remember to do a reality check. Compare prices between various sites.

If you feel like you’re in over your head, call a travel agent or contact the hotel, airline or car rental company directly. Sometimes, nothing beats a human touch. And you certainly don’t want your vacation time to arrive, only to find that some of the arrangements are not what you thought they would be.

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